RECOMMENDING CHRISTMAS READS

Okay, so I’m not exactly a Grinch (giving presents is the most fun a gal can have!) but I am also not the most positive about Christmas each year, so I thought for 2018 I would try my hardest to get into the Xmas spirit! In the past couple of months I have been reading a bunch of Christmas books and today I’m going to recommend a bunch of them to you!

I tried to read books for all ages, and with different storylines and ideas so I could recommend all different types of books to you! There are middle-grade/childrens – Adult recommendations, so hopefully, you guys will find this helpful! PS. I write this post in bullet points so that I can try and mention as many things as possible about each book!

Click on the covers to go to the Goodreads pages!

THE CHRISTMASAURUS

• Fun illustrations!
• Really easy to read – I recommend as something to read to or with kids because it’s a fun story for younglings!
• The book is printed with different fonts which, visually makes it more of a fun experience to read!
• Fun and easy for little kids
• Rep: Mc has a wheelchair, Single parent
• TW: Bullying, Death of a parent

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

• It’s a classic!
• It really showed me that I am more of a Grinch than a Scrooge. I thought I was going to relate to Scrooge but holy hell I was wrong.
• Interesting story – it was cool to see the original story that so many Christmas adaptations are based on.
• I ended up reading it in a few hours and I think that’s the best way to read it. Sit down, grab a drink and read it in one sitting, it’s totally worth it!
• You could definitely read it to a child over a night or two but there might be a word or two you may have to explain.

THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE

• A really quick and easy read – I finished it in two days!
• A really cool twist on A Christmas Carol (seriously, it’s such a  brilliant idea)
• Definitely re-readable
• A Christmas Carol & Monsters Inc. vibes
• A morally grey main character
• A fun YA Christmas read, good for bus trips because the writing is so easy to read.
• TW: Death

A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS

• Super easy to read! & Good for all ages
• A bit more complex (plot, themes) than The Christmasaurus
• Feels a bit more like Roald Dahl, a darker tone and content (lack of food/money, child abuse – not from a parent)
• Different time period 19th century
• A different twist on the Santa aspect of Xmas
• Rep: Single parent
• TW: Death of a parent, Child abuse, Starvation

HOGFATHER

• Honestly, this book was so much fun and now I need to go and read everything by Terry Pratchett (who apparently is a man, what???)
• It’s part of a series but you can read this as a standalone. I haven’t read anything else in the series before and I understood everything just fine!
• This is adult, and a darker kind of tale – it’s literally Death trying to be Santa Clause and I love it.
• There are footnotes but they’re not very common throughout the book, the audio is really good about reading them as soon as they’re relevant.
• Reading this has made me want to go back and read all of the other books in this series and I’m so excited about it

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

• Kinda overhyped – might be more fun to read this and then watch the movie
• The rhyming might be more fun with a kid
• It’s got that fun nostalgia if you read this as a kid, but I never did so honestly I was just reading it so I knew what to expect from the movie.
• As an adult, I wasn’t fussed on this one, but I can see why so many kids love this!

LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS

• This story is told in letters, it’s definitely a quick read
• A fun audiobook with dual narration
• letters – quick to read
• Really interesting and different illustrations which made it pretty fun
• Interesting interactions between Santa and a Polar Bear
• Not suitable for children that still believe in Santa (the letters are written by Tolkien to his kids, pretending to be Santa) – make that decision yourself but it might not be interesting to kids tbh.

ARE ANY OF THESE ON YOUR TBR?

DO YOU LIKE HOLIDAY READS?

HAVE HAVE