Five From the Shelf: Christmas Reads for Little People

With just a week to go before Christmas, the spirit of the season is well and truly here. Streets are sparkling with fairy lights, Christmas Trees have appeared in houses across the country, and shops are full of rosy-cheeked shoppers and the twinkling chimes of All I Want For Christmas Is You. With Christmas comes nostalgia for those Christmases spent listening out for sleigh-bells and toddling around the house in search for a carrot for Rudolph. There are some incredible books for children that capture the magic, sentiment, and general silliness of the festive season. These are just five I’ve pulled off my shelf.

1. Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs

The Godfather of children’s Christmas books, Briggs’ has earned itself a place as a staple of the festive period. But while will turn the most hard-hearted of souls into an emotional wreck, is a much funnier picture book. We follow the eponymous hero in the days following Christmas when, tiring from the demands of the job, he takes a well-deserved holiday. We see him get tipsy in America, visit can-can dancers in Paris, and spend too much time in the sun in the South of France.A story that paints Santa in a new light, this is a hilarious book that counteracts the saccharine aspects of many Christmas books for early readers.

2. The Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

Another tale of Father Christmas, Matt Haig’s trilogy of Christmas books, the first of which was published in 2015, have become instant classics. Kicking off the series, The Boy Called Christmas takes the story of Santa Claus back to his childhood. When Nikolas’ father goes missing he must travel to the North Pole on a rescue mission. His journey will see him encounter elves, befriend reindeer and prevent Christmas from disappearing altogether. The perfect balance of wit and sentiment, this heart-warming, engrossing story introduces readers to an imaginary, land they are guaranteed to lose themselves in.

3. The Glass Angels by Susan Hill

Though better known for her sinister fiction, including The Woman in Black and Dolly, Susan Hill is also the writer of some wonderful children’s fiction. The Glass Angels is particularly special. When Tilly’s dressmaker mother is taken ill days before Christmas she is determined to keep spirits up for Christmas. But when their ceiling leaks, ruining the delicate bridal gown of the town’s wealthiest woman, it seems all hope is lost. This is a more traditional tale of Christmas, with hope overcoming hardship, and those who have turned away from the needy undergoing transformations.

4. The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

Dressmakers have a rough time of it in literary Christmases. This time in Beatrix Potter’s seasonal story, the Tailor of Gloucester is bedridden over the Christmas period, unable to complete the Mayor’s outfit that he intends to wear for the New Years Ball. Luckily the walls of his house are home to nimble fingered mice with a flair for fashion who outsmart the resident cat and team up to create a beautiful coat. As with all of Potter’s stories, she created a series of beautiful watercolour illustrations to accompany her story, which bring this tale to life. 5. The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan Ahlberg At Christmas time there is only one person who can deliver all the cards and presents to the fairytale creatures, and that’s the Jolly Pocket Postman. As with the original interactive Postman story, we are able to pull each letter from its envelope and discover what’s inside. From a Get Well present for Humpty Dumpty, to a board game for Red Riding Hood (sent from the Big Bad Wolf- who else?), this is an incredibly detailed book, littered with references to the heroes and villains of fairy stories.