Christmas Books for Kids: 20 Best Picture Books by Age (2026)
By Mike Sallese ·
The best Christmas books for kids are The Christmas Tree No One Wanted by Jon Lewis, Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares and Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. Below are 20 Christmas picture books sorted by age, from touch-and-feel board books for babies to longer stories for ages 4 to 8, with the format and reader rating for each. Ratings are from Goodreads, checked in October 2026.
Quick picks by age
| Age | Start with |
|---|---|
| Babies and young toddlers (0 to 3) | That’s Not My Reindeer, Dear Santa, Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present?, Merry Christmas, Little Pookie |
| Toddlers and preschoolers (2 to 5) | Merry Christmas, Mouse!, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, Dream Snow, Santa Mouse |
| Preschool and up (3 to 7) | The Christmas Tree No One Wanted, Mortimer’s Christmas Manger, Snowmen at Christmas, How to Catch Santa, Gingerbread Baby |
| Kindergarten and up (4 to 8) | Red and Lulu, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Olive, the Other Reindeer, Too Many Tamales |
| Classics for the whole family | The Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Snowman |
Our top pick
1. The Christmas Tree No One Wanted by Jon Lewis
Ages: about 3 to 7 · Format: paperback picture book, 24 pages, illustrated by Rachel Lewis and Mike Sallese · Amazon: 5.0 from 2 ratings
A tiny Christmas tree gets passed over and forgotten, then gets a second chance. It’s a light holiday story for reading aloud in the weeks before Christmas, and at 24 pages it’s short enough to finish in one sitting. The pick for a kid who roots for the little one nobody chose.
See The Christmas Tree No One Wanted on Amazon
Christmas books for babies and toddlers (0 to 3)
2. That’s Not My Reindeer by Fiona Watt
Ages: 0 to 3 · Format: touch-and-feel board book, 10 pages, illustrated by Rachel Wells · Goodreads: 4.01 from 428 ratings
Each page has a reindeer that isn’t quite right (“its body is too furry”) and a patch to touch, until the last page finds the right one. Bright pictures and textures made for babies, and short enough to read again and again.
See That’s Not My Reindeer on Amazon
3. Dear Santa by Rod Campbell
Ages: 1 to 3 · Format: lift-the-flap board book · Goodreads: 4.08 from 489 ratings
From the creator of Dear Zoo. A letter to Santa starts a chain of wrapped presents, but none of them is quite right. Toddlers lift the flaps to unwrap each one and guess what’s inside.
4. Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present? by Karen Katz
Ages: 1 to 3 · Format: lift-the-flap board book, 14 pages · Goodreads: 3.80 from 211 ratings
Baby looks everywhere for a Christmas present. Big, sturdy flaps hide Christmas cookies and other holiday things before the present turns up at the end.
See Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present? on Amazon
5. Merry Christmas, Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton
Ages: 1 to 4 · Format: board book, 18 pages · Goodreads: 4.16 from 411 ratings
Little Pookie the pig celebrates Christmas in Sandra Boynton’s short, silly rhymes. A good stocking stuffer or Christmas Eve bedtime read for a toddler who already knows Pookie.
See Merry Christmas, Little Pookie on Amazon
Christmas books for preschoolers (2 to 5)
6. Merry Christmas, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff
Ages: 2 to 5 · Format: picture book, 24 pages, illustrated by Felicia Bond · Goodreads: 3.95 from 2,398 ratings
Mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie decorates his Christmas tree in a holiday counting book. A short one for preschoolers who already love Mouse.
See Merry Christmas, Mouse! on Amazon
7. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin
Ages: 3 to 6 · Format: picture book, 34 pages, illustrated by James Dean · Goodreads: 4.18 from 5,704 ratings
A rockin’ spin on The Night Before Christmas. Santa is sick, so Pete the Cat steps in to deliver the presents and shows that giving your all is what the season is about.
See Pete the Cat Saves Christmas on Amazon
8. Dream Snow by Eric Carle
Ages: 3 to 6 · Format: picture book, 32 pages · Goodreads: 4.03 from 2,754 ratings
On December 24th an old farmer settles down for a nap, wondering how Christmas can come with no snow. He dreams of a snowstorm covering his farm animals, then wakes up to real snow and decorates a tree for them. Clear overlay pages let kids lift the snow away.
9. Santa Mouse by Michael Brown
Ages: 3 to 6 · Format: picture book, illustrated by Elfrieda De Witt · Goodreads: 4.28 from 1,231 ratings
A tiny, lonely mouse with no name wraps up a present for Santa on Christmas Eve. Santa is so touched that he names him Santa Mouse and makes him his helper. An old favorite that many families read every year.
Christmas books for preschool and up (3 to 7)
10. Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book, 40 pages, illustrated by Jane Chapman · Goodreads: 4.25 from 1,812 ratings
Mortimer the mouse finds the perfect home under the Christmas tree: the Nativity scene. He pushes the little figures out and moves in, until he hears the story of the baby in the manger. From the team behind Bear Stays Up for Christmas.
See Mortimer’s Christmas Manger on Amazon
11. Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book, 32 pages, illustrated by Mark Buehner · Goodreads: 4.21 from 11,767 ratings
What do snowmen do on Christmas Eve? In rhyme, they sneak off to celebrate together while everyone sleeps. Mark Buehner hides little pictures in the snowy scenes for kids to find.
See Snowmen at Christmas on Amazon
12. How to Catch Santa by Jean Reagan
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book, 32 pages, illustrated by Lee Wildish · Goodreads: 3.84 from 815 ratings
A kid’s silly how-to guide for catching Santa on Christmas Eve. From the creators of How to Babysit a Grandpa.
See How to Catch Santa on Amazon
13. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book, 32 pages · Goodreads: 4.21 from 8,160 ratings
Matti opens the oven too soon and out jumps a Gingerbread Baby, who runs through the village with everyone chasing him. Unlike the old tale, this one doesn’t end with the fox. Jan Brett’s border pictures show Matti building a surprise for him.
See Gingerbread Baby on Amazon
Christmas books for kindergarten and up (4 to 8)
14. Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 40 pages · Goodreads: 4.41 from 1,730 ratings
Two cardinals, Red and Lulu, live in an evergreen tree, until the tree is cut down and carried off to New York City to become a famous Christmas tree. Red flies all the way to the city to find Lulu. It has the highest Goodreads rating on this list.
15. The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 32 pages · Goodreads: 4.13 from 6,996 ratings
Teeka has to get Santa’s reindeer ready for Christmas Eve. When her bossy yelling only gets their antlers tangled, she learns that kindness works better.
See The Wild Christmas Reindeer on Amazon
16. Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 40 pages, illustrated by J. Otto Seibold · Goodreads: 4.16 from 8,588 ratings
Olive the dog hears the song about “all of the other reindeer” as “Olive, the other reindeer” and decides she must be one. So she heads to the North Pole to help Santa. A funny one for kids who know the song.
See Olive, the Other Reindeer on Amazon
17. Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 32 pages, illustrated by Ed Martinez · Goodreads: 4.15 from 4,955 ratings
On Christmas Eve Maria helps make the tamales and slips on her mother’s ring while no one is looking. When the ring goes missing, she and her cousins eat their way through all the tamales to find it.
See Too Many Tamales on Amazon
Christmas classics for the whole family
18. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Ages: all ages · Format: picture book of the poem (this edition illustrated by John Steven Gurney) · Goodreads: 4.40 from 129,175 ratings
The poem that first appeared in a newspaper in 1823 as “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” Many families read it every Christmas Eve, and dozens of illustrated editions exist, from board books to large picture books.
See The Night Before Christmas on Amazon
19. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
Ages: 2 and up · Format: picture book (1957) · Goodreads: 4.39 from 456,779 ratings
The Grinch, who has hated Christmas from his mountain cave above Whoville for 53 years, dresses up as Santa and slips down the Whos’ chimneys to steal their Christmas. The most-rated book on this list by far.
See How the Grinch Stole Christmas! on Amazon
20. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Ages: 3 and up · Format: wordless picture book · Goodreads: 4.26 from 19,717 ratings
A boy builds a snowman that comes to life at night, and the two explore the house and fly off together. Told only in pictures, so even kids who can’t read yet can tell the story. A winter classic many families read at Christmas.
Questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas books for kids? Start with The Christmas Tree No One Wanted, Red and Lulu and Gingerbread Baby. For the whole family, The Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! are the classics most families already know.
What are good Christmas books for toddlers? That’s Not My Reindeer, Dear Santa and Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present? are sturdy board books with textures or flaps. Merry Christmas, Little Pookie is a short rhyming board book for ages 1 to 4.
What are good Christmas books for preschoolers? The Christmas Tree No One Wanted, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, Merry Christmas, Mouse! and Dream Snow are short enough for a preschooler’s attention and easy to read aloud.
What Christmas book makes a good stocking stuffer? A short paperback or board book fits best. The Christmas Tree No One Wanted is a 24-page paperback, and Merry Christmas, Little Pookie and That’s Not My Reindeer are small board books.
Are there Christmas books about Christmas trees? Yes. The Christmas Tree No One Wanted is about a tiny, forgotten tree that gets a second chance, and Red and Lulu follows a tree all the way to New York City. For more, see Christmas tree books for kids: 20 picture books.
About the author
Mike Sallese. I build Scribbl, an AI note taker with no bot in the call, and a few other pieces of software. Off the computer I am building a straw bale workshop.
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