Christmas Read-Alouds for Kindergarten: 15 Picture Books for the Classroom (2026)
By Mike Sallese ·
The best Christmas read-alouds for kindergarten are The Christmas Tree No One Wanted by Jon Lewis, The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett and Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares. Below are 15 Christmas picture books that read well to a group of 5 and 6 year olds, with the length, the reader rating, and a short note on what to ask or do while you read. Ratings are from Goodreads (Amazon for our top pick), checked in October and November 2026.
Quick picks
| If you have | Read |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes before lunch | The Christmas Tree No One Wanted, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas |
| A lesson on kindness | The Christmas Tree No One Wanted, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree |
| A gingerbread week | Gingerbread Baby |
| Christmas around the world | The Christmas Book Flood (Iceland), Too Many Tamales |
| A writing or retelling activity | The Jolly Christmas Postman, The Snowman |
| The last day before break | The Polar Express, The Night Before Christmas |
Our top pick
1. The Christmas Tree No One Wanted by Jon Lewis
Ages: about 3 to 7 · Format: paperback picture book, 24 pages (2021), 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. At 24 pages it fits in a short carpet-time slot.
Read-aloud note: stop partway through and ask the class how the little tree feels, and what they would do if they saw it. It leads straight into a talk about including the kid nobody picked.
See The Christmas Tree No One Wanted on Amazon
Stories about kindness
2. The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 32 pages (1990) · Goodreads: 4.13 from 6,996 ratings
Teeka has to get Santa’s reindeer ready for Christmas Eve. Her bossy yelling only gets their antlers tangled, and she learns that kindness works better.
Read-aloud note: Jan Brett’s side borders add to each page, so give the class time to look. Then ask what Teeka should have said instead of yelling.
See The Wild Christmas Reindeer on Amazon
3. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book (1963) · Goodreads: 4.42 from 5,450 ratings
Mr. Willowby’s tree is too tall, so he cuts off the top. The treetop gets passed along again and again, from his maid to his gardener to a bear, a fox, a rabbit and finally a family of mice.
Read-aloud note: a chain story. Ask the class to guess who gets the treetop next, and draw the chain on the board as you go.
See Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree on Amazon
4. Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 40 pages (2017) · Goodreads: 4.41 from 1,730 ratings
Two cardinals live in an evergreen 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.
Read-aloud note: longer, so save it for a full read-aloud block. Ask where the tree is going before you turn the page to the city.
5. Dasher by Matt Tavares
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 40 pages (2019) · Goodreads: 4.23 from 2,403 ratings
Dasher is a young doe in a traveling circus who dreams of snow and the North Star. One night she follows the star until she meets Santa and his tired horse, Silverbell, and offers to help.
Read-aloud note: ask what Dasher is brave about, and what the class would be brave enough to try.
Funny ones
6. Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 40 pages (1997), illustrated by J. Otto Seibold · Goodreads: 4.16 from 8,588 ratings
Olive the dog hears “all of the other reindeer” as “Olive, the other reindeer” and decides she must be one, so she heads to the North Pole.
Read-aloud note: sing the line from the song first. The joke lands once kids hear the mix-up for themselves.
See Olive, the Other Reindeer on Amazon
7. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin
Ages: 3 to 6 · Format: picture book, 34 pages (2012), illustrated by James Dean · Goodreads: 4.18 from 5,704 ratings
Santa is sick, so Pete the Cat steps in to deliver the presents, in a rhyming spin on The Night Before Christmas.
Read-aloud note: the refrain repeats, so the class can chant it with you after the first time.
See Pete the Cat Saves Christmas on Amazon
8. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book, 32 pages (1999) · 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. This one doesn’t end with the fox.
Read-aloud note: read it next to the classic Gingerbread Man and ask the class what changed. The side borders show Matti’s surprise being built, so pause to look.
See Gingerbread Baby on Amazon
9. Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Ages: 3 to 7 · Format: picture book, 32 pages (2005), illustrated by Mark Buehner · Goodreads: 4.21 from 11,767 ratings
In rhyme, snowmen sneak off to celebrate Christmas Eve together while everyone sleeps.
Read-aloud note: the pictures hide shapes in the snow. Tell the class to look for them, and give a minute on each page.
See Snowmen at Christmas on Amazon
Christmas around the world
10. The Christmas Book Flood by Emily Kilgore
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 40 pages (2022), illustrated by Kitty Moss · Goodreads: 4.16 from 928 ratings
Based on Iceland’s Christmas Eve tradition of giving books: the search for just the right book for each person in the family, in time to read together on Christmas Eve.
Read-aloud note: a natural lead-in to a class book swap. Check the author’s note for the history of the tradition.
See The Christmas Book Flood on Amazon
11. Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Ages: 4 to 8 · Format: picture book, 32 pages (1993), illustrated by Ed Martinez · Goodreads: 4.15 from 4,955 ratings
On Christmas Eve Maria slips on her mother’s ring while making tamales. When it goes missing, she and her cousins eat their way through all the tamales to find it.
Read-aloud note: ask the class what foods their families make for the holidays before you start.
See Too Many Tamales on Amazon
For writing and retelling
12. The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan Ahlberg
Ages: 4 to 7 · Format: picture book (1991), illustrated by Janet Ahlberg · Goodreads: 4.50 from 4,427 ratings
The Jolly Postman delivers Christmas letters and cards to fairy-tale characters, and the envelopes in the book open.
Read-aloud note: after reading, have each child make a card for a fairy-tale character. The letters inside are small, so use a document camera if you have one.
See The Jolly Christmas Postman on Amazon
13. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Ages: 3 and up · Format: wordless picture book (1978) · Goodreads: 4.26 from 19,717 ratings
A boy builds a snowman that comes to life at night, and the two fly off together. Told only in pictures.
Read-aloud note: let the class tell the story. Kids who can’t read yet can still say what happens on each page.
For the last day before break
14. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Ages: 4 and up · Format: picture book (1985), Caldecott Medal winner · Goodreads: 4.32 from 250,683 ratings
Late on Christmas Eve a boy boards a train to the North Pole, where Santa gives him a silver bell that only those who believe can hear.
Read-aloud note: a small jingle bell to pass around at the end makes the last page stick.
See The Polar Express on Amazon
15. 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 first printed in 1823 as “A Visit From St. Nicholas.”
Read-aloud note: leave off the last word of a rhyming line and let the class fill it in.
See The Night Before Christmas on Amazon
Questions teachers ask
What is a good Christmas read-aloud for kindergarten? The Christmas Tree No One Wanted is short (24 pages) and starts a talk about kindness. The Wild Christmas Reindeer and Gingerbread Baby are Jan Brett favorites with borders to look at, and The Polar Express suits the last day before break.
What Christmas books teach kindness? The Christmas Tree No One Wanted (a little tree that gets passed over), The Wild Christmas Reindeer (kindness works better than yelling) and Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree (passing something along).
Are there Christmas read-alouds that aren’t religious? Yes. None of these 15 tells the Nativity story. They are about Santa, trees, snow, food and family traditions.
What Christmas books work for a book swap? Read The Christmas Book Flood first, then swap. Short paperbacks like The Christmas Tree No One Wanted are easy for families to send in.
For more by age, see Christmas books for kids: 27 picture books by age and Christmas books for 2 year olds.
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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