Sunday, December 11, 2011

Christmas Board Books for Babies

My granddaughter Julia Anna

Since I'm a new grandma, I've been looking for some Christmas books that I can read to my granddaughter Julia while she is just a wee one. Here are some of the books that I got for my little sunshine recently:



Merry Christmas, Ollie!
Written & illustrated by Olivier Dunrea

Gossie, Gertie, BooBoo, and Peedie the goslings are all waiting for Christmas…I mean waiting for Father Christmas Goose. They all hang their stockings in the barn…and wait. Ollie is not quite as patient. He stomps through the snow and shouts, “I want Christmas!” He stomps to the other goslings and asks, “Is Christmas here yet?” The other goslings assure Ollie that father Christmas Goose IS coming.

When Gossie, Gertie, BooBoo, and Peedie hear father Christmas Goose, they scurry to their nests. But not Ollie. He hops through the snow. He listens. He looks. He waits…and waits—and, finally, Ollie hears the jingling of bells and someone wishing him a Merry Christmas.

Click here to look inside this book.


Get Dressed, Santa!
Written & illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Written in rhyming verse, this is a humorous tale of Santa getting dressed before he sets off to deliver presents on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, once Santa has put on his pants and mittens and hat and heads out the door, he realizes that he has to GO— to the bathroom, that is. Then he has to punt down his pack, take off his jacket, and take care of business. Finally, Santa gets dressed and again and lifts off into the sky in his sleigh pulled by reindeer.

Click here to look inside this book.

Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Written by Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Jane Chapman

Bears animal friends wake Bear up so he can enjoy the holiday festivities. They keep Bear busy doing things so he won’t fall back to asleep. They stomp through the woods to get a tree. They pop corn and string it on the tree in Bear’s lair. They bake fruitcake, hang up their stockings, cuddle together and sing songs until a bright star begins to glow. Then all of Bear’s friends doze off and he is the only one who remains awake.

Bear busies himself baking, wrapping presents, and piling up presents under the tree. Bear is so engrossed in his work that he doesn’t even see Santa –who is leaving presents for the forest creatures in their stockings. When Bear’s friends awaken in the morning, Bear shows them what he did while they slumbered. They shout with glee as they open their gifts. Then Wren discovers that Santa has left them presents too. More joy!

Finally, there is one last gift to be opened. It’s something for Bear—a quilt just his size. Bear snuggles up in the quilt and falls asleep once again.

Written in the same rhyming style as the other popular Bear books created by Wilson and Chapman, this light-hearted Christmas tale is sure to charm little ones.
Click here to look inside this book.

Christmas in the Manger
Written by Nola Buck
Illustrated by Felicia Bond
This book about the visitors who came to see the baby Jesus in Bethlehem is written in verse and has spare illustrations. It provides a simple, uncomplicated version of the Christmas story for wee ones.
Here is how the book begins:
I am the star
that shines in the east,
I light the stable
For man and beast.

I am the donkey,
Soft and gray,
I carried his mother
From far away.

Click here to look inside this book.

Baby’s Very First Touchy-Feely Christmas Book
Illustrated by Stella Baggott
Designed by Katrina Fearn

The Christmas objects that babies can touch and feel in this little board book include: a prickly tree, a a shiny present, a fuzzy sack, and a soft stocking.

For Older Little Ones
Christmas in the Mouse House
By Maggie Kneen

This is a charming book with lift-the-flaps and pop-ups. What young child doesn’t love books with these features! I still remember the Christmas pop-up book that I got when I was about five. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! I still have it today. It’s stored in a bin somewhere in my house.

ReaderTotz has a nice review of this book. Click here to read it.

2 comments:

Linda B said...

Thanks Elaine! Since I have a new granddaughter about the same age, I'm always glad to find new ideas. These look great. Merry Christmas with your Julia Anna!

Elaine Magliaro said...

Thanks, Linda! I've already begun reading Julia the board books that I got for her baby shower.