Wholesome Christmas Books for Children

Adding wholesome, values-based children's books to your home library that you don't have to pre-read and vet is only made possible by Big Sky Life Books' strict vetting process.

The Christmas season...a time for decking the halls, baking cookies and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Catching snowflakes with your tongue, hot chocolate, classic movies, and Christmas lights. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, be sure to add some wholesome books to your season for lasting memories with your children and grandchildren.

With chestnuts roasting on an open fire, pile those sweet children on your lap and read a wholesome story they'll always remember. These six hardcover Christmas stories are available individually or sold as a collection. The cherished stories are just as much for adults as they are for children and a few may have you grabbing for a box of tissues!

Warm stories of giving and thinking of others - stories of gratefulness and genuine kindness. In a culture that has children wanting more and more for themselves, read captivating stories that tell what life was like during hard times...times when family meant more than any amount of gifts underneath the Christmas tree. Times when an orange for Christmas was a rare and delicious treat. Enjoy stories that encourage children to think of blessing others during the holiday season.

Christmas Children's Book Collection

An Orange for Frankie

This wholesome book teaches compassion and kindness through a story set in the early 1900's during a time when a fresh orange was a very big deal to some families. When young Frankie's father travels by horse and buggy to meet the train from Florida to obtain the gift of precious oranges, the snow piles high and they fear their father will not return home.

The family lived close to a train, so homeless men would visit them for warm drinks. Frankie sees a man wearing a thread-bare jacket and gives him a treasured sweater that had been hand-knitted by his sister.

This story with warm illustrations perfectly captures the delights of holiday preparation and family togetherness.

The Carpenter's Gift

This modern classic Christmas story teaches children the spirit of the season by bringing together the New York City Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the neighbor-helping-neighbor program of Habitat for Humanity. The dedication states: "To those who give without looking back and those who receive without forgetting.”

Opening in Depression-era New York City, The Carpenter's Gift tells the story of eight-year-old Henry and his father selling Christmas trees. They give a Christmas tree to construction workers building Rockefeller Center and celebrate together. Through the kindness of the construction workers and neighbors, Henry gets his wish for a nice, warm home to replace his family's drafty shack. He plants a pinecone from that first Rockefeller Center Tree. As an old man, Henry repays the gift by donating the enormous tree that has grown from that pinecone to become a Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. After bringing joy to thousands as the Rockefeller Center tree, its wood will be used to build a home for another family in need.

This wholesome picture book is full of beautiful vintage illustrations that bring the story to life. Children see a little boy who doesn't have much during the Great Depression. He doesn't have a warm bed with a room full of toys. And yet, he finds joy in working alongside his father. His dad borrows a pick-up truck and they spend the day cutting down Christmas trees to sell...and what happens on Christmas morning will have you grabbing for the box of tissues!

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

This is the story of Jonathan Toomey -- or 'Mr. Gloomy' as the children called him. He is a widower who lost his wife and son tragically to illness. However, he's an excellent wood carver and one day a young widow and her son come to visit Jonathan with a special request for his services.

The little family had lost a treasured family heirloom - a nativity scene - in their recent move. The woman and her son ask Jonathan if he could carve a new set by Christmas. The man gloomily agrees and the little boy is so eager to watch that he and his mother come often to watch the nativity scene take shape.

This is a heartfelt story of companionship and kindness. The widow and her son bring joy to Jonathan Toomey during a time that is very difficult for him. They to show up with gifts and goodies and spend time with someone that the villagers seemed to avoid.

The holidays can be a difficult time for so many people. This book helps children see the importance of taking the focus off of ourselves and thinking of others...and blessing them. After reading this book, have your children help you think of ways to bless others during the holiday season!

Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story

This is a touching and beautiful 'pay it forward' Christmas story that opens up the ideas of 'want' versus 'need' and unconditional giving.

The story tells of a wealthy man who was traveling through the mountains and had an accident. The townspeople saved his life and every year to repay their kindness, he sends out a train full of gifts, and tosses silver packages off the train to the children.

The beautiful illustrations capture the setting and tenderly illustrate this heart-felt story of hope and the significance of giving with no strings attached.

This little boy hoped each Christmas for one particular gift...and yet how many children have a long list of gifts they wish to receive each Christmas? This is a great story to spur on conversations with your children as well.

The Little Fir Tree

A lovely book about a boy whose lame leg doesn't allow for him to be outside to get a tree for Christmas. Every December, his father goes out in the snow and digs up the same lonely little tree for his boy, bringing it inside for Christmas and taking it back outside again and re-rooting it each spring. And every Christmas, this little tree becomes part of a little boy's Christmas celebration.

They put golden tinsel on his branches
And golden bells
And green icicles
And silver stars
And red and green and blue and purple chains of shining Christmas balls.

This treasured story's warm, glowing paintings capture the true heart of Christmas.

The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll

Family, sharing, and the Great Depression are major concepts of this story. A wonderful story about appreciating what you have and the sacrifices of your loved ones.

Nella's family is poor - but that doesn't stop her from hoping that this year she and her two sisters will get a beautiful Baby Betty doll. She feels that if she gets this doll, she won't need anything else in the world!

On Christmas morning, the girls are beside themselves with excitement! There is Baby Betty, in all her eyelash-fluttering magnificence. "Mine!" Nella shouts, and claims the doll for herself. But her Daddy had given the girls the gift of sharing that Christmas. One doll for all of them to share. The girls learn a valuable lesson on how important family is and how sharing and playing together is so much more fun!

Summary

These six hardcover picture books are my absolute favorites! Wholesome stories to instill character and values in our children. Each book is full of absolutely beautiful, realistic illustrations that capture the moment perfectly. The stories are age-less. Add these books to your holiday bookshelf and read them to your children and grandchildren.

You can find these books in our Christmas Timeless Stories Collection or sold individually in our Christmas book category.

Shopping for board books for a baby this Christmas? Check out Baby's First Christmas Board Book collection here.

Enjoy these wonderful Christmas stories!

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