Christmas time is here and like most people, I’ve already started gathering gifts for family and friends. Every year we fill our kids’ stockings with odds and ends: toothbrushes, little trinkets, silly putty, tiny stuffed animals, and always a book. Sometimes it’s a holiday book; other times it’s a book we think they’d enjoy. But every year I start perusing the children’s literature in search of the right book for each child that Christmas.
This year, I want to share a few books that our family has vetted and thoroughly enjoyed that would make great gifts for the kids in your life.
When God Made You and When God Made Light by Matthew Paul Turner. These two books have been frequent gifts from our family to others over the last two years. Matthew Paul Turner is a brilliant lyrical author whose rhyme and verse is easy to read while simultaneously sharing difficult theological truths. Both books have vibrant illustrations and are great for early readers. And I must confess, I get teary-eyed reading When God Made You to my kids almost every time, so have a tissue nearby.
ColorFull: Celebrating the Colors God Gave Us and ThoughtFull: Discovering the Unique Gifts in Each of Us by Dorena Williamson. Our family loves Dorena Williamson’s books because they help us talk about topics that are more difficult to address with our kids. ThoughtFull is a story about awareness and friendship with those who are differently abled. And ColorFull was our kids’ favorite of the two because the story celebrates two girls’ different skin tones and God’s creativity throughout creation. Since we’re an adoptive family, our children don’t have the same skin color, and it was encouraging for them to see our family’s differences celebrated. This is an excellent book and an easy onramp to talk about race with your kids.
Here is a beautiful boxset of two books that our family loves: Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around The World and Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison. These two stunning books have gorgeous illustrations, and they will introduce your child to 80 women in history who have used their creativity and intelligence to the change the world.
God’s Very Good Idea by Trillia Newbell tells the story of God’s very good idea in making a rescue plan for our world. We love this book because not only does it tell the story of God’s salvation, but it shows how God’s family, the church, is beautifully unique. Catalina Echeverri is the illustrator, and we love her work—it’s vibrant, engaging, and my kids love looking at all the pictures.
If you’re looking for a book to give your children before Christmas to help celebrate Advent, I highly recommend Ann Voskamp’s The Wonder of the Greatest Gift: An Interactive Family Celebration of Advent. Again, here is another aesthetically stunning book that will help walk your family through the wonder of the advent season. This advent giftset includes a pop-up Jesse Tree with ornaments to hang for each day of advent and a small book with daily readings. Our family used this last year, and our kids couldn’t wait to start again this year!
And lastly, here is another book that would make a great Christmas gift to open early and use throughout the next few weeks, or it’s a great one to give as a gift to read on Christmas morning. This is the Christmas Story by Kids Read Truth was released this year and will be one that sits under our tree on Christmas morning. I’ve read through it, and it is an excellent book on teaching your children the whole Christmas Story, from the promise God made to Abraham and David all the way to the nativity.
Tis the season for gift-giving, and if you’re like me, you like to give gifts that both delight and inspire. So, consider adding a book to that gift for the child in your life. You can’t go wrong with any of the books above.
Merry Christmas and happy reading!
