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Five Books for December

December is perfect for mood reading.

Put the children in bed. Make that cup of tea. Curl up with a fuzzy blanket. Grab a wonderful Christmas book and lose yourself in another world.

Sounds perfect to me!

OR… make some hot chocolate, grab a few Christmas cookies, gather your children and enjoy a wonderful read-aloud.

That ALSO sounds perfect to me!

I hope these five suggestions (some for adults, some for children!) provide hours of Christmas relaxation and joy for you this year!

Five Books for December

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry

This lovely story (although not technically a “Christmas” story) has a cozy Christmas feel. It is a novel that combines historical facts and fiction. And, if you are a CS Lewis/Narnia fan - or even want to learn more about CS Lewis in a very non-threatening way - this is the book for you!

We follow Megs, a 17-year-old student, in her quest to find out the answer to her question of CS Lewis, “Where did Narnia come from?”. Megs has a very special reason for asking this question, and therein lies the beauty of the book.

Through a relationship with CS Lewis and his brother Warnie, Megs learns and grows so much more than she had ever intended - and her family is changed as well.

This was my favorite book of 2021; I will be rereading it this December, too!

* While there is nothing inappropriate in this story for children, I think it’s best for high schoolers and adults because of some difficult subject matter.

I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge

Are you familiar with Elizabeth Goudge? I discovered her a couple of years ago and quickly fell in love with her writing. Born in England in 1900, she is a writer for children and adults.

Her novel The Dean’s Watch is one of my top five books of all time.

This book is wonderful for CHILDREN and adults. Set on the south coast of England it is a redemptive story (as are so many of Goudge’s books). It is a sweet, tender story that could be gobbled up in one sitting.

Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini

I love a book where I learn something I had NO IDEA about before! This book was inspired by Longfellow’s poem “Christmas Bells”. A work of historical fiction, Chiaverini’s book takes us to 1863 when Longfellow’s family suffers a deep tragedy.

Through all of the loss and hardship, Longfellow retains his patriotism and his power as an author. You will want to read the poem and listen to the hymn. In fact, after you read the book, go ahead and watch Longfellow’s Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle.

This is a book for just you, the adult to enjoy.

The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus by Frank Baum

This children’s book is classic L. Frank Baum (author of The Wizard of Oz), from 1902. It details the adoption of the abandoned infant Santa by a nymph through his later career and immortality/fame. Santa’s life in this book includes the first toys, stockings, Christmas trees, and other Christmas traditions.

It’s a charming book - albeit with a few scary parts. If you like a classic Victorian children’s novel with beautiful illustrations, this is wonderful! As with any literature about Santa, I would peruse through this before reading aloud to your children. No spoilers about Santa, but it might raise questions!

I know this is intended for children, but I read it as an adult and loved it, too! But then again - isn’t that a good test of a children’s book?

The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne

Grab the tissues - this one might be a tear-jerker for you. It will also be a book you will want to give as a gift for years to come.

We witness the adventures of Molar and his brother Aaron as they volunteer in the terminally ill department of a children's hospital in the weeks before Christmas. One of the patients, Katrina always wears a paper bag over her head when Molar and his brother visit because she thinks she is ugly- who would want to see her face?

In addition to Katrina we get to meet other children on the ward. You will be inspired by them and also by Molar and Aaron.

This book is perfect for upper elementary children all the way through adults. In fact, I think it’s best to be shared as a read-aloud with the entire family.

Do you have a favorite book to read in December?

Share it in the comments below!

You might also like:

All The Books

What Will My Homeschooler Remember?

Five Books for December

August 2020 Reading Recap

Raise your hand if you hide from your family so you can finish a book!

(I don’t actually “hide” - but sometimes folding the laundry or cleaning up in a specific room might take me a bit longer than usual.)

I feel strongly about homeschool parents reading - reading widely and well. It’s fun to keep track of the books I’ve read and now start to look at patterns - which genres I choose and why - and how those patterns coincide with current events and the events going on in my own life.

Reading also helps me become well-educated - it assists me in my quest to figure out what I think is important for my children to know.

 Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.— Nora Ephron

I read for all of the same reasons as Nora Ephron - “Reading is bliss!".

August Reading Recap at Homegrown Learners

I accomplished a lot of reading in August thanks to audiobooks. This has been a huge change for me in the past year, and when people tell me they just can’t pay attention long enough for an audiobook I tell them I had to TRAIN myself to listen.

Whether it is my son reading aloud to me (and I’m modeling listening) or I’m listening to an audiobook, listening is a SKILL that you are never too old to cultivate. I believe this skill of listening is translating to more than just books, too.

Books Read in August

August’s books were a mix of historical fiction (my favorite genre), homeschool development, memoir, and fiction. Intentionally I also pulled in a cozy mystery and fantasy, too.

Historical Fiction

I would recommend every book in this category! Each taught me something about a particular time period in history and added to my body of knowledge.

When We Were Young & Brave was probably my favorite - it is a story I knew NOTHING about - the internment teachers and children in a British run missionary school in Japan during WWII.

Homeschool Development

Memoir

  • The Beauty in Breaking

    I never go wrong with a Book of the Month Club selection. I love my membership in BOTM because I’m always guaranteed a good read that many other readers will be discussing, too. This memoir, by an African American doctor working in Emergency Room medicine, opened my eyes to a problem in our health care system that desperately needs to be fixed. It also addressed issues of racism and inequality in our healthcare system.

    (If you use my BOTM Club link you can get a discount on your first order.)

Fiction

Genres I Wouldn’t Normally Read

Both of these books were a pleasant surprise for me.

The first is a fantasy and the second is a cozy mystery.

I found 7 of the Maisie Dobbs books at a thrift store for $.50 each and I will definitely be reading all of them! (Apparently, this was quite the find because a lot of avid readers have been telling me how jealous they are.)

The House in the Cerulean Sea was one of my favorite audios of all time - it was just so whimsical and magical! Normally I don’t enjoy reading those types of books on my own, but I’m thinking maybe I’m wrong about that!

“Bookish” Necessities

A lot of followers on my bookish Instagram account requested I share about some of my book accessories.

Sigh. Yes, I have “bookish” accessories and my family thinks I’ve gone round the bend.

  • My favorite book light - this light keeps my marriage intact because it allows me to read late into the night while I’m in bed without disturbing my husband. I love it.

  • The iBeani - this is a great little beanbag for my iPad or Kindle - I can prop either device in it while I’m reading in bed or sitting on the sofa. There is also a pocket for your phone. I can see this being a GREAT gift for a college student! (see the carousel below for a picture of mine - I got the cute forest animals print that you see in the picture and it’s ADORABLE!)

Do you have a favorite book right now?

Tell me about it in the comments below!

August 2020 Reading Recap at Homegrown Learners