I often see people looking for Christmas book recommendations, especially stories to share with children. In this post, I want to give a few suggestions of books that fit the following criteria:

1) Not very long (I tend to see readers looking for short books around Christmastime, and usually that’s what I want too!)

2) Vintage vibes (of course)

3) Easy enough to find

Let’s begin!

1. MOLLY’S SURPRISE (1986): My favorite of all the American Girl Christmas books is this third Molly book by Valerie Tripp. It’s so cozy, vintage, and yet with an emotional thread throughout. Best of all, it has a very happy ending! (I don’t like sad Christmas stories. 😉 )

2. TIN CAN SERENADE (2013) by Amanda Dykes: Look no further than this short story for a warm Christmas tale with wonderful cast of child and adult characters. It’s also completely free on Kindle!

3. NOEL STREATFEILD’S CHRISTMAS STORIES (2018): This is a wonderful collection of holiday stories from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes and so many other favorites. Several of them feature dancing and acting, which of course were Noel’s specialties.

4. THE TWENTY-FOUR DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1964) by Madeleine L’Engle is a book I discovered last Christmas and enjoyed so much! It’s the prequel (written later, I believe?) to Meet the Austins, which I also loved. A sweet story of a little girl who is uncertain about the birth of her younger sibling as Christmas approaches.

5. THE LIGHT AT TERN ROCK (1951) by Julia Sauer is a little-known Newbery novel that is atmospheric and thought-provoking, and set at a lighthouse. What could be better? 🙂

6. FROM ANNA (1972) by Jean Little: This moving story of a nine-year-old girl who is uprooted from Germany in the 1930s and forced to come to terms with her limited eyesight is one of the finest Christmas stories I’ve ever read.

A bonus: if you haven’t yet read the Melendy Quartet by Elizabeth Enright, there are magnificent Christmas chapters in The Four-Story Mistake and Spiderweb for Two! Take a look at these dazzling quotes from Four-Story:

Randy threw her arms around Cuffy’s neck. “Oh, I love Christmas Eve!” she cried. “Even better than Christmas I love it. Because everything’s just about to happen!”

and:

” … there was the lighted Christmas tree, come into its own at last: a shimmering mirage, a tree of Paradise, a pyramid of jewels.”

What books do you love to read as Christmas draws near? Let me know in the comments!