Christmas Read Alouds for Kindergarten: The Best Holiday Books to Spread Christmas Cheer
When the holiday season rolls around, there’s nothing quite like cozying up on your favorite school reading chair with your kindergarteners, twinkling Christmas lights hung on your whiteboard, and a stack of Christmas picture books ready to share. Whether you’re teaching in the classroom or at home, read-aloud books during this time of year are pure magic. I’ve always loved picking out the best Christmas books to share with my students. You can head to your local library to grab so many of these favorite books or you can usually find inexpensive ones on Amazon to add to your classroom bookshelf for years to come. New books are some of my favorite boxes to open! These Christmas read alouds for kindergarten bring joy, laughter, and the true meaning of Christmas to your little learners, all while sneaking in literacy skills like comprehension, sequencing, and retelling. From timeless tales like The Polar Express to silly favorites like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this blog post rounds up the best Christmas books for young children plus hands-on activities and holiday crafts to make this Christmas season unforgettable.
(Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)
The Christmas Spirit Struggle Bus
Every teacher knows the issues that can arise in this busy month. December is packed with Christmas carols, special events, and short attention spans. Finding the perfect book that holds younger kids’ attention, reinforces standards, and keeps that holiday spirit alive can feel like a Christmas miracle. You want fun stories that also help students practice comprehension and sequencing without adding hours of prep to your already overflowing Christmas break to-do list.
That’s where this list comes in. These read-alouds are teacher-tested, kid-approved, and pair beautifully with easy-to-prep TPT resources for storytelling, writing, and even some super fun STEM fun!
The Ultimate Christmas Book List
Grab your cocoa (and marshmallows, of course!) and cue the Christmas cheer. Here are my favorite children’s Christmas books for kindergarten. Of course so many of these will work for a variety of grade levels too.
1. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
A beloved book that captures the spirit of Christmas and the magic of the North Pole, The Polar Express is such a great book to teach sequencing, visualization, and the concept of belief. Follow the young boy on his train ride to meet Santa Claus and hear the sweet jingle of Santa’s reindeer. Your kids will be dreaming of a ride on Santa’s sleigh after this one!
Teaching Tip: After reading, have students write or draw what their own Christmas wish would be if they took the train to the North Pole.
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
This great story teaches about kindness and the true meaning of Christmas. It’s also a fun twist on traditional Christmas carols! Students love retelling how the Grinch stole Christmas, then found his heart growing three sizes. If you’re brave enough, try dressing up like your favorite characters from the story. I pulled my hair up in a crazy up-do like the little girl, Cindy Lou Who for book character day one year and the kids got the biggest kick out of it!
Extension Idea: Compare the original story to the animated version. Discuss how the Grinch changes. This is such a fun story to tie-in SEL activities with!
3. Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
This sweet story of Bear’s friends helping him stay awake for the big day is a great Christmas book for talking about friendship and giving. If you’ve been around the blog for long, you know that Karma Wilson is one of my favorite children’s authors. Her rhyming is fantastic. I was reading this book one year and happened to notice the author’s dedication. It’s a really special one where she dedicates the book to Jane Chapman, her illustrator. The dedication says something about how looking at her illustrations are just like opening presents on Christmas morning. Don’t you just love that? I love to point that out to the kids while we talk about author and illustrator roles.
I had a friend who was a fantastic reading interventionist. (In fact, she taught me in elementary school!) She used to come to my classroom to read books aloud to my kids when she had a few extra minutes. She would have the whole class say, “the bear snores on!” each time she came to that section of the text. The kids love to be involved that way. In this book, they would be saying, “and the bear stays up!” (Of course, Bear is tempted to fall back asleep and hibernate.) Another thing she asked her students to do was to act out the verbs in the book. One important concept for kindergarten is to recognize the different shades of meaning when it comes to verbs. We would act out tromped, stomped, snores, etc. You can quickly call them back to the carpet and they love that so much!
Follow-Up Activity: Use sequencing cards or create a class book showing what happens when Bear stays up. It’s adorable and reinforces comprehension!
4. Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle
This cute story is filled with counting, rhythm, and Christmas cheer. Kids can help count Christmas lights as Little Blue Truck delivers trees. It’s a fun tradition that younger students adore. I’m always surprised when I speak at conferences and mention this book, how many people have never heard of the Little Blue Truck series. I can say with confidence, that every single book in this series is wonderful! Definitely a must have for any kindergarten or preschool classroom!
The best part of Little Blue Truck’s Christmas that there is a big surprise in the end. When you turn the last page, there is a Christmas tree that twinkles with colorful lights. The kids always gasp with delight!
I use this book to teach subtraction. Last year, I started with 5 pine trees drawn on the whiteboard. Each time Little Blue delivers a tree, we put an X over one of the trees. I would then write a math sentence, such as 5 – 1 = 4. We continued this throughout the book.
Amazon Link: Little Blue Truck’s Christmas (affiliate link)
5. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
This sweet little story is all about sharing, generosity, and recycling, wrapped up in a charming tale about one too-tall Christmas tree. Each time it’s trimmed, it brings joy to a new home, even to a little mouse family. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree will delight every young listener!
Lesson Connection: Discuss cause and effect. What happens each time someone cuts the tree?
6. The Littlest Reindeer by Brandi Dougherty
Perfect for younger kids, this adorable story reminds us that even the smallest reindeer can do big things, such a great confidence builder for little learners.
Amazon Link: The Littlest Reindeer
7. Cat Saves Christmas by Sue Staunton
A fun book with a silly story twist! The cat becomes the unexpected hero. This book is great for discussing problem and solution, and for introducing holiday books beyond the classics.
8. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
For older kids, this short Christmas chapter book is a heartwarming story about unexpected kindness. The rowdy Herdmans teach us what the true meaning of Christmas really looks like. You may have seen the movie that was released in theaters fairly recently.
9. Stinky Face’s Christmas Wish by Lisa McCourt
A silly book with heart! I Love You, Stinky Face fans will adore this Christmas theme version, filled with imaginative “what if” questions.
10. The Spirit of Christmas by Nancy Tillman
A beautiful, beloved book that pairs lyrical language with stunning illustrations. It’s a good choice for quiet reflection right before Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
Favorite TPT Resources to Pair with Your Read-Alouds
Now that you have your Christmas book list, let’s make them interactive! These teacher-tested resources are a great way to extend comprehension, sequencing, and retelling all December long.
The Gingerbread Man Retell Activities, Masks, Puppets & Crafts
Practice retell, writing, and sequencing with this jam-packed Gingerbread Man unit! Includes adorable crafts, masks, puppets, vocabulary cards, and a Gingerbread Salt Dough recipe.
Why Teachers Love It: Differentiated pages + BME printables make it perfect for young children and older kids alike.
Christmas Story File Folder Games
These holiday books come alive in file folder games featuring The Night Before Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, The Elves & the Shoemaker, and The Gingerbread Man.
Each folder includes pockets, labels, and background scenes in color or black & white. These are great for independent work or center rotations!
Christmas Retell Bundle for Google Slides™
Over 200 interactive slides with sound! Students click and drag characters to retell famous Christmas storieslike ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Gingerbread Man, Elves & the Shoemaker, and 12 Days of Christmas.
These games are perfect for younger kids, ESL learners, or other wiggly learners during Christmas break.
The Gingerbread Man Boom Cards™ Digital Retell
A self-checking version of the above! Students drag, drop, and retell right on their device. These are so much fun and no prep required. The Boom Cards are a little more kid friendly in my opinion.
Christmas STEM & Activities Bundle
Add hands-on holiday fun with easy STEM challenges, writing activities, and more. The best way to integrate holiday cheer with learning!
Holiday Crafts for Any Christmas Read Aloud
Low-Prep Big Christmas Crafts Pack →
Mega Holiday Craft Bundle →
Pair any Christmas story with these big crafts and writing pages. This bundle gives you more seasonal options at a better deal. Perfect for bulletin boards or Christmas gifts from students to parents.
Freebie: Birth of Jesus Digital Retell (Google Slides™ + Boom Cards™)
Grab the Freebie →
Boom Cards Freebie →
A sweet story that helps children practice sequencing and comprehension while learning about baby Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. Every slide has sound so it makes a perfect gift for your December lessons.
If you’re planning your lesson plans for the month of December, start with your favorite Christmas books, add one of these retell activities, and sprinkle in some holiday crafts or STEM fun.
Your students will practice key skills, and you’ll bring the holiday spirit to every storytime.
Pin this post so you can come back to it each Christmas time!
Author: hilarystatum
