Tag: Holiday books

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The Winter Holiday Book List Roundup

The past month I’ve been writing articles on picture books for winter holidays beyond Christmas. I realized that a Christmas book list was always on my mind come December, but I was being one-track-minded and not recognizing that there are plenty of people in the nation and the world that celebrate many other holidays during the winter season.

It was fun to put these different book lists together and learn more about each holiday. I’ve been able to teach my own children more about different holidays as well! Here is the full list of each holiday I covered.

Diwali
Christmas
Hanukkah
Las Posadas
Chinese New Year
Winter Solstice
Kwanzaa
Three Kings’ Day

What picture books do you like best to teach your children about different winter holidays?

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Picture Books For Three Kings’ Day

I am a day late on Three Kings’ Day, I apologize! I was hoping to get this article up on January 6th, the day the holiday is celebrated. However, a mental health day was much needed, so therefore this post is a day late. However, I still feel it is an important one and should not be put off another year! So here it is! Picture books to read for Three Kings Day. 

Celebrate Christmas and Three Kings’ Day with Pablo and Carlitos 

The Story of the Three Wise Kings 

Hurray for Three Kings’ Day!

What other books do you like to read to your class about Three Kings’ Day? Is this a holiday that is represented or celebrated in your classroom? 

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Picture Books For Kwanzaa

This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.

Kwanzaa has officially started! Kwanzaa is from December 26th- January 1st. Here are some of the picture books I was drawn to that you can read during the holiday and can teach you and your students more about it! 

The Seven Days Of Kwanzaa is a spin-off of the popular 12 Day of Christmas but adapted for Kwanzaa. The rhyming keeps listeners engaged!

Kevin’s Kwanzaa I was instantly drawn to this book because of the bright pictures! A cute book following the Kwanzaa celebration of Kevin’s family. 

Li’l Rabbit’s Kwanzaa A book about a cute little rabbit family celebrating Kwanzaa. 

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story is a fun story about a family using the seven principles of Kwanzaa to come together. 

What other books do you like to read to your students regarding Kwanzaa!? 

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Picture Books For Winter Solstice

This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.

Winter Solstice! The day is known by many as the shortest day of the year but celebrated by the Pagan religion. Here are my favorite picture books to celebrate the day. 

Wintercake: A cute story about a bear teaching why holiday traditions are important. 

This cute YouTube story about the winter solstice and the tradition this small family has 

A Solstice Tree for Jenny: A book about Jenny, who’s family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, so they adopt the celebration of Winter Solstice instead. It’s great for including many different winter celebrations beyond Christmas! 

The First Day of Winter: This book doesn’t explicitly teach Winter Solstice, but it’s a fun, catchy book that can be the lead for great conversations about what the first day of winter is. 

Snow Party: Such a fun book to visualize snowmen coming together to party on a snowy night! 

Winter solstice is such a fun holiday that deserves representation in picture books too! What are some of your favorite picture books to read for Winter Solstice? 

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Picture Books For Chinese New Year

This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.

Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is still a few months away, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be added to our list of holiday picture books! These books were fun to look up and discover new titles. The Chinese culture has so much to offer and learn about, so let’s dive into my top favorites!

The Runaway Wok

Ruby’s Chinese New Year

A New Year’s Reunion

Look! What Do You See?

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

What books are you reading for Chinese New Year? 

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Picture Books For Los Posadas

This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.

Happy first day of Los Posadas! This holiday celebrates the journey Mary and Joseph made to give birth to the baby Jesus, celebrated in Mexico and parts of the United States. Here are some fun picture books to read during this holiday! 

Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada! This book is fun because it incorporates Spanish and English and teaches someone who is not familiar with Los Posadas what the holiday entails. 

A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas A cute spin on the Twelve Days of Christmas from a Latino perspective celebrating Los Posadas. 

The Legend of the Poinsettia This book is longer, but a great one for learning about poinsettias and why they are significant to Los Posadas. 

Nine Days to Christmas: I really love the simplicity of the illustrations in this book. It’s another great one to learn more about Los Posadas! 

What are some of your favorite Los Posadas picture books to read?

Cover photo from tuscon.com

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Hanukkah Picture Books

This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.

Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah started yesterday, December 10th, so let’s celebrate with a list of picture books to read during this festive time! 

Hanukkah Bear- A book about Hanukkah, delicious food, and a fun bear! Such a cute read. 

Latke, The Lucky Dog– A mischievous dog that goes through the day of Hanukkah with his new family. 

The Story of Hanukkah- This one gives a good background on where Hanukkah came from and why we celebrate it. A fun history book with beautiful illustrations! 

How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?- A fun, familiar series of books with a Hanukkah version. This book gives the non-examples of how to act on Hanukkah for kids but then finishes by showing a great example of what to do, by taking turns and being respectful. 

Meet the Latkes- I love that this book starts with some history behind the holiday before it begins. Such a fun book! This read aloud was one of my favorites I’ve watched so far, so check out this video by Mrs. Lemansky. 

What are some of your favorite Hanukkah read alouds?