Sleigh bells ring. People pleading for some gifts made for reading. They’re new and they’re old and festively told: stories for a winter wonderland.* Here’s our annual list of recommended illustrated holiday books, new or reissued — season’s greetings from the Horn Book staff! *with apologies to lyricist Jeremy Stuart...
Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten; illus. by Garry Meeches Sr. Primary Charlesbridge 32 pp. g 8/22 978-1-62354-290-0 $16.99 “Many Americans call it a day of thanksgiving. Many of our people call it a day of mourning.” A team of Native creators provides...
Clarice Bean: Think like an Elf by Lauren Child; illus. by the author Primary, Intermediate Candlewick 240 pp. g 9/22 978-1-5362-2365-1 $19.99 Clarice Bean fans rejoice: the star of highly illustrated chapter books (and of picture books) brings her trademark exuberant stream-of-consciousness narration (with occasional sly...
When Santa Came to Stay by Billy Sharff; illus. by Eda Kaban Primary Dial 40 pp. g 10/22 978-0-593-32523-0 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-32524-7 $10.99 “Each meal was full of Christmas cheer, / With treats and sweets to spare.” What happens when Santa returns to one family’s house on New...
The Night Before The Nutcracker by John Robert Allman; illus. by Julianna Swaney Primary Doubleday 40 pp. g 9/22 978-0-593-18091-4 $18.99 Library ed. 978-0-593-18092-1 $21.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-18117-1 $10.99 Presented by American Ballet Theatre. A Clement C. Moore–inspired text and lively illustrations offer a tantalizing look at the...
Twelve Dinging Doorbells by Tameka Fryer Brown; illus. by Ebony Glenn Primary Kokila/Penguin 32 pp. g 10/22 978-1-9848-1517-0 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-1518-7 $10.99 “At the first dinging doorbell this holiday I see… / a sweet potato pie just for me!” In this delightful takeoff on “The Twelve Days...
The Best Gift for Bear by Jennifer A. Bell; illus. by the author Preschool Two Lions/Amazon 40 pp. g 9/22 978-1-5420-2922-3 $17.99 Hedgehog has been baking cookies for her friends and neighbors, but “Bear should have a grand gift, a special gift, something wonderful…just like Bear.” Nothing...
The Perfect Tree by Corinne Demas; illus. by Penelope Dullaghan Preschool, Primary Cameron/Abrams 32 pp. g 10/22 978-1-951836-42-9 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-647007-95-9 $15.54 It’s the day before Christmas, and Bunny is searching for the perfect tree, one that is just her size. Along the way...
Season of Light by Jess Redman; illus. by Ramona Kaulitzki Preschool, Primary Farrar 40 pp. g 9/22 978-0-374-31460-6 $18.99 Redman’s lyrical rhyming text describes with anticipation the preparations that take place before Christmas. She showcases common traditions of the holiday that explain why this is a...
Pookie’s Thanksgiving [Little Pookie] by Sandra Boynton; illus. by the author Preschool Boynton Bookworks/Simon 18 pp. g 9/22 978-1-6659-2263-0 $6.99 On Thanksgiving Day, Little Pookie (Spooky Pookie; Merry Christmas, Little Pookie) helps make apple and pumpkin pies and sets the table with his parents before Nemmy and Boppa...