Christmas book bonanza
The last months of the year are undoubtably the busiest in the publishing and bookselling world. The big blockbusters for holiday reading, the gifts for under the Christmas tree, the beautiful recipe books for those who harbour fond hopes of cooking a lot while on their summer break.
And thankfully, there is also a plethora of books for children hitting the shelves. Books make the best Christmas gifts and matching the book to the right young reader is a special pleasure.
Here are four picture books to choose from, for those little readers in your life.
The Christmas Tree Catastrophe by Emma Bowd and Matt Shanks is a funny, light-hearted story of a crooked Christmas tree, bickering baubles, a grumpy nutcracker and a cat-and-mouse chase that goes terribly wrong. With a nod to the classic ‘The Night Before Christmas’, this rollicking poem positions a clever little gingerbread man and some nifty geometry as rescuers, restoring everything to its rightful place before Santa’s arrival.
Published by HarperCollins Children’s books.
This is an Elf by Beck & Matt Stanton is absolutely a book that begs to be read aloud. It posits nonsense ‘facts’ which are humorously contradicted by the bright, simple illustrations.
Kids will adore shouting ‘NO!!!’ as pages ask them to agree that a candle is a Christmas tree and a reindeer an elf. It’s a fun scramble through Christmas icons, turning each of them on their head.
Published by ABC Kids, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books.
A Barney and Gumnut Christmas explores different Christmas experiences as the koala, Barney, is asked by his furry and feathered friends ‘What does Christmas actually mean?’
Is it celebrating with friends, getting and giving presents, swimming in the creek, games and naps, Christmas food, decorations, camping and making wishes on a shooting star? Perhaps it can be any or all of those things. The four friends find their own ways to share their Christmas ideas together.
This one is a large format books, which allows the gentle, detailed illustrations to really shine.
Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books
A Song for the King is a gentle re-telling of the nativity story, but told through the experience of three young animals who love to sing: a donkey, a lamb and a camel.
Sent away because their voices sound raucous and loud to the villagers, they learn to keep quiet – until they witness the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem and come together once more to give voice to their feelings of joy, love and peace.
This one is written by Katrina Nannestad and illustrated by Freya Blackwood, both of whom number amongst my most-admired in the Australian children’s book world.
It was published by ABC Kids, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books.All of these titles were published in August and September 2025. My thanks to the publishers for review copies.
Christmas picture books
How wonderful to see books celebrating Christmas as we know it in Australia. The ‘Teeny Tiny Stevies’ are back with a new picture book, all about Aussie summer Christmases.
Snowmen, chimneys, plum puddings and dark wintry evenings are all charming, but not part of an Australian Christmas.
Instead, we have hot days in the sun, the long summer holiday, shorts, T-shirts and swimmers in the paddling pool or the beach, the buzz of cicadas and the sting of mozzie bites, pavlova for Christmas lunch.
The pictures by Simon Howe capture the pleasures of long hot days, camping trips, the anticipation of Christmas morning.
I love this book; it is a real portrayal of an Australian summer and our different way of ‘doing Christmas’ here.
Back to the northern hemisphere, we have A Night Before Christmas – with a difference.
A small boy, accompanied by his dog and cat, is witness to the antics of the Elf on the Shelf, who narrates the familiar story of the arrival of St Nicholas with his sleigh and trusty reindeer.
There is a mix of old and new as the much-loved Christmas poem is given a shake up by the elf. The pictures created by author and illustrator Chanda A. Bell are vibrant with saturation colours and plenty of activity.
Together these two books celebrate Christmas in both hemispheres of the globe. They are published in Sept and Oct 2023 by Harper Collins Children’s Books.
My thanks to the publishers for review copies.Picture books for Christmas: ‘A Very Play School Christmas’ & ‘The Christmas Bum Book’
I love giving books at Christmas and these two new picture books arrive at a perfect time for people wanting to squirrel away a few gifts in readiness for the big day.
For little fans of the long-running ABC series ‘Play School,’ A Very Play School Christmas takes readers on holiday with Jemima, the Teds (Big and Little), Kiya, Humpty and Joey. There are all the delights of a Christmas holiday: a gift treasure hunt, decorating a tree, crackers and Christmas hats, Christmas crafts and a Lucky Dip.
It’s a gentle tale of fun with friends; the soft illustrations by Jedda Robaard add to the sweetness of the story by Jan Stradling (who was an Executive Producer for the TV show.) Littlies will love spending time with their Play School friends at Christmas time.
The Christmas Bum Book by Kate Mayes is described as ‘a book for anyone who has a bum or anyone who likes Christmas or anyone who has a bum AND likes Christmas.’ Okay, so that likely includes most preschoolers – bums and toilet jokes are a mainstay of this age group. I must confess, though, that this adult is a little bit tired of the trope.
What saves this one from being tiresome are the clever illustrations by Andrew Joyner, which creatively take Christmas motifs (a chimney, a manger, turkeys and nuts, glitter and carols, for example) and incorporate a charmingly depicted ‘bum’ somewhere in the mix. Kids will probably love this book for the opportunity to say ‘bum’ multiple times (or even better, to hear adults say it.)
These two picture books are published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in October 2022.
My thanks to the publishers for review copies.
