It's that time of year again and for the seventh year running, I'm sharing my Festive Fifty children's books. We have battled through another year of separation and loss and this does seem to be a good time to reach for books of comfort and joy. The books I have chosen for my list are all frosty and festive and many have featured on my winter list a number of times. I have picked books that I have enjoyed reading and I also feel that these will also work well as read-alouds.
At Christmas we should allow ourselves the luxury of not watching the news, and instead draw the curtains against the advancing night, light some candles, and settle in with a story that will take us away to another place.
This list is in alphabetical order of author's surname. These are all longer novels for age 9+. There are so many lists of picture books so I tend to focus on family-friendly books that can be read aloud and shared with all independent readers (including grown-ups!) These are all quite traditional favourites that can be shared with the whole family of older readers.
As many different editions exist of some of these titles, I've left that to your own choice, but personally, I'd opt for the illustrated editions. Treat your family to something beautiful and tuck it away with the decorations to re-read every year.
I'd like to make a very special mention here of my current favourite book - The Very Merry Murder Club. This book can't be fitted into the list because it is a collection of festive murder mysteries by the most amazing authors - Abiola Bello, Annabelle Sami, Benjamin Dean, E.L. Norry, Elle McNicoll, Dominique Valente, Joanna Williams, Maisie Chan, Nizrana Farook, Patrice Lawrence, Roopa Farooki, Serena Patel and Sharna Jackson with stunning illustrations by Harry Woodgate - edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens.
This book is the most beautiful hardback and it is my number one recommendation for all those young readers who love something a bit different. If I had to pick one book this year to buy for young readers, it would be The Very Merry Murder Club!
Happy Christmas, and happy reading!
- Aiken, Joan – The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
- Arden, Katherine – The Bear and the Nightingale
- Bell, Alex and Tomic, Tomislav – Polar Bear Explorers’ Club
- Boston, Lucy M – The Children of Green Knowe
- Butterworth, Jess – Running on the Roof of the World
- Carroll, Emma – Frost Hollow Hall
- Casey, Dawn - Winter Tales
- Cooper, Susan – The Dark is Rising
- Crossley-Holland, Kevin – Between Worlds (illustrated by Frances Castle)
- Dale, Anna – Whispering to Witches
- Dickens, Charles – A Christmas Carol
- Doherty, Berlie – Children of Winter
- Doyle, Catherine - Miracle on Ebenezer Street
- Ende, Michael – The Neverending Story
- Elphinstone, Abi – Sky Song
- Farr, David - Book of Stolen Dreams
- Fisher, Catherine – Snow Walker
- Fisher, Catherine – The Clockwork Crow
- Foxlee, Karen – Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy
- Gaarder, Jostein – The Christmas Mystery
- Gardner, Sally and David Roberts – Tinder
- Gayton, Sam – the Snow Merchant
- Gordon, John – The Giant Under The Snow
- Hargrave, Kiran Millwood – The Way Past Winter
- Hitchcock, Fleur – Clifftoppers - The Frost Castle Adventure
- Horwood, William – The Willows in Winter
- Ivey, Eowyn – Snow Child
- Jansson, Tove – Moominland Midwinter
- Lauren, Ruth – Prisoner of Ice and Snow
- Lean, Sarah - The Good Bear
- Lewis, CS – The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
- Masefield, John – Box of Delights
- Matthews, Caitlin and Helen Cann – Fireside Stories, Tales for a Winter’s Eve
- Montgomery, Ross - The Midnight Guardians
- Morris, Jackie – East of the Sun, West of the Moon
- Nimmo, Jenny – The Snow Spider
- Pratchett, Terry – Wintersmith
- Preussler, Otfried – Krabat
- Priestley, Chris – The Last of the Spirits
- Raby, Lucy Daniel – Nikolai of the North
- Ransome, Arthur – Winter Holiday
- Rundell, Katherine – Wolf Wilder
- Smith, Dodie – 101 Dalmatians
- St John, Lauren – The Snow Angel
- Streatfeild, Noel – White Boots
- Torday, Piers – There May Be A Castle
- Wilder, Laura Ingalls Wilder – The Long Winter
- Wilson, Amy – Snowglobe
- Winter Magic edited by Abi Elphinstone (11 stories by contemporary writers)
- Woodfine, Katherine – The Midnight Peacock
As always - please add your own additions in the comments. I would love to see someone do a list of poetry for the season too! Apologies for missing anyone out but I only ever list books that I've actually read. If you'd like me to read yours, drop me a line.
www.dawnfinch.com
@dawnafinch
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