Christmas Books for Children

For us, the best thing about Christmas is being snuggled up in new PJ's on Christmas Eve, with a book in hand and treats to eat and drink. Of course, Christmas Day is tons of fun and to see children's faces light up when they get their gifts from Father Christmas is priceless but we love the anticipation of it all. It is easy to get caught up in the mayhem of toys, turkey and tinsel on Christmas Day, so Christmas Eve is a great way to take time out as a family to relax and get in the mood for what is to come. Once you have finished wrapping all of your presents and prepped your sprouts, pop on a pair of PJ's (Kyna Boutique is our favourite for kids and we can't resist a pair of Cath Kidston's for adults)

For a cold winter evening, Cleo in the Snow is a fun book to read to babies and young toddlers. The book sees friends Cleo and Casper playing outside and discovering magical white flakes falling out of the sky. It may not snow in your region of the world this year but children will delight at the thought of what the first experience of snow may feel like. We dream of a white Christmas each time we read this book!

If you are looking for a traditional Christmas Stories with a twist, Babushka is a fun story that can be simply read aloud or acted out in the style of The Nativity. The book introduces children to Babushka, a woman who is so busy focusing on the little things, that she hardly notices the miraculous events going on around her. This touching Christmas story shows that the more you give away in love, the more you will receive. We love the bright and engaging illustrations, by the brilliant Sophie Fatus, in this book as they really help the book come alive.

For Independent readers Winter Shadow is a glorious tale to be read on a cosy night in by the fire. We read this at out first book club of 2014 and it left the whole group in tears, bittersweet tears nothing too deep! The book follows the story of a young girl who stumbles upon a wolf cub and goes on to raise it, until it finally needs to return to the wild. A book that adults and wolf lovers will enjoy just as much as children.

Other favourites for Christmas and winter include, A Skip Through the Seasons, a great book for toddlers and young children to learn about the changing weather and what to expect during winter. For older children, The Abominable Snowman' is a modern retake on the traditional tale and The Snow Queen is one of the most well known fairytales of all time, particularly as it was the base story children's favourite Frozen.

All of these books are wonderful tales that will give children the gift of stories for Christmas, something that cannot be replaced.

December Book of the Month

With Christmas upon us, there will be lots of people looking for books as gifts for children. Books for bedtime, annuals and  anthologies are top of the list for many people, with hundreds of books to choose from. To help you out with your choice, we have chosen My Big Barefoot Book of Wonderful Words as our December Book

The book follows a lovely family throughout their busy dat, with pages filled with everyday activities and products. Each scene is filled to the brim with people, places and things, and you’ll meet people of all races, cultures, lifestyles and abilities as you go. With images of children and adults with disabilities, breastfeeding, baby wearing, different types of family and much much more, children's eyes are opened to all that is diverse in our wonderful world.

This book is vibrantly illustrated and immerses children in detailed scenes of daily life, which are followed by simple spreads of labelled illustrations to help with vocabulary building and word recognition. It is a great choice for a Christmas gift as it will last for years and can be passed drown to younger children. We would not wait to get our copy when it was released during the summer, it has not been put away since we opened it! Another Barefoot Books gem.

The Tear Thief

As well as running Little Scribbles' Stories and this blog, owner Deb (me) is a person-centred counsellor who works with children, young people and families. I am currently working with Oakleaf , a Liverpool based charity that is dedicated to helping children and families during the difficult process of grief and loss, as a result of death or separation from a loved one. 

We were recently featured in this years Children in Need programme and are partly funded by the charity. As you would expect, the publicity drove more people to our services and whilst we are doing the best that we can to support as many children and young people as possible, we still need lots of help. Take a look at this BBC video to hear more about Oakleaf's services 

The team are busy looking at fun ways to fund raise and will be taking part in next Month's Santa Dash in Liverpool. I will not be taking part myself but I am thinking of innovative ways to raise money with my family and friends, if you do have any ideas, please let me know!

In the meantime, I will be donating all profits from one of my favourite Barefoot Books, 'The Tear Thief'. All copies of the book, sold through my Barefoot Books page or over at Little Scribbles' Stories, will not only give a child a wonderful story to read but will also provide a little bit of help that will go a long way for Oakleaf.

Each night, in the hours between supper and bedtime, the Tear Thief carries her waterproof, silvery sack as she steals the tears of every child who cries. But what does she do with all those tears? This warm, poignant, and beautifully illustrated story offers a thought-provoking message and a starting point to share children's emotional experience. The book is a great tool for children to explore new feelings and emotions and enables parents to support with different situations that lead to children feeling sad. At the end of the book, we find out that all of the tears that children cry are placed onto the moon, so that it shines as bright as possible. There is an accompanying CD, read by Juliet Stevenson, that is ideal for bedtime reassurances and a dreamy end to the day.

I will keep you all updated on how much the book is making for the service and will also be holding some special book sales to support too. 

Thank you in advance to all those who support us through buying this book and don't forget to leave a comment if you have any fun ideas on how I can raise some more funds!

Buy your copy of The Tear Thief