Christmas Books

When I was a kid on Christmas Eve my parents always read two books to us. The first was The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, which had originally been published as A Visit From Saint Nicholas. It's about Saint Claus and his eight tiny reindeer and kids still hear that story today.

The second was Christmas Carols, illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat. Yes, it's a book of songs, but in the first part of the book each carol has an opposite illustrated page with part of the Christmas story from the King James Bible. Our parents would read that part of the story to us, then we'd all sing the carol on the opposite page. We usually didn't sing all the traditional carols in the rest of the book because it would be past our bedtime and we had to get ready for Santa Claus to come.

Today there are dozens - maybe even hundreds of Christmas books for kids. One of those is the one I wrote, Secret Service Saint.

But those two books from my childhood Christmas Eves will always have a special place in my heart.

Do you remember any special books about Christmas from your childhood?

Christmas Books

Every Christmas Eve when I was a child my mother read the same two books to us before we went to bed.

One was a Christmas Carols illustrated by Fern Peat. The songs, which we would sing together, were interspersed with passages from the Bible telling about the Nativity. The other book was The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. I can still repeat many passages from both of them by heart.

And every Christmas morning one of the gifts waiting for me under the tree would be a book. I still have most of those from the picture books I got when I was little and later read to my own kids, through classics like Heidi and Little Women.

This year my cousin compiled and self-published a book of recipes contributed by members of the extended family, many of which bring back warm memories of holidays we spent together. She gave us a similar compilation quite a few years ago and my copy is worn by frequent use.

Are there any books associated with Christmas in your family? What memories do they bring back to you?