Upcoming Festive & Christmas Kids Books - 2021

Sunday, October 03, 2021 BookBairn 1 Comments

Is it possible that many authors (and illustrators) spent the first lockdown writing festive and Christmas books? I think it must have been because there is a bumper load of new releases this year! As always it's likely I've missed something out, I had great difficulty getting this list down to 20! So you can imagine I've had to leave a few out! Without further ado:

Wind and Play: The Nutcracker

Wind and Play: Twas the Night Before Christmas (30 Sept)

With a wind-up music box on the cover of the books, these look like a magical way to bring the sounds of Christmas to life as you enjoy two classic stories! Bring the magic of music into your home with this interactive book, which features a wind-up mechanism that sounds just like a musical jewellery box.

The Christmas Owl (5 Oct)

BookBairn is bird-daft so this looks like a lovely festive read for her! That cover art is lush! When Little Owl's home is cu down by people saying it will make a beautiful Christmas tree, she's not sure she wants anything to do with Christmas, whatever that means. But then she is saved by a woman named Ellen, whose house is merrily decorated for the holiday, and filled with birds who need someone to care for them. Surrounded by kindness and helpful new friends, Little Owl begins to wonder if Christmas might not be such a bad thing after all....

Christmas Street (7 Oct)

We have the non-festive version of this and adore it! This spectacular lift-the-flap Christmas alphabet story is a book, a fold-out play-scene, and a beautiful festive frieze to decorate your room! Everyone is busy on Christmas Street! Who is baking gingerbread? Who is wrapping presents? And who's that coming down the chimney? Find out in this perfect Christmas gift book, the follow-up to Alphabet Street.

Shifty McGifty & Slippery Sam: Santa's Stolen Sleigh (7 Oct)

We adore this pairing and love the rhyming prose! And the hidden spiders. A festive book from this series is a must! Shifty and Sam are off to Lapland to bake a festive feast for Santa and his elves. But there's a Christmas crisis - the elves are unwell and can't finish the toys! Does mysterious stranger and gadget queen, Flo Frost, really want to help? Or could she have her eyes on the most magical gadget of all . . . Santa's flying sleigh?! It's up to Shifty and Sam to race across the snowy slopes and save Christmas for everyone!

Little Santa (7 Oct)

One of our new favourite authors! We are going to buy everything he writes. Little Santa loves, loves, loves the North Pole. The rest of his family? Not so much. So, when they decide to move to Florida, Santa is miserable. Lucky for him, a blizzard foils their plans. The only way out of the house is up the chimney. Up goes Santa, to look for help, and along the way, he meets a reindeer and a large group of elves, who are more than eager to join in the rescue.

Clara Claus Saves Christmas (7 Oct)

Written by my friend Bonnie Bridgeman I'm excited to meet this feisty heroine! First the reindeer got sick. Then Santa got sick. Now it's up to Clara Claus and her slightly annoying brother Nick to save Christmas. But with toys to make, elves to manage, lists to sort and flying reindeer to train, can they summon enough Christmas spirit to deliver the perfect Christmas?

The Christmas Pig (12 Oct)

I'm curious about this one! But mostly because of Jim Field's illustrations! Jack loves his childhood toy, Dur Pig. DP has always been there for him, through good and bad. Until one Christmas Eve, something terrible happens - DP is lost. But Christmas Eve is a night for miracles and lost causes, a night when all things can come to life... even toys. And Jack's newest toy - the Christmas Pig (DP's annoying replacement) - has a daring plan: Together they'll embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known.

The Christmas Department Store (14 Oct)

There's something magical about Department Stores at Christmas time! And the cover art is glorious! Christmas for Benji has lost its magic. This year, his family can’t afford a tree, or even a turkey. But then he stumbles upon the most extraordinary department store, where polar bears talk and the presents are out of this world.

Nibbles Christmas (14 Oct)

Nibbles is one of our all-time favourite characters so a Christmas Nibbles book is top of our Santa list! Say HELLO to Nibbles, he’s ready for some fun Jolly, holly jingles – the Christmas countdown has begun!

The Christmas Pine (14 Oct)

Julia Donaldson writes a Christmas book: yes please! It sounds a bit like one of my favourites - The Great Spruce which is set in the US. Deep in a snowy wood stands a little pine tree with a special destiny: when it grows up, it’s going to be the famous Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square!

The Christmas Carrolls (14 Oct)

One for me! And for those of you who like to start spreading the Christmas cheer early! Wish it could be Christmas every day? Well, for nine-year-old Holly Carroll and her family, it is! But when she goes to a new school with a singing Santa backpack and first day Christmas cards, she realises not everyone shares her enthusiasm for spreading cheer. In fact, when the neighbours try to remove the Carrolls from the street and Holly discovers a group of children that may not get a Christmas at all, her snowglobe world begins to crack. Is the world’s most Christmassy girl about to lose her Christmas spirit?

Robin Robin (15 Oct)

BookBairn's favourite thing above all things are robins. She adores them. So the new Netflix Christmas film is bound to be on repeat. And I love Briony may Smith's artwork so I hope this picture book gives us even more than the film! The mouse family all love Robin, and she is so keen to fit in, she pulls her feathers into ears . . . but nothing can make a noisy, rather clumsy, bird good at sneaking crumbs for the family without disturbing the dreaded cat!

Oh No! Shark in the Snow! (21 Oct)

The Wee Page Turner's favourite book series - he's going to love this! Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope looks again through his telescope. As snowflakes fall without a sound, he looks left, he looks right, he looks all around. Wait, is that a SHARK?Turn the page to find out, if you dare

An Odd Dog Christmas (28 Oct)

We love this character and sounds like it has a lovely message about the deeper meaning of Christmas. It’s Christmas, and this Odd Dog is running out of time to find the perfect present for her pal… But when she meets a new friend who needs helps, she realises that gifts might not be the most important thing about Christmas after all.

The Christmas Chronicles (28 Oct)

Ok! I picked this one for the cover! But also love the idea of 24 stories - one for each day of advent! 24 magical Christmas stories set in the snowy North Pole as Santa prepares to deliver presents round the world on Christmas Eve. Open each door in turn on the beautiful advent calendar-style cover to find the page number that will lead you to the next story in the series. Featuring a cast of memorable characters, including Mr and Mrs Santa, elves, reindeer and polar bears, and filled with humorous and breath-taking adventures.

Little Bear (28 Oct)

Sounds like such a sweet tale with stunning artwork! On Monday, a boy finds a polar bear in his garden... only, this polar bear is so small he can fit in the palm of the boy's hand. "Are you lost, Little Bear?" the boy asks. "Can I help you?" Day by day the bear grows - and so does their friendship - until the boy realises that it's time for the bear to go home.

How Winston Came Home for Christmas (28 Oct)

Winston is back for another advent adventure! We loved the first book in this series so can't wait to read a little bit of Winston every night again this year! It is five days until Christmas and Winston has a Very Curious Mystery to solve. He has hazy rememberings of another mouse, and he just knows that someone very important to him is lost. After promising Oliver that he will be back in time for Christmas, no matter what, Winston sets out on an exciting round-the-world adventure to find the missing mouse, helped along the way by wonderful old friends and delightful new ones, too.

The Twelve Green Days of Christmas (11 Nov)

A Christmas book with a green message is always going to be a big hit here! Maybe Santa will help us clean up our act? Christmas spirit is in the air and all the animals are feeling the cheer. But in the excitement, what has happened to the forest? There is litter EVERYWHERE! Appalled by what he sees, Santa’s writes a letter to his animal friends asking them to clear up. And over the course of twelve fun-filled days, they work together to do just that!

A Night at the Frost Fair (11 Nov)

I loved reading this as part of the Winter Magic anthology so think this illustrated version looks utterly charming! It’s Christmastime, and searching for magic, Maya finds herself transported back two hundred years to the banks of the frozen river Thames. A boy called Eddie shows Maya the bustle of the glittering frost fair, filled with music, sweet stalls and thrilling rides. Is this all a dream, or can Maya bring a piece of the beautiful frost fair home with her after all?

I think you'll agree there are some truly beautiful books here, and some laugh out loud fun ones, and some touchingly-poignant ones. So hopefully something for everyone. I've collated all of these and more in lists on both my Amazon and Bookshop.org shops (affiliate links) to make them easy for you to find!

Happy Festive Reading!

Kim, BookBairn and The Wee Page Turner xxx

*Release dates are for UK release provided by publisher but may be subject to changes, especially this year with the additional supply chain issues.

Sections in italics from Amazon description.