I absolutely love this time of year for so many reasons! One of the things that I love is that there are so many amazing books to read this month! So many so, that there aren’t enough days in December to read them all! I’ve put together a list of some of my and my students favorite December read alouds for the primary classroom! They are great to use for a Christmas countdown or can be tied into your lessons or Christmas activities this month!
Please Note: The post contains affiliate links which provide me a small commission should you choose to make a purchase. It in no way affects the price point for you, but helps me continue to bring you great recommendations!
Tough Cookie
Have you read Tough Cookie yet? I grabbed it on clearance after Christmas one year (which is a great way to add Christmas books to your collection!) and absolutely LOVE it!
Tough Cookie is an absolutely endearing book with an important message about being yourself! With a fun twist from the Gingerbread Man plot, Sugar Cookie Man is not your typical cookie. He doesn’t taste sweet or run fast and he is very hard, so he and fox set off to find his place in the world and discover the best thing to do is be who you were made to be!
It is so so good and it even has recipes in the back of the book too!
Little Red Sleigh
Each year I try to add one new book to our Christmas collection and Little Red Sleigh has quickly become one of my favorites! This heartwarming story had me tearing up–it’s that good! It’s about a little red sleigh that longs with all her heart to be Santa’s sleigh, but when she shares her dreams everyone tells her that it’s impossible! They tell her that she’s too slow, too small, and too young! But she chooses not to believe them and sets off to the North Pole to find Santa and show him what she is made of!
Along her journey, and with a little help from a note from Santa, she discovers the truth about the importance of being yourself and how using your unique gifts is the most important thing that we can give to others! Friends, it is SO good and it’s a book that you will treasure over and over again!
The Little Reindeer
The Little Reindeer is such a precious story and the illustrations are dreamy!! On Christmas Eve, sweet Ollie hears a “jingle, jingle, jingle” which leads her to meeting a new reindeer friend and experiencing a magical night! Pair it or any reindeer book with my Reindeer Shapes Craft and you’re set to go with a fun math lesson!
Bear Stays Up For Christmas
I’ve always loved the Bear series and loved reading them to my students, but Bear Stays Up For Christmas became one of my new Christmas favorites after reading it almost everyday with my son last year! Building memories together and having fun while reading great stories–isn’t that the beauty of books?
This is one of those books that has to be read with fun voices for each of the characters too, especially the beloved mouse! It was a hit for Sammy’s first Christmas and we love pulling it out each year!
Moosteltoe
Mooseltoe is such a fun story about a Moose Dad that loves Christmas so much that even his moosetache has the holiday spirit! He works so hard to “check” things off of his list so that everything is “perfectly perfect,” but there is a big problem: he forgets the Christmas tree! When there is not a tree to be found, the family gets very creative and turns Moose’s moosetache into a tree that they’ll never forget!
It’s perfect for teaching problem and solution and is also a great book for choral reading! Just have your kids read aloud the large words in color. Many of them repeat throughout the story, like “check” and “perfectly perfect.”
Snowmen At Christmas
The Snowmen series is always a hit with kids! They love looking for the hidden pictures on each page too. It’s like an I-Spy book tied into a great story!
It’s also a great book to read before doing this fun How To Build A Snowman Craft! I love integrating writing into crafts! This craft is perfect for December or for when you return after break in January!
Santa Bruce
Any other Bruce fans?! Hilarious is an understatement for Santa Bruce–it’s so funny!! Bruce is adamant that he is NOT Santa, but everyone in the forest disagrees! I love books that can be read for pure entertainment and this one doesn’t disappoint!
And Then Comes Christmas
And Then Comes Christmas has the most beautiful illustrations! It’s also the perfect book for cause and effect with its when/then structure on each page. There’s a whole “And Then Comes…” series and I was excited to add this one to my Christmas collection! Have you read any of these “Then Comes…” books before?
The Crayons’ Christmas
Drew Daywalt’s crayon books always rank high on my favorite list! They are absolutely hilarious and can be used in so many ways! So, I was beyond excited to grab The Crayons’ Christmas last year for 50% off after Christmas! And as expected it’s such a fun story that even has “mail” for the crayons that pull out of pockets in the book.
Also, just a little Christmas book tip: one of the best ways to add to your Christmas Book collection is to get your books after Christmas!! So many stores put their Christmas books half off and more after Christmas! Some of my favorite places to look are T.J. Maxx, Barnes and Nobles, and Books-a-Million. Also be sure to check online too!!
The Christmas Selfie Contest
The Christmas Selfie Contest is an adorable Christmas story about teamwork, sharing, and friendship!
You can tie this book into math by following it up with this fun Elf Pattern Math Craft! It’s great practice and review for our little learners!
It’s also a great book to read before having your students write about their Elf’s Adventures! If you have a classroom elf they can write about that or they can write about their elf at home! One of my favorite things to do was turn kids writing into class books! I have a December Class Book pack that you can use to easily turn their Elf writing into a class book! It also comes with 9 other themed class books for the month!
The Polar Express
Is it even Christmas if you don’t read The Polar Express? This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas books! Both the movie and book are fabulous and make a great comparison activity before Christmas break!!
I always loved having a Polar Express Day in first grade–it was one of my favorite days!
If you need a ready-to-go letter for your Polar Express activities, I have an editable holiday celebration letter that is so easy to use in my Notes For Parents resource!
We also loved doing this First Gift Of Christmas writing craft after reading and watching the movie! If you aren’t up for an actual craft it also comes with a printable blackline master that students can color!
Great Joy
Great Joy is an absolutely beautiful story and it has breath-taking illustrations! This Christmas story by Kate DiCamillo holds a heartwarming message of the true spirit of Christmas! It is one that you and your kids will be sure to enjoy!
Gingerbread Books
It’s so hard to pick a favorite Gingerbread book! There are just so many good ones!! I also love The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. It’s a great one to compare and contrast with the original story! Do you have a favorite Gingerbread book?
There Was An Old Lady Books
You can never go wrong with the “There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed…” books! They are always so fun to read and great for sequencing, retelling, and choral reading. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell are perfect for this time of year!! Do your kids love them too?
Red & Lulu
This is another one of the books that I was able to snag for 50% off after Christmas last year and I am so glad that I did!
Red & Lulu is a beautiful story about two birds that live in a large evergreen tree and every Christmas people gather around it and sing “O Christmas Tree.” One day Red and Lulu are separated when the tree is taken down while Red goes out to find them food. Red chases after the tree and is finally reunited in New York City when he hears people singing the song in Rockefeller Center and finds Lulu waiting on their favorite branch!
It’s such a precious story and the illustrations are absolutely incredible! There are also some great facts at the end of the book about the history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree! You and your students will love this one!
Olive, The Other Reindeer
If an award could go to the most adorable Christmas story, Olive, The Other Reindeer book would definitely be a winner! It’s about a sweet dog named Olive who keeps hearing the song “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer song” and thinks that the lyrics say “Olive, the other reindeer.” Hilarious, right?
So, she reports to the North Pole to do her reindeer duties and even though Santa knows she is a dog he still gives her a chance to help pull his sleigh! When Santa gets caught in some thick fog, Olive saves the day by using her nose to smell their way home and guide the sleigh back to the North Pole!
It’s such a cute story and is another great book to read before doing my Reindeer Shapes Craft!
The Best December Read Alouds For The Primary Grades
There are so many great December read alouds to choose from! Did you favorite make the list? If not, let me know! I love learning about new books and adding more to my collection!
You can also check out more of my book recommendations HERE!
Engage Your Students In Learning With These Fun December Resources!
December can be a crazy month! If you need some fun, easy-to-use resources to engage your students in learning before break, then you’re going to love the resources below that I mentioned in this post!
- CLICK HERE for the Reindeer Shapes Math Craft
- CLICK HERE for the How To Build A Snowman Craft
- CLICK HERE for the December Class Books (that includes the Elf Adventures Writing & More!)
- CLICK HERE for the Elf Pattern Math Craft
- CLICK HERE for the First Gift Of Christmas Craft
- CLICK HERE for the Editable Parent Notes (that includes the Polar Express Note!)
Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!!
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