Our Kid-Approved Christmas Book Re-Reads for our Charlotte Mason Homeschool

First off, I thank Thee Lord for the gift of the library.

I don’t know how many times I have visited our little local library branch, especially once the holidays roll around, but it’s enough that the front desk folks no longer need to see my ID, and we are all on a first-name basis (shout out to Rosemary!)

Ever since I learned about living books when I started my Charlotte Mason journey in 2020, I have become a connoisseur of children’s picture books. As I researched her philosophy, her observations about living books for children have always struck me.

“Children must have the Best Books.—One more thing is of vital importance; children must have books, living books; the best are not too good for them; anything less than the best is not good enough; and if it is needful to exercise economy, let go everything that belongs to soft and luxurious living before letting go the duty of supplying the books, and the frequent changes of books, which are necessary for the constant stimulation of the child’s intellectual life.”
Charlotte Mason Volume 2, p. 279

There are so many wonderful picture books to read during the month of December that I cannot purchase all of them without my husband permanently removing my credit card. So, I’ve become a bit of an expert on how to request books from the local library and the network of libraries I can borrow from.

I’m pretty sure that by now, our family has probably gone through hundreds of dollars worth of Christmas picture books, all of varying degrees of heart-stickiness, thanks to the beauty of being able to borrow many books for free at our library.

However, the ones that really seem to leave their mark, have now taken permanent residence on my “holiday bookshelf” as they have proven their worthiness of a purchase, and have successfully evaded my sifting efforts to add to our Marie Kondo-esque donation pile. Our boys adamantly refuse to say farewell!

So the list below has been introduced by me, but chosen by my boys.

And yes, I have a separate bookshelf for all the holiday reads so that they don’t get mixed up with all the other books that get tossed about in our kids’ room and living room. And the largest in the collection is, of course, Christmas.

Once December 1st rolls around, I reach up to that top shelf and bring down our dear friends who have waited patiently for a whole year to feel the flip-flip of its pages once again.

Because that’s what it feels like when you know a book. A dear friend. And you’re so glad to see them.

May I introduce to you, our dear friends, a.k.a. our lovely Christmas book re-reads. I start off the list with our best friend, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

May they keep you warm this winter.

Your friend and advocate,

Lillian