Christmas

2 New Holiday Picture Books Worth Celebrating

| Tasha

The 13th Day of Christmas by Adam Rex

Publisher: Neal Porter Books

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley

ISBN: 9780823456536

On a lonely Christmas without his true love, the main character suddenly receives a partridge in a pear tree. Then the next day, you know what happens and soon it spirals out of control. When he tries to ask his true love why she would do this to him, she hangs up on him. So he heads out with the menagerie and all the people to see his mother. She wasn’t much help either. On their way home, they accidentally start a parade. That happens when you have leaping lords, dancers, cows, pipers and a band. A young boy gets the narrator thinking about things in a more positive way and soon they are making a difference all over town. The next morning, they have a bake sale from all of the eggs and milk they have. But what about his true love?

I must admit I’m not a huge fan of Christmas books. There are just so many mid-level releases each year. But this one is delightful! I love the premise of what happens with the presents after the 12th day, since so many of them repeat and multiply. This creates just the right sort of holiday wackiness that we need without ever becoming too sweet, despite the cakes. 

A new classic for those who like silliness with their celebration. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Leanne Hatch 

Publisher: Clarion Books

Publication Date: September 16, 2025

Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley

ISBN: 9780063278141

Sharing the story of a busy, modern Jewish family and the eight nights of Hanukkah, this picture book celebrates each night with a poem. From the first candle emerging from the darkness and lighting faces.The second night, the candles in the window are noticed by a man walking past. The third night is a rush to get home and the candle lit before pizza is served. The fourth night is Sabbath filled with light. The fifth night has darkness as the candles go out. The sixth night is spent with family and the youngest is finally old enough to light the candles themselves. The seventh night is messed up with a flat tire and the family has to improvise. The final night the light lingers longer than expected as the family gathers one last time. 

Snyder’s poetry is perfectly balanced between being accessible for children but also profoundly speaking to the meaning of Hanukkah and the importance of family. She has created a book of short poems that reads aloud beautifully, one that families can use year after year or librarians creating programs. The illustrations glow on the page with candles, moonlight, playing with light and dark and showing the beauty of traditions. 

A shining picture book that is a must-buy for Hanukkah collections. Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Red and Green and Blue and White by Lee Wind

| Tasha
Cover image for Red and Green and Blue and White.

Red and Green and Blue and White by Lee Wind, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (9781646140879)

Based on a true story, this picture book explores hate crimes and what a community can do to stand up for what they believe in. Isaac lived in the one house in town decorated in blue and white for Chanukah rather than red and green for Christmas. Teresa lived across the street in a house with a big Christmas tree. The two were best friends. They both loved playing in the snow, being creative, and lots of sprinkles. One night, a shadow approached Isaac’s house and threw a rock through their front window. Isaac’s family considered not lighting the menorah that night, but lit it after all. Teresa made a picture of a menorah to support them, one that glowed with white and blue light. Soon others in the neighborhood joined them, then the school and library, then more and more. Finally, 10,000 windows lit with a combination of red and green and blue and white, standing in solidarity against hate.

Inspired by events that happened in 1993 in Billings, Montana, this picture book shows how one act of hatred cannot stand before a community committed to being there for one another and standing in unity together. The book shines with hope and love, the moment of darkness at its center an important opportunity for a community to show who they really are. It’s a book of inclusion and community, an important story for our volatile times.

Zelinsky’s illustrations are filled with light and darkness. From the glowing holiday lights spilling out of homes to the darkness of the act of hatred, there is a distinct insistence not to fear the darkness but to make it one’s own. The final image of the mixture of holiday lights is profoundly moving and sets just the right tone for all of our winter holiday celebrations.

Important, beautiful and inspiring. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Levine Querido.

May Your Life be Deliciosa by Michael Genhart

| Tasha
Cover image for May Your Life Be Deliciosa.

May Your Life be Deliciosa by Michael Genhart, illustrated by Loris Lora (9781951836221)

Rosie’s family gathers every Christmas Eve to make tamales with her Abuela. She and her sister soak and clean the corn husks, her cousins chop onions and garlic, her aunt roasts the chiles, her mother prepares the masa dough, and her Abuela cooks the meat filling. The recipe with its secret seasonings isn’t written down anywhere, but her grandmother shares it with everyone in the family. Every year her grandmother shares a story about making the tamales. It wishes everyone that they are flexible, secure, proud, satisfied, loved and supported by family. Now the time has come to make dozens and dozens of tamales together with no recipe, just using your senses. Soon they get to practice patience as good smells fill the house. Finally it is time to eat!

Told with a deep sense of family and generational wisdom, this picture book celebrates time spent around the holidays together. Centered around the grandmother, this book gives her space to share not only her recipe but also her insights into what is important in life. The stories are shared as she creates the first tamale, tying them closely to what she is making with the protective layer, the olive at the heart, the corn, and more. It’s no surprise when you reach the Author’s Note that this is based on his own experiences in his Abuela’s kitchen growing up.

Lora’s illustrations show a multi-generational family and are inspired by her own Mexican family. Using bright yellows, warm oranges, and rich browns, she creates scenes where you can almost smell the spices. The stories are done in a mix of color and black and white, framing them as their own special time.

Full of love, food and warmth. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Abrams.

The Christmas Feast by Nathalie Dargent

| Tasha
Cover image for The Christmas Feast

The Christmas Feast by Nathalie Dargent, illustrated by Magali Le Huche (9780802855374

The wolf, the fox and the weasel decide that this year they will have a Christmas feast. Fox stole a turkey from the farm, but the plan didn’t quite work out after that. Once at the fox’s house, the turkey started telling the fox how he should prepare for the Christmas feast. The first step was cleaning up a bit. Turkey then asked for dinner, but it turned out that none of the others could cook. So Turkey made them a delicious stew from ingredients they foraged. That night they played cards and had a great time, even giving Turkey the best spot to sleep. The next day, Turkey made them all breakfast and then over the next few days, they decorated for Christmas. Finally on Christmas Eve, Turkey announced it was time for them to cook her, she requested to be flambeed. The friends dodged the question, but Turkey had the perfect solution in the end, one that worked for Christmas and the seasons that followed.

This Christmas story is a great twist on trickster tales of creatures being captured to be eaten and then tricking their captors into allowing them to escape. Here, there is a true friendship that is created on the pages, with Turkey enjoying their time together just as much as the others. It works because Turkey is entirely in charge from the very time she enters their home. She may be demanding, but she also provides for them, cares for them and makes their days better.

The art is cartoony and clear. The art has a sense of merriment throughout, showcasing Turkey as she leads the group of predators, creating a happy home for them all. There are small details throughout their home that are worth exploring, especially as the home changes with Turkey’s influence.

This is a book that will work well shared aloud in a holiday story time or around the Christmas tree. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Review: Between Us and Abuela by Mitali Perkins

| Tasha

Between Us and Abuela by Mitali Perkins

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Sara Palacios (9780374303730)

Maria, Juan and their mother hadn’t seen Maria’s grandmother in five years. Today they were celebrating Christmas by taking a bus to the border with Mexico for Los Posada Sin Fronteras where families could meet with the border fence between them. Maria had made her grandmother a scarf that her mother was finishing and Juan had drawn a picture for her. When they reach the border, they must stand in line for their turn to see their family. They get their turn and get to see their grandmother and the fence disappears as they reconnect. But there is no way to get their gifts through the fence, until Maria has an idea that even the border police approve of.

Perkins takes a celebration that few of us have heard of and turns it into a universal story of immigration and separated families on the United States border. Through Maria’s story, readers will deeply connect with the physical separation of families and the power dynamic in place. Mitali though leaves readers with a soaring hope as Maria manages to get Juan’s gift to her grandmother despite the fence in the way. The illustrations capture the small family and the large border fence, offering real perspectives on the size but also showing how those fall away when family connects with one another.

A strong and purposeful look at walls, immigration and family. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Knights Before Christmas by Joan Holub

| Tasha

The Knights Before Christmas by Joan Holub

The Knights Before Christmas by Joan Holub, illustratead by Scott Magoon (InfoSoup)

Three knights are guarding the castle when suddenly out on the drawbridge there arose a clatter! Outside there is a red-and-white knight with his eight dragons who is trying to get inside the castle. He asks where the chimney is, but castles don’t have a chimney, so Santa has to go to extreme measures to get gifts to these three knights. Meanwhile the knights try to defend the castle but take the instructions a bit too literally. Santa does not give up, deciding to launch the presents at the castle using a flexible pine tree. The knights successfully defend the castle from this barrage of cookies, candy and gifts. Then they merrily bring it all indoors and set up their holiday celebration. Santa has won too!

This is such a clever play on Twas a Night Before Christmas. At first I wondered if it would work, but the author manages to pay homage to the traditional story but also strike out on her own and make a very enjoyable holiday tale. The rhythm and feel of the original story is still here, but this new version does not feel bound by it. Rather it launches the story forward and gives the author room to play. Children will love these three confused knights and their battle against the holiday.

Magoon’s art is digitally done, offering a feeling of plenty of texture and even collage. The three knights are unique from one another and Santa himself is unmistakable in his red and white costume. Each image is filled with humor. Make sure to take time to read the asides too as they add to the merriment.

A modern twist on a traditional poem, this is a welcome new version for fans of knights and castles. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Company.

Miracle on 133rd Street by Sonia Manzano

| Tasha

Miracle on 133rd Street by Sonia Manzano

Miracle on 133rd Street by Sonia Manzano, illustrated  by Marjorie Priceman (InfoSoup)

On their first Christmas Eve after moving to the Bronx from Puerto Rico, things are just not going well. Their tree is tiny and now the holiday roast is too big to fit in their tiny oven! So Jose and his father head off to find an oven large enough for their big roast. As they leave their apartment building, they bump into neighbor after neighbor, each having a bad holiday too. The children are too noisy, an older couple won’t be seeing their family this year, and others are having money troubles. They head to the local pizzeria where the Ray lets them put the roast in his huge pizza oven. On the way back home with the meal, the smell of the roast tantalizes everyone they pass, making their day better. And best of all is the sharing of the roast and the sharing of the holiday with everyone.

Manzano played Maria on Sesame Street and has been creating marvelous books for children for the last few years. In this picture book, she captures the diversity of a Bronx neighborhood and the way that you can be neighbors but not know one another well. Then she turns it all around and shows how community can suddenly be created by acts of caring and generosity and how those choices can impact everyone around you.

Caldecott-honor winning, Priceman has brought the urban Bronx neighborhood to vivid life here. The buildings sway, bright colored against the dark night sky that is alive with stars and the milky way. The snow shines on the ground. All is filled with spicy colors that fill the holiday with a unique feeling of a diverse community.

A great pick for holiday reading, this picture book has the rhythm of different languages on the page, the joy of diverse holiday traditions and the beauty of a community coming together. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon

| Tasha

Oskar and the Eight Blesssings by Richard Simon

Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon, illustrated by Mark Siegel (InfoSoup)

Oskar survived Kristallnacht in Nazi Europe and has been sent by his family to live with his aunt in New York City. When he arrives, he has to walk over 100 blocks down Broadway to reach her, hopefully before she lights the menorah at sunset. Along the way, Oskar is reminded again and again about looking for blessings in life. He is given bread by a woman feeding the birds, a comic book by the man who runs the newsstand, mittens by a boy in the park. But most of all in his long walk in the cold, he is given hope once again that he is somewhere safe.

The authors have created a picture book that speaks to the horrors of the Holocaust only in passing. Instead it is much more focused upon feeling embraced by a city even as a newly-arrived immigrant. It is about the small things that we do in kindness each day and the way that those small things build to something larger and more important for someone. This book celebrates New York City and the shelter and home that can be found there.

The illustrations are interesting for a book set in the past. They incorporate comic-like panels on the page that really work well. The illustrations have a sense of wonder about them. They capture small pieces of New York, allowing the snow and city to swirl around the reader just as they do around Oskar himself.

A lovely holiday book that is about more than either Christmas or Hanukkah but about home and hope. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Review: My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

| Tasha

my true love gave to me

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

Twelve bestselling young adult authors come together to create an amazing collection of holiday stories for teens.  Each story in this collection is a delectable treat, contrasting with the others yet each is just as romantic, snowy and filled with holiday spirit as the one before.  The twelve authors are Holly Black, Ally Carter, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Stephanie Perkins, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, and Kiersten White.  Each brings their own unique voice to the collection, each celebrates the holidays with their own twist.  Some are pure holiday bliss, Christmas centered and lovely, while others are gorgeously twisted and wild yet also speak to the real spirit of the season.  You never quite know where the next story will take you, and that is a large part of this collection’s appeal.

Perkins has done an amazing job of creating a holiday collection with plenty of diversity.  There are Jewish characters, characters of different races, pagan characters, those who believe in holidays, those who are jaded as can be.  There is magic in some of the stories, tangible magic that you can feel and touch, while other stories have that indefinable magic of love and connection. 

You are guaranteed to have your favorites among the stories.  For me, one of them hit my heart so hard that I wept, but it may not be the one you’d expect it to be.  Each one connects deeply with the characters, making them real people even such a short span of pages.   Each one offers up the author’s voice with a clarity that is incredible.  One could pick many of the authors out even with the stories mixed up and unnamed. 

An outstanding collection of holiday stories, these stories focus on the new adult rather than teens in high school, which makes it even more rare and lovely.  Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from library copy.