Christmas gifts for kids: The best children’s books to give this Christmas

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

The perfect introduction to The Snail and the Whale, little hands will love the push, pull and slide mechanisms which bring this classic story to life. This is a great Christmas gift for fans of the original story. 

A festive treat with bright, bold illustrations from the creator of Dear Zoo. With Dear Santa, little hands can unwrap a present on each page by lifting the flaps to discover what Santa has sent. This children’s Christmas book is a festive classic.

Join Mary and Joseph on their long journey to Bethlehem and see beautiful baby Jesus in his crib in this sturdy board book ideal for little hands. With gentle rhyming text and push, pull and slide tabs, toddlers will enjoy this story of the First Christmas.

Children will have fun playing with the push and pull mechanisms in Busy Reindeer, which tells the story of Ruby Reindeer who flies through the sky helping Santa deliver presents. With its rhyming story and bright, colourful illustrations, Busy Reindeer makes the perfect Christmas Eve bedtime story for babies and toddlers.

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

This bumper collection of Tales from Acorn Wood stories, featuring Fox, Bear, Rabbit, Pig and other beloved characters will make an excellent gift for animal-loving toddlers this Christmas. With sturdy flaps to lift on every spread, plus Julia Donaldson’s trademark rhyming stories and Axel Scheffler’s bright illustrations, this treasury is bound to become a favourite in any home.

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

When Santa sets off in his sleigh to deliver his presents, poor Bear is left behind. This charming and very funny picture book by Ian Whybrow follows Bear on his travels as he tries to get to Tom’s house in time for Christmas morning. Beautifully illustrated by Axel Scheffler,  this is a Christmas book full of fun.

This hilarious Christmas book for kids stars the wonderfully grumpy Gus. Gus doesn’t like carols, or cake, or Christmas jumpers. And he certainly doesn't like mistletoe. To Gus, a tree is only good for one thing, and it's not for hanging baubles on. Will Gus ever learn to love the festive season? 

Illustrated by Sharon King-Chai

This stunning picture book is a fun, interactive counting book with peep-through pages, fold-out flaps and bright, beautiful artwork. Little ones will love comparing the creatures, exploring their habitats and learning the proper names for all the baby animals.

Illustrated by Lydia Monks 

This gorgeous slipcase contains two of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks’s best-loved stories – the perfect Christmas gift for little mermaid and unicorn fans. 

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s original story of a brave little mouse and a scary monster has been read and loved by millions of children all over the world. A must-have on any child’s bookshelf, this paperback edition of the classic story has a beautifully redesigned new cover.

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

This amazing pop-up carousel book is the perfect Christmas gift for fans of The Gruffalo. Press out the play pieces and join in the fun with the three pop-up play scenes. Little ones can discover Fox’s underground house, Owl’s treetop and Snake’s logpile – but can you spot the Gruffalo hiding in the woods? 

This stunning gift book shimmers with silver foil and stunning illustrations throughout. The original fable about freedom and love tells of the magical Starbird. Starbird’s song delights all that hear him, but when the Moon King traps him in a cage, the colour and life in his voice begins to fade away.

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

The classic story of adventure and friendship from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler has been brought to life on BBC One in an animation starring Sally Hawkins, Rob Brydon, Cariad Lloyd and Dame Diana Rigg. This special festive edition of The Snail and the Whale is a brilliant Christmas stocking filler for fans of the tale.

Illustrated by Sharon King-Chai

This illustrated exploration of the animal kingdom is also an interactive guessing game from Julia Donaldson, with stunning artwork by Sharon King-Chai. Do you know who can fly better than a pig or who is more wobbly than an iguana? This charming book deserves pride of place on every child’s bookshelf.

This beautiful picture book will become a Christmas classic, and is the perfect gift for Moomin fans big and small. A stunningly illustrated retelling of Tove Jansson’s The Fir Tree, the Moomins wake up from their winter sleep to find that Christmas is coming – but the Moomins have no idea who, or what, Christmas is . . .

Illustrated by Mike Byrne

You thought having to eat them for Christmas dinner was terrible enough, but what could be worse than a mean, green sprout who hatches a dastardly plan to destroy Christmas! The fantastically funny sequel to Sproutzilla VS Christmas, this picture book will have the whole family laughing out loud this holiday season. These are brilliantly funny Christmas books for kids. 

Join Sunny the Meerkat on his search for a white Christmas in this interactive and heartwarming festive story from the creator of Meerkat Mail. This tale of family and festive fun is full of Christmas cards to read as you follow Sunny’s journey from the Kalahari desert as he looks for his perfect Christmas.

Illustrated by Anoosha Syed

I am Perfectly Designed is the perfect story for families of all shapes and sizes to share this festive season. Embodying the kindness and love of its creator, Queer Eye star Karamo Brown, it’s an empowering story about loving who you are and a celebration of the bond between a parent and a child.

Illustrated by Kate Hindley

This festive mashup of two classic children’s books begins with Santa, not Alice, falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Join the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and a few of Santa's reindeer for a tea party and find out if Santa can charm the Queen of Hearts (who hates Christmas, naturally) and put the Merry back into Christmas in Wonderland. If you’re looking for a fun Christmas tale with a twist, here it is!

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Take a trip into the deep dark wood this Christmas with the ultimate present for fans of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s modern classics. This limited edition gift set published to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of The Gruffalo includes beautiful hardback editions of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child. With special foil detailing and a limited edition slipcase to keep the books in, this is a Christmas gift for young Gruffalo fans to treasure.

Join little Winston the mouse as he embarks on his mission to deliver a last-minute letter to Santa that got lost along the way. It’s packed with colourful illustrations and a different Christmas activity idea in every chapter: we recommend reading it together on Christmas Eve while you’re getting ready for Santa to stop by.

Get crafty this Christmas with Winston's festive activities for kids.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Or Grandma is Overly Generous is a witty new take on the festive classic The Twelve Days of Christmas, accompanied by beautiful full-colour illustrations. In this gorgeous gift book Grandma's presents start off sensibly – a partridge is easy enough to take care of – but her generosity soon gets wildly out of hand . . .

This beautiful edition presents Costa Award and Kate Greenaway Medal winner Chris Riddell's gorgeous new visual interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s classic story. Featuring a foiled jacket, head and tail bands and a ribbon marker, and with lavish colour illustrations throughout, this gorgeous hardback will be treasured for years to come. This is an Alice in Wonderland book every Alice fan should have on their bookshelves.

Illustrated by Lucy Rose

Little readers can travel the globe and meet the creatures that share our urban spaces in this beautifully illustrated gift book. With lyrical and factual text written by award-winning natural history journalist Ben Hoare and stunning illustrations by Lucy Rose, budding natural historians will be enthralled. 

Illustrated by Sergio Olivotti

This hilarious and heartwarming Christmas book for kids aged six to eight sees Santa find the perfect second job – as a bin man! Santa finds plenty of gifts hidden amongst the rubbish, and soon he’s back on his sleigh delivering recycled gifts. 

Illustrated by Lydia Monks 

In this chapter book for young readers, magically mischievous Mirror-Belle comes popping out of the mirror to sweep Ellen into two hilarious Christmassy escapades – from joining in with the Christmas ballet show to attending Ellen's friend's fancy-dress party and trying to catch Father Christmas!

Illustrated by Kate Pankhurst

A funny festive story collection for young readers, The Real Family Christmas will get everyone in the holiday spirit. Featuring three stories about the Christmas family and their hilarious escapades, it will have independent readers laughing out loud at these fun Christmas stories.

Illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

The Misadventures of Frederick is the story of a cautious little boy and his newfound fearless friend. A tale of friendship and celebrating differences told through letters: a joyful book for young readers packed with beautiful illustrations and heartwarming moments.

Illustrated by Terry Denton

Give the gift that any Treehouse fan needs this Christmas – The Treehouse Joke Book! Kids will love telling their new jokes at every Christmas gathering and entertaining friends and family with silly one-liners. With topics ranging from bears to birds, penguins to pirates, school to space, you won’t find any of these jokes in your Christmas crackers.

Illustrated by Caroline Selmes

An essential stocking filler for inquisitive young minds, The Curious Book of Lists is packed with eye-popping information on hundreds of topics – from the world’s fastest animals to history’s most fearless female warriors!

This beautiful collection is full of verses that will transport you to sparkling winter scenes, with poems for Christmas, New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day. The poems are selected from Allie Esiri’s bestselling poetry anthologies A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year, including poems by  Mary Oliver, Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, E. E. Cummings, Robert Burns, Joseph Coelho, George the Poet, Benjamin Zephaniah and Jackie Kay. 

This sparkling seasonal fantasy is perfect for reading by the light of the Christmas tree. Owl is fed up of being stuck in a perpetual summer – it’s not fun when you’re the daughter of Jack Frost. So she embarks on an adventure deep into the world of time itself to find her friend Alberic, the Earl of Autumn’s son, and end the eternal summer. 

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

This collection of classic and contemporary Christmas poems celebrates everything about the festive season, from snow and stockings to the Nativity story. Why not take it in turns to pick a poem to read as a poetry advent calendar of sorts in the run-up to the big day?

Deep in the forest, magic is waiting . . . If you’re looking for a gift idea for a child who loves magic and mystery, Shadows of Winterspell might be just the ticket. The story of a young girl dealing with the presence of dark ancient magic and set in the depths of winter, this children’s fantasy tale makes a great gift for independent readers.

A brand new magical quest story from the creator of Goth Girl, this illustrated hardback will make a special gift for young bookworms. Guardians of Magic is the first title in a brand new series from Chris Riddell, and this hardback edition also includes a full-colour guide to the giants who feature in the story.

Weave a little bit of Shakespeare’s wisdom into every day with this beautiful hardback anthology of his works. With each day featuring a Shakespeare poem, extract or sonnet, chosen and introduced by Allie Esiri, this gift will give young readers an introduction to the wit and humour of the greatest writer in the English language.

The story about a thoroughly modern family from bestselling author Emma Donoghue. In The Lotterys More or Less, nine-year-old Sumac is determined to make sure all of the family’s Christmas traditions are upheld. But from uninvited guests to weird weather and mysterious power cuts, it seems like everything is against the Lotterys having a ‘normal’ family Christmas.

Channel Kindness is a collection of fifty-one stories of kindness, bravery, and resilience from young people all over the world collected by the Born This Way Foundation and introduced by Lady Gaga.

This charming anthology is full of poems to ignite your inner activist and provide comfort and inspiration, all chosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell.

A collection of three festive stories from Eva Ibbotson. In the first story – 'Vicky and the Christmas Angel' – a young Viennese girl discovers, to her horror, who really brings the children's presents at Christmas.

The sequel to her bestselling novel Carry On, in Wayward Son Rainbow Rowell returns to the world of Simon, Penny and Baz and asks, what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day? This new novel from the author of Fangirl will delight YA fans everywhere.

A collectable anthology to be treasured, this collection of poems about love has been chosen and illustrated by former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell. With works from poets including Kate Tempest, E. E. Cummings, Carol Ann Duffy and more, it's a brilliant introduction to poetry for young readers.