12 Newly Released
Children’s Holiday Books
1. Gingerbread Christmas
By Jan Brett
Gingerbread Baby and his friend,
Matti, take his gingerbread band to
the Christmas Festival where they
are a hit,
until the
aroma of
ginger- bread
reaches the chil-
dren, sig-
naling it’s
time to run away. Clever Matti uses
snow to disguise the gingerbread
instruments while Gingerbread Baby
leads the audience on a merry chase
to the smartest hiding place ever—a
giant Christmas tree.

2. Very Christmas
By Simone Mets
When Santa’s workshop is destroyed
by a ferocious storm, even the richest
man in the world is stumped for
a way
to save
Christ- mas. Just
when everyone
seems to give
up all hope, the unstumpable Ava
Buttons, together with her friends,
discover a way to make Christmas
wishes come true.

3. Dreidels on the Brain
By Joel ben Izzy
Joel is wish-
ing for one
lousy Hanuk-
kah miracle,
but instead
he seems to
just be get-
ting chopped
liver. His dad
is sick and his
parents don’t
have any
money to give Hanukkah presents.

Through the course of the eight days
of Hanukkah, though, Joel discovers
an appreciation for small miracles
in his life, with a little help from an
unusual stranger he meets on a bus.

4. North Pole Ninjas:
MISSION: Christmas!
By Tyler Knott Gregson and Sarah
Linden Santa has a team of special elves,
selected for their
ability to help
carry out top-
secret missions
that are
all about
helping, giving, caring and listening. Anyone
who receives this box is called upon
to help carry out those missions with
a bit of stealth and an open heart.

5. The
Night Before the
Snow Day
By Natasha
Wing and
Amy Wummer
It’s nighttime
34 December 2016 washingtonFAMILY.com



and snow is falling hard. Will the
town be snowed in? Will there be a
snow day? Odds are looking good
in this newest “Night Before” book
for the kids who dream of snowball
fights, sledding and the possibility
that it may snow again tomorrow.

a hungry
cat in his
barn and
becomes inspired to
turn every
night of Ha-
nukkah into
something special.

6. The Great Spruce
By John Duvall and Rebecca Gibbon
Alec loves to climb little apple trees,
wide willow trees and even tall locust
trees. But the
great spruce,
with its sturdy
trunk and
branches that
stretch up
to the sky, is
his favorite.

Together with
his grandpa,
a young boy
finds a way to save his favorite tree in
this heartwarming Christmas tale.

7. Happy New Year, Spot!
By Eric Hill
Spot isn’t old enough to stay up until
midnight, but he finds a way to cel-
ebrate the
New Year
early with
his fam-
ily. Bring
your party
hats and
noisemak- ers as you
join Spot
in celebrating the New Year.

8. Hanukkah With Mazel
By Joel Edward Stein
A poor artist who has nobody with
whom to share Hanukkah discovers
and much more.

11. Stowaway in a Sleigh
By Roger Mader
When Slipper finds Mr. Furry Boots
in her house, she does what any
cat would do and investigates. But
curiosity gets the best of her when
9. The Biggest Smallest
Christmas Present
By Harriet Muncaster
Clementine is a teeny-tiny girl who
lives with her average-sized family.

Every year, Santa brings Clementine
and her brother amazing toys, but
they are never the right size for Clem-
entine. But when Clementine finally
figures out how
to play
with those
not-quite- right
gifts, she
comes up
with the
perfect way to show Santa who she
is…and to get the toy of her dreams.

10. Baby Touch and Feel:
Christmas she finds herself on a trip she hadn’t
planned on taking. Join Slipper as
she discov-
ers that
there’s no
place like
home—es- pecially for
Christmas. 12. Potatoes at Turtle Rock
By Susan Schnur
and Anna Schnur-Fishman
Annie leads her family on a night-
time journey around their farm to
celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.

At each
By DK Books
stop along
Help your baby experience the
magic of Christmas! This jolly treat
will get your baby excited for the
holiday sea-
son as he
or she feels
Santa’s vel-
vety hat, the
Christmas decorations,
a red-nosed
reindeer the way
she uses
riddles (and
potatoes) to mark old
traditions and start new ones. They
end up at Turtle Rock Creek, where
they give thanks for the light and
warmth (and potatoes) in their lives.

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