suggested by Gwenyth Swain, with help from Mardi Coman Swain

Want to put a little music into a Christmas storytime? Or does holiday music—even in book form—always get you humming? The following children’s picture books either use the lyrics of traditional holiday songs for their texts, examine the origins of those songs, or create new songs to celebrate Christ’s birth. Enjoy, and keep humming!

The Huron Carol
Written by Father Jean de Brébeuf; illustrated by Frances Tyrrell
Eerdmans, 2003

Written by an early Jesuit missionary to the Huron Indians, then living in Ontario, this carol puts the story of Christ’s birth into a Native American setting. Artist Frances Tyrrell re-creates that setting in painstaking and rich detail. Music and words (in English, French, and Huron) are included.

The Friendly Beasts: A Traditional Christmas Carol
Illustrated by Sarah Chamberlain
Dutton, 1991

The various animals in and near the manger tell of their roles in Christ’s birth in this carol, dating to medieval times. Chamberlain’s simple illustrations make this a good choice for the very young. Words and music are included.

Las Navidades: Popular Christmas Songs from Latin America
Selected and illustrated by Lulu Delacre
Scholastic, 1990

This illustrated songbook provides lyrics in both Spanish and English for a dozen tunes from Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Mexico, and Venezuela. Captions provide information about traditional celebrations. A recipe for the Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings Cake) eaten on the feast of the Epiphany is included, as are musical arrangements for each song.

Feliz Navidad: two stories celebrating Christmas
Written by José Feliciano; illustrated by David Diaz
Scholastic, 2003

Twenty-four-year-old Feliciano wrote his popular Christmas song when he was spending a cold and homesick winter away from his native Puerto Rico. A brief introduction sets the scene for the traditional Puerto Rican holiday celebration shown in Caldecott-medal-winning artist David Diaz’s vibrant illustrations.

What Can I Give Him?
Illustrated by Debi Gliori
Holiday House, 1998

This beautifully illustrated book puts pictures to the words of the traditional Christmas hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter,” from the poem by Christina Rossetti. Two stories unfold in the watercolor illustrations: that of a poor girl present at the Nativity and that of a girl in modern times trying to find the right gift for her grandfather.

Silent Night: The Song from Heaven
Written by Linda Granfield, illustrated by Nelly and Ernst Hofer
Tundra Books, 1998

Granfield (author of Amazing Grace: The Story of the Hymn) tells a short story of children setting up the crèche at the church of St. Nicola in Oberndorf, Austria, on Christmas Eve, 1818. She follows this with a nonfiction account of the song that was first sung that evening: Stille Nacht, or “The Song from Heaven.” The Hofers illustrate both sections with scherenschnitt (cut paper art). Words to the song in German and English are included.

Twelve Days of Christmas
Illustrated by Rachel Griffin
Barefoot Books, 2002

Artist Griffin combines beads, stamps, maps, handmade papers, fabrics, buttons, and jewels to create a visual feast—and a good counting exercise. The book includes a CD recording of the traditional carol.

Silent Night
Written by Margaret Hodges; illustrated by Tim Ladwig
Eerdmans, 2001

Hodges recounts the story of how a young Austrian priest, Father Mohr, struggled to come up with a simple poem to tell the story of Christ’s birth. His church organ was broken, but inspiration finally came to him and to the local schoolmaster, Franz Gruber, who set the words of Mohr’s poem to music on Christmas Eve, 1818. Words and music are included.

What a Morning: The Christmas Story in Black Spirituals
Edited by John Langstaff; illustrated by Ashley Bryan
McElderry Books, 1996

This songbook combines artwork illustrating the Christmas story with such well-known spirituals as “Go, Tell It on the Mountain” and “Mary Had a Baby.” Words and music are included.

Good King Wenceslas
Written by John Mason Neale; illustrated by Christopher Manson
North-South Books, 1994

Manson gives a medieval look to illustrations for the familiar carol about Wenceslas, the tenth-century duke and patron saint of Bohemia. On the feast of St. Stephen (Dec. 26th), Wenceslas and his page set out in the deep snow with food and fuel for a poor man, offering a moving example of the true spirit of Christmas. Words and music are included, along with a historical note. 

O Holy Night: Christmas with the Boys Choir of Harlem
Illustrated by Faith Ringgold
Amistad Press, 2004

Ringgold’s paintings, with decorations in gold, present an African-American holy family and a multi-ethnic Nativity scene. Ringgold illustrates five carols, including the title song. A CD recording of the songs by the Boys Choir of Harlem is included, along with the suggestion to “Listen to the singing as you enjoy the paintings.”

All for the Newborn Baby
Written by Phyllis Root; illustrated by Nicola Bayley
Candlewick, 2000

What kind of lullaby did Mary sing to the baby Jesus? Minneapolis author Phyllis Root draws inspiration from Christmas miracle tales to present a cradle song to Christ. Bayley’s finely detailed illustrations complement the text. The music is left for you to imagine.

I Wonder as I Wander
Written by Gwenyth Swain;
illustrated by Ronald Himler
Eerdmans, 2003

In the midst of the Great Depression, a young girl named Annie Morgan sang for balladeer and folklorist John Jacob Niles the Appalachian Christmas carol now known as “I Wonder As I Wander.” From these bare facts, the author imagines how Morgan might have written her haunting song. Words and music are included.

On Christmas Day in the Morning
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Candlewick Press, 2001

Sweet’s lively illustrations make this a good choice for the youngest readers, while John Langstaff’s foreword gives hints on how to act out this old English folk song, which calls to mind “I Saw Three Ships.” Words and music are included.

We Three Kings
Illustrated by Olga Zharkova
Scholastic, 1993

Russian-born artist Zharkova uses delicate but brilliantly colored tissue paper collages to set the scene for this traditional carol. Words and music are included on the end sheets.