Christmas Books for a Two Minute Attention Span
Combine my high standards with Toddler Bookworm’s attention span, and you know the books that make our cut are pretty unique! When it comes to holiday books (Christmas or any other), I have little patience for books that seem like a marketing ploy.
Regardless of the season, I look for books with captivating plots, memorable characters, detailed and artistically rich design, that are fun for both kids and grown ups to snuggle up with together.
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Below are our favorites for Christmas, for toddlers and young preschoolers. You might call it our Books for a Two Minute Attention Span, Christmas Edition. (See the first edition here.) You should be able to find these titles at your local library; if you choose to add them to your collection, or gift them this Christmas, we appreciate your support of Librarian in the House through the affiliate links provided!
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh! by Mo Willems. Pigeon’s newest dream is to drive the sleigh, and he has all of the reasons why he should, until he has a turn of heart. This is perfect for a dramatic reading– fast paced and lots of over the top antics make this a great one for short attention spans.
Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney. I’ve shared before my admiration for Dewdney’s skill at validating toddler/preschool emotions. In this holiday offering, she tackles the overwhelming nature of the season– long shopping outings, the interminable wait to Christmas, the disillusionment of stringing lights on the tree (“How come Mama isn’t done?”), which culminate in an epic tantrum: “All this waiting for one day? Time for presents RIGHT AWAY! Too much music, too much fluff! Too much making, too much stuff!” (Sound familiar?) Similar to my thoughts on Llama Llama Mad at Mama (which was on my list of Books that Aren’t About the Holidays But Kinda Really Are), this story handles typical (and understandable) childhood emotion deftly while moving to a calmer state and affirming loving relationships. (The “Llama” series also appears on my original Books for a Two Minute Attention Span list. We do love this series, which includes board books and slightly longer picture books like this one. If you’re looking for an even shorter Llama holiday book, check out board book Llama Llama Jingle Bells.)
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle. My bookworms are big fans of Little Blue Truck, which was one of then-Baby Bookworm’s first additions to his library while I was still reading to him in utero (pre-delivery reading was a given as a librarian leading storytimes. LOL). The Christmas offering is a counting book (up to 5 and back down), and the final page includes flashing Christmas lights. It is actually quite a bit shorter than the other books in the series, with a very slight plotline (Little Blue loads up his truck with 5 trees to deliver to his friends, then keeps the final one to decorate himself.) If your bookworms are existing fans of Little Blue, they’ll likely love seeing a seasonal tie-in; if not, this isn’t going to generate any converts to the series. As of my writing, this is on sale at Amazon for $8.99 and does make a nice gift as it’s a large book (due to the built-in LED lights).
Merry Christmas, friends!
