Your kid probably has around two weeks of free time for Christmas break. Do the hot chocolate. Do the Christmas lights. Do the hilarious kid plays. But maybe that little one of yours could also do a book, two, or five, especially if it’s a book about elves, crazy visiting family, or a missing presidential dog.

Below is a list of five chapter book suggestions for the newly independent reader in your life. There may or may not be a bonus book at the end. Just sayin’.

 

Stanley’s Christmas Adventure (Flat Stanley) by Jeff Brown

This is a fun, imaginative story. Kids will enjoy the outrageous idea that Stanley must help convince Santa to deliver presents. This series is a fun one for newly independent readers. The stories are around 100 pages and loaded with humor.

 

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (P.S. So Does May) (Junie B. Jones) by Barbara Park

You guys know I’m a Junie B. fan. How could I not be? She always has the most hilarious and unique take on the world. Author Barbara Park gets me, and I think she gets a whole lotta young readers. There’s an elf costume and a nemesis. What more could a reader want?

 

Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

I’m a big fan of the Nate the Great series also. Like adults, many kids enjoy a good mystery—an interesting whodunit! They will also like Nate’s personality-plus sidekick and dog, Sludge. Parents will revel in the bang-for-your-buck kids’ activities in the back of the book. I know I always do.

 

Christmas in Coopertown (Ballpark Mysteries) David A. Kelly

First of all, the premise begins with the kids wrapping presents for charity. Love! Then Mike and Kate are being thanked for their generosity by getting to sleep at the Baseball Hall of Fame. What!!?? Yes, please!! Baseball lovers will be all over this book, just like kids who enjoy mysteries. I so love the idea that the kids discover one of the baseball cards is a fake. How interesting! Doesn’t this just sound like one of those books kids will sneak under the covers with a flashlight!

 

A Very Crazy Christmas (Ready, Freddy!) by Abby Klein

The twin cousins are visiting, and life’s about to get especially crazy for Freddy. What kid can’t relate to that! What person, really! Christmas is often a time we see the family we don’t usually see, the family that might be a little crazy and a lot of fun! Kids and parents will all enjoy the activities in the back of the book. Actually, if I’m undecided on a handful of books, I will always choose the one with the extra freebies. That’s just how it is.

 

BONUS book suggestion:

 

White House White-Out (A to Z Mysteries) by Ron Roy

The kids are visiting Washington D.C. when the president’s dog goes missing! Love that! They have to find the dog before a huge snowstorm hits. This is the reading trifecta for kids: traveling, dogs and snow.

 

 

As always, happy reading!

~Amberly