With the holidays fast approaching, we wanted to put together a big list of some of our favorite nature-themed holiday books for kids. We hope this list will help you find the perfect books for celebrating the season with your children. Add a few of these to your Christmas wishlist, shopping list, gift-giving list, or library list. 

{This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through one of our links. Thank you for supporting a small business.}40+ Nature-Themed Holiday Books for Kids

Holiday book countdown

One of my kids’ (and my) favorite holiday traditions is our monthly countdown to Christmas with holiday books. Our house is filled with books – they’re one of those things I think belong in every room of the house. For the most part, all our books stay out and are available year-round. However, there are special “holiday” books that only come out once a year. 

Every December 1, I pull out the bins full of our holiday books from the attic. Each night in December, the kids get to each pick out a book from the bin and we read them together before bedtime. You can wrap them individually (we used to do this, but it takes a lot of time and is a bit of a waste of paper with three kids) or put them in a bin, box, or bag. The kids love this tradition so much and start talking about their favorite books in October! 

After nine years, we’ve built up quite a collection of holiday books. We have enough now that each kid gets their own bin of 24 books – all the books are related to winter, snow, or the December holidays.

Building a holiday book collection

If you’re new to the concept, it might sound expensive to collect all these books. But, don’t worry, there are definitely ways to make this project inexpensive (or even free!). You don’t have to start with 24 books. Even just a handful of books will work just fine. You probably already have some holiday books at home that you can use to get started. Instead of doing a book every day, choose a book each week or one book every 3-4 days. Or start later in the month and only do the last week leading up to the holidays.

Local libraries usually have HUGE holiday kid’s book sections. You could easily check out some holiday books for a few weeks to do this project. Ask your local librarian to put together a fun mixed assortment of holiday and winter books that are age-appropriate for your kids. They usually have really great suggestions and you might be surprised to find some new favorites. This is also a great way to supplement the books you already have or add a few new books to the rotation each year to mix things up!

If you’re looking to purchase the books, I love hitting up thrift stores and second-hand bookstores for kids’ holiday books. Thriftbooks.com and Half Price Books are a few of my favorite places to find quality pre-loved books. I purchase them throughout the year and add them to the collection whenever I pick one up. A lot of the books on this list are for older (not recent) books, which means they’re more likely to be available at second-hand bookshops.

Check out garage sales, local BST pages or even Facebook pages for books swaps or “no buy” groups. Many families with older kids probably have lots of holiday books that their kids have outgrown that they’d be willing to gift down to a new family. If you know of families that have kids much older than yours, ask them if they have old books they’d like to pass on. Or organize your own book swap party! 

Or, give this list to relatives, friends, and grandparents to help stock your kids’ bookshelves full of fun outdoor nature-themed holiday books for next year (and beyond). In my opinion, books make the best presents! 

nature themed christmas books for kids

Holiday books for everyone

We have a lot of “traditional” holiday books (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express, etc.), but I’m not including those on this list. While those are wonderful and have a special place in our heart, I’m focusing today on nature books. I love finding books that incorporate nature, animals, wildlife into stories and encourage kids to get outside during the cold winter months. Those are the books that I’ve included here. Most of these we either own, have read, or were recommended by friends and followers. 

While our family celebrates Christmas, that’s certainly not the only holiday this time of year and we appreciate reading books about how others celebrate the season, as well. I’ve added a few books to our collection about other holidays and celebrations so that my kids are aware that not everyone celebrates the same thing and we can learn about other holidays. I’ve listed a few of the nature-themed ones here.

Finally, I threw in a few general “winter” books about snow, hibernation, the winter solstice, and general winter observations. The first day of winter comes right around the holidays and the change in seasons is always a reason to celebrate. Hopefully, there’s something on this list for everyone!

holiday nature books for kids

Nature-themed holiday books for kids

Here are over 40 nature-themed holiday books for kids. From animal characters to beautiful winterscapes, each of these books incorporates aspects of nature and the outdoors. We hope you’ll add a few of these to your holiday book collection and that they inspire your child to love and appreciate nature and the world around them. 

Best Nature Holiday Books for Kids 1

The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen

Little Christmas Tree by Jessica Courtney-Tickle

Hanukkah Bear by Eric A. Kimmel

The Christmas Quiet Book  by Deborah Underwood

The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

 

The Great Spruce by John Duvall

A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe

Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht

A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas by Pat Mora

Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendelsberger

 

Best Nature Holiday Books for Kids 3

The Tree That’s Meant to Be by Yuval Zommer

The Story of Hanukkah by David A. Adler

Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever by Matt Tavares

Little Robin’s Christmas by Jan Fearnley

The Christmas Garden by Caroline Tuohey

 

Best Outdoor Nature-Themed Holiday Books for Kids 4

Christmas with the Mousekins by Maggie Smith

The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story by Angela Shelf Medearis

A Christmas Tree for Pyn by Olivier Dunrea

Yoon and the Christmas Mitten by Helen Recorvits

 

The Lost Gift: A Christmas Story by Kallie George

This Is Christmas by Tom Booth

Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale by Eric A. Kimmel

The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear

Lights for Gita by Rachna Gilmore

 


Walking in a Winter Wonderland by Richard B. Smith

The Stars Will Still Shine by Cynthia Rylant

Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

Over the River & Through the Wood: A Holiday Adventure by Linda Ashman

 


The Deep and Snowy Wood by Elwyn Tate

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson

The Chanukkah Guest by Eric A. Kimmel

La Noche Buena: A Christmas Story by Antonio Sacre 

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

 

Best Nature Holiday Books for Kids 8
Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray

The Message of the Birds by Kate Westerlund

Goodnight Stories from the Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Saniyasnain Khan

Mice Skating by Annie Silvestro

Home for Christmas by Jan Brett

 

Best Nature-Inspired Christmas Books for Kids
My Wonderful Christmas Tree by Dahlov Ipcar

All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings by Gayle Boss

Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy by Carl R. Sams

The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

Lucia Morning in Sweden by Ewa Rydaker

 

Best Nature-Inspired Christmas Books for Kids
The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits: A Christmas Story for Advent by Ulf Stark

Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider by Richard H. Schneider

Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares

Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon

Fox’s Garden by Princesse Camcam

The Snow Tree by Caroline Repchuk

The Mukluk Ball by Katharine Johnson 

 

Winter nature books for kids

Here are a few of our favorite winter-themed nature books for kids. These books are not holiday-related (per se) – they are more about the celebration of the winter season and solstice. I love incorporating a few of these into our holiday reading to educate the kids on what’s going on in the world outside around them this time of year. 

Best Winter Nature Books for Kids

Winter Song: A Day In The Life Of A Kid by Anetta Kotowicz

Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by Kenard Pak

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

The Solstice Badger by Robin McFadden

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

 

Best Winter Nature Books for Kids 2

Winter’s Coming: A Story of Seasonal Change by Jan Thornhill 

The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett

The Snow Dancer by Addie Boswell

Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter by Eugenie Doyle

Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story by Sean Taylor

 

The Story of the Snow Children by Sibylle von Olfers

Snow Still by Holly Surplice

Little Owl’s Snow by Divya Srinivasan

Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli

When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan

 

Snow by Cynthia Rylant

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

 

Anything we missed?
What are your favorite nature holiday books for kids?