One of the best things the internet ever did was to introduce me to the holiday of Jólabókaflóðið.
Jólabókaflóðið (or Jolabokaflod in the Englishified version) means “Christmas book flood” and is the Icelandic tradition of gifting and reading books on December 24 while drinking cocoa or non-alcoholic ale.
What follows is a list of my favorite Jolabokaflod reads. I hope you enjoy, and maybe even find a new favorite yourself:
Children’s Books:
APPLE TREE CHRISTMAS by Trinka Hayes Noble - Katrina loves to draw sitting in the old apple tree. Then winter strikes and an ice storm leaves her tree in ruins. Can a very special present from her father restore her faith in the magic of the season?
This was the first book I ever received that was autographed by the author (Noble is a Michigan native), but I didn’t really begin to love it until my daughter was born and it became one of our most-read holiday stories. Now, much like Katrina and her tree, I can’t imagine Christmas without it.
THE CHRISTMAS TALE OF PETER RABBIT by Emma Thompson (yes, that one!)
Peter and his cousin, Benjamin Rabbit, team up to help William Turkey, who is alarmed to find that being the “honored guest” at the McGregor’s Christmas meal does not mean what he thinks it means.
My son received this book as a gift in 2013 and it became an instant favorite. The sweetness and laugh-out-loud humor are everything the holidays do best.
THE CHRISTMAS TREE THAT GREW by Phyllis Krasilovsky
Siblings Margaret and Peter Adam are charged with caring for their family’s Christmas tree. Imagine their surprise when the tree grows right through their ceiling and into their neighbors’ apartments!
This was actually my husband’s book. When our kids were born, we inherited a number of his Little Golden Books, this touching tale of found family and the power of simple kindnesses among them. I’m slightly obsessed with adapting this into a linked collection.
Middle Grade:
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER by Barbara Robinson
The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world. What will happen now that they’ve decided to star in the church Christmas pageant?
This is one of those books that is baked into my holiday DNA. I remember reading it in elementary school (perhaps it was even read TO us?), as well as watching the 1983 made-for-TV movie adaptation starring Loretta Swit and Fairuza Balk. My one experience assistant-directing was the stage version this book when I was in high school. Gladys Herdman will always be the Christmas Angel in my mind.
Side note: If you are an audiobook fan, I urge you to check out Elaine Stritch’s hilarious narration of this classic. It’s absolutely delightful.
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll
Alice is bored listening to her sister read. When a white rabbit hops by, looking at his pocket watch and fretting “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” she decides to follow him down the rabbit hole. What she finds is a whole new world, one that soon has her wishing to find her way back home.
While this one’s not exactly holiday-themed, it is the book I would read in bed every Christmas Eve in my youth. Alice’s adventures always felt akin to the magic of the season, and just the thing to carry me through to Christmas morning. Plus, my copy - an inherited Junior Deluxe Edition from the 1950s - begins with Carroll’s poem “Christmas Greetings From a Fairy to a Child,” so I think I’m onto something.
Adult Fiction
SHEPHERDS ABIDING and SOMEWHERE SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD by Jan Karon
Christmas in Mitford is a special time of year. In SHEPHERDS ABIDING, Father Tim restores a dilapidated nativity scene for his wife, Cynthia. In SOMEWHERE SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD, he finds himself in a most unexpected place: working holiday retail as a bookseller while the store’s owner is confined to bedrest.
I’ve been a fan of Karon’s Mitford series for years. In fact, her depiction of North Carolina was one of the (okay, my) deciding factors in our relocation from Colorado. Father Tim’s stories are balm for the soul and gentle meditations on the meaning of the holidays. Plus, I worked at Barnes & Noble in my twenties and I love revisiting the special kind of mayhem that comes with holiday retail.
A VERY RAVEN CHRISTMAS by Jennifer Brasington-Crowley
Chaos reigns as rockstar-turned-husband-and-father Raven Xerces spends his first holidays with his wife’s family.
This novella is a new favorite, imagine Christmas Vacation if Billie Joe Armstrong played Clark Griswold. It’s a single-serving treat perfect for reading by the light of the (burning) Christmas tree. BONUS: The author is currently serving up more sweet holiday satisfaction on Instagram with the Hallmark Christmas Movie version of her book, Cayman Island.
Sarah Addison Allen’s #SAAAdventCalendar
A daily tiny magical story on Instagram (December 1-25)
Not a book, but I’ve long been a fan of NC author Allen’s magical realism (GARDEN SPELLS, SUGAR QUEEN), and this is my third year following her December story series. I love her whimsical takes on everything from tree lights to self-tying ribbons.
What will you be reading this Jolabokaflod? Drop me a line and let me know!