5 Books for Kids with December Birthdays

Too Many Toys!, by Heidi Deedman
Kids with December birthdays are especially prone to ending up with too many toys, all at once. Heidi Deedman’s charming book chronicles the evolution of Lulu’s toy collection, which begins when she’s given a single teddy bear named Jupiter when she’s a baby. As Lulu grows, the toys accumulate, until “her shelves were full” and “her toy box wouldn’t close.” By the time Christmas rolls around, Lulu is drowning in toys, and Jupiter is worried. Lulu decides to host a “Great Toy Giveaway” for all her friends, making more space for Jupiter in her room…until next Christmas.

The Animals’ Santa by Jan Brett
Perhaps no author/illustrator evokes more joy about wintertime wonders than Jan Brett, whose birthday, appropriately, is December 1. Brett is famous for telling one lavishly illustrated story in the main section of the book, while characters carry on another, wordless one in the side panels of her pages. In The Animals’ Santa, Little Snow the snowshoe hair wonders who the animals’ Santa is. The forest creatures have some ideas about who leaves them presents—perhaps a badger, moose, or a bear? While the animals ponder this, some little mammal elves (possibly lemmings?) are busy in the side panels, making this a very hygge Christmas by knitting scarves, stringing berries and building instruments and toys. By the end of the story Little Snow has his curiosity satisfied and his faith in Santa reaffirmed.

Too Many Toys, by David Shannon
Did I mention that kids with December birthdays often have a toy overload problem? Shannon’s zany, energetic illustrations highlight the plight of Spencer, whose toys fill his room, and take over the living room, bathtub, and backyard. He can’t help it—a hysterical two-page spread depicts the many people in Spencer’s life eager to him with toys, from Grandma Bobo to the dentist. When Spencer’s parents injure themselves by stepping on Legos and tripping on train tracks, it’s time for Spencer to clear them out. He and his mom “haggled and wrestled and argued over every toy in the entire house,” until they arrive at a solution. Albeit a temporary one.

Happy Birdday, Tacky!, by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger
Everybody’s favorite odd bird, Tacky the Penguin, celebrates his birdday in this volume of Helen Lester’s winning series, and demonstrates all the fun that can be had with a wintertime birthday. Tacky’s friends Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect want to make Tacky’s birdday special, by stringing streamers and balloons from the iceberg, baking a cake, loading up on fishy ice cream, and inviting Tinklewebs the Dance Queen from Iglooslavia to perform. When Tacky is involved, the best laid plans of perfect penguins go awry—but end up being all the more spectacular for their imperfection.

A Farmer Boy Birthday by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Jody Wheeler
This snowy picture book, adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy, illustrates the joys of a wintertime birthday. Almanzo lives with his family in upstate New York, and on his birthday his parents allow him to stay home from school. He gets to spend the day using his first present—a yoke to train his first pair of oxen, Star and Bright, to pull a plow. After Almanzo bundles up and leads Star and Bright around in the snow, his parents surprise him with a second present: a brand new sled. He spends the afternoon sliding around on it in the cold before returning to the warm house to enjoy donuts and cookies.