Get Into the Spirit of the Season With These Christmas-Filled Fantasy Books

A Boy Called Christmas, by Matt Haig
This one is a new addition to the Christmas book pile, and it’s a good one that will be around for many years to come. Before he became Father Christmas, aka Santa Claus, Nikolas was a boy living a pretty dismal life of poverty in the woods of Finland. His one toy was a doll carved by his mother out of a turnip, and since she died when he was six, the turnip has lost it freshness. When his father sets off to find the land of the elves in the far north and doesn’t come back, Nikolas runs from his unkind aunt and sets off to find him. Riding on the back of a reindeer who he has saved from death, who he names Blitzen, he reaches Elfhelm, the village of the Elves, but it has become a gloomy place, and Nikolas is not wanted. To bring joy back to Elves, Nikolas must undo the harm his father has been part of, and in so doing, Nikolas finds his own calling in life—to bring joy to all the children of the world. This is a great one to read aloud. There’s lots to chuckle at, some of it a bit irreverent (Blitzen, for instance, lets loose all over the unkind aunt while flying over her), and the many illustrations add lots to the lighthearted charm of the story.

The Legend of Holly Claus, by Brittney Ryan
In 1878, 10 year old Christopher writes a letter to Santa. He doesn’t ask for presents, but instead hopes Santa’s own wish comes true, and it does—he and his wife have a baby girl named Holly. Their happiness is spoiled when an evil spirit named Harriken sees Holly as a chance to break the curse imprisoning him, and he freezes her heart as the first step in his plan. Holly must always stay cold or her heart will melt, and her childhood is lonely, with only animals for friends. When she grows up, she insists on visiting the human world despite the danger of Harriken. In New York City she sees firsthand the suffering of poor children, and because she is Santa’s own daughter, she does what she can to help. Since she too is a magical toymaker, the results are wonderful. There she meets Christopher, and with him at her side she defeats Harriken once and for all. For a story about Santa, there’s not a lot of emphasis on Christmas, but there are flying reindeer and toy-making aplenty. It’s a slow moving story, with lots about Holly’s childhood, and it’s a bit long for a read aloud (522 pages). But Holly’s animal companions and her magical trip to New York will appeal to older elementary school kids who enjoy old fashioned fairy tale fantasy, and it’s is a good one for the dreamy 8 or 9 year old who’s wanting to try big books. The lovely illustrations add immensely to the enchantment.

Young Scrooge, by R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine is the author of the immensely popular Goosebumps series of scary stories for middle grade readers, and in Young Scrooge he gives Dickens’ Christmas Carol a Goosebumps-style twist, making it into a contemporary story of ghosts and zombies and time travel. Rick Scroogeman hates Christmas, and he is utterly lacking in any goodwill toward his fellows. In fact, he is an obnoxious bully, with no sense that his mean behavior toward the other kids is at all wrong. He thinks it’s funny. When he indulges in his usual seasonal activity of finding and checking out the presents his mother has hidden away for him, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future decide to take action and teach him (if he’s able to learn) to be a better person, and one who can appreciate Christmas with a warm and loving heart.

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford
I can promise that this one is a lovely read aloud at Christmas-time, because I read it to my own boys last year. It’s not a Christmas story, but it is set at Christmas time, in a snowbound hotel with a tree and presents and lots of hot chocolate. Greenglass House is an inn perched high on a hill above a town that’s been a haven for smugglers for years and years. It is Christmas vacation, and young Milo, whose parents own the inn, is looking forward to a peaceful time with no visitors. Then a strange assortment of guests make their way through the snowy night to Greenglass House. Each thought they would be the only guest. Each has a secret connected to the history of the house…and one secret is deadly. As the snow keeps falling, the guests share stories, adding pieces to the puzzle. And Milo, with the help of Meddie, a girl his own age, who’s shown up along with extra helpers from the town, is determined to put the puzzle together. Meddie convinces Milo to make it a game of Odd Trails, a role-playing fantasy adventure. Given confidence by his new identity as a Blackjack (with its slate of abilities useful for a thief and a clue–hunter), Milo sets to work. One story leads to another, and in the telling and finding and living of the stories, Milo finds that there were secrets to Greenglass House he could never have dreamt of.

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
This is a classic fantasy story set at Christmas, in a snowy corner of England where the age-old struggle between the forces of Light and Dark collides with the ordinary life of a boy named Will. It is a midwinter day, Will’s eleventh birthday, and he’s looking forward to a white Christmas with all his many older siblings at home when he finds that he has a part to play on the side of the forces of Light. Suddenly the familiar landscape of his home and the snowy woods around it changes into an ancient landscape of magic. And as winter tightens its grip and the cold grows stronger, the Dark comes rising. A time-travel interlude back to a Victorian Christmas house party adds an additional touch of seasonal charm. This is a truly gripping adventure, and the Christmas setting makes it one I like to re-read myself this time of year, with great enjoyment every time around. Although it’s technically the second in the series, it stands alone just fine.