Celebrate the wonder that winter holidays bring with these selected titles!
Preschool
The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah
by Laurel Snyder
In a dark, dark room, one thin candle wakes, bursts to life. Thus begins the first night of Hanukkah in one child’s home. But what does the light from the candle mean? What are the words everyone is singing? What will each of these eight nights hold? Family and friends, takeout dinners and flat tires, traditions new and old — it’s all part of this year’s timeless, timely holiday celebration.
The People Remember
by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
Recounts the journey of African descendants in America by connecting their history to the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Middle Grade
Miss Holly is too Jolly!
by Dan Gutman
Disaster reigns when A.J. participates in the school’s holiday pageant celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Let it Glow
by Marissa Meyer
When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior’s center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though. One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. The girls secretly trade lives, planning to stage a dramatic reveal to their families. Two virtual strangers swapping homes, holidays, and age-old traditions—what could possibly go wrong?
A Dragon for Hanukkah
by Sarah Mlynowski
Come celebrate the Festival of Lights with Hannah as she receives eight magical presents–one for each night. There’s a playful dragon, a gleaming treasure chest, some rowdy unicorns–and more. But are the gifts what they seem to be? When Hannah gathers with family and friends to light the menorah, she’ll discover the true magic of Hanukkah.
Young Adult
Holly: a Belladonna Novella
by Adalyn Grace
Something strange is happening at Wisteria Gardens, the manor that Blythe and Aris call home. All they want is a peaceful holiday season with their family, but a group of restless spirits is determined to threaten their festivities. With a new mystery to solve, Signa, Death, Blythe, and Fate must uncover what happened to Wisteria’s ghostly inhabitants and help the spirits move on… before it’s too late.
Finding My Elf
by David Valdes
Escaping to NYU for college didn’t turn out the way Cameron planned–he’s flunking his theater classes, about to lose his scholarship, and he still hasn’t found anyone he can call his ‘people.’ When he gets home for winter break, he’s so desperate to avoid a conversation with his dad that he takes the first acting job he can get–as a Christmas elf. This is no normal holiday mall gig. The bourgie Santaland is running a contest that allows shoppers to vote on their favorite elf. Cam is willing to deal with a supercharged game of ‘the customer is always right,’ though, if that’s what it takes to nab the cash prize. But the competition is fierce–especially from fellow elf Marco, who’s everything Cam isn’t.
Adult
The Secret Christmas Library
by Jenny Colgan
Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate–if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home. But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting.
The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah
by Jean Meltzer
Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you’ve got long hours, impossible deadlines, and your dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she’s shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor. … As Evelyn revisits her ghosts of Hanukkah past, she and David both begin to wonder if they can have a Hanukkah future.
Midwinter Murder: Fireside Tales from the Queen of Mystery
by Agatha Christie
Eleven wintry whodunits from Agatha Christie, including stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
by Alexa Selner