What is Christmas cheer?
In Charles Dickens’ famous story “A Christmas Carol”, Uncle Scrooge starts off as a resentful, angry and irritable man, who screams terrible things like this,
“If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”
But then he turns over a new leaf, truly embraces Christmas and well, blabbers like a very very happy chatterbox,
“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world!”
Christmas Cheer is the magic that can make a grumpy soul cheerful and content.
We hope you are in good and happy spirits this December. In case you’re not, here is a delightful collection of picture books by Katha to put a smile on your face and add a warm fuzzy Christmas buzz to your life. As for children and adults who are already super excited about embracing Christmas, you’ve come to the right place because each of these books will make your Christmas as perfect and warm as it can get. We have never-been-told-before stories, that capture the caroling spirit of Christmas from everywhere. All of these titles are available in English and Hindi.
Get your reading caps on!
1. “Polar Bear” By Norbert Rosing
This Christmas, travel all the way to the Arctic Circle, and learn about a warm and unlikely friendship. This book is photographer Norbert Rosing’s gift to you, and is rife with very special snapshots from the land of snow, polar bears, and wild arctic dogs. If we had to give a gift to Santa Clause, this would be it!
2. “Treasures From Tibet” By Malavika Navale
Turning the colourful pages of this book is like opening a pretty Christmas present. Hues of purple, yellow and pink greet the young readers as they discover the story of Momo-ley and Pema’s secret treasures. This is a warm book about home, empathy, love, and belonging. This tale will warm your heart and light up your bookshelf. If you want to capture the colours, sights, and the feeling of home in a book, you have found your pick! Highly recommended for readers celebrating Christmas away from home.
3. “I Am Aan” By Meenakshi Bharadwaj And Christopher Corr
In case you forgot to buy Christmas lights for your tree you might as well read this book instead! The paintings are bright and beautiful and the story they tell is as comforting as a mother’s hug. We hope the playfulness of Aan the elephant rubs off on you, because that is the spirit with which Christmas should be welcomed. Place this book in a child’s hands and watch her get lost as she follows Aan through the colourful jungle. A warm cup of chai, a cold winter afternoon and you snuggled up in a blanket with this book. Now you know what you’ll be doing this Christmas noon.
4. “The Champa Flower” By Rabindranath Tagore And Jaikar
The perfect book to inculcate empathy in children and warm the heart of any parent. This picture book is a visual retelling of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem and describes the rich interplay between a mother and son. The words of the poem fall as softly as snowflakes on a cold winter night as the son imagines ways in which he could surprise his mother if only he were a champa flower. A beautiful bedtime book to curl up with on Christmas eve.
5. “The Little Girl Who Didn’t Want to Grow Up” By Veronique Tadjo And Catherine Groenwald
Ah, magic! Don’t you want to lose yourself in a fantasy world this Christmas holiday? This delightful fantasy follows the life of a young girl as she saves her village from dangerous criminals using her special powers. The story of Ayanda is a parable about loss giving way to love, courage and hope; a tale about embracing change with the right spirit and well, a little bit of help from magic. This beautifully illustrated African tale will add a dash of fun to your Christmas cheer. Reads best with a warm mug of hot chocolate or masala chai!
6. “One’s Own, Yet Different” By Meena Kakodkar And Charutha Reghunath
This book reads as softly as a lullaby and as provocatively as a stereotype smashing handbook. A good read for younger teens about unfair proscriptions placed on young girls and how to spot and kick them aside, step by step. Another story to comfort a soul on Christmas eve, this is a great book to place under a young girl’s Christmas tree as a gift. This book is a part of the ‘Gender Series’. The series has four other books and can be bought as a set.
Book compilation by Mamta Nainy Jain and written by Aparna Srivastava. These are some highly recommended books by all the enthusiastic editors at Katha!