In this post: A round-up of the best Spanish Christmas books for kids including cultural books about Hispanic Navidad traditions.
Are you looking for Spanish Christmas books for your children?
I love rotating our bilingual books and keeping our shelves fresh with seasonal titles!
From authentic books about Los Reyes Magos to traditional stories like El Burrito Sabanero, you will find plenty of beautiful and engaging Spanish books here!
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Be sure to also check out our Gift Guide for Bilingual Families here, and our Christmas Spanish Lessons for Kids!
Table of Contents
‘Twas Nochebuena
I was so happy to have found this Scholastic book. I wanted a book to read with my kids on Christmas Eve (nochebuena) and this is just perfect! It is written mostly in English with Spanish key vocab woven in.
In this bilingual story, we follow a family as they prepare for a Christmas Eve celebration in their home and read about their hispanic traditions. From making tamales to decorating their walls and singing festive canciones, this is such a fun read!
I just love the poetic structure of the story too, which stays true to the traditional format of ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ story. Here’s a snippet:
’Twas Nochebuena and all through our casa,
every creature was kneading tamale masa…
You’ll have to grab yourself a copy to read the rest- you won’t be disappointed!
Link: ‘Twas Nochebuena.
My Little Donkey / Mi Burrito (Canticos)
If you were able to check out my recent Spotify Playlist for Villancicos (Christmas Carols for kids) you will have learnt this song already! This holiday book is based on one of the most popular Christmas carols in Spanish: “Mi Burrito Sabanero“ (The Little Donkey from the Savannah).
This sweet story is so unique with it’s accordion fold- it stretches out across the floor, as well as it’s interactive features like lift the flap and turn the wheel.
It is bilingual, with Spanish on one side and English on the other. We have several in the Canticos series and love every single one.
Mi Burrito tells the tale of a trotting donkey on his way to Bethlehem to meet baby Jesus. The moral is that the best gift you can give this Christmas is love! (Heart swell!)
Link: Mi Burrito
A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas
Don’t you just love a 12 days of Christmas book?
The Latino twist is just adorable with piñatas replacing partridges, and burritos bailando instead of ladies dancing, and lunitas cantando (singing moons) just to name a couple!
The story is so sweet as a girl keeps receiving gifts from a secret sister and she only discovers who it is at the end of the book. (Don’t worry, no spoilers here!)
Link: A Piñata in a Pine Tree.
Los Tres Reyes Magos
Lil’Libros have featured in some of my other blog posts. I just LOVE their simple yet engaging and vibrant books.
This bilingual book illustrates the Three Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem and presenting gifts to baby Jesus. The vocabulary in this book focuses on colors and the objects along their journey. For example, pink camels and yellow stars.
Link: Los Tres Reyes Magos.
La Navidad es un regalo de Dios
I was so happy to stumble upon this book at the library recently. I was struggling to navigate how to explain to my 3 year old (who is understanding far more than I give him credit for these days!) how Jesus is the reason for the season, but then there’s the big man in red too….
In this sweet story, a little polar bear asks his mama who invented Christmas? He also asks if God is more important than Santa?
They head out on a journey to find God and soon discover many signs that God is everywhere and that Jesus is, indeed, the best present of all and the true meaning of the holiday.
Link: La Navidad es un regalo de Dios.
Ya llegan los Reyes Magos
A great story to read on January 6th to celebrate Epiphany!
This is a more traditional latino book which beautifully illustrates the excitement of a child on Los Reyes Magos (Three Wise Men) day. It is written as a poem and is just beautiful. Most of our books are more modern, but this one is particularly special to us as it is more authentic.
Link: Ya llegan los Reyes Magos.
Un Coquí de Boriquén con los Reyes a Belén
Another Scholastic book and a fun bilingual book option to celebrate Los Reyes Magos! This one has a special twist in the story- a magical coqui (a tree frog native to Puerto Rico) travels with the Three Wise Men and guides them along the path to find baby Jesus.
The Kings are so thankful to the frog, that they promise to visit the children of Puerto Rico every year. It is a fun rhyming story and beautifully illustrated.
Link:Un Coquí de Boriquén con los Reyes a Belén
The Christmas Gift: El regalo de Navidad
This is often hard to find but a treasured book in our home. The story shares about little Panchito, a boy whose family is struggling to make ends meet.
This powerful yet warm story is an important one to share with your children~ the true spirit of Christmas is not the amount of gifts, but rather the family bonds around us.
Tamales para Navidad
Tamales para Navidad (Tamales for Christmas Spanish Edition)
- Hardcover Book
- Briseño, Stephen (Author)
- Spanish (Publication Language)
- 40 Pages – 10/08/2024 (Publication Date) – Random House Studio (Publisher)
Brand new! We love this new and authentic picture book about the hard work that goes into making tamales. Learn about the commitment and dedication behind this Hispanic tradition as abuela prepares 1000 tamales for her community and family.
Cuento de Nochebuena
Cuento de Nochebuena, Una Visita de San Nicolas (Little Apple Books)…
- Hardcover Book
- Moore, Clement (Author)
- Spanish (Publication Language)
- 28 Pages – 09/15/2020 (Publication Date) – Applesauce Press (Publisher)
This beautifully illustrated book includes the classic tale and poem by Clement C. Moore, translated into Spanish. “Era Nochebuena, y en la casa entera, nada se movía, ni un ratón siquiera….” A must have for your bilingual bookshelf this holiday season!
Los renos rebeldes de Navidad
Los renos rebeldes de Navidad (Spanish Edition)
- Brett, Jan (Author)
- Spanish (Publication Language)
- 32 Pages – 10/04/2016 (Publication Date) – Puffin Books (Publisher)
We adore the illustrations in Jan Brett’s picture books. This translation of the popular “The Wild Christmas Reindeer”, is perfect for more advanced Spanish or native speakers. Teeka has to train the reindeer in time for their voyage on Christmas Eve. The reindeer are not being cooperative, but rather mischievous, but kindness wins the day!
Llamitas Spanish Holiday Bundle
If you’re looking for Christmas Spanish printables for your kids to enjoy alongside their books, the LLamitas Spanish Holiday Bundle includes 7 holiday themed units!
Enjoy ‘Navidad’ flashcards, games, worksheets, a digital magazine with Hispanic holiday traditions, crafts, recipes and more!
Keep Reading Related Posts:
Top 10 Spanish Christmas Songs on YouTube
Navidad Spanish Lessons for Kids
The Ultimate Spanish Gift Guide
Founder of the Llamitas Spanish® Curriculum and former Spanish teacher. Corrie holds two Master Degrees in Spanish and Education. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband and two bilingual children.