It's a Small World . . . Christmas Around the World by Mary D. Lankford

 

Christmas around the World begins by explaining the beginning of Christmas and the way it celebrated around the world. The different countries described in the book include: Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden. Displaying such a variety of countries and cultures revolving around the same Holiday, makes this book a great source for teaching about multicultural and celebrations around the world. The book describes how different countries celebrate Christmas, the illustrations used to show the support the text are beautiful and detailed. I would recommend this book for children in grades 4 and higher because there is a lot of information on each page, and this may lose the attention of younger children. The offers a variety of things to think about. It includes realistic characters, and the characters represent a variety of cultural groups. Reading this book can expose children to multiple perspectives and values. There are no negative stereotypes of the groups represented, and the lifestyles of the characters are genuine and complex.

December by Eve Bunting

Simon and his mom don't have much--the cardboard house they built for themselves, a tiny Christmas tree, and a picture of an angel pinned to one wall. On Christmas Eve they take in a frail stranger who needs a place to keep warm, and the next morning Simon wakes early to find that the woman has vanished. Instead, he sees December, the angel from the picture, with her wings fanned out over their cardboard house. Could she be real?

Video read aloud - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-0eo71EHP4