It’s official: We’ve entered the holiday season. Neighborhoods glow beautifully with strings of colorful lights. Decorations greet you at every store and mall. Holiday songs play everywhere you go, and pop-up Christmas tree lots turn plain old parking lots into winter wonderlands. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the magic—at least, for me it is. And that goes double for many kids. Focusing in school can be an uphill road once the holiday season hits.

But that’s the beautiful thing about books: They encourage all the wonder young kids feel about the world. Rather than putting the wonder aside to learn (what a very sad thought that is!), kids can read, and learn, and soak up holiday magic all at once—all it takes is finding the right book.

One book that lets kids celebrate holiday magic while also learning important reading skills is It’s Christmas! from Bumba Books (cover below). The exclamation in the title lets you know right off that this book acknowledges how exciting Christmas is! It’s also totally inclusive for kids who don’t celebrate Christmas—but who still get antsy what with holiday activity all around them and the promise of a long winter break coming up.

It’s Christmas! includes informative facts about the origins of Christmas and how people celebrate the season. Critical thinking questions sprinkled on the pages encourage kids to carefully consider what they’ve read. A calendar showing when Christmas is bolsters calendar-reading skills. There’s also a photo glossary to help define unfamiliar words and an index and further reading section to introduce nonfiction features and support those kids who want to learn more.

Rather than squelching the joy kids feel about the holidays, Bumba celebrates it and uses it as a learning tool. And what better way to help children learn than to build on their natural-born enthusiasm? Happy Holidays, one and all, and Happy Reading! Wishing you a wonder-ful season!