Illustrated Classic Christmas Carols

Alex Resch can’t wait to sing all of the beautiful and classic Christmas carols compiled by Katie Warner in her new picture book.

Illustrated Classic Christmas Carols 

By Katie Warner; illustrated by Adalee Hude

Published by TAN Books

Christmas carols are such a joyful and fun way to celebrate the birth of Christ! There’s nothing better to get our family in the Christmas spirit than belting out some traditional Christmas carols that we all know and love. Katie Warner’s new book, Illustrated Classic Christmas Carols, will be perfect for our family to refer to as we sing our favorite Advent and Christmas songs together!  

What's Included in this Book  

This book includes 16 classic Christmas carols such as "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (both in Latin and English), "Away in a Manger," "Once in Royal David’s City," and "Silent Night."  

Each carol is beautifully illustrated by Adalee Hude, and includes the composer, time period, and a brief reflection with scripture references (when applicable). The illustrations are traditional and bright and sort of remind me of stained-glass windows. I love the tiny, artistic details and images bordering the pages as well. Adalee Hude’s artwork is truly gorgeous and captivating!   

The reflections are perfect to share with children and really help you enter into the song more meaningfully. Each song also includes a simple musical arrangement to help you sing the melody or even accompany the song on the piano. I play the piano from time to time (I am definitely not an expert!), and I could sit down with the book and easily pick out the tunes. The songs are also complete with each and every verse. I really appreciated that aspect so that we could learn all of the lines to these traditional hymns.  

Who Would Like This Book?  

I think any family that loves classic Christmas carols would love this book! You could make a matching playlist of all of the songs on Spotify or YouTube and enjoy singing along.  

This would be great to give as a gift for Saint Nicholas Day or Christmas. Our family also wraps 25 Advent and Christmas books to count down to Christmas, and I will definitely include this book in the lineup.  

This book would also be beautiful to carry along with you if you go caroling! We have gone caroling at a local nursing home in the past, and I think it would be so sweet if all of the children carried this book as they sang.  

This book is making me so excited for Advent and Christmas, and I cannot wait to sing all of these beautiful songs to celebrate! 

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Alex Resch
Images: (top) TAN Books