Truth in the Tinsel Picture Book Matchups!

We’ve been using Truth in the Tinsel curriculum for a few years now, and each year I find it a lovely and deep journey through the story of Jesus’s birth. This year, I am looking to use Truth in the Tinsel as an experience-rich homeschool curriculum for the weeks leading up to Christmas. In this busy season, many homeschoolers say their schooling feels rushed and hectic. So I thought we’d slow down and dwell on the lessons of the Christmas story. Ponder the events, as Mary did. To extend our Truth in the Tinsel time, I selected these Truth in the Tinsel Picture Book Matchups!

Extend your Truth in the Tinsel Lessons

To extend the beautiful lessons in Truth in the Tinsel ebook, I went through our Christmas books. Then, I matched up books that go along with Truth in the Tinsel lessons. I didn’t find a book for each day, but I did find a large collection of books to help extend our Scripture reading, lesson and craft from Truth in the Tinsel for 14 of the 24 days!

I don’t want to steal Amanda’s thunder, so I am not stating the theme of each day specifically (although you may be able to guess!). Instead, I’m just listing what day each book goes along with.

Some of these books align strongly with the day’s theme, and some fit the theme loosely. Some books can even be used for a variety of days. These are all picture books, poems, or hymns and geared at children ages 2-8. Read them before or after the TinT lesson. Or read them at another point during the day and watch your children make connections! That’s what it’s all about, right: seeing kids realize the truths of God’s word in other points of their life!?

Truth in the Tinsel Picture Book Matchups

Day 1 – The Light of Christmas by Richard Paul Evans (more of a medieval folktale), or The Light of Christmas by Dandi Daley Mackall (a poetic retelling of the Christmas story)
Day 4 – The Christmas Story according to Luke (KJV retelling with gorgeous illustrations)
Day 5 – The Christmas Story according to Luke, I See a Star
Day 6 – none in young children’s
Day 7 – Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones is a favorite for us!
Day 9 – The Christmas Story according to Luke, I See a Star is a cute rebus story great for the littlest ones
Day 13 – B Is for Bethlehem a Christmas Alphabet covers several topics, One Night in Bethlehem (touch & feel book)
Day 14 – The Friendly Beasts lovely illustrations and retelling of the old English Christmas carol, plus a CD with narration and song, This is the Stable
Day 15 – The Last Straw a true story about rediscovering the meaning of Christmas
Day 17 – Poem: “The Lamb” by William Blake (beautifully illustrated in Mary Englebreit’s Peace on Earth), The Friendly Beasts
Day 18 – Hymn: “Angels We Have Heard on High” (carol, beautifully illustrated in Mary Englebreit’s Peace on Earth)
Day 19 – Hymn: “The First Noel” (carol, beautifully illustrated in Mary Englebreit’s Peace on Earth), The Legend of the Candy Cane
Day 21 – Song of the Stars
Day 22 – Poem/Book: What Can I Give Him? by Christina Rosetti, the illustrations tell a secondary story of two girls as the book recounts the poem; Hymn: “We Three Kings,”
Day 23 – Poem/Book: What Can I Give Him? By Christina Rosetti
Day 24 – The Tale of Three Trees

I hope my picture book matchup list blesses you and your family this year. Of course, this list can be used separately as a Christmas Reading List, but… why miss out on the hands on fun of Truth in the Tinsel!?

What is Truth in the Tinsel!?

Truth in the Tinsel is “a hands on experience for little hands,” as creator Amanda White says! Each lesson includes scripture passages to read, a central image to focus on, a coordinating craft, and a short thought and questions to consider.

The first year I used Truth in the Tinsel in our home, my oldest son was nearly three. At the time, I thought it would be fun to do Christmas crafts with him. I could not believe the impact the simple (yet profound) lessons had on my own spiritual life!! They helped me gain new insights into the people, events, and story of Jesus’s birth.

Truth in the Tinsel is perfect for a range of ages. You can scaled these lessons up or down accordingly. In fact, you can even modify it using Amanda’s guide to focus on certain aspects of the Christmas story (for weekdays only, for Sunday School lessons, etc).

The crafts are fairly easy and use basic household items you probably have at home. Each ornament you craft can be hung on a tiny tree or elsewhere in your house to create a 3D Jesse Tree.

Need a mess-free craft? If you’re not a crafty person or don’t have the time, there’s a companion download of printable ornaments. Kids can simply color, cut, and hang as you go! And… you can even hang them on a printable kid-sized paper tree!