In the past couple of years, I have written about Christmas bookmarks in my collection and I continue to acquire them on occasion. This year, I looked for bookmarks by authors or from publishers featuring a Christmas theme. The WorldCat library catalog lists a grand total of 1,714 fiction books about Santa Claus, and a whopping 14,199 works of fiction about Christmas. My sample is in no way representative of the universe of Christmas-themed books. It does give a flavor of the possibilities, however, revealing unusual titles and a classic as well as how publishers make use of the Christmas theme. 

Baseball Bats for Christmas by Michael Kusugak features a stylized illustration of a boy in a blue snow suit holding a bat. The reverse advertises a drawing for a set of twenty-five books by favorite children’s authors. The story is based on a childhood memory of the Inuit author who grew up in a small village in the Northwest Territories. 

Another story based on true events is Where Does Joe Go? by Tracey Campbell Pearson. A man with a resemblance to Santa is flying above the earth holding an ice cream cone and a box of french fries, followed by a flying cat. The reverse has the tag line “Deck the halls with . . . french fries??!” Intrigued by this line and the illustration, I found a review explaining that Joe runs a snack bar in spring and summer but closes during the winter. The book is a series of rhyming speculations by the townsfolk (and townsanimals) such as “’He’s gone to the moon,’ cried tiny June” and “’He’s in the city,’ suggested Kitty.” A reviewer says it is based on the real Joe who owns Joe’s Snack Bar in Jericho, VT. If so, does he really look like Santa? It seems appropriate that Santa would reside in such a place during his time off.

A classic is How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. The bookmark advertises the first CD and cassette versions in 1995 with narration, fittingly, by Boris Karloff. The bookmark has the green Grinch peering menacingly from behind an off-centered straggly Christmas tree. Based on its ranking in WorldCat, the Grinch is one of the all-time Christmas favorites, appearing in books, videos, and various audio formats.

There are always movies debuting for the holidays with at least one targeted to children. I happen to have a bookmark for one of this year’s features, The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo, published in 2003. Assuming the movie reinvigorates book sales, the bookmark marks the beginning of the tale’s appearance in different media.

Publishers also use bookmarks to advertise books at Christmas. One example is from Random House’s Portugal division and advertises “Las mejores lecturas para esta Navidad” with a funny little bird singing “Ho, ho, ho” and “Feliz Navidad.” The reverse lists nine books, all apparently popular rather than seasonal stories. A more inventive approach is a bookmark by Ballantine Fawcett Books in the shape of an angel who is holding a banner with “good tidings . . .!”. The reverse lists “A Host of Heavenly Bestsellers” with angels in the title. The bookmark has a classical image with a hole at the top and even would make a nice tree ornament. 

It is surprising that more publishers don’t use bookmarks to promote books with Christmas themes or provide companion bookmarks as an extra little gift for titles that are popular during the holidays. Bookmarks could also serve as gift tags or calendars while advertising upcoming books. Advertising that follows the purchase out of the store, keeps on reminding the purchaser of the brand and other choices, and serves a useful purpose while costing very little seems like a winner.

Finally, the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association marks the season with an image of a snow-covered pine bough and an expression of thanks for supporting independent bookstores. Let’s hope the independent bookstores fared well this season and will be the source of even more Christmas bookmarks for years to come. 

Bookmark specifications: Baseball Bats for Christmas by Michael Kusugak
Dimensions: 1 3/4" x 6"
Material: Paper card
Manufacturer: Annick Press
Date: 1993
Acquired: American Library Association conference

Bookmark specifications: Where Does Joe Go? By Tracey Campbell Pearson
Dimensions: 3” x 8 1/2”
Material: Paper card
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus Giroux
Date: 1999
Acquired: American Library Association conference

Bookmark specifications: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Dimensions: 1 3/4” x 8 1/2”
Material: paper card
Manufacturer: Unknown
Date: 1995
Acquired: San Francisco Bay Area Book Festival

Bookmark specifications: Las Mejores Lecturas Para Esta Navidad
Dimensions: 3 1/4” x 8 1/4”
Material: Paper card
Manufacturer: Random House Mondadori
Date: 2005
Acquired: Yahoo Group Bookmark exchange

Bookmark specifications: Good tidings . . .!
Dimensions: 2 3/8” x 7 1/8”
Material: Paper card
Manufacturer: Ballantine/Fawcett Books
Date: 2000
Acquired: Exchange with another collector

Bookmark specifications: Thank You for Supporting Your Independent Bookstore
Dimensions: 2 1/8” x 7 1/8”
Material: paper card
Manufacturer: Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
Date: 200?
Acquired: Bookmark Bookstore, Oakland, CA, found in donated book


Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Collecting Bookmarks (Physical, not Virtual) is Farley’s website. Contact Laine.