Books kids will love to find under the tree
Published 10:23 pm Sunday, December 13, 2009
Box sets of popular series, off-kilter encyclopedias and beloved classics in special editions make books a good way to take the edge off all the electronic games and plastic toys that pop up for kids at the holidays.
Ages birth to 3
“A Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes” ($26.99) by Matthew Reinhart. Look for this gem in the Little Simon Classic Collectible Pop-Up series to avoid sticker shock over a far pricier limited edition. Intricate paperwork with multiple pops per page. Fifteen rhymes in all.
“The Nursery Rhyme Book: Remember the Rhymes of Yesterday” ($9.99) illustrated by Anne Anderson and Lisa Jackson, compiled by Helen Cumberbatch. Portable classics for parents who need help conjuring all the words to “Little Miss Muffett” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Nearly 100 rhymes.
“A Children’s Treasury of Poems” ($12.95) illustrations by Linda Bleck. Oversized board book merrily illustrated with work of Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and more. Nineteen poems.
“A Little Books Boxed Set” ($19.99) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace. Board book versions of “Little Pea,” “Little Hoot” and “Little Oink,” all packed with life lessons on dinner, bed and cleaning up.
Ages 4 to 8
“Peter Rabbit Naturally Better Classic Gift Set” ($19.99). Original and authorized editions by Beatrix Potter with color illustrations in editions small enough for little hands.
“Jan Brett’s Snowy Treasury” ($29.99). Richly illustrated with four of Brett’s most memorable stories set in chilly Switzerland, the Ukraine, Denmark and the Arctic.
“Aesop’s Fables” ($16.95) retold by John Cech and illustrated by Martin Jarrie. Bite-size animal parables — 36 in all — accompanied by sweeping folk-art style illustrations. Each animal story includes the life lesson Aesop intended.
“Winnie the Pooh Deluxe Gift Box” ($99.95) by A.A. Milne with one volume by David Benedictus. Originals illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard and new sequel by Mark Burgess. Nicely illustrated hardcover box set of five volumes,.
“The Owl and the Pussycat” ($16.95) by Edward Lear and illustrated by Stephane Jorisch. Ink-and-watercolor interpretation of Lear’s text portrays the lovers from opposite sides of the track in a disapproving world.
Ages 9 to 12
“Percy Jackson &the Olympians: The Complete Series” ($89.99) by Rick Riordan. Fans of the five-book series are awaiting the February release of “The Lightning Thief,” the first film based on the first book. This set is boxed in a steamer trunk.
“Twimericks: The Book of Tongue-Twisting Limericks” ($8.95) by Lou Brooks. Just plain goofy crowd pleaser with colorful, comic portraits for each twist of the tongue: “Sherman shops at Shorty’s Shorts &Shirts for shiny shoes.”
“The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” ($16.99) by Jacqueline Kelly. At the close of the 1800s, a Texas girl prefers nature to sewing. Her grandfather gives her Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species,” setting her on a crash course with her mother.
Ages 13 to 15
“Fire” ($17.99) by Kristin Cashore. Companion to Cashore’s well-received “Graceling,” compelling girl heroine and complex romantic fantasy set earlier than the first book. For older teens.
“The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time)” ($29.99) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. The last book in the fantasy series was partially written by Jordan before he died in 2007. Sanderson completed the book, which morphed into a planned three-volume conclusion to the series. This is the first of the three.
“King Lear” ($11.99) Shakespeare retold and illustrated by Gareth Hinds. Epic, action-packed graphic novel in paperback with arrows flying in double-page battles and a storm that goes “KRAKOOM!”
“Shiver” ($17.99) by Maggie Stiefvater. Girl fascinated with wolves in the woods behind her house meets strange and eerily familiar yellow-eyed boy leading a werewolf’s life.
