There’s no topping the sense of excitement that comes with the countdown to Christmas. And there’s no better way to celebrate the season than snuggling up with a holiday story. Surprise the little reader in your life with one of the delightful books featured below, and let the countdown begin!

SANTA AT THE FARM
Duck and the rest of the barnyard rascals get caught in a Christmas jam in Doreen Cronin’s hilarious Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho!. Spruced up for Christmas Eve with a sprig of holly in his hat, Farmer Brown is hanging stockings by the fire. All is merry, bright and quiet, until he hears noises on the roof. Must be Santa, right? Wrong! It’s Duck, stirring up Christmas mischief. He’s hoping to deliver a gift to Farmer Brown in the style of Saint Nick. But upon seeing Santa in the sky, Duck dives into the chimney and gets stuck. Sheep, goats, cat and cows come to the rescue, but they get trapped, too. Luckily, Santa’s on hand to set them free, and soon they’re making merry around Farmer Brown’s tree. Betsy Lewin brings the Christmas revelry to life in spirited watercolor illustrations. As usual, Duck and friends deliver big fun. 

REUNITED FOR THE HOLIDAYS
With Over the River & Through the Wood, Linda Ashman offers an inspired update of Lydia Maria Child’s beloved 1844 poem. In this contemporary take on the classic, a group of widespread relatives—all very different—reunite for a seasonal celebration. Summoned by Grandma and Grandpa (“Come to our house for the holidays—and bring your favorite pie!”), the family members make the journey from various corners of the country by train, car, plane and ferry. When unexpected obstacles delay the travelers, a surprise sleigh ride saves the day. Brimming with holiday cheer, Ashman’s festive tale pays tribute to the modern family in all its varied configurations, and Kim Smith’s dynamic digital illustrations make this a holiday journey worth taking. 

GIFT-GIVING AT ITS BEST
In David Biedrzycki’s Me and My Dragon: Christmas Spirit, the boy-and-beast team are preparing for the holidays. Lacking the funds to buy Christmas gifts, they take on odd (very, very odd) jobs for cash. Dragon’s fire-breathing abilities prove lucrative: He broils up menu items at the Burger Barn and toasts marshmallows, which his enterprising little partner sells for 50 cents. But when it’s time to go shopping, the boy has a change of heart, and he donates his money to a worthy cause. As for Dragon, he contributes homemade cookies (although his baking skills are questionable). Biedrzycki’s clever digital illustrations are crammed with Christmas goodness—snowy sidewalks, costumed carolers and two happy friends. 

MEDIEVAL MERRIMENT
Filled with holiday witticisms, The Knights Before Christmas is a clever send-up of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Joan Holub’s playful adaptation features three bumbling noblemen—Brave Knight, Silent Knight and Polite Knight—who are guarding the king’s castle on Christmas Eve. Peace reigns, but not for long: A clatter on the drawbridge signals the arrival of Santa. Mistaking the jolly old elf for an invader, the knights set out to repel him, swords drawn and flourished. But Santa has gifts that he’s determined to deliver, and he launches a special attack on the castle—with sugarplums and chewing gum. Packed with Christmas wisecracks and colorful digital illustrations by Scott Magoon, this is a very merry olde Yuletide tale.

NEIGHBORHOOD CHEER
“Sesame Street” alum Sonia Manzano tells a big-city Christmas story in Miracle on 133rd Street. In their cramped apartment, José and his parents celebrate the holidays, although they pine for their native Puerto Rico. When Mami discovers the stove’s too small for her roast, José has a solution: cook the roast at the neighborhood pizzeria. As José and Papi embark on this tasty mission, they encounter cranky grownups and quarreling kids, none of whom seem happy about the holidays. But on their return trip, a bit of Christmas enchantment occurs, and the tempting aroma of the cooked roast works like magic. Marjorie Priceman’s whimsical illustrations, with swirling eddies of color, are perfect for this tale that will make readers believe in the power of Christmas.

CLASSIC COME TO LIFE
No Christmas would be complete without a few rounds of “Jingle Bells,” the timeless sleigh-ride tune composed by James Lord Pierpont in 1857. In Jingle Bells: A Magical Cut-Paper Edition, artist Niroot Putta-pipat brings the holiday gem to vivid life through precise cut- paper montages. A pair of sweethearts—shown in dramatic, dark silhouette against a snow-filled backdrop—takes off on a sleigh ride through a 19th-century winter wonderland. Song lyrics run along the bottom of each spread, and at the end of the ride, there’s a pop-up surprise the little ones will love. A sing-along is definitely in order!

This article was originally published in the December 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Though I have my own favorite illustrators, it is always exciting to see new artists find their way into children's books—and it is a treat to find young illustrators who feel like old friends.

I'm a fan of letterpress and block prints, so my eye was immediately drawn to Kazuno Kohara's stunning illustrations in Ghosts in the House!. With orange, black and white three-color illustrations, Kohara tells the just-right bedtime tale of the little girl in her new (haunted) house. Luckily she is no ordinary girl; she is a witch who knows how to catch ghosts. Young readers will be fascinated to see what the heroine does with the freshly –washed ghost and will snuggle down in their beds with this decidedly un-scary Halloween book that works for any time of year. The woodcuts, with smiling girl and ghosts, sometimes flying out of the frames, are a charming introduction to this special kind of printing. Especially interesting is the way the artist seems to lay tissue-paper ghosts over the illustrations, gently obscuring the amusing scene underneath. I imagine many children will want to try this technique in their own artwork. Let's hope for more from this talented young artist whose vision seems such a delicious throwback.

When I received a copy of Hyun Young Lee's Something for School, I was immediately taken with the round child on the cover, fore-finger lifted to lips as if keeping a secret. Yoon's first day of kindergarten is ruined when the teacher divides the class, "Boys come here, girls go over there." Yoon lines up with the girls, but her classmates, seeing her pants and short hair, push her into the boy group. Frustrated, she crumbles to the floor in tears and cries and cries and cries, all the way through the class picture. Happily, Yoon figures out a way to show she is a girl without compromising, and things turn out well for her and her classmates. The very round, short-legged Korean children fairly bounce through kindergarten. These new illustrations, reminiscent of Taro Gomi (Everyone Poops, etc.), seem just right for today's child. This is a perfect book for children who are starting school.

The School of Visual Arts in New York City has a long, influential line of graduates (Gregory Christie, Lauren Castillo and Jonathan Bean come to mind) who have made their mark on children's books. Three new artists from the school have their first books coming out this fall: Shadra Strickland, Hyewon Yum and Tao Nyeu. It's amazing to think that each of these illustrators did their graduate work at the same school at almost the same time.

Bird is the poignant story of one young boy who uses the power of art to cope with the realities of his beloved brother's drug addiction. Zetta Elliott's tender, understated story of Bird and his older brother Marcus is illustrated with grace by newcomer Shadra Strickland. Capturing the tragic story with her own nuanced paintings and the pencil sketches of the young Bird, Strickland strikes the right chord between serious and joyful. Many spreads have pictures of birds—flying and free—that remind the young Bird that his brother, while no longer on Earth, is flying in Heaven. For Bird's brother has died after a lengthy addiction to drugs. Bird has a grandfather and then an uncle who help him cope and understand the incomprehensible. This is a story that needs to be told, and telling it with illustrations makes it more accessible to younger readers.

At first, Hyewon Yum's remarkable illustrations in Last Night threaten to overwhelm the wordless story of a young girl who retreats to her bedroom where she spends time romping with her stuffed bear. I was so distracted by the beauty and technical pizzazz of the linoleum block prints that I needed to look through the pictures a few times to take in the depth of the story. We start with an angry-faced girl eating her vegetables, and move with her to bed and eventually to the dream world of running away with her bear. The details that Yum is able to wring out of a challenging form—right down to the peeking shadows of moonglow on trees—made me feel that I was in the hands of a master. This paean to Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are will amuse young readers familiar with the story line and allow them to narrate the story themselves. Parents will have a wonderful feeling watching the young girl hug her mother at the end—forgiveness is that sweet.

Gorgeously oversized Wonder Bear has the same dreamlike quality of many wordless picture books. Silkscreened illustrations colored with a bright palette of blues and oranges, straight from Tao Nyeu's M.F.A. thesis, tell the story of magic seeds, a special bear and one ordinary-looking blue and red hat. From this hat come all sorts of wonders: creatures, bubbles in the shape of lions, even flying porpoises! This childhood fantasy of adventure in an oversized format will amuse the young reader as she "reads" the story over and over and discovers new details each time. At times the art reminded me of Wanda Gag's work, with its back lines and graphic elements, and at other times the imaginary worlds of Dr. Seuss seemed to be Nyeu's inspiration. These illustrations, simple and complex at the same time, offer much for the reader who revisits its rich world.

Along with April showers comes National Poetry Month! This month's selections are akin to a poetry petting zoo: Kids can get up close and personal with poems that represent everything from sound and meaning to simple rhymes to haiku. Each selection emphasizes the way words interact with each other and can be used as developmental tools.

I Heard a Little Baa, written by Elizabeth MacLeod and illustrated by Louise Phillips, is composed of nine vignettes in which sounds are explored. For example, the sound eeeeek is represented by the following rhyme: I heard a little squeak; I searched around the house. First I saw two shiny eyes, And then I saw a . . . Well, you get the picture. Very young children will find this book loads of fun, not only because the author has a great sense of humor but because each vignette has a page pull-out. The animal making the sound is hidden, and children must uncover it to find out what makes the sound. The book's bright, fun illustrations and interactive qualities practically guarantee that this small book will get a lot of use.

Similarly, Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round also explores the sounds of animals and is a personal favorite. Meant for children in the 2-5 age range, very old children (like me, for instance) will also delight in the adventures of Farmer Brown and his rowdy charges as they are thrown into a tornado. The ensuing mayhem causes his cows to oink, the pigs to moo, and his sheep to cluck. When Farmer Brown tries to shout, What's wrong with you?, the words come out, COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! He soon finds himself taking orders from the rooster who is, ahem, demanding, to say the least. Luckily, another tornado comes to town, and that's the salvation of Farmer Brown. Teri Sloat's writing is so exuberant that children won't stop laughing. And the illustrations are superb! Nadine Bernard Westcott's characters are quirky, expressive, and unforgettable. This book is a testament to fluidity and sound.

A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes is the largest of this month's featured books, which is good because children will certainly use it for years. The book is broken into sections. Welcome, Little Baby is composed of rhymes about babies. Kady McDonald Denton has done a good job of compiling globally representative rhymes, and she includes illustrations that reflect the diversity of our world's children.

Toddler Time, the second section, contains old favorites reminiscent of parents' own childhoods, with rhymes such as Rub-a-dub-dub and Humpty Dumpty. Denton also provides a particularly useful index of titles and first lines. This book is designed to accompany your child throughout his youth, and becomes a valued friend in the process.

Following the theme of diversity, I Call It Sky is different in tone than the other poetry books featured this month. Here is a contemplative book that will introduce children to new ways of considering our natural surroundings. I Call It Sky explains to kids not only how the weather is produced, but how it affects human beings. For example, Will C. Howell has gracefully captured how rain is made: Sometimes wet air gathers in big black bunches of clouds. When the clouds get too heavy, they squeeze out rain. Howell then moves from the literal to the figurative by emphasizing that every child experiences weather, thereby pointing young readers to a more global view of the world. John Ward has captured the expansive nature of the book's subject with his broad and generous illustrations. Each grouping of pages represents whichever weather pattern is being discussed: fog looks and feels foggy; breeze looks and feels refreshing. Essentially, if your child has had questions like, Why does it rain? or What is fog? you'll find this book useful.

Isn't My Name Magical: Sister and Brother Poems written by James Berry and illustrated by Shelly Hechenberger, explores the world of Dreena and Delroy, the sister and brother poetry-writing characters. Children will read poems with titles that are (thankfully) beyond cute: Dreena's Notebook That Makes People Laugh and Delroy the Skateboard Roller, for example. Soon we learn that Dreena and Delroy live with their schoolteacher mother and train-conductor father, and enjoy a typical sister and brother relationship. Their poetry is anything but typical, however. The insightful verse makes this book a special treat for any young reader. James Berry and Shelly Hechenberger capture the essentials of personification and provide a glimpse of the beauty in normal lives while depicting those lives with vivid and robust coloration.

Cool Melons—Turn to Frogs: The Life and Poems of Issa may be the most beautifully crafted of all of these books. A combination of story and haiku translations, illustrations, and calligraphy, Cool Melons offers children a glimpse into the life of Kobayashi Yataro, otherwise known as Issa a poet American children may know little about. This resplendent story captures the joys and sorrows of Issa's life, including the loss of his mother, his seven-year walk around the Japanese countryside, the reunion with his father, the loss of his daughter, and the uniting thread of it all his love of and respect for nature. Throughout his life, Issa wrote more than 20,000 haiku, several of which Gollub includes. To further add to the book's loveliness and significance, Kazuko G. Stone, a native of Japan, has created exquisite illustrations that effortlessly weave into the text. Additionally, every haiku included in the book is also written in Japanese calligraphy, creating a sophisticated story and an equally elegant presentation. If there is another book on the market which so successfully combines narrative, poetry, and art, I've not found it. Issa, I think, would be proud.

Finally, King Honor Book The Other Side: Shorter Poems is, within this grouping of books, a title best suited for older children. Angela Johnson writes clear, concise poetry about growing up in Shorter, Alabama, and includes a cast of characters both specific and universal. In her preface, Johnson says, "My poetry doesn't sing the song of the sonnets/but then I sing a different kind of music." Those words accurately foretell the experience young readers will have with these full-bodied and sassy poems. Following a clear narrative, the journey begins when Johnson's grandmother writes, "They're pullin' Shorter down." We soon discover that the small town has been steadily sold off to a large company who has plans to move out the remaining residents and move in a race track. The ensuing poems reveal that, like most people, Johnson has a complex relationship with her hometown. She writes: "You'd have to be/crazy/to want to live/your life in/a place like Shorter, Alabama . . . /You'd have to be crazy/to want/to wake/up every morning to sweet/magnolia and moist red/dirt . . . "Johnson offers contradiction and implication of loving and hating, wanting and despising, themes relevant to adolescents. The Other Side is a work of honesty, depicting a generosity of spirit. Children deserve poetry that's a fact. Gone are the days of poetry that is too complex and inaccessible for kids. In are the days of fun and exciting poetry. Thank goodness.

Crystal Williams is currently pursuing her MFA in poetry at Cornell University.

Gather your little elves for story time, and get set for a sparkling holiday with heartwarming tales of Christmas Eve magic. The plum picks featured here will bring the spirit of December to any reading circle.

THE NATIVITY
A new book from paper-craft whiz Robert Sabuda is always a cause for celebration, and this year he delivers another pop-up masterpiece. The Christmas Story is a spellbinding depiction of the Nativity that will enchant readers of all ages. Sabuda uses white paper with touches of gold to create pristine scenes that capture the majesty of the story of Jesus’ birth. His crisp tableaux lend a new dimension—literally—to the cherished tale. Wise men astride camels, a sparkling star and a stable filled with very special occupants are standout elements in a book brimming with pop-up surprises. It seems there’s nothing Sabuda can’t create out of paper. His visionary take on the Nativity is destined to become a December staple.

MEOWY CHRISTMAS
You can’t go wrong with a title like Stowaway in a Sleigh. This irresistible Christmas caper from C. Roger Mader features a feline with a problem only Santa can solve. On Christmas Eve, Slipper, a green-eyed cat, discovers an intruder in the house—a big man with furry boots, dressed in head-to-toe red! Deciding to check out his bag of goodies, Slipper crawls inside. Unsuspecting Santa shoulders the sack, and in a breathtaking nod to The Polar Express, Slipper soon finds herself flying high in Santa’s sleigh, heading for the North Pole. How will she get home? With the help of Mr. Claus, of course! In his richly detailed pastel illustrations, Mader conveys Slipper’s many moods—curiosity, wonder and, in the end, contentment. This is a trip readers will want to take again and again. 

AN ANTICIPATED ARRIVAL
In Anik McGrory’s The Christmas Fox, a mischievous fox is summoned by his animal friends to help prepare the stable for the arrival of a baby. “Come . . . there’s a place to make warm with sweet-smelling hay,” says the cow. “Come,” the lamb tells him. “There are gifts to get ready with soft, cozy wool.” But the fox—uncertain about how he can help—ignores their words. He frolics in the snow and plays in a stream. Once he arrives at the stable, he finds that he’s able to contribute after all, in true fox-like fashion. Youngsters will fall for McGrory’s impish fox, whose personality comes alive in her appealing illustrations, and if they don’t yet know the Nativity story, they’ll find an easy introduction here.

The Christmas Eve Tree. Illustration copyright © 2015 by Emily Sutton. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA on behalf of Walker Books, Limited.

WISHES CAN COME TRUE
Lisa Wheeler celebrates the miracles of the season in The Christmas Boot. Hannah Greyweather is out gathering wood when she discovers a lone boot in the snow. It fits her left foot perfectly and eases her walk back to the solitary cabin she calls home. How wonderful it would be, Hannah thinks, to have its mate! The next morning, she’s surprised to find two boots by her bed. Soon anything Hannah wishes for materializes before her eyes, including bright red mittens and a magnificent new house. When the owner of the lost boot—Santa himself—comes to claim it, he brings the magic to an end, but before he departs, he gives Hannah the gift she needs the most. Jeff Pinkney’s breathtaking illustrations make this an exceptional holiday story and a tale to be treasured. 

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Kallie George’s The Lost Gift is all about the goodness of giving. Squirrel, Rabbit, Bird and Deer wait on snow-laden Merry Woods Hill in hopes of spotting Santa. When they finally spy him overhead, the wind whips his sleigh and a present falls off “like a shooting star.” In the forest, the critters find the gift—a package tagged for the new baby at a local farm. With some ingenuity—and Santa-inspired goodwill—they deliver the present to its tiny rightful owner. At the end of their mission, they discover a surprise—a present just for them, from you-know-who. Stephanie Graegin’s pencil-and-ink illustrations make this Christmas Eve, with its star-studded night sky, one to remember. Little readers will feel big love for George’s furry holiday heroes.

AN OVERLOOKED TREASURE
In Delia Huddy’s The Christmas Eve Tree, a homeless boy rescues a forlorn little fir fated for the trash and takes it to his camp beneath a railway bridge. With the help of candles, the resourceful lad transforms it into a magnificent symbol of the season. The tree’s blazing branches attract passersby, who come together around it and sing. After the holiday, the boy moves on and the fir is forgotten—almost. In the end, it endures, growing to majestic heights in a park. Thanks to artist Emily Sutton, whose watercolor visuals have a delightful retro quality, Huddy’s story brims with holiday sweetness. This distinctive tale is a testament to the way Christmas can create a sense of community.

This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.