Better not pout: gift books to delight all ages

REVIEWS BY JOANNA BRICHETTO

Decisions, decisions. With so many great holiday books to choose from, what's a gift-giver to do? BookPage helps you face this delightful December dilemma with the following recommendations for the young readers on your list. These are but a few exceptional titles from this year's particularly large and worthy offering of children's gift books, but all are gems sure to please both sides of the gift-giving equation.

A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. This lovely new edition includes the unforgettable endpapers (the map of Pooh's environs, including the "100 Aker Wood") and all the beloved, colored line drawings by Ernest H. Shepard. This is the pre-Disney Pooh in his original, authentic glory. It averages a picture per page, sustaining visual interest even as the familiar, light-hearted adventures stream by. There is no better way to ensure the present generation does not miss out on the likes of woozles, heffalumps, Piglet's rescue, Eeyore's birthday, and my favorite: "a wedged bear in great tightness."


Laura Ingalls Wilder's A Little House Collection combines the first five Little House novels into one handy volume, a practical move appropriate to the thrifty, pioneering spirit of the stories themselves. No corners have been cut, however: The books are unabridged and, I am pleased to report, accompanied by Garth Williams' classic 1953 illustrations in full color. Little House wouldn't be the same without Williams' renderings. Theoretically, the books are for readers aged eight to 12, but my own child enjoyed listening to them far earlier, and I enjoyed reading them far later. (And may I suggest the books are not for girls only? Ms. Wilder's childhood adventures are hardy enough to transcend outmoded gender expectations by now.)


Another timeless tale is given an interactive update in The Little Prince: Book of Fun and Adventure. The original story by Antoine de Saint-Exupery has sold more than 75 million copies since 1943, but this adaptation is a fresh and inviting collection of mazes, coloring pages, board games, postcards, masks, postcards and other fun stuff. The activities are punctuated with storytime excerpts from the book, creating a meaningful narrative whole and, overall, making an ideal introduction to this superstar of children's literature.


If facts are what you seek, pick up Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know. For the 10 and over crowd, this revolution in reference will be most welcome. Inspired by hyperlink elements from the Internet, this "unencyclopedia" is a one-volume crash course in practically everything. Use it as a jumping-off point for further research or a boredom-busting browse: either way it delivers history, nature, geography, science and culture in the kid-friendliest book format yet.


Should the brain need additional stretching, older kids and brave adults can try The Big Book of Brain Games: 1,000 PlayThinks of Art, Mathematics, and Science. Author Ivan Moscovich, the best-selling puzzlemaster, delivers original and retooled classic challenges, puzzles, riddles and illusions in a wide range of categories. Ranked by difficulty and (thankfully) answered in the back of the book, anyone's perfect puzzle is just a page away.


If the word "history" elicits yawns from children, it is not the fault of The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History. Written by Jennifer Armstrong and illustrated by Roger Roth, this treasury is ideal for short read-aloud or read-alone sessions; each story is no more than four pages long, and the illustrations are plentiful and exciting. Arranged in chronological order, it's a painless, satisfying way to introduce America's stories to children: from the first city (St. Augustine, 1565) to the 2000 Presidential election. Introduced along the way are not only the biggies like Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln, but people and events as varied as Sojourner Truth, the O.K. Corral, Lizzie Borden, the Cuban Missile Crisis and PacMan.


Do-able and delicious describes Kids Cook 1-2-3. Rozanne Gold and illustrator Sara Pinto tempt kids nine and up with the promise of simplicity: three-ingredient recipes (yes, three ingredients). Simple need not mean boring. Beginning cooks, busy cooks and cooks with limited attention spans can whip up Petits Pains au Chocolate, Carrot-Ginger Soup, Coconut Rice, butter cookies and many other extraordinary and everyday dishes. Instructions are easy and straightforward, and the charming line drawings are less intimidating than color photos would be (circumventing perfectionist tendencies).

Perhaps most valuable is the realization that kids can make food happen, too. Note that this cookbook (and any other) is not for children unaccompanied in the kitchen. Aside from obvious safety issues, most kids lack basic familiarity with kitchen terrain and techniques. The ultimate goal is to build skill and confidence in measured quantities, resulting in independent, creative and happy young chefs.


Is there a letter in your bag for me?

Janet and Allan Ahlberg's beloved book, The Jolly Postman, is celebrating its 20th year of letting kids read other people's mail. People, in this case, are famous fairy tale characters, and the mail consists of actual letters and postcards tucked inside envelopes. The story is simple: We follow a busy postman on his rounds, and get to read the private correspondence of each delivery. Meanwhile, the postman gets cup after cup of tea in each hospitable home.

It is unaccountably satisfying to reach into a real envelope (with fabulous facsimile stamps and addresses), pull out a folded note, and read what Jack has to say to the Giant, or Goldilocks to the Three Bears. Especially noteworthy are the Big Bad Wolf's letter from Red Riding Hood's legal advisers, and an illustrated supply catalog requested by the Wicked Witch.

Although the chief attraction of The Jolly Postman may be the frisson of permissible nosiness, its enduring appeal must be put down to the utterly charming illustrations and the sheer inventiveness of the concept. The Ahlbergs lavished five years of work on this delightful confection, and the subsequent awards, international translations and millions of sales attest to their success. Note that the anniversary edition comes with free stationery and stickers, which makes it a bonus for literacy and etiquette: Thank-you notes have never been so much fun to write and send!


Nashville writer Joanna Brichetto hopes that any and all dishes from the above cookbook appear in her kitchen soon.

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