Gift Books 1987: For Children : A Dinosaur for Christmas

Read to me riddles

and read to me rhymes,

read to me stories

of magical times.

So begs the little bear in The Three Bears Rhyme Book by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: $14.95; ages 3 to 7). Isn’t this the kind of request we love to get from our little ones, and from our not-so-little ones too? There are lots of wonderful, new children’s books this holiday season, some that ask to be read aloud, some better suited to that magical, quiet place and the joy of reading to oneself. This book of 15 bear poems is a charmer that can be enjoyed either way, and Jane Dyer’s warm, nostalgic illustrations perfectly complement the text.

Any child who has or has ever had a puppy will love Our Puppy’s Vacation by Ruth Brown (E. P. Dutton: $10.95; ages 3 to 8). This is the story of puppy’s first vacation when everything is new and exciting. She has the beach to run on, the gulls to chase, the caves to hide in. Then there is the farm with its strange and wonderful animals who are sometimes friendly to a frisky puppy and sometimes not. The inquisitive little creature with her floppy ears and wagging tail is irresistible. The book is set in Cornwall, England, and the puppy’s four teen-age friends in their “wellies” and rough-and-tumble clothes are pretty irresistible too. But beware! Get this book at your peril. You may have to get a new puppy to go along with it.

Dinosaurs by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House: $12.95; ages 3 to 6) should be a safe buy in that respect. It’s not easy to fit a dinosaur in a Christmas stocking. Perhaps your dinosaur lover will settle for this book instead. Here the text is simple, the pictures clear cut and vivid and just scary enough to be interesting. Paleontologists are shown piecing together fossil skeletons and studying dinosaur remains. We see different species of dinosaur in appropriate dinosaur settings, and each illustration comes with an accompanying phonetic spelling of the name. This will be especially useful to the adult reading the book aloud and will save the embarrassment of a correction by the 4-year-old listener. “Not ‘ah. nat. o. SORE. us,’ Dad. It’s ‘ah. NAT.o.sore.us.’ ” Thank you, Gail Gibbons.

A different kind of book to entice the very young is Beside the Bay by Sheila White Samton (Philomel Books: $12.95; ages 2 to 6).

“I walk alone beside the bay,

The water’s blue, the sky is gray.”

So begins this book of colors. On the walk, we meet an impossibly pink snail, an orange cat, bright yellow lizards. Blackbirds fly into green, green trees, and, on the bay, boats with red sails glide, and purple flying fish leap and play. The bold, primitive drawings are attractively childlike, and there is a nice, satisfying chuckle at the end as the little girl rides home on the back of her big brown dog. Accompanying her are her new pink, orange, yellow, purple and black friends.

E. E. Cummings’ Little Tree, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray (Crown Publishers: $9.95; ages 3 to 7), is a picture book that truly shines with the spirit of Christmas. A nondescript little tree is found in a Christmas tree lot by two small children. They bring it home to their city apartment, where, decorated, it stands proudly in the window, loved and cherished at last. The charm of the illustrations lies in their simplicity, in the delicate shadings of gauzy color that give the book an almost ethereal look in keeping with the enchantment of the season.

Who’s Hiding Here? by Yoshi (Picture Book Studio: $14.95; ages 3 to 9) is sure to intrigue any young reader. Who’s hiding here among the gold and green leaves? Can it be a frog in his green and gold camouflage? There’s a cut out, but still, there’s no way to be sure until the page is turned. Wow! It is a frog! And there’s a snake too. Children will have fun with this and be treated at the same time to wonderful nature art and a palette of breathtaking color. The author/illustrator is well known in the field of textile design, and her sense of color and style certainly enrich this beautiful book.

Intriguing, too, is Reflections by Ann Jonas (Greenwillow Books: $13; age 5 and up). This is the simple story of a child awakening in a house by the sea, getting up to watch the fishermen at work, to visit the empty boat yard and the beach, which is already crowded. Enjoy the story and the bright illustrations, then turn the book upside down and keep on reading and looking, because this book is not so simple. The story continues as the top of the book becomes the bottom and the illustrations magically make sense the other way around. How does she do it? Very cleverly. This is a book that will literally double your pleasure and reading fun.

A fox in his winter coat stares at us, yellow-eyed from the cover of Fox’s Dream by Tejima (Philomel: $13.95; ages 2 to 6). In a faraway forest, near a faraway mountain, a fox prowls in search of food. He chases a snow hare, but the hare is too fast and now the fox is in a place strange to him, a place where beautiful, surrealistic deer, snow geese and ice foxes nestle in the bare branches. The fox closes his eyes and dreams of spring when he is not alone. As dawn approaches, he sees a vixen and runs to her. They nuzzle in the winter sun, and there is between them the hope of mating and an end to loneliness. Beautifully illustrated with multicolored woodcuts, this poetic story reaffirms the splendor of nature and its creatures.

Creatures more domestic than the wild fox are portrayed in The Midnight Farm by Reeve Lindberg, paintings by Susan Jeffers (Dial Books for Young Readers: $13.95; ages 3 to 7).

Mother, child and teddy bear sit in the bedroom, gazing through the open window at the night outside.

“Here in the dark when day is done,

Here in the dark with no moon or sun,

Here in the dark when all lights are out,

Here is the heart of the dark.”

They go downstairs where the dog sleeps in the hall chair, where two white cats lie by the wood stove. Outside, three raccoons, four geese, five horses, six cows, seven fat sheep, eight chicks, nine deer and ten little mice enjoy the midnight farm. More than a counting book, this warm, loving story will comfort any child afraid of the dark. See, the book says? See the beauty? Susan Jeffers’ pictures of the friendly animals in the friendly night glow with a tender light.

“Here in the dark of the midnight farm

Safe and still and full and warm,

Deep in the dark and free from harm

In the dark of the midnight farm.”

Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Ted Rand (Henry Holt: $12.95; ages 8 to 13) has the timeless quality of a folk tale.

“ ‘ Tell me the story again, Grandfather.

‘ Tell me who I am.’ “

And the grandfather of the blind Indian boy helps him remember his past, and through the past, to face up to the challenges of life yet to come. Using the knots in the counting rope to symbolize the passing of time, the grandfather gently assures the boy that he will grow stronger, strong enough to one day cross the dark mountains himself.

“ ‘ Don’t ever leave me.

‘ What will I do without you? ‘ “ the boy asks.

” ‘ You will never be alone, Boy.

‘ My love will always surround you . . .

‘ With the strength of blue horses. ‘ “

The evocative illustrations, each one beautiful enough to frame, are done in transparent watercolors combined with pastel and spatter. A story to be read over and over for the grace of its words and paintings.

Jerusalem has existed for 4,000 years. In Jerusalem, Shining Still by Karla Kuskin, woodcuts by David Frampton (Harper & Row: $12.95; all ages), we read about this wondrous city. We read of David and Goliath and the wise King Solomon, David’s son. We read of the conquering of the city by King Nebuchadnezzar and of the taking of it in later years by the Greeks and then the Romans. We read of a Jerusalem that was leveled and rose again, was battered and burned, built and rebuilt and that today stands, shining still. The woodcuts by David Frampton bring an added grandeur to this book.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a warm, holiday story by Tomie dePaola. An Early American Christmas by Tomie dePaola (Holiday House: $14.95; ages 4 to 9) is again peopled by the author/illustrator’s distinctive, child-pleasing characters, this time members of a German family newly settled in a village in Pennsylvania. This family had such strange ways . . . they actually celebrated Christmas! So the villagers called them “the Christmas family.” They made Bayberry candles to burn on their mantles and at their windows at Christmastime. They saved their reddest apples for holiday decorations, and early in the year, the old man of the family began carving a new figure for the beautiful manger scene. And when the day came, the family gathered in the parlor to hear the old man read the sweet story of the Christ child’s birth. Neighbors came to look and listen, and, as the years passed, Christmas customs became part of village life. This is a story of love and closeness, of the recognition of the meaning of Christmas. Share this book with your children. Start your own Christmas custom.

Happy Reading!

Happy Holidays!