Juliet Townsend

Children’s books for Christmas | 15 December 2007

The best presents to give this Christmas

Part of the charm of giving books to children at Christmas is that they are so easy to wrap. After an evening spent wrestling with a variety of soft toys with elongated limbs and tails, a large combine harvester, an assortment of weapons and a pogo stick, it is a relief to settle down to all those nice regular rectangles. Christmas is also the only time that many children get given hardbacks, and the opportunity to enjoy a book as an object, not simply for its contents.

One agreeable object is the latest edition of Clement Moore’s well known poem The Night Before Christmas, with beautiful black- and-white cut-paper illustrations by Niroot Puttapipat (Walker Books, £12.99.) The final pop-up of sledge and reindeer in full flight is stunning, although it might have a short life in the hands of any but the most careful child. It now seems de rigueur for very small children to be able to feel or smell their books as well as look at them. Usborne’s ‘Sparkly Touchy-Feely’ series includes Father Christmas by F. Watt and R. Finn (£9.99,) a chance to fondle various parts of the poor old man’s clothes, while those who do not find it slightly presumptuous can do the same in Baby Jesus by Caroline Jayne Church (Lion, £5.99.) The same publisher offers The Story of Jesus by Andrea Skevington with many colour illustrations by Angelo Ruta (£9.99.) This is an excellent introduction to the Gospels for children of 7-10. The stories of the Old Testament are well told by Berlie Doherty in The Oxford Book of Bible Stories, a handsome book well illustrated by Jason Cockcroft which includes some of the less familiar stories. The Oxford Book of Children’s Poetry by Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark is another good- looking book with a very well chosen selection of verse old and new which will appeal to children of all ages.

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