Books for the holidays

It's time to get in the spirit of the season with special holiday reading. Following are my picks for December sharing.

Six familiar titles lead the list — some adapted, some with new illustrations and some memorable classics:

• "We Three Kings," illustrated by Gennady Spirin (S&S/Atheneum). Spirin's new interpretation portrays royalty, the wise men and their entourages in opulent color. Skies are lit with stars, and the refrain from the old song intertwined. This could be a family keepsake.

• "The Nutcracker," illustrated by Susan Jeffers (HarperCollins) takes a part of E.T.A. Hoffman's full tale, just right for the younger reader ages 3-8.

• "The Night Before Christmas," by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Niroot Puttapipat (Candlewick), uses intricate paper designs, black silhouettes and a pop-up at the end to interpret an old classic (ages 4 and up).

• "The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Pinata for the Pinon Tree," interpreted by Philemon Stures, illustrated by Ashley Wolff (Little, Brown). The author/illustrator duo adapt the sequence with New Mexico flavor (11 mariachi, 10 kachina leapin', etc.), which becomes quite a mouthful by the time gifts for all 12 days are noted (ages 5 and up.)

• "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" by Dr. Seuss (Random) is celebrating 50 years in print. A commemorative edition traces the history of this popular classic.

• "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey," by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P.J. Lynch (Candlewick), now appears with a CD narrated by James Earl Jones (all ages).

Gift list

New stories and those in a series make up a list for gift giving.

• Newbery medalist Kate DiCamillo collaborates with Bagram Ibatoulline on "Great Joy" (Candlewick), a story of a homeless organ grinder and his monkey. When a child wants to share the holiday with them, her exclamation of "Great Joy" is surely heartfelt (ages 5-9).

• "Advent Storybook: 24 Stories to Share Before Christmas," by Antonie Schneider, illustrated by Maja Dusikova (NorthSouth Books). When Little Bear is impatient for Christmas to come, his mother shares a different tale every night. These short and spiritual stories go along well with a real Advent calendar, a great activity for all ages.