Holiday Gems Say No To The Garish Glitz And Expose Your Kids To These Seasonal Books Of Subtance

A person could become jaded looking through the piles of books released just in time for the December holidays. Scratch-and-sniff, sound effects, garish colors, and ever-so-cute characters abound. Amid the schlock, a few new titles give cause to celebrate.

“Chanukah in Chelm,” by David A. Adler

Chelm is a real town in Poland, and a make-believe place in Jewish folklore. The make-believe Chelm is full of well-meaning folks with no common sense. In this hilarious tale, Mendel, the caretaker of the Chelm synagogue, is charged with the task of setting out the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah. He finds the menorah in a storage closet on a table. Trouble is, he needs a table on which to display the lights. He looks under the table, and over it, but he finds no table. So he walks through the forest to the carpenter’s workshop and borrows a huge table that must be dragged back through the forest. It doesn’t go smoothly, of course. Children will love being in on the joke. (Get it? The perfect table is sitting right there in the storage closet.) Kevin O’Malley’s illustrations are just right. Comic book balloons appear on each page so the animals and people of Chelm can make dumb comments or tell bad jokes. Funny as the book is, it does end with an inspiring Hanukkah message, and a nice illustration of the snowy synagogue in the midst of a snowy forest, lights glowing from the window. (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 32 pgs., $16)

“An Angel Just Like Me,” by Mary Hoffman

As Tyler’s family is decorating this year’s Christmas tree, he discovers the angel broken in the box.

That stirs up questions: “Why do angels always look like girls?” “Why do they always have yellow hair?” “Aren’t there any black angels?”

Tyler decides to find “an angel just like me.” He has no idea how difficult a task he’s chosen. He searches store after store. At one store he spots a black Santa and recognizes Carl, an art student who sometimes babysits for Tyler’s family, and tells him about his search. With no fitting angels to be found, Tyler’s family settles for a star. But across town on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus (in the person of Carl) was working late. On Christmas Day, a wooden angel arrives that looks just like Tyler.

Husband-and-wife illustrators Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, have created a beautifully painted cast of multi-cultural characters for this sensitive and appealing story. Hoffman is the author of the wonderful “Amazing Grace.” (Dial, ages 4 and up, 32 pgs., $14.99)

“Every Little Angel’s Handbook,” by Belinda Downes

Tyler would like this whimsical book, in which the angels come in all colors and garb, from Birkenstocks to aviator caps. Downes’ illustrations are done in embroidery, amazing embroidery that is detailed, colorful and humorous. Children will enjoy poring over the pictures. The premise is that the jobs given to angels are more varied and complicated than we know. They must shine the stars, teach other angels to fly, organize heavenly special effects and cut out snowflakes (with no two alike). (Dial, 28 pgs., ages 4 and up, $14.99)

“December,” by Eve Bunting

Haunting, heartwarming, beautiful, this book embodies what we’d like to believe is the true spirit of Christmas. Simon and his mother live in a house made of cardboard. Yet on Christmas Eve, they celebrate. They have the top of a tree discarded at the tree lot, and ornaments: a silvery spoon, beads Simon found, and a toy soldier. Two Christmas cookies are placed carefully on a plate for the two to share the next day. An angel - named December - torn from the page of a calendar, adorns the wall. After the two are snuggled down under Simon’s dad’s old coat, there is a knock at the wooden board that serves as door. An old woman with a fake rose on her hat needs a place to get warm. Simon’s mother wraps her in his dad’s old coat, and Simon gives her his green Christmas cookie. The woman gives them the rose for their tree. “It’s warm in here,” she says. “It’s warm with love.”

Early Christmas morning, the woman is gone, but Simon sees December, both alive in the doorway and still in her picture on the wall. Is it a dream? We’re not told explicitly, but that year things start to get better for Simon and his Mom. She gets a job and next Christmas they have a real apartment in the projects. And the calendar angel has a red rose in her hair. This spiritual book comes from the same author-illustrator team responsible for the “Smokey Night,” a book about the Los Angeles riots that won the Caldecott Medal in 1995. Inventive illustrator David Diaz has outdone himself. His richly colored Picasso-like paintings are framed on a background of fascinating paint/collage patterns. (Harcourt Brace, ages 5 and up, 36 pgs. $15)

“Angel Pig & the Hidden Christmas,” by Jan L. Waldron

More angels, this time paired with illustrator David McPhail’s charming pigs. The pigs are busy cleaning and decorating for Christmas. But when they set off to the store for food, decorations and presents, they discover their wallet is empty. With no savings or credit, how will they celebrate Christmas? That’s when Angel Pig comes down and reminds them that money doesn’t equal Christmas. “Create your own Christmas from what is right here, With boxes and crayons and cake-baking gear. … Giving and sharing and just helping out, That is what Christmas is really about.”

Of course the pigs have a wonderful holiday. Parents might find this a helpful read-aloud to help combat the seasonal “gimmes.” (Dutton, ages 3 and up, 24 pgs., $14.99)

“The Story of Hanukkah,” by Norma Simon

This reissued title joins the simple and lovely classics “The Story of Passover” and “The Story of Easter.” Simon explores the holiday’s origins and today’s customs, with vibrant illustrations by Leonid Gore. Dreidel instructions and a latke recipe are included. (HarperCollins, ages 4 and up, 32 pgs., $14.95)

“Marvin’s Best Christmas Present Ever,” by Katherine Paterson

Marvin, (of “The Smallest Cow in the World,”) is worried about a Christmas present for his parents. His sister, May, always makes the greatest gifts.

Inspired by a neighbor, he gets May to help him make a beautiful evergreen wreath for the outside of the family’s trailer. His parents are thrilled, and Marvin is so proud that he doesn’t want to take it down even after the needles turn brown. His dad is just about to take it down in the spring when the family discovers that a family of birds is using it as a nesting place. The brown wreath becomes beautiful again. This “I Can Read” book is nicely illustrated by Jane Clark Brown. Paterson is a famous children’s book author (“Bridge to Teribithia” and “Jacob, Have I Loved”). (HarperCollins, ages 5 and up, 48 pgs., $14.95) < “Santa’s Short Suit Shrunk and other Christmas Tongue Twisters,” by Nola Buck

Here’s another “I Can Read” book in a different vein. New readers and their families will have fun with these twisted sentences, wackily illustrated by Sue Truesdell. Try saying this five times: “Candy carries Carrie’s candy cane.” (HarperCollins, ages 5 and up, 32 pgs., $14.95)

“Seven Days of Kwanzaa: a Holiday Step Book,” by Ellen Grier

This celebration of African-American culture and traditions begins Dec. 26. This book, colorfully illustrated by John Ward explains the holiday to the youngest children. (Another book in the same series and style is “Eight Days of Hanukkah,” by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Melinda Levine.) (Viking, 20 pgs., age 3 and up, $10.99)