Some Pre-Christmas Reading for Youngsters …

The Smallest Gift of Christmas

By Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press. $14 (Ages: 3-7)

Here’s a cautionary holiday tale about a little boy named Roland who learns an important lesson about the size of the box a gift comes in. On Christmas morning Roland races downstairs only to find a small, wrapped box under the tree. “It was the smallest gift he had ever seen. Had he waited the whole year for this tiny gift? Roland closed his eyes and hoped and wished as hard as he could for a BIGGER gift.”

This seems to work, but the little boy is never happy with the size of the “new” gift and the process continues until he conjures a gift bigger than his house. Now the story gets a little bizarre and when he opens the really big box, Roland discovers a real rocket ship. Determined to search the universe for an even bigger gift, Roland suddenly realizes he is moving out into space and his home planet, as it recedes, is getting smaller and smaller.

“Roland never thought he’d want something so small so badly.”

Now what’s the greedy little boy going to do? I’ll let you read this amusing picture book to discover how he reverses this situation and, in the process, learns an important lesson.

At a time of the year when it is easy to get caught up in buying things and measuring how much we are loved or appreciated by the number or size of the presents we receive, this little book reminds us that some of the best gifts come in very small boxes!

Sparkle the Fairy

Illustrations by Rebecca Finn
Campbell Books. $5.99 (Ages 1 and older)

Just the right size to slip into a Christmas stocking, this board book features Sparkle the fairy who is worried that Christmas may be a total disaster this year. Sparkle has mislaid her magic wand and without it there will be no carrots for Santa’s reindeer, the Christmas tree will be bare and there will be no gifts to share.

Just when it looks like the Christmas will be a total bust, the muddled, little, blond fairy notices her wand in the branches of the tree. “Now let’s use some magic and save Christmas Day!” Sparkle says.

You’ll discover a press-out Christmas ornament of Sparkle at the back of this book that can be used to decorate your own Christmas tree. Take care, though, because the pieces also pose a choking hazard should they find their way into a toddler’s mouth!

Olivia Helps With Christmas

By Ian Falconer
Atheneum. $7.99 (Ages 3 and older)

Celebrate Christmas Eve with Olivia and her family as they prepare for Santa’s visit and the festivities of Christmas day. After some last minute, morning shopping, Olivia helps decorate the Christmas tree and then she set the table for dinner. Then, after singing some carols and setting a snack out by the fireplace for Santa, Olivia and her siblings are off to bed.

Naturally, Olivia isn’t very sleepy. Is that a noise up on the roof? Yup!

Can that be Santa? Nope, it’s a raccoon! Eventually the little white pig falls asleep and before you can say “Vixen and Blixen,” it is Christmas morning.

A fresh blanket of snow covers the ground and beneath the Christmas tree are a pile of gifts. After giving her parents a very special present, a self-portrait to hang over the fireplace, Olivia heads outdoors to try her new skis.

And, that night, totally exhausted, the tired little piglet sleeps like a log,

This special board book will become a favorite of youngsters who can’t get enough of Olivia. What’s not to like about this outgoing, rambunctious and amusing character who sleeps at night with a “Ski Gstaad” poster over her bed and dreams about performing in the “Nutcracker Suite”?

A Very Fuddles Christmas

By Frans Vischer
Aladdin. $5.99 (Ages 4-7)

This hilarious picture book presents the misadventures of a very pampered cat named Fuddles. When the spoiled feline sees all the special holiday food, beautifully wrapped gifts and nicely decorated Christmas tree, he wrongly believes this seasonal display is all for him.

After trying to sample the food, ripping open a few presents and having a wonderful climb up the tree, Fuddles is banished to the snow-covered backyard.

Now the unhappy, somewhat miffed cat must find a way to get back inside the house where it is nice and warm. How he manages this and what awaits him once he’s back inside is explained in the last half of this funny Christmas story.

It all turned out well for Fuddles but there were some moments, especially when he was braving the frigid elements, when this fat cat thought that this wasn’t going to be a very merry Christmas.

Cat lovers will especially appreciate and perhaps recognize some of the quirks Fuddles displays. Undoubtedly in households where a cat rules supreme, this storybook will be enjoyed over and over again.

My Carry-Along Christmas Activity Book with Stickers

By Jocelyn Miller
Illustrated by Cathy Hughes
Lion. $9.99 (Ages 3 and up)

There are actually three activity books aimed at holiday readers in this series. Besides “Christmas,” there’s “Santa” and “Angel.” All three books, with their convenient built-in carrying handle, feature a variety of hands-on activities like solving puzzles, decorating calendars, creating seasonal cards, and making craft items and holiday foods.

In the “Santa” book, you’ll find a calendar where a sticker can be added each day in December leading up to Christmas. There are instructions also for making ornaments, a Santa treat box, and small Christmas stockings or reindeer. Other activities include puzzle pages, a reindeer race, and a penguin party.

The other two books contain similar activities that will keep youngsters occupied in the days leading up to Christmas. The books will come in handy on travel days and grandparents may wish to stock up on these titles so they have something in place when the grandchildren come to visit.

All three books also come with stickers, which could pose a choking hazard for young children. The pages with the stickers are easy to remove

If there’s a chance they might end up where they don’t belong in a toddler’s mouth!