Holiday Favorites> Local librarians side with traditional tomes for literary gift giving

This year it’s anything related to Pokemon. Last year, it was Beanie Babies. In the not-so-distant past, otherwise sane parents were having fistfights in store aisles over limited supplies of Tickle Me Elmo. In a world where Christmas toy fads change like Maine weather, one gift is always in good taste: a carefully chosen book.

Laurie Rose, youth services librarian at the Orono Public Library, recommends that parents look beyond the heavily promoted movie and toy tie-ins. “Go with classics that stand the test of time and books that will entice children to read them more than once,” Rose said. “Some books have beautiful illustrations. You can almost have an art collection on your bookshelf.”

High on Rose’s list are traditional stories that a family can share at the same time every year. She is quite partial to “The Night Before Christmas,” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” She considers “Joy to the World: A Family Christmas Treasury” to be an anthology that children will appreciate in new ways every year.

“It has stories, songs and poems, both religious and nonreligious. At first, they [children] might like a few of the shorter pieces. Later they will be attracted to the longer stories,” Rose said.

Anne Mundy, head of children’s services at the Bangor Public Library, has some holiday favorites. She finds Margie Palatini’s “Mooseltoe” to be “exuberantly illustrated.”

Mundy said, “Mr. Moose takes care of every detail of Christmas for his family. But he forgets one holiday tradition. When his children remind him, he makes up for it in a grand ending.”

Patricia Polacco’s “Welcome Comfort” is a sentimental, warm story, according to Mundy. “An overweight boy is shuffled from foster home to foster home. He is befriended by Mr. Hamp, a school custodian who disappears seasonally.”

Mundy considers Elise Primavera’s “Auntie Claus” to be wonderful to read aloud. It is told from an unusual perspective. “Sophie wonders why her aunt always wears red and white, why she keeps a diamond key around her neck, and why each year she goes on a business trip after Halloween. She has quite an adventure finding out.”

Another story high on Mundy’s read-aloud list is Robert Barry’s “Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree.” Mundy says, “When a Christmas tree is too tall, a butler cuts off the top and throws it away. Six beings take advantage of it. Finally a mouse family makes use of the tiptop.”

Mundy has two favorite Jewish folk tales. She finds Edith Tarbescu’s “The Boy Who Stuck Out His Tongue” to be full of whimsical silliness and good fun. “A little boy is acting out for his mom. He sticks out his tongue and gets it stuck to a metal fence. A stream of folks have suggestions about how to take care of it. The boy gains a different attitude about sticking out his tongue,” she said.

Eric Kimmel’s “Gershon’s Monster” teaches important lessons about responsibility and forgiveness. “Rather than regret or atone for his mistakes, a man sweeps them into the basement. Once a year he sweeps them into a bag and dumps it into the sea. This comes back to haunt him,” Mundy said.

For younger children, Rose highly recommends Beatrix Potter and the Mother Goose books. Folk tales and fables are high on her list. Jerry Pinkney has illustrated a new edition of “Aesop’s Fables.” For older children she suggests “Chronicles of Narnia” (all six books in a single volume), and a new edition of “Wind in the Willows,” with beautiful illustrations.

Mundy also recommends audio books for family listening. Parents and children can hear a story and talk about it. This can be a real boon for holiday traveling, she said.