Children's holiday stories; This bundle of books could fill Santa's sack.

Byline: Nicholas A. Basbanes

Books make wonderfully durable holiday gifts for children, with colorful titles available this year in a plentitude of choices, each one bearing the warm greetings and best wishes of the season.

Based on the perennially popular television special that is now in its 44th year, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (Running Press, $19.95, ages 4 to 8) brings the entire Peanuts gang together in a bright new edition that features the original illustrations of the late Charles M. Schultz.

Introduced at the White House tree-lighting ceremony in 2005, Maya Angelou's lovely holiday poem, "Amazing Peace" (Schwartz & Wade, 40 pages, ages 3 to 7, with CD), is now issued in a beautiful edition illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fanscher.

"Hurry! Hurry! Have You Heard?" (Chronicle Books, $16.99, 36 pages, ages 4 to 8) by writer Laura Krauss Melmed and artist Jane Dyer is a beautifully rendered tale of joy that pictures animals in the fields and forests as the word is passed that a baby has been born on a special night.

"Drummer Boy," by Loren Long (Philomel, $17.99, 40 pages, ages 4 to 8), profiles the extraordinary journey of a Christmas tree ornament - a little drummer boy with a heart - mistakenly lost in the trash and rescued by one unlikely champion after another, a tale made especially memorable by a sweeping series of large-format paintings.

"The Nutcracker" (Knopf, $16.99, ages 4 to 8, 40 pages) by Stephanie Spinner and artist Peter Malone is a lyrical retelling of the yuletide classic, issued with a CD of Tchaikovsky's music as performed by the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

Holiday dancing of a different sort entirely - indeed, these steps are quite hilarious - is the order of the day in Karen LeFrak's "Jake the Ballet Dog: A Nutcracker Tale" (Walker, $16.99. 32 pages, ages 4 to 8), with panoramic paintings by Marcin Baranski, and a clever glossary of ballet terms called Foot Notes.

P.J. Lynch, a two-time winner of the Kate Greenway Medal, brings a brilliant visual interpretation to "The Gift of the Magi" (Candlewick, $15.99, 40 pages, ages 6 to 12), O. Henry's timeless tale of mutual love and devotion.

A girl's wish to transform her family garden into a crop of Christmas trees becomes a reality in Mary Lyn Ray's "Christmas Farm" (Harcourt, $17, 40 pages, ages 4 to 8), with splendid illustrations by Barry Root.

The estimable Jan Brett's latest confection, "Gingerbread Friends" (Putnam. $17.95, 32 pages, ages 4 to 8), is a luscious holiday sequel to "Gingerbread Baby," which

features tempting sweets, treats, and pop-out surprises, exquisitely executed in a style that is uniquely hers.

An amusing twist on the traditional Santa Claus story is offered up by True Kelley in "The Dog Who Saved Santa" (Holiday House, $16.95, 32 pages, ages 4 to 8), a look into the early, easygoing career of the eternal gift-giver who is only too happy to let his pet dog, Rodney, take care of things on the big night.

Disappointed in seeing so many "fake" Santas in the department stores, a young girl and her friend head off to the North Pole in search of the real McCoy, as it were, in "Priscilla and the Great Santa Search" (Little, Brown, $16.99, 32 pages, ages 4 to 8), by the brother-sister team of Nathaniel and Jocelyn Hobbie.

"A Pirate's Night Before Christmas" (Sterling, $14.95, 32 pages, ages 4 to 8), by writer Philip Yates and artist Sebastia Serra, and "The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas" (Chronicle Books, $18.99, ages 4 to 8, 36 pages, with CD), by writer Anne Muecke and artist Nathan Hale, are imaginative takes on Clement C. Moore's timeless "Night Before Christmas."

"Snow" (Harcourt, $17.95, 40 pages, ages 3 to 7), by Cynthia Rylant, is a child's celebration in verse of snowflakes, be they heavy, light, fat or wet, and the myriad pleasures they offer; Lauren Stringer's colorful illustrations are a study in geometric precision.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas in Florida," written and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz, and "The Twelve Days of Christmas in New Jersey," by writer Margaret Woollatt and artist Rich Rossi, are the latest in a series from Sterling Books ($12.95, ages 3 to 7, 32 pages each) that will feature holiday customs in all 50 states.

"A Very Marley Christmas" (HarperCollins, 32 pages, ages 4 to 8), by John Grogan and illustrator Richard Cowdrey, is the latest adventure of a loveable pup with a penchant for mischief, this time enthusiastic romping among the ornaments and decorations. Man's best friend, indeed.

"I want Christmas NOW," an impatient young gosling shouts, and in due course it arrives in "Merry Christmas Ollie!" (Houghton Mifflin, $12.95, 32 pages), author-artist Olivier Dunrea's charming rendition of a first Christmas to be savored by one and all.

A boy is convinced he sees a disguised Santa taking notes on every corner in cartoonist Glenn McCoy's slick and witty "I See Santa Everywhere" (Hyperion, $12.99, 32 pages, ages 3 to 7), a wry reminder that it makes sense to "be good for goodness' sake."

Audrey Penn explains the customs and traditions of Hanukkah in "The Miracle Jar" (Tanglewood Press, $16.95, ages 4 to 8) by focusing on the experiences of one family over the eight days of the holiday, a celebration made especially memorable by the gentle paintings of Lea Lyon.

Nicholas A. Basbanes' seventh book,

"A World of Letters," has just been released by Yale University Press.

ART: PHOTOS