May I suggest?

I love Christmas picture books. I buy one or two (or three or four) every year. I have to say, though, I haven't found any titles that really send me this holiday season. SO SAD! I brought a pile home from The King's English to peruse before buying (one of the perks of being a bookseller), and these are on my short list.

1. THE CHRISTMAS ANGELS by Claire Freedman, illustrated by Gail Yerrill. I like the art in this one--sweet and blue and purple-y and sparkly.
2. SANTA DUCK by David Milgrim. The cartoon-y art is appealing--I especially like the dialogue balloons that stand apart from the text itself. Cute story, too.
3. SNOW by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Lauren Stringer. As I read through this I thought, gee, this reminds me of WINTER IS THE WARMEST SEASON (which I like a lot). And there's a good reason for that. Lauren Stringer illustrated both. Rylant's sweet, graceful voice is hard to resist.
4. SNOW PARTY by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Mark Jones. This is the book I'll probably end up buying. I'm sort of surprised that Ziefert would write a story that is so similiar to the Buehners' snowmen books. But it's fun and the art is GREAT!
5. HURRY! HURRY! HAVE YOU HEARD? by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Jane Dyer. Melmed is the author of THE RAINBABIES, possibly one of my favorite picture books ever. The story here isn't as special but it's nice. And Dyer's animals are adorable (I especially like the border collie). If I were a kid, I'd really love this book, I think.

Anyway. I'm open for holiday suggestions.