The true gift [a Christmas story]

FROM "TESTING THE ICE" THE TRUE GIFT A Christmas Story. By Patricia MacLachlan. Illustrated by Brian Floca. Atheneum. $12.99. (Ages 7 and up) On their annual visit to their grandparents' farm, a brother and sister are saddened to see the obviously lonely White Cow on her own in a pasture. (MacLachlan, the Newbery Medalwinning author of "Sarah, Plain and Tall," neatly begins the story from the cow's point of view.) How the brother uses his Christmas money to find White Cow some friends, and how his sister, the narrator, feels about that, shapes the affecting and almost dreamlike happy ending. THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Illustrated by Gennady Spirin. Marshall Cavendish. $16.99. (Ages 4 to 8) Along with the verses of this durable carol, a note provides background: though some believe the song holds "hidden Christian meanings" (with the partridge as Jesus), on the surface the growing list of fantastic items makes more sense as a children's memory game (another theory). Either way, Spirin's opulent illustrations perfectly suit the French hens, milking maids and golden rings. THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER By Glenn Beck. Illustrated by Brandon Dorman. Aladdin/Mercury Radio Arts. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 7) It's Christmas Eve and a boy is dreaming of a shiny new bicycle. Instead he's told he'll get a sweater knitted by his mother, and is crestfallen; but with his parents standing by, in the end he gets both the sweater and the bike. Strangely, this book is adapted from Beck's novel of the same name, in which a widow dies in a car accident and her son overcomes his bitterness with the help of just the sweater. Along the way, a message seems to have gotten mixed. TESTING THE ICE A True Story About Jackie Robinson. By Sharon Robinson. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Scholastic. $16.99. (Ages 7 to 10) Jackie Robinson's daughter builds a charming story around a childhood memory: the time her father stepped out on their frozen pond to test the ice for the first skating of the season. You see friends and family waiting anxiously, since they know he can't swim. (Nelson's close-ups expertly provide suspense as the ice goes "Boom!" - but holds.) With the basics of his biography efficiently woven in, this is a lovely introduction to a baseball legend. THE TEEN VOGUE HANDBOOK An Insider's Guide to Careers in Fashion. Razorbill. $24.95. (Ages 12 and up) This book isn't quite what you expect: it's not about modeling or makeup, but a how-to for teenagers who are genuinely interested in fashion and want to know how the business works. True, the profiles of people like Marc Jacobs are inherently glamorous, but the advice of the designers, editors and other insiders is refreshingly practical for the just-starting-out. Here's the photographer Mario Testino on the ideal assistant: "humble, funny and well mannered," putting "no limit" on how much he or she is willing to work. Real-world advice for would-be fashion stars in tough times. FROM "THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS" ALEX RIDER Crocodile Tears. By Anthony Horowitz. Philomel/Penguin. $17.99. (Ages 10 and up) Alex Rider's eighth adventure is one of his most ingenious, and if suitably over the top for MI6's sole teenage spy, it puts him in a world adults might recognize, with high-rolling bad guys and charities that turn out to be scams (the apt subtitle also foreshadows a terrific scary scene alongside an infested African river). The highlight is an escape from atop a gigantic dam as the wall is bursting and bullets and spears are flying. You'll have to read to find out how. JULIE JUST

Chapter One Liam and I sit on the backseat of Papa's old car. The car heater isn't working, so Liam and I share a blanket. We can see our breath in the air. "How many books did you bring?" whispers Liam. Liam and I share a worry. Our school closes for ten days, and we're going to Grandpa and Gran's house. We always go there in December, waiting for Christmas and Mama and Papa to come Christmas Day. We worry about not taking as many books as we'll need. "I brought fifteen books," I say. "I brought thirty-seven," says Liam. I burst out laughing. "Don't worry, Lily. There is the stone library if you run out." Liam runs out of books all the time. Sometimes he reads three chapter books in one day. I smile. We love that stone library, our second home at Grandpa and Gran's farm. "The lilac library," Liam says. It's true. No matter what time of year--winter or summer or fall or spring--that library smells like lilacs. Liam takes a book out of the bag at his feet. I smile. I am three years older than Liam, and I have a sudden sweet memory of teaching him how to read. He was four years old and he grinned for two weeks when he figured out the mystery of words. "We'll have snow," says Papa, looking up at the sky. Liam and I laugh, and Mama laughs too. We call Papa the Weather Man. And suddenly, as if his words bring it on, snow begins to fall; flakes one by one, slowly at first, then harder. Papa turns on the windshield wipers, and we watch the back-and-forthing of them. "I hope the library stays open if it snows," says Liam. "That library is always open," says Mama. "That library has been open ever since I was a little girl." We turn into the long dirt driveway to Grandpa and Gran's house, past the meadow where White Cow turns her head to watch us go by. "Where's Rosie?" asks Liam. "Where's the donkey?" "Don't know," says Mama. "Can't see her." The snow is coming harder now and is beginning to stick to the road. It is almost dusk. "Did you bring your money?" asks Liam. I nod. We have worked weekends and after school to earn money for Christmas presents. I babysat for the three Cooper children across the street. Liam and I both mowed lawns and shoveled snow when it came. Once he painted a shed. There are only two stores in Gran and Grandpa's small town. But that is enough for us to buy presents for everyone. Liam holds up a red sock with a gray stripe. It is fat with his money. I smile. The car passes the barn and pulls up to the front porch of the big white house. There are Christmas lights in every window. Gran and Grandpa come out to wave. Their terriers, Emmet and Charlie, bark fiercely at us, then race down the porch steps happily for jumping and licking. Snow falls harder. We're here! © 2009 Patricia MacLachlan Excerpted from The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.