Here are some holiday books aimed towards young readers

With the holidays quickly approaching, here is a small sampling of books aimed towards young readers.

‘Tamales for Christmas’

Written by Stephen Briseño and illustrated by Sonia Sánchez.

In this charming picture book, Grandma gets ready to make tamales in her kitchen as the weather cools … but long before Christmas.

Here are some holiday books aimed towards young readers

“With masa in one hand and corn husks in the other, Grandma is just getting started.” That is the signature phrase that courses throughout the story. Masa is corn flour from Mexico.

Before the sun rises, Grandma stands at her stove. On the next pages, Dad loads up a cooler lined with towels and foil-wrapped tamales by the dozen, still hot from the steamer. He sells Grandma’s tamales to his co-workers and friends.

The narrative takes the reader back to Halloween. It shows Grandma helping hand out candy to children from her front porch. But she is soon back in the kitchen making tamales.

Now Grandma has help in the kitchen. Tía Janie seasons the pork. Tía Alma melts the lard. Mom mixes the masa by hand.

For Thanksgiving dinner with her big familia, Grandma cooks all the favorite dishes. Except tamales.

After Thanksgiving, she’s back at it, with “masa in one hand, corn husks in the other.” The fridge is filling up with foil-wrapped tamales that are sold or given to neighbors in need. Grandpa is stringing the Christmas lights and trimming the Christmas tree.

Grandma has earned money from the tamale sales to start shopping for presents for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Finally, the family enjoys the best present Grandma could have given them — each other.

The story keeps count of the dozens and dozens of tamales Grandma has made. The final count is 1,000 dozen. In an author’s note, Briseño remembers one year when his grandma did indeed make that many homemade tamales.

The character of the Grandma is based on Briseño’s real tamale-making Grandma, Rebeca Cano. Next to the author’s note is a 1997 photograph of Grandma Cano.

On the last page of the book is a recipe for making tamales.

Sonia Sánchez’s illustrations, along with Grandma’s kitchen, give off a welcome warmth for readers.

‘Alice in a Winter Wonderland’

Written and illustrated by Jan Brett.

This book is a fanciful wintry version of the famous Lewis Carroll children’s book “Alice in Wonderland.”

Set in Alaska, Brett’s adventure story invites readers to meet some familiar and unfamiliar animals as Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole in a glacier and into a fantasy world. To make herself smaller in order to fit into a tiny doorway, she drinks a nectar tasting of bumblebee honey. Then splash! Alice is in a pool of salt water with a great auk and fat mice. They’re in a foot race to dry off.

The book is packed with some oddly-dressed animals from Brett’s fertile imagination. Inside a log cabin, Alice sees a frog in open-footed sandals, a goose holding a sneezing baby bundled in a blanket and “a large grinning smilodon.” It resembles a cross between a domestic cat and an extinct sabre-toothed smilodon.

Alice next comes upon a tea party. Flapjacks are flapping in the air, and a serving tray is inscribed with the phrase “Twinkle, twinkle little bat, How I wonder what you’re at.”

The Queen prods Alice to meet a gryphon (a monster that’s half-eagle and half-lion) so she can listen to the Mock Turtle’s story. An array of characters — frogs, fish, caterpillars, goats, owls among others — happily meander through the pages.

Playing cards decorate the perimeter of many pages. Cards are also strapped to the bodies of some of the animals.

The author of more than 40 books, Brett is renowned for her artwork.

‘Esperanza Caramelo, the Star of Nochebuena’

Written by Karla Arenas Valenti and illustrated by Elisa Chavarri.

Nochebuena refers to Christmas Eve and is celebrated in many Hispanic and Filipino communities.

This children’s picture book takes the reader to a pastelería (pastry shop) on the edge of town. The fading sun’s rays brush “over a sugar-coated counter.”

A drop of sunlight finds a candied bead on a sugar-coated dancing figurine. The figurine is named Esperanza and she’s coming to life.

Esperanza is on a counter amidst other sugary musician figurines — a singer, a violinist and a guitarist. They join the merrymaking. Soon the bakery is filled with a different kind of magic. Doña Flor passes out Christmas blossoms and Poncho hands out hot mugs of punch with sugarcane and cinnamon sticks.

Caught up in the revelry, nobody notices the approaching pointy ears and sharp claws of a cat.

Attracted to the sparklers, the cat knocks over the miniature candy Christmas tree. Everyone is alarmed. Everyone except Esperanza. (Her name means “hope” in Spanish) She is sure the pastelería can make things right with its own touch of magic. It does.

The author, Karla Arenas Valenti, says the character of Esperanza is based on her own grandmother, also named Esperanza, who was a gifted baker and story maker.

‘The Real Santa’

Written by Nancy Redd and illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow.

A young brother and sister have imaginative images of Santa on their fireplace mantel. Santa on a surfboard. Santa inside a snow globe, a stick figure Santa and Santa in a sled. The boy wonders, who could be the real Santa?

His parents and grandparents avoid answering his question. Undaunted, the boy camps out at night under the Christmas tree with camera in hand to catch the real Santa in action.

But the boy falls asleep and someone carries him to bed. The boy decides that the real Santa looks just like him!

‘Eight Sweet Nights: A Festival of Lights, A Hanukkah Story’

Written by Charlotte Offsay and Illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt.

This delightful and informative children’s picture book follows members of a family preparing to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

The images of the preparation are complemented by brief explanations of the story of the holiday, as well as translations of relevant Hebrew and Yiddish words. “Latke,” for example, is Yiddish for pancake. Potato pancakes are a traditional Hanukkah dish, often served with sour cream and apple sauce.

The eight days of Hanukkah begin at sunset on the 24th of Kislev, a month on the lunar calendar of the Jewish religious year. The holiday starts in either November or December. This year, the first night is Dec. 25.