How pathetic: last night I dreamt at length about concocting new copy points for selling NR books on The Corner. Even more pathetic was the one-liner I came up with — “The Skittish Are Coming” — which was a weird mix of “Christmas is coming” and my deep desire that those in Cornerland who have been skittish about buying our great kids books should, well, stop being skittish. It sounded brilliant in my sleep. Sounds stupid now that I am awake (by the way, before hitting the hay I watched a History Channel program on the Battle of Monmouth). Well, at least I wasn’t dreaming about sugarplum fairies.

Anyway, while I’m working on getting a new life, I hope you will be getting some new books for those children who you really care about. Now, if you realllllly cared this Christmas you’d be giving them books that are wholesome, decent, and influential. Sure, influential. Our acclaimed titles — The National Review Treasury of Classic Children’s Literature (original edition and the even-better Volume Two) and The National Review Treasury of Classic Bedtime Stories and even good old Queen Zixi of Ix – are crammed with great stories by great writers that can and do influence children, teaching them lessons and values and virtues (something you won’t get from blood-and-guts video games and other obnoxious toys). We’ve got a number of special offers available — please take advantage of them, sooner than later (Christmas IS indeed coming, and swiftly), here.