OK, OK, OK – kids want toys and gizmos on Christmas. Heck, I’ve got five (kids), and my house looks like a KB Toys outlet. But I also know that those big toys under the tree often . . . fail. You HAD to give your kid that big expensive ridiculous thingamajig (heck, you road all over the state hunting for it, and had to wrestle it away from fellow insane shoppers) only to see it unwrapped with a shrug (“why the ungrateful little brat!”) and then heaved into a pile. And now that toy and all those other cost-a-fortune, broken-after-five-minutes Christmas presents are tossed under a bed, befriended only by dust bunnies.

Truth be told, a book is likely to get a shrug on Christmas morning. For some kids, a book is little better than a sweater from Aunt Alice. But a good book will lie in wait. it is that cold and sleeting day in February, when a book (“I guess that book”) must be read for school, and the child reaches for it, grudgingly, and opens it, and begins reading, and then . . . and then falls in love with the magic of beautiful literature. That is when the book pays off, and becomes a dear friend – a lifelong friend – to your child.

Didn’t a great book influence you as a kid? And isn’t this Christmas the perfect opportunity for you to afford that son, daughter, grandchild, niece, or nephew that same special experience? It is. That is why we heartily recommend to you our wholesome collections – the original and Volume Two editions of The National Review Treasury of Classic Children’s Literature, and the perfect-for-new-readers The National Review Treasury of Classic Bedtime Stories – as ideal Christmas gifts. Whether or not they get oohs and ahhs on Christmas morning, sooner or later their pages will be opened, and the wonder of Twain, Kipling, London, Alcott, Carroll, Burgess, Burnett, Baum, and countless other giants of literature will work their charm.

We have many copies of these big, beautiful, lavishly illustrated books available. You can order these wonderful Christmas presents right here http://www.nationalreview.com/store/book_group.asp.