CHRISTMAS COOKIES: BITE-SIZE HOLIDAY LESSONS , by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, pictures by Jane Dyer (HarperCollins, 2008), all ages, 32 pp., On shelves now.

Season’s Greetings! (Please greet me with cookies.)

I squealed with delight when I saw Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons (HarperCollins, 2008), the scrumptious follow-up to her New York Times Bestseller, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons (HarperCollins, 2006).

This time, we are treated to 23 more delectable cookie-centric definitions to inspire, enlighten and delight readers of all ages. Have you ever tried to explain such abstract terms as “Prosperity,” “Charitable,” or “Perseverance” to a child? Pretty tricky, huh?

That’s where these cookies come in. “Prosperity means, My goodness, just look at all those cookies!” “Charitable means setting a big batch aside to give to people who maybe don’t have any cookies at all.” And “Preseverance means, We tried and tried and tried, and finally we made the perfect not-burned batch.”

“GRACIOUS means putting out a plate for our special guest.”

With cookies, everything becomes clear. Especially when the definitions feature charming, curly haired, multiethnic kids and their gentle animal friends working together in the kitchen.

”FRUSTRATED means, I can’t believe we burned them again!”

If ever there was a perfect pairing of author and illustrator, these cookie books are it. Jane Dyer’s winsome watercolors perfectly capture the candy-striped, multicolor-frosted, sugar-sprinkled celebration that is Christmas without being cloying or overly cute. Kids will love how humans and animals, equally enthusiastic about cookies, inhabit the same world. Since these crunchy chunks of wisdom can be nibbled on one tasty morsel at a time, or gobbled up in one fell swoop, it is suitable for picky eaters as well as established gastronomes. No holding back here. Open the book to any page, cozy up to the table, and help yourself to pure yummy-ness.

“SHARING means, Thanks for giving me a taste. Would you like a bite of mine?”

I am a huge fan of both Rosenthal’s and Dyer’s work, and highly recommend both of these Cookie books. Created from what seems like the perfect recipe, these gems satisfy to the very last crumb.

To browse inside Christmas Cookies, click here.

For the Christmas Cookie recipe included in the book, click here.

If, by some chance, you were visiting another planet and missed the first Cookie book, take a peek inside it here.

COOKIES: BITE-SIZE LIFE LESSONS, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal,
pictures by Jane Dyer (HarperCollins, 2006), all ages, 32 pp.

Special thanks to R. Michelson Galleries for permission to post interior spreads from Christmas Cookies. All images included here are available for sale (watercolor on paper, 8.5″ x 8.5″). Click here for more information on these and other illustrations from Jane Dyer’s books.

*All interior images copyright © 2008 Jane Dyer, published by HarperCollins. All rights reserved.