Also this issue: Easy as (Pizza) Pie Nancy Heller comes up with a new, and delicious, approach to art appreciation. -Lori Hill Clothes-Minded Paul Fussell explores why how we dress is how we are. -Meredith Broussard Beauty Is... Big books from two very different area museums have more in common than you might think. -David Warner Consumption Junction Thomas Hine on the future of shopping, and why the malls days are numbered. -Maura Johnston FICTION -Debra Auspitz, Justin Bauer, J.B, Elisa Ludwig and Alex Richmond NON FICTION -A.R, Nancy Armstrong, Brian Howard, Sara Marcus and Andrew Milner

December 5-11, 2002

cover story

Children's Books

by Harriette Behringer

DEAR SANTA, PLEASE COME TO THE 19th FLOOR

By YIN Illustrations by Chris Soentpiet Philomel/Penguin Putnam, $16.99, ages 6-10

Carlos isn't the same since his accident. Once a basketball player, the little guy is now pushed in a wheelchair by his loyal friend, Willy, around the rough neighborhood where he lives, on the 19th floor of a decaying tenement.

How could Santa come to Carlos, to the 19th floor where he lives? The building has no chimney; the lobby door is always locked.

But resourceful Willy sneaks to the computer that Social Services gave to Carlos. He e-mails Santa with a plea: "My pal Carlos is in a wheelchair now and could use a good surprise."

Then, on Christmas Eve, Willy discovers Santa outside the tenement, loaded with a bag of gifts, and lets him in. They start up the long, dark stairs. Santa's nose twitches in the dank air. "It smells like dirty socks." By the 18th floor, Santa is exhausted, and collapses.

But "HO... HO... MERRY CHRISTMAS!" says Santa to Carlos at last. He hands him a basketball, saying, "I'll bet you are still good at defense." There's the gift of a telescope for Willy, too. It seems that Carlos had e-mailed Santa to bring a gift for Willy. "If you do, it will really cheer Willy up."

This heartwarming story of unshakable friendship captures the true Christmas spirit and reminds us of the greatest gift of all -- the gift of hope.

KWANZAA KIDS: A LIFT-THE-FLAP BOOK

By Joan Holub Illustrations by Ken Wilson-Max Puffin Books, $6.99, ages 3-6

Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. This paperback shows children lighting candles on the kinara (candleholder), making a mkeka (straw placemat), drawing a bandera (flag in African colors of black, red and green), cleaning a park and dancing to create beauty.

"We put on masks and give a show,

Shake and shimmy to and fro."

The large flaps are easy to pull up, revealing family scenes to highlight the Kwanzaa theme of family unity.

KEATS'S NEIGHBORHOOD: AN EZRA JACK KEATS TREASURY

Viking, $25, all ages

Ezra Jack Keats turned children's literature upside down when, back in 1962, he made an African-American boy the hero of the classic The Snowy Day, a Caldecott Medal winner. Keats, whose real name was Katz, grew up in a crowded Brooklyn slum. His characters were not middle-class kids like Dick and Jane. They were real children who were not born to privilege.

Many stories that brought him international acclaim are in this collection. The Snowy Day is a tale of a young city boy's wild delight at mountains of snow. Goggles! and Whistle for Willy feature African-American children as heroes. This anthology, which is also a biography, is a family treasure and fine holiday gift. Keats ranks with such icons as Margaret Wise Brown and Beatrix Potter. Children will ask for his stories again and again.

NO MORE SECRETS FOR ME (New Revised Edition)

By Oralee Wachter Illustrations by Jane Aaron Little, Brown, $14.95, for adults to share with children ages 4-12

While not a traditional holiday book, it is a year-round guide. Sexual abuse of children is not a taboo subject, not with this wise and helpful book. The format is simple: In four realistic stories, a child makes the right decision about how to deal with a potentially damaging encounter with an adult.

Darryl doesn't like it when, after his bath, his babysitter rubs his body with a towel. He tells his mother and the problem's over.

When Nickie goes to the video game store she sees old Gus hanging around. When he sits down in her booth, he puts his arm around her. So, "She slid down under the table and crawled up on the other side of the booth. Then she marched out the door."

At camp, Greg doesn't go swimming with the rest of the campers, and finds himself alone in his tent with Marty, his counselor. "How about a little game?" asks Marty, taking off his bathing suit and sitting down naked on Greg's bunk. He asks Greg to take off his bathing suit, too. When Greg tells another counselor about this, he finds he can say "no."

Maureen's stepfather sneaks into her room when her mother is away, lifts her nightgown and touches her all over. She tells her best friend, "Sometimes he touches me, you know, down there." Her friend urges her to tell the homeroom teacher about this, and she learns that counselors who protect children will help stop abuse. Her mother will help, too.

It is essential that the stories be discussed by an adult and a child. Resources at the end of the book give information about agencies that can assist with the problem of abuse.

AUNTIE CLAUS AND THE KEY TO CHRISTMAS

Written and illustrated by Elise Primavera Silver Whistle, $16, ages 4-8

Chris, a young cynic, wants to see if Santa is real. Auntie Claus, Santa's sister, tells him, "Sometimes you have to believe in order to see."

In this fantasy, he is given a magic key and boards an elevator that zooms through the ceiling and deposits him at the North Pole. He looks at the sky and there are Santa and Auntie Claus circling above him in a sleigh. They take him aboard. He sees Santa for himself, because he believes. The key to Christmas is what Auntie told him.

The plot is a bit disjointed, but the art vibrates with color. (Primavera is a graduate of Moore College of Art & Design.)