Beautiful Children’s Books to Gift for the Holidays

As always, the Folio Society comes out with beautiful new children’s books in beautiful slip covers. This collection of Flower Fairies books is absolutely stunning, with fully restored original paintings and line drawing decorations by the author. This is a perfect gift for anyone who loves gorgeous books and wants a truly stunning box set for their collection.

Another new Folio edition, this children’s classic is about a decrepit ex-racing car saved from the wrecker’s yard and restored into a beautiful automobile with magical powers. This beautiful new edition pays homage to Fleming’s brilliant creation and includes every one of John Burningham’s unforgettable illustrations from the first editions. The author’s nephew, Fergus Fleming, has written an exclusive new afterword essay and this is illustrated with previously unpublished sketches, as well as photographs, some from the family archive, and Amherst Villiers’s original Chitty model designs.

Oh, this beautiful book! Mr. Pinkney has created another work of art filled with luscious illustrations that fills every page. In this reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic, Melody, the littlest sea princess, is not content just to sing in the choir of mermaids like her sisters. She is an explorer who wonders about what lies above the water’s surface… especially the young girl she has spied from a distance. To meet her requires a terrible sacrifice: she trades her beautiful voice for a potion that gives her legs, so that she may live on land instead. But when trouble stirs beneath the ocean, Melody faces another impossible choice — stay with her friend, or reclaim her true identity and save her family.

This oversized book is a perfect gift for budding explorers who love learning about the world. This is a great option during the pandemic when traveling is restricted. This book features new and updated material on every spread and twenty-four entirely new maps. In addition to geographic features like borders and cities, this volume features places of historical and cultural interest, eminent personalities, cultural events, and iconic animals, allowing you to explore the globe without leaving your couch.

I will buy any book that Bryan Collier illustrates! His unique style of watercolor and collage makes every book he works on a treasure of gorgeous art. Combined with Tami Charles’s lyrical, heart-lifting love letter to Black and brown children everywhere, this book is a true gem and belongs on everyone’s bookshelf.

Another oversized book, this is the most beautiful alphabet book you will ever see. The letters of the English language come alive through the artwork of Austin-based fine artist Starla Michelle Halfmann. Children will learn and marvel as their ABCs become members of the animal kingdom. This is a book to treasure and love!

This is a great book for older readers who love nature and poetry. The Lost Spells evokes the wonder of everyday nature, conjuring up red foxes, birch trees, jackdaws, and more in poems and illustrations that flow between the pages and into readers’ minds. Robert Macfarlane’s spell-poems and Jackie Morris’s watercolour illustrations are musical and magical: these are summoning spells, words of recollection, charms of protection.