A Season of Miracles

The stories spun for the holiday season are myriad: biblical stories, family legends, myths about a do-gooder in a red suit who makes a consistently good showing in popularity polls. At this time of the year, everyone can re-enter the realm of childhood, lifting the veil of skepticism worn the rest of the year and discovering anew that anticipation is finer than the actual event, that anything we dream of is within our grasp.

Those old songs of seasons past may sound tinny on the car radio, and overwrought in orchestra halls, but the simple arrangements by Dan Fox in WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, illustrated with reproductions from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, remind one of the charm of caroling. The book is also a cherishable treasure; behind the illusion of songbook is a breathtaking display of rare pieces from the Met’s holdings.

Rooted in the oldest tellings of all is THE STORY OF HANUKKAH by Amy Ehrlich (Dial: $14.95; unpaged), the second of three books illustrated by Ori Sherman before his death last year. In both works (the first was The Four Questions by Lynne Sharon Schwartz), he has used a distinctive style to portray dramatic images and stylized icons seemingly ready to spill off the page. Among the scenes vibrantly recreated in story and paintings are the fight of Judah the Maccabee, the restoration of the temple, and the lamp that burned beyond its allotment of oil. Since one can’t talk about the season without including books on Santa Claus, there is THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, or A Visit of St. Nicholas (Philomel: $15.95; unpaged), marketed as an “antique reproduction,” a facsimile edition of a book that reportedly was rescued from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The illustrations provide good old-fashioned flavor for Clement C. Moore’s fabled poem, but one has visions of parents nipping this up for themselves, out of the nostalgia for days of yore that always surfaces around the holidays.

And in case anyone in the family refuses to admit the old gnome’s existence, there is--as there always is this time of year--a book that documents his appearances over 1,700 years, and accounts for the fact that there isn’t one Santa Claus, but many: WHO IS SANTA CLAUS? The True Story Behind a Living Legend by Robin Crichton, illustrated by Margaret Nisbet (Canongate, distributed by David & Charles: $22.95; 104 pp.). Although the book occasionally lapses into stiff, studied language, it will settle dinnertime disputes and therein lies its merit. Those seeking specific points of debate will have to read the book from beginning to end; there is no index.

Among the traditional stories and retellings this year is a new one, UNCLE VOVA’S TREE by Patricia Polacco (Philomel: $14.95), which spins the fine threads of family lore into an intricately patterned cloth. Polacco tells of the January Epiphany she celebrated as a child with her Russian relatives, among them Uncle Vova; each year he left a tree laden with “sewet,” berries, and popcorn for the winter animals. The use of colorful customary designs and soft black-and-white details simulates the filtered view of memory--the faces of the people have faded, but the fabrics blaze with color.

THE CHRISTMAS CUP, a novella of uncommon gentleness and simplicity by Nancy Ruth Patterson, illustrated by Leslie Bowman (Orchard: $13.95; 71 pp.) tells of a third-grader who wears an eye patch and is missing her two front teeth. After Megan foolishly buys a cranky old milkshake cup, her grandmother helps her turn the rusty old piece of tin into a vessel of goodwill and bubbling holiday cheer. A soft-spoken message of year-round kindness sounds the right chord for the season.

Also for older readers is Elizabeth Starr Hill’s WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES (Viking Kestrel: $11.95; 208 pp.). Callie had long hoped that her real mother would come home after a long absence, but when she moves to a trailer park with her father and new stepmother, those hopes are dashed. A wistfulness pervades this sensitive story about ordinary folk just getting by with what they have--and most of them don’t have much. Thoroughly reflective of the times, the book is also a poignant chronicle of a child’s learning to reconcile her dreams with real life.