Books for the season

This time of year newspapers and websites abound in lists of books to give children for Christmas. I resent the idea that children – or grown-ups for that matter – should only be encouraged to read during holidays, but at least it makes children's literature slightly more visible. I join the chorus with my selection of favourites.

For humour lovers: Five Children and It, by Edith Nesbit

For romance lovers: Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

For adventure lovers: Comet in Moominland, by Tove Jansson

For fantasy lovers: The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha, by Lloyd Alexander

For advanced fantasy lovers: Hexwood, by Diana Wynne Jones

For Alice in Wonderland lovers: Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

For language lovers: The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

For mystery lovers: The Solitaire Mystery, by Jostein Gaarder

For horror lovers: The Shadow, by Hans Christian Andersen

For art lovers: Willy's Pictures, by Anthony Browne

For cat lovers: Me and my Cat, by Satoshi Kitamura

For hippo lovers: Veronica, by Roger Duvoisin

For Shakespeare lovers: Aldabra, or The Tortoise who Loved Shakespeare, by Silvana Gandolfi

For toy lovers: The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban

For dolls' house lovers: The Mennyms, by Sylvia Waugh

For justice lovers: The Book of Everything, by Guus Kuijer