Christmas choice

0-4 years

TEN Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury (Walker, £10.99) is the perfect picture book for babies. A rollicking rhyme and exuberant pictures show babies from all over the world playing, smiling and enjoying lots of affection.

This season's surprise best nursery rhyme book is a reissue of a classic first published in 1932. The Land of Nursery Rhyme (Orion, £14.99) contains lots of forgotten verses as well as all the familiar favourites.

The smiley, old-fashioned illustrations are a joy to look at.

Toddlers will find it hard to resist the vibrant colours and jokey flaps to pull in What's That Noise, Mr Croc? by Jo Lodge (Hodder, £6.99).

They'll relish playing the guessing game too - and enjoy all the noises!

Noah's Ark by Rod Campbell (Bodley Head, £12.99) is much more than just a book. This simple, highly illustrated retelling of the classic Bible story comes with a colourful frieze and an ark animals play-set, all cleverly packaged in a handy case.

"Hustle-bustle in the City", "Building Going Up" and "Flying High" are some of the topics covered in Britta Teckentrup's Big Noisy Book of Vehicles (Boxer Books, £12.99). Great for little ones to browse the pictures alone, as well as listening to the simple explanations; and it has its own animated DVD.

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Alison Green Books/Scholastic, £10.99) is a jolly story in verse and humorous pictures by a best-selling team. Can Stick Man survive a nail biting series of hazards and adventures?

Yes indeed, with a wonderful seasonal surprise at the end.

The Adventures of Dotty and Bluebell by Jools Oliver, illustrated by Claire Fletcher (Puffin, £9.99) features four domestic tales about two sisters around the year. They're written in a chattily lively style that's just perfect for reading aloud.

Age 5-7

THERE'S a delicious array of totally revolting monsters in Colin McNaughton's The Aliens are Coming! (Walker Books, £7.99).

With a jokey poem for the text, pages of lurid pictures and a silly surprise at the end, youngsters will be fighting to get their hands on it.

There are plenty of laughs too in How To Be A Baby by Me, The Big Sister by Sally Lloyd Jones and Sue Heap (Walker Books, £10.99). Readers will relish gloating over the things that babies can't do compared with their older siblings - and chuckle at the silly and disgusting things babies can't help doing either. Brilliantly original and entertaining.

Children with dreams of space exploration will be inspired by The Sea of Tranquility by Mark Haddon and Christian Birmingham (HarperCollins, £5.99), a reminiscence of the first moon landing 40 years ago, seen through the eyes of a young boy. It has a haunting narrative and beautiful pictures.

The hero of Jonadab and Rita by Shirley Hughes (Bodley Head, £10.99) is a toy donkey. Neglected by his little girl, he flies away to an adventure amongst the fairies, only to find they don't want him either. With the help of Rita the toy mouse, Jonadab finally finds the affection and friendship he longs for. A delightful tale with a perfectly happy ending.

Knights and Castles (A Shuffle Puzzle Book) by Jill Sawyer and Steve Noon (Scholastic, £12.99) is a great introduction to a favourite history topic. The simple, evocative text contains lots of interesting facts about castle life. The pictures are both attractive and realistic, with the bonus that some can be shuffled around to uncover even more intriguing facts.

Age 8-11

A FUN part of Christmas in some families is when the children put on their own play. And you couldn't find a more appropriate gift for this than Drama School by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom (Frances Lincoln, £6.99).

This practical guide to acting and creating theatricals is easy to follow and brightly illustrated, with lots of fun projects to develop all kinds of stage skills.

There are two great books for readers who prefer facts to fiction, Faster, Further, Higher, Deeper by Richard Brassey (Orion, £7.99) looks at the history of transport in picture strip format. It's crammed with fascinating information and anecdotes for effortless browsing and learning.

Alternatively, Robert Crowther's Ships (Walker, £12.99) has cleverly engineered pop-ups showing vessels from Ancient Greece, HMS Victory, a modern port and many more. The captions are easy to read and very informative.

Eminent physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy have collaborated in a unique and remarkable book. George's Secret Key to the Universe (Corgi, £6.99) mixes a readable space adventure story with a simple manual to the mysteries of the universe. Jolly cartoons and mindboggling astronomical photographs all add to the appeal.

Award-winning Geraldine McCaughrean's recent sequel to a much loved classic, Peter Pan in Scarlet, is now available in an abridged, pictorial version with truly stunning artwork by DavidWyatt (Oxford, £14.99).

Both author and artist recapture all the atmosphere and characterisation of the original story, with fairies and pirates galore.

A new JacquelineWilson book is an obvious present formany girls. Cookie (Doubleday, £12.99) tackles the serious issue of domestic violence with Wilson's usual light touch and a happy ending. As with all her books, it's a totally compulsive read!

Boys might be more drawn to the new Agent Alfie series by Justin Richards (Harper Collins, £4.99). The first title, Thunder Raker, sees Alfie joining a school for the children of secret agents. Larger than life characters, humour and a sparky plot embroidered withmystery, cryptic codes and thrilling missions make this a great read.

Nut Cracker by David Walser, illustrated by Jan Pienkowski (Penguin, £17.99) is a real collector's piece for ballet lovers. The famous tale is simply but elegantly retold on pages framed with silver patterns and beautiful silhouette pictures embroidered with coloured glitter and a 3-D tableau at the end.

Age 12+

The Young Inferno by John Agard and Satoshi Kitamura (Frances Lincoln, £12.99) is a funky and powerful book. Agard takes Dante's famous poem about a visit to Hell and reworks it to appeal to today's youngsters, mingling 21st Century street cred with ancient mythology. Kitamura's stylised black and white illustrations draw the reader effortlessly in.

Being cast away on a tropical island is a favourite fantasy. In Solitaire (Usborne, £5.99), Bernard Ashley skilfully turns the theme into an intriguing mystery novel with an strong and appealing hero and an unexpected twist at the end. A great, thought provoking read.

Oisin McGann's Strangled Silence (Corgi, £6.99) involves a feisty girl journalist, terrorism and conspiracy plots, war in a distant imaginary land with a dollop of sci-fi and aliens. It's a fast moving, adult-style thriller.

THIS recipe book, though not for the feint-hearted, is very funny and the illustrations are superb. Esmelia Sniff, eight times winner of the World's Stinkiest Crone Award, presents a dazzling array of recipes that will have her fellow hags drooling with delight. There's Kate and Sidney Pie, Enfant aux Escargots, Bratwurst and Upset Cabbage and Pie-Ella. After all, a simple roast child can become a little boring after a while?