Brilliant New Picture Books for the Season!

• Merry and Hark: A Christmas Story by APRIL GENEVIEVE TUCHOLKE. Merry has always wanted to go on a grand adventure, like the great Hero Owls from her favorite stories. But she is just a little owl. Little owls don't have adventures. Then one day, Merry falls asleep in her favorite tree—and wakes up in a big, noisy city! Can a little owl on a grand adventure find her way home?
• Red and Green and Blue and White illustrated by PAUL O. ZELINSKY. It's a holiday season that both Isaac, whose family is Jewish, and Teresa, whose family is Christian, have looked forward to for months! They've been counting the days, playing in the snow, making cookies, drawing (Teresa) and writing poems (Isaac). They enjoy all the things they share, as well as the things that make them different. But when Isaac's window is smashed in the middle of the night, it seems like maybe not everyone appreciates "difference."
• It's Navidad, El Cucuy! by DONNA BARBA HIGUERA. Ramón is a little boy who can’t wait for Navidad. El Cucuy is the friendly monster who lives in Ramón’s bedroom. He’s not so sure that Christmas is for him. The lights are too bright, and the snowman is scary! So if El Cucuy is hesitant to embrace the holiday cheer, then Ramón will have to bring the spirit of Navidad to him.
• The Three Latkes by ERIC A. KIMMEL. When three Hanukkah latkes fight over which of them tastes the best, the winner is decided by the family cat. Which will he choose? The excited latkes can’t wait to find out, but perhaps they should be careful what they wish for!
• A Creature Was Stirring by HEATHER S. PIERCZYNSKI.'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a — MOUSE! He had never heard of a mouse not stirring. It was the most glorious night of the year! So he stirred. Squeaked! Eeked! Anything but sleep.