The Christmas Story

Kay Chorao. Holiday House, $16.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8234-1251-8

Chorao (Number One Number Fun) tailors the Nativity accounts from the King James Bible to a young readership, using slightly simplified language and phrasing. Large, decorated initials on each text page typically feature an animal from the story; scenes awash in her gauzy, cotton-candy palette evoke poses and settings found in many famous Renaissance paintings. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

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