Christmas gifts: ten children’s albums to put under the tree

1. For the youngest who still believes in Santa Claus. From 4 years old.

The Closet Monster Hates Christmas

By Antoine Dole and Bruno Salamone. Actes Sud junior, €16.50.

Does Santa Claus exist, yes or no? That’s not the question for the monster in the closet. Him, his problem is that he hates Christmas. It seems that you have to be wise all year long to hope to receive gifts… mission impossible! You also have to put on your 31: “No way, he wants to stay naked, it must be said that his are pretty and cozy.” And in addition, to thank the reins of Santa Claus, we must concede them, on a plate at the foot of the tree, the last cookie: “Couldn’t we leave them the broccoli from the fridge instead?” No doubt, the cutest monster of children’s literature is indeed back in this new opus where the pencil drawings of Bruno Salamone illustrate the sketches imagined by Antoine Dole (alias Mr Tan, Deadly Adele). As mischievous as the previous episodes, this album allows us to approach in a light tone the notion of forgiveness for small deviations from (good) conduct.

2. For the Mr. Know-it-all about dinosaurs. From 5 years old.

The Dipoilocus and other unknown dinosaurs

By Lise Beninca and Clémence Lallemand. Helium, €14.90.

Is it cooler to be devoured by a hyper-sharp-toothed Sarcosuchus or by the long beak of a Quetzalcoatlus? When you ask yourself these kinds of questions, you naturally become a paleontologist. This is what happened to Mireille Farfelousse, obsessed with dinosaurs since her childhood. The Dipolocus… constitutes his notebook of discoveries: the Doukipudon, which was unaware of the existence of toothpaste and soap and the Poustoidlakjmimex, which had the annoying habit of settling in an already occupied cave, are among the crazy species spotted by the eminent scientist. Without any educational value, the book proudly assumes its schoolboy humor. Far from the classic encyclopedias devoted to extinct reptiles… but perfect for provoking a giggle before going to sleep.

3. For the fearless. From 6 years old.

When Cornebidouille was little

By Pierre Bertrand and Magali Bonniol. The Recreation School, €14.

“Prout of dromedary, face of Camembert…” If Cornebidouille, this witch with the vocabulary of carter, is still unknown to you, let’s start by summarizing the situation: Pierre is this little boy who stubbornly refuses to eat his soup. Even when his whole family berates him. Until the day when his father summons Cornebidouille, who enters the room of the disobedient kids at night to force them to finish their bowl of soup by terrorizing them. Except that Pierre, armed with his cuddly toy, can’t be fooled. This new adventure operates a return to the origins by immersing us in the childhood of Cornebidouille. Incredible but we discover there that she was an adorable princess before falling into a cauldron of sourness. A naughty aunt named Cracrabidouille, steeped in jealousy, has taken it upon herself to transform her into a cantankerous creature. A story full of humor where not only the children close the beak of the wicked witches… but also that of the parents.

4. For those who wonder about life and death. From 6 years old.

Hekla and Laki

By Marina Schneider. Albin Michel youth, €19.90.

Hekla and Laki won the last Golden Nugget awarded each year by the Book and Youth Press Fair held in Montreuil in Seine-Saint-Denis. Marine Schneider, its young author, delivers a very pretty tale about death, the passage of time, the importance of transmission by staging an encounter. Swirling like an autumn leaf, Hekla suddenly lands in the life of Laki, a hermit living in the crater of a volcano. The little being is the joy of the old man, even if he turns his house “upside down”. The grandfather makes room for him in his home and in his life, and he becomes so attached to him that he ends up not remembering. “of how it was before Hekla”. The two characters are inspired by two eponymous Icelandic volcanoes, one active, the other now extinct. Page after page works the magic of this very touching story, illustrated by splendid watercolors in mineral colors.

5. For the eternal dissatisfied. From 6 years old.

The King and nothing

By Olivier Tallec. Pastel/L’Ecole des loisirs, €15.

Once upon a time there was a king who owned everything, absolutely everything. He was the proud owner of trunkless elephants, caramel-flavored ice skates, or even a thunderstorm that refused to flash. “In short, he had everything because he was a great collector. […] He lacked almost nothing. Or rather, he lacked Nothing.” Determined and not so happy, the monarch begins his quest. But where to find this Nothing? Where is it hiding? In books that have answers to everything? In the desert or perhaps to be in the immensity of the sky? While waiting to solve the puzzle, the king ends up getting rid of everything to make room for Nothing. With his irresistible tongue-in-cheek tone, Olivier Tallec (It’s my tree, Rita and What’s-his-name…) offers the young reader a charming fable with a philosophical allure that comes at the right time in this period of sometimes overconsumption as the Christmas holidays approach.

6. For those learning to read. From 6 years old.

101 ways to read all the time

By Timothée de Fombelle and Benjamin Chaud. Gallimard Youth, €19.50.

It’s quite a change of register for Timothée de Fombelle who has so far distinguished himself by abounding youth adventure novels (Tolbie Loness, Vango, Alma…). Here he is launching into the short text with one sentence per page, no more and no less to list “the varied and sometimes unpredictable effects of reading in human beings”. Each physical posture imagined or observed in children when they immerse themselves in a book is accompanied by a comical illustration by Benjamin Chaud. “The Chihuahua makes himself very small when it suits him” is the one who hides under the dining room table. “The dunce has no time to waste” is the one who secretly devours a book during class. “The voyeur counts on others” is the one who reads over the shoulders. We will inevitably end up recognizing his style in this gallery of characters. A true declaration of love for reading.

7. For the insatiably curious. From 8 years old.

Myths

By Manon Bucciarelli. Gallimard youth, €18.

If Santa has to choose one book from his sack, this is it. We remain amazed by this documentary album which lists the deities, legends, monsters and other spirits from around the world. From Native Americans to Aborigines, 16 different cultures are explored. Manon Bucciarelli, graphic designer specializing in novel covers, deploys a festival of colors and shapes: faces with penetrating gazes, fantastic animals, exuberant plants and riddle texts intertwine on each double page. We come across the Tzitzimine, demons feared by the Aztecs or Teryel, a free and powerful woman among the Berbers. According to the rules of the game “search and find”, it is necessary to identify what is presented in each riddle and designate the image which relates to it. Not so easy (fortunately, the answers are at the end of the book) and fascinating.

8. For those who jump at the sight of a fly. From 9 years old.

The Fantastic Wild Jungle Adventure

By Emily Hawkins and R. Fresson. La Martinière youth, €22.

The warning at the beginning of the book is clear: “The instructions presented may involve risks and readers should not attempt these activities in real life.” Here is your child warned before embarking on the adventure. Destination ? The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon jungle. Held to endorse? Long-sleeved pants and tops, poncho, all-terrain boots and wide-brimmed hat. Mission objective? Find a lost city before ill-intentioned treasure hunters pillage it. Following the principle of “the book of which you are the hero”, each end of the page offers several possibilities to continue the story. Along the journey, you learn about survival techniques – building a raft, crossing quicksand or escaping the black caiman – while enjoying a “jungle lesson”.

9. For the astronomy freak. From 9 years old.

Fabulous landscapes of the solar system

By Aina Bestard. Editions Saltimbanques, €22.

What do we see when we look at the sky? How were galaxies formed? What are dwarf planets? Here are some of the questions answered with clarity Fabulous landscapes of the solar system. Chapter after chapter, the book explores the universe by stopping in detail on each of the planets of our solar system: Mercury, the smallest, Venus, the hottest, Jupiter, the most gigantic, Uranus, the coldest. .. Written in collaboration with Alma, the largest observatory in the world based in Chile, and magnificently illustrated by Aina Bestard, who draws inspiration from 19th century scientific engravings, this book propels the reader on a very beautiful intergalactic journey.

10. For those who balk at the call of the shower. From 9 years old.

It’s dirty ! The great history of hygiene

By Piotr Socha and Monika Utnik-Strugata. La Martinière youth, 195 p., €21.

Soaping your hands, brushing your teeth, going to the toilet… such everyday acts are so banal. We forget that it has not always been so. This “encyclopedia of cleanliness” cleverly recalls this by condensing customs, discoveries and inventions relating to the subject. More than 30 chapters tackle with humor the question of hygiene in the time of Antiquity, at the time of the Egyptians, according to the religions, in the Middle Ages, in the hospital or in space… The subject would seem to you off-putting? Nay. It suffices to delve into the richly illustrated and generous anecdotes to be convinced of the contrary. We learn, for example, that a journalist from the Times had predicted, in 1894, that the streets of London could disappear under three meters of dung by 1950, as the horses, which at the time ensured the transport of the city, had multiplied. Everything your child always wanted to know but never dared to ask could be found in It’s dirty !