IPads and iPhones and Xboxes, oh my! Technology is increasingly replacing toys in today's letters to Santa and in Hanukkah wishes.
But at least one children's holiday gift endures -- the joy of a good book.
Those longing to give the children in their lives a more traditional gift can still choose old-fashioned books, with pages and covers.
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In Maria Hoskins' debut children's book, Christmas Night on the Farm (C&V 4 Seasons Publishing, $15), Hoskins draws from her childhood memories of spending the season on an Arkansas farm in the mid-1960s. The book is illustrated by Lauren Crymes.
"It's a children's book that shares a happy moment in time, the meaning of Christmas and to encourage young readers and writers that there is a book in all of us," she says. The story, with eight illustrations, is told in the form of verses over 20 pages.
The paperback recounts Hoskins' memories of Christmas Eve and Christmas night at the farm of her great-grandmother, Lillie Ella Collins in Mayflower. Her uncle, Odus Walter Collins, ran the farm with stock such as cows, chickens, horses and mules; the crops included cotton, apples and peas.
"This is not just my story but also a lot of other people's stories as well," says Hoskins, who lives in Mayflower. "Anybody who grew up in that time period will be able to relate to it, with the wood and coal stoves and braided rugs."
Hoskins decided to write the book when she went searching for something like it last Christmas season.
"I was at Pyramid Art art gallery and bookstore and was looking for a book to read to the children at church which focused on the birth of Jesus and what I believe is the real meaning of Christmas, but came up empty-handed," she says.
The gallery and bookstore's owner, Garbo Hearne, suggested Hoskins write one.
"I was sitting up late one night, thinking of family and history, and wrote it," Hoskins says. "And everything else just kind of fell into place. I was referred to a young artist in Conway who wanted to illustrate a book, and we began working together."
Hoskins had no photograph of the farmhouse to share with the artist but says, "When I saw her drawing of the farmhouse, I knew I had chosen the right person." She hopes her book will inspire children to begin writing their own stories.
"When I visit with children, I tell them, 'This was the story that was inside of me, and each of you have a lot of stories inside of yourselves, too," she says.
"I am excited for Maria Hoskins," says Hearne. "I don't know of any other Arkansas authors who have written Christmas stories" this year.
Holiday tales with a local twist
Other books with Arkansas connections, themes or authors are:
m Santa Is Coming to Arkansas and Santa Is Coming to Bentonville, written by Steve Smallman and illustrated by Robert Dunn. These two books were published in 2013 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky as a hardcover and an e-book.
Heather Moore, senior publicity manager with Sourcebooks, says the company "started in 2012 with 23 Santa Is Coming to ... regional books and now we're up to 120. They cover cities, states and regions all over the United States and Canada."
In the Natural State version, Santa flies over the Metropolitan National Bank Tower, the state Capitol, the Clinton Presidential Center, the Cathedral of St. Andrew, The Old Mill and over Eureka Springs and Razorback Stadium to deliver toys to the sleeping girls and boys.
m Flora and the Runaway Rooster, written by John Claude Bemis and illustrated by Robert Crawford, is the latest children's book released by Heifer International. The book is a part of the private, nonprofit hunger relief organization's reading incentive program Read to Feed for first- and second-grade students. The book and lessons it includes can be downloaded for free from readtofeed.org; hardcover copies of the book are available at $10 each at heifer.org.
Colorfully illustrated, the book shares the story of a Rwandan family whose older children can attend school because of gifts from Heifer International.
In the book, Flora, the youngest child, helps care for the family's chickens, a source of food and money. When the rowdy rooster escapes while Flora is playing, a wild chase begins and includes Flora's friend Gideon, whose family is unable to send him to school. Along the way, Mother Yasenta assists in an unexpected way, prompting Flora to give Gideon the resources he needs to achieve his dream of going to school.
• Gurdon native and Las Vegas resident Monica Hatley-Carr modeled the character in I Love the Color Pink! The Adventures of Laci Macasey (Xlibris, $18), after her niece.
"It's not specifically a holiday book but would make a great gift for girls," says Hearne.
The season for reading
As for holiday-themed books, Hearne offers her top choices.
They include Hallelujah! A Christmas Celebration by W. Nikola-Lisa, $10.99; Christmas Makes Me Think by Tony Medina, $8.95; Twas The Night at the Capitol: A Narrative Featuring the First African American Family by Victoria Lavonne, $26.95; O Holy Night with pictures by Faith Ringgold, $18.99; Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou, $17.99; Together for Kwanzaa by Juwanda Ford, $3.99; Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story by Angela Medearis, $6.99.
Jean Cazort, owner of WordsWorth Books & Co. in Little Rock's Heights neighborhood, offers her choice of merry selections, which include The First Christmas by Jan Pienkowski, $15.99.
"This is an exquisite book, illustrated with silhouettes and beautifully colored landscapes," Cazort says, adding that it is based on the Christmas story found in the King James version of the Bible.
She also recommends Mary Engelbreit's Nutcracker by Mary Engelbreit, $9.99.
"This is the Nutcracker story with Engelbreit's distinctive and colorful yet simple illustrations for ages 4 to 8," Cazort says.
Simon and the Bear: a Hanukkah Tale, written by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Matthew Trueman, is the story of a bear stranded on an iceberg who finds that miracles can happen to anyone, anywhere, even in the darkest of times, Cazort says. The book costs $16.99.
She also likes a book about a truck.
Little Blue Truck's Christmas by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Jill McElmurry, the third in the Little Blue Truck series, in which the truck delivers Christmas trees to his animal friends, says Cazort of the book, priced at $14.99. "On the last page, blinking tree lights complete the story."
Debra Caudle with That Bookstore in Blytheville offers some ideas, including The Twelve Days of Christmas Cats by Don Daily, $18.95. "This is a beautiful picture book," she says of the cat-themed tome.
Others she recommends are How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, $15; Turkey Claus by Wendi Silvano and illustrated by Lee Harper, $16.99; Gifts of the Heart by Patricia Polacco, $17.99; I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel by Caryn Yakowitz and David Slonim, $17.99; My First Kwanzaa by Karen Katz, $14.95; and Latke the Lucky Dog by Ellen Fischer and Tiphanie Beeke, $17.95.
Used books to timeless tales ...
Matthew Henriksen with Dickson Street Bookshop, a used bookstore in Fayetteville, offers some of his favorite hardcover picks, along with their used-book prices. The Annotated Night Before Christmas, edited by Martin Gardner, $15; The Autobiography of Santa Claus, "as told to" Jeff Guinn, $6; and The Christmas Mystery, by Jostein Gaardner, illustrated by Rosemary Wells, $6.
"Definitely don't forget the classics," advises Sarah McClure, librarian and manager of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library and Learning Center in Little Rock. "They are usually loved for a reason. Also, if you loved it, you will convey that love to your kids and it will come through in the reading."
Her suggestions include Charlotte's Web by E.B. White; Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis; Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder; The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner; The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary and illustrator Jacqueline Rogers; and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
"If family and friends want to give your kids gifts, encourage them to give books to your children," McClure suggests. "Kids can be easily overwhelmed by too many toys at Christmas -- books are the best alternative."
Family on 12/10/2014