Dr. Suess rendered old-school nursery rhymes practically obsolete with his reinvented use of rhyming verse, and although these four books lack the good Doctor’s edginess, they nonetheless package life lessons for children in delightful rhymes that make them great holiday gifts for kids and grandkids.

By Judy Dykstra-Brown

Sock Talk is a Christmas book of rhyming verse that recounts the tale of a young girl whose aging maiden aunt insists on giving her the mundane Christmas gift of socks year after year.   When the child at last musters up the courage to confront her aunt about the practice, the result is predictably unpredictable.  This book contains sixteen illustrations by San Juan Cosalá artist Isidro Xilonzóchitl. Most are colorful full pages rendered in a style that evokes memories of illustrations from children’s books of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s.

The story that teaches children two important lessons.  One is that that there’s…