I always like to give the kids a good book, something special they can keep on their shelves for years.

For my son’s first Christmas, he got the classic Twas the Night Before Christmas. Twelve years later, he’s much pickier. I’m thinking about picking up another classic, maybe Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn.

My daughter is no problem. (Why are girls so much easier to shop for?) She’s getting the modern classic The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls, from AmericanGirl Library ($9.95). This book comes highly recommended from other moms of pre-teens.

And since she just finished reading Alice In Wonderland and Through the Lookinglass, I think she’ll appreciate the amazing pop-up version by Robert Sabuda, the master of the art form (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: A Pop-up Adaptation, Little Simon, $26.99). Sabuda’s pop-ups are not the kind you want to put in the hands of a drooly toddler. These are works of art with towering, intricately cut pop-ups. Sabuda’s The 12 Days of Christmas Anniversary Edition: A Pop-up Celebration ($26.95) would entertain anyone.

Other worthy pop-ups for the grownups on your list: The Pop-Up Book of Celebrity Meltdowns (Melcher Media, (29.95), The Pop-up Book of Sex (Melcher Media, $29.95) and Graceland: An Interactive Pop-Up Tour (Chuck Murphy, $40.)

-G.D.B.

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