The recession may be hitting publishers hard, but one would never know it from the bounty of books aimed at the youth market. Here are some excellent choices for any child’s library:

Holiday-themed books: Brett Helquist, famous for his work on Lemony Snicket’s “Unfortunate Events” series, puts his talent for the sinister and humorous to good use in a picture book adaptation of “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol” (HarperCollins, $17.99, ages 5 and up). From British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy comes “Mrs. Scrooge: A Christmas Poem” (Simon & Schuster, $12.99), a charming fable for our times featuring animal rights activist Mrs. Scrooge visited by spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come, with sweetly offbeat illustrations by Beth Adams.

A pirate gingerbread man sets off to rescue his crew from the cannibal Santa Claus in the charmingly whimsical “The Gingerbread Pirates” by Kristin Kladstrup (illustrated by Matt Tavares, Candlewick, $16.99). Janeen R. Adil retells L. Frank Baum’s 1902 tale, “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus,” of a St. Nick raised by woodland fairies and receiving the gift of immortality, in this handsome edition with lavish paintings by Charles Santore (RP/Kids, $14.95). Local author Maria T. DiVencenzo, who wrote novels about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s mother for HarperCollins’ “Little House” series, offers a sweet story about the real meaning of Christmas in “The Star of Christmas” ($16.99, Winterlake Press, a local publishing company she founded with her husband, Peter Janzow) with luminous watercolors by Elaine S. Verstraete.

Inspirational books: “Today I will:A year of quotes, notes and promises to myself” by celebrated authors Eileen and Jerry Spinelli (Alfred A. Knopf, $15.99) includes 366 quotes from authors, ranging from friendly practical advice (learn to swim) to inspirational and serves both as guide to living and guide to great books. “All the World” (Beach Lane Books, $17.99), a simple poem by Liz Garton Scanlon, celebrates life on Earth and our connections to each other; the lovely illustrations are by Caldecott Honor medalist Marla Frazee.

Picture books: An enchanting upstairs/downstairs world of mouse and cats comes to life through elaborate 3-D illustrations created by photographing handmade sets in this magical story, an answer to Aesop’s fable, in “But Who Will Bell the Cats?” by Cynthia Von Buhler (Houghton Mifflin, $16). Carter Goodrich has worked as a character designer on many award-winning animated films and here creates a fantastic underwater environment with a vivid cast of characters and a most unlikely hero in the whimsical “The Hermit Crab” (Simon & Schuster, $16.99). “The Duchess of Whimsy” is a witty modern fairy tale by Randall de Seve with deliciously dramatic paintings by her husband, Peter de Seve (Philomel, $$17.99). Robert Neubecker’s lively illustrations and Shellie Braeuner’s rollicking rhymes add up to great fun in “The Great Dog Wash” (Simon & Schuster, $15.99).

For wee ones: Judy Sierra combines alphabet lesson and bedtime story in “The Sleepy Little Alphabet” (Alfred A. Knopf, $16.99, illustrated by Melissa Sweet) as the parents (capital letters) try to get their unruly letter children into bed (“K won’t give a kiss good night, I cries Don’t turn off the light”). Peter Pavey’s surreal illustrations offer much to discover in “One Dragon’s Dream: A Counting Book” (Candlewick, $17.99). Lucy Cousins, creator of the hugely popular Maisy books, offers vibrant illustrations and amusing retellings of eight favorite fairy tales in the hilariously titled “Yummy” (Candlewick, $18.99) with a wolf and Red Riding Hood on the cover. Polly Dunbar brings an old-fashioned charm to her sweet Tilly and Friends series, including the newest installments, “Doodle Bites” and “Good Night, Tiptoe” (Candlewick, $12.99 apiece.) From acclaimed illustrator Jerry Pinkney comes a dramatic wordless adaptation of Aesop’s fable “The Lion & the Mouse” (Little Brown, $16.99, ages 3 to 6).

Engineered books: “Waddle!” (Workman Publishing, $12.95) is the third book created by Rufus Butler Seder and the first in color, using patented Scanimation technology, which makes the prancing pig and leaping dolphin appear to be moving in a very lifelike way. From Candlewick come three titles that are more toy than book: “Gladiators,” ($27.99, by Toby Forward, illustrated by Steve Noon, paper engineering by David Hawcock) is a pop-up Colosseum with Gladiator trading cards, a map of ancient Rome and instructions for playing the Roman game of Tabula (ages 7 and up); “Snow White, a three-dimensional fairy tale” ($19.99) compresses the beloved story into six dramatic pop-up scenes with Jane Ray’s jewel-like illustrations; “Swan Lake Ballet Theatre” ($24.99) opens like a stage with backdrops, costumed dancers on straws that fit into the stage and a CD of Tchaikovsky’s ballet. From Simon & Schuster comes “My Little Red Fire Truck” by Stephen T. Johnson ($19.99, ages 3 and up), a guide to fire truck maintenance with cardboard pop-out tools, an erasable slate and a revolving red light.

For middle-grade readers: Conn Iggulden, author of best-selling “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” returns with “Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children” (HarperCollins, $16.99, 172 pages, illustrations by Lizzy Duncan), three captivating tales from the miniature world of Tollins (including a fireworks factory that puts Tollins at risk of being used as explosives and blasted into the sky). Rick Riordan’s “The Last Olympian” (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99, or any other books in this best-selling modern suspense series incorporating Greek mythology) are excellent for this age group. “Charles Darwin and the Beagle Adventure” by A. J. Wood & Clint Twist (TemplarBooks/Candlewick, $19.99) is a handsome book designed to open like a locked journal that tells the story of Darwin’s voyage with engravings, maps and extracts from Darwin’s writings. Young sports fans will appreciate “The Greatest Moments in Sports” by sportscaster Len Berman (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, $16.99) — including the 1980 Olympic “Miracle on Ice” and a CD of actual broadcasts.

Classics revisited: From Candlewick Press comes a handsome unabridged edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” ($24.99) with striking wood-cut illustrations by British artist John Lawrence. Also from Candlewick ($27.99) comes a gorgeous version of Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quixote,” featuring a quixotic retelling by Martin Jenkins and marvelous illustrations by Chris Riddell. (Their previous collaboration on Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver” won the Kate Greenaway Medal). Gifted author Cynthia Rylant offers wonderful retellings of six Greek myths in a handsome small volume, “The Beautiful Stories of Life” (Harcourt Houghton Mifflin, $16) with striking black and white illustrations by Carson Ellis, who designs album covers for rock band the Decemberists. There are two interesting new artistic interpretations of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”: Ukraine-born Oleg Lipchenko shows the skills of a master draftsman in his version (Tundra Books, $22.95) while Rodney Matthews offers a more psychedelic approach (Templar/Candlewick ($24.99). From Sterling comes a handsome version of “Aesop’s Fables” ($16.95) retold by John Cech with colorful folk art illustrations by Martin Jarrie.

Poetry: “The Tree That Time Built” (Jabberwocky/Sourcebooks, $19.99) is a lovely selection of poems celebrating “the family tree of all life on earth,” selected by U. S. Children’s Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston and includes an audio CD of poets reading their work. Julie Andrews is a better singer than she is a poet, but fans may appreciate “Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies” (selected by Andrews and her daughter, Emma; Little Brown, $24.99), which includes many excellent poems, including Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty,” and a CD of readings by Andrews and her daughter.

Jean Westmoore is The News children’s book reviewer.