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As Hanukkah approaches, it's time to think about gifts for the children you love.

Eight nights, eight gifts. This year give a Jewish book - a book that will be read and reread throughout the year. Here are some suggestions:

David Adler is the author of more than 175 books for children. His 200-page book, "The Kids' Catalog of Hanukkah" (Jewish Publication Society, ages 8 and up), is full of history, stories, mazes, and brain teasers, music, games, cartoons, recipes, puzzles, crafts, and songs to entertain a child through the eight days of the holiday and beyond. This book is part of a series by various authors that includes Kids' Catalogs for Passover, Bible Treasures, Animals & Earth, and Jewish Holidays. Also by David Adler is "One yellow daffodil: a Hanukkah story (Harcourt, ages 8-11), about the friendship between a lonely man who is a Holocaust survivor and the children who are customers in his flower shop. After he gives them more flowers than they can afford, they invite him to spend the holiday with them.

"The Best of K'tonton," by Sadie Rose Weilerstein (Jewish Publication Society, ages 6 and up), is about a Jewish Tom Thumb. Since its debut in 1930, generations of kids have followed K'tonton's adventures as he spins on a runaway dreidel, slides down the side of a chopping bowl in which his mother is mixing gefilte fish, hides in a plate of Purim hamentashen, and travels to Israel. The 16 stories in this book were selected from three volumes of tales about important Jewish traditions with a dash of humor. If your children don't love this book, I'll eat the paper this review is written on!

"Something from Nothing," written and illustrated by Phoebe Gilman (Scholastic, ages 4-8), is a gem of a folktale with magnificent paintings of shtetl life. Joseph's grandfather gives him a blanket when he is born. As Joseph gets older, the blanket is used and reused in different ways until it is gone. The book teaches a core talmudic value, bal tashchit, which urges us to live in an environmentally friendly way and not destroy anything still usable. Even the mice under the floor furnish their home with discarded fabric scraps.

"A Grandma Like Yours/A Grandpa Like Yours" by Andrea Warmflash Rosenbaum (Kar-Ben Publishing, ages 3-6) is a book with illustrations kids will love. Read the rhyming Grandma story and then flip the book over to read the Grandpa story. The shofar-blowing llamas, flag-bearing zebras, and soup-serving giraffes are sure to make a hit.

"Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past And Present," by David J. Goldman (Kar-Ben Publishing, ages 11 and up) is a book for young sports fans, both girls and boys, who will personally identify with many of the Jewish athletes. This publisher also offers individual biographies of Jonas Salk, Steven Spielberg, Leonard Bernstein, Sandy Koufax, Sasha Cohen, and Israeli space hero Ilan Ramon.

"Alexandra's Scroll," by Miriam Chaikin (Henry Holt, ages 9-12). When the hated Syrian-Greek king fills ancient Jerusalem with the statues of Greek gods and destroys the Jewish temple, Alexandra records the events of the Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees. This is the inspiring story of a girl caught up in events that led to the rebuilding of the temple, the miracle of oil that burned eight days, and the celebration of the first Hanukkah.

"Mrs. Katz and Tush" by Patricia Polacco (A Reading Rainbow Book, Bantam, ages 4-8). The title gets children laughing before they've opened the book! This is the story of an elderly Jewish widow from Poland and an African-American boy named Larnel. Larnel gives the lonely woman a kitten which she names "Tush," Yiddish for "behind," because it has no tail. A delightful story - it shows that differences of age, race, and family background are no barrier to warm relationships.

"It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folk Tale," by Margot Zemach (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Ages 5-8). The poor protagonist complains to the rabbi that his house is too crowded for his family. When the rabbi urges the man to add more and more animals to his household, pandemonium ensues. The rabbi tells him to release all the animals and the foolish man finds peace in exactly what he had before. This book won a Caldecott Award for illustrations. A great favorite since its publication many years ago.

In spite of the fact that November is Jewish Book Month, most major bookstores carry very few Jewish children's books. However, they will special-order. Books may also be ordered from Amazon.com. Try Judaica shops. For more selections, visit the Web sites of Jewish Publication Society and Kar-Ben Publishing. Most other major publishers will also have a few books for Jewish children. Also consider books that have won the Sydney Taylor Award or National Jewish Book Awards.

The number of Jewish books for children today is surprisingly large but you would not think so judging from the meager offerings in the average bookstore. Do a little research, and you will find many, many wonderful books out there. Urge your bookseller to carry and display more Jewish books.

Toby Rosenstrauch, an award-winning columnist, lives in Boynton Beach, Fla.