Assuming that gift books should be something a little out of the ordinary—larger in size, oddly intriguing, distinctly illustrated, appealing to nostalgia—here are some wrap-worthy ideas.

“Around the Year” invites children ages 3-8 into the Scandinavian idyll of the Swedish illustrator Elsa Beskow (1874-1953). In her pictorial world, fairies dance in the forest, toddlers swim naked, and older children are all tidy, cooperative and nicely dressed. The book, first published in 1927, is organized according to the calendar, with a passage of free verse that evokes the qualities and pleasures of each month, a small monochrome drawing nearby, and, on the facing page, a full-color illustration of the sort to draw fascinated attention. The entry for this month, for instance, depicts a mother reading to three children by a cozy fire: “Gray is November, / except / for the bright fire / with a story, / a cushion for the cat, / the dark shut outside / and the light in the flames / where mysteries lie / and we dream.”