What are some good kids Christmas presents? Well, the first rule about Christmas presents for kids is the same as the rule for all good Christmas gifts. Know what the kid likes. Find out what the kid likes. Listen. Ask.

It's no use giving a book - even a favorite kids story - to a child or preteen who hates reading. Maybe they'll discover the pleasures of reading some day. Now all they're likely to feel if they get a book is disappointment.

On the other hand, if the kid is a reader, you can give hours of pleasure with the right book.

So what are some good kids Christmas presents for kids who read? Once again, it depends on the kid. Start with the kid. That is rule #1. If you listen and ask, you can hardly go wrong.

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Still, there can be surprise favorites.

I remember a book I got in Grade One. My Why and Mr What. My Why told me why there were cobwebs. I had never even known the word. I had never wondered. Now I knew. And Mr What, for some strange reason, told me Greek myths - of course made simple. That book was one of my best Christmas presents.

In that case, the child who gave me the book didn't know I was a reader. I got it as part of a gift exchange. In fact, I was disappointed when I got the book. No colored pictures. And a dark burgundy cover. Also, the book was small.

But it happened that the gift suited me amazingly.

I would never have imagined it could hold so many treasures, stories I remember still.

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Most of the time, though, one can be more sure a book will give pleasure.

So, for good Christmas gifts for girls who love reading - they can be girly books, if that's what the girl likes. They can be an adventure stories, if that's what the girl likes. They can be sequels of a favorite book. Many girls prefer to read about girls - so to be on the safe side, books about girls (Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon) can be the best Christmas presents for girls. But think of the popularity of the Harry Potter books. Millions of girls love them.

As for Christmas presents for boys, I would be careful before I got him a book about a girl. Many boys are a bit allergic to what they see as girl stuff, even if there's a boy who's important in the story.

For both boys and girls, sometimes we don't want to give quite what they want. Maybe we don't approve. Or sometimes we're looking for inexpensive Christmas presents, even cheap Christmas presents, and they want something far outside that range. (For expensive books, second hand bookstores can be amazing.

Best, to go back to tip #1, is to figure out close enough match between what the kid wants and what you feel like giving. You don't need to get the exact title - though sometimes that will be volunteered.

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I do have one suggestion - but only if it's the kind of kids story that's wanted.

I started as a reader. I've gone on to be a writer, including of The Fluffers Book, a kids story which includes a ghost dog, a weird stranger, a hit and run, and Caro, 13, who wishes she had special powers but doesn't. She has lots of questions about reality - like, is the ghost dog real, or is the stranger really truly weird?

This is a book I would have loved to read - in addition to the hundreds of books I did read and loved reading.

Here's a link to The Fluffers Book - or Caro Carolina, Geela Gribbs, and Fluffers the Invisible dog:

http://www.elsas-word-story-image-idea-music-emporium.com/kids-reading-books.html

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What makes for a great kids book? For me, it was a book that took me into another world, that let me live along. I could imagine I was the main character, no matter how different he or she was. I could feel I was a jockey, the first woman doctor, a pioneer, an astronaut, a detective. I could imagine I could dare say all kinds of things I would never dare say, because I was shy.

I traveled 50,000 leagues under the sea. I imagined a post nuclear world. I went to fantasy worlds.

So, find out the kid you're thinking about, of you don't already know. What moves them? What stories do they love already?

And then, happy holidaying.