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Everyone's favorite monkey leads the way in "Happy Hanukkah, Curious George." (SHNS photo courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

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In "The Christmas Quiet Book," author Deborah Underwood spotlights the many kinds of holiday quiet. (SHNS photo courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

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Celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas this year with some of these great new children’s books:

BOARD BOOKS:

— Everyone’s favorite monkey leads the way in “Happy Hanukkah, Curious George” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $7.99, ages 2-4). This board book, written in a lively verse by Emily Flaschner Meyer, comes with a series of tabs on the right-hand side. Each tab has an illustration on it and leads to a two-page spread highlighting a Hanukkah activity. The illustrations by Mary O’Keefe Young nicely echo the style of the original “Curious George” books by Margret and H.A. Rey.

— Author/illustrator Leslie Patricelli has a genius for making board books that will amuse both little ones and their parents as she demonstrates once again in “Fa La La” (Candlewick Press, $6.99, ages 6 months-3 years). The cheerful Baby who stars in all of Patricelli’s board books takes on Christmas with typical verve and energy. This is an endearing, secular introduction to the season.

— For a lovely and simple look at the religious aspects of Christmas, try “Stable in Bethlehem” (Sterling, $6.95, ages 6 months-3 years). Written by Joy Hulme and illustrated by Dan Andreasen, this board book offers a countdown theme, rhyming verse and soft-colored artwork.

PICTURE BOOKS:

— A young girl shows why she loves being a “mix of two traditions” in “Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama” (Knopf, $16.99, ages 3-6). Written and illustrated by Selina Alko, the book highlights elements of both holidays — setting up the menorah, cooking latkes, decorating the Christmas tree and hearing the story of the birth of baby Jesus. Alko’s first-person text works well here to draw in young readers, and her vibrant mixed-media illustrations add further charm.

— Those mischievous dinosaurs from the best-selling “How Do Dinosaurs?” series are back with two comical holiday-themed books: “How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?” and “How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas?” (Blue Sky/Scholastic, $16.99 each, ages 3-7). As always, author Jane Yolen and illustrator Mark Teague have a blast playing up the humor inherent in the contrast between huge dinosaurs and their toddlerlike behavior as they explore aspects of each holiday.

— Rambunctious Dinosaur tackles the holiday season in “Dinosaur vs. Santa” (Disney/Hyperion, $15.99, ages 3-5), the latest in this series. With a “Roar!” and another “Roar!,” Dinosaur deals handily with decorating and parental presents, but can he be good enough to ensure a gift from Santa? As always, author/illustrator Bob Shea’s comic story and zany artwork will hold wide appeal for preschoolers, who also will readily identify with Dinosaur’s emotional energy.

— Author Birdie Black and illustrator Rosalind Beardshaw team up to offer young readers a delightful new Christmas book in “Just Right for Christmas” (Candlewick Press, $15.99, ages 3-7). The story begins on Christmas Eve and shows how a bit of last-minute creativity and a lot of love can turn one roll of red cloth into numerous gifts, from a cloak to a scarf. Young readers will love the rhythm of this fablelike story, as well as the cheerful illustrations, particularly the last two-page spread showing everyone with their new gifts — all cut from the same cloth.

— Wombat loves carrots and will stop at nothing to get them, as can be seen from the hilarious new volume in the “Wombat” series. In “Christmas Wombat” (Clarion, $16.99, ages 3-7), author Jackie French and illustrator Bruce Whatley show what happens when Wombat follows the carrot trail on Christmas Eve — even hitching a ride on Santa’s sleigh to get a taste of the carrots put out in houses worldwide for the reindeer delivering Christmas gifts. French’s story is comic and succinct, while Whatley’s illustrations emphasize both Wombat’s sass and cuddliness.

— In “The Christmas Quiet Book” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $12.99, ages 3-6), author Deborah Underwood spotlights the many kinds of holiday quiet. There’s “reading by the fire quiet,” “blown fuse quiet,” “snow angel quiet” and many other quiet moments that — taken together — create a memorable holiday. Underwood’s lovely text is complemented by the muted but fine illustrations by Renata Liwska.

— Award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean offers an understated, lyrical retelling of a holiday favorite in “The Nutcracker” (Chronicle Books, $19.99, ages 3-7), illustrated by Kristina Swarner. But the real star of this show is the paper engineering by Alan Brown and Julia Froehlich, which allows readers to turn a page and see the “set” — or illustration — change before their eyes.

— Pirates and cowboys are two perennial favorites of young readers. In “A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas” (Sterling, $14.95, ages 4-7), author Philip Yates and artist Sebastia Serra give a pirate twist to a favorite holiday carol, while in “Cowboy Christmas” (Golden Books/Random House, $10.99, ages 3-6), author Rob Sanders and illustrator John Manders show how the holiday can be celebrated in buckaroo style.

— Former tugboat captain George Matteson and his wife, Adele Ursone, present a fascinating, unusual look at the holiday in “The Christmas Tugboat” (Clarion, $17.99, ages 4-8). Featuring luminous artwork by James Ransome, this book tells the true tale of how Matteson and his wife and daughter used their tugboat one year to lead a barge containing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree from upstate New York to Manhattan.

(Karen MacPherson, the children’s/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com.)