-----------------------[  W I L D  T H I N G S  ]

--------M a k i n g - t h e - l i s t
------------------YOUR KIDS MIGHT NOT ADMIT IT, BUT THERE'S A LOT
------------------TO BE SAID FOR A PRESENT WHOSE BATTERIES DON'T
------------------RUN OUT AND THAT YOU CAN TAKE ANYWHERE.

BY POLLY SHULMAN | Face it: On a scale from a pair of socks to a pony, books don't rate high. Ever since the invention of television, reports Santa, the written word has declined by approximately 6 percent per annum in wish-list rankings, consistently placing well below Modernist athletic gear, programmable stuffed animals and dolls that urinate. Nevertheless, flat, dense, rectangular packages that don't rattle when you shake them will continue to show up under trees across the nation as long as there are parents who refuse to buy Ring Dings, keeping a supply of raisins on hand instead. And honest children will admit that there's much to be said for books. The batteries don't run out. There are no parts to lose. You can take them anywhere. And adults don't tell you they're rotting your mind.

This time of year, publishers trot out every holiday-themed gimmick imaginable in an attempt to get into our stockings. You can buy Christmas tongue twisters, books of "stained-glass" transparencies, pop-ups galore. Every successful series or classic comes out in a holiday edition to sucker aunts and uncles of "Little Women" fans, "Anne of Green Gables" enthusiasts and so forth. The Narnia factory, for example, has produced an Advent calendar (with bland images not worth breaking your fingernails on) and even a cookbook (a curious choice, since the Narnian cuisine is based on that of England).

Most of this stuff is dreck, but a few titles stand out. Marc Brown's "Arthur Decks the Hall" is a well-designed board-and-activity book about the modest aardvark hero of the PBS TV series (which was originally a series of books). "Arthur Decks the Hall" comes with stickers that young readers can use to decorate the tree, hang the wreath or stamp the holiday cards; easily liftable flaps keep the book exciting after the stickers have all been affixed or lost.

Another pleasant board book, "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" illustrates the Chanukah song of the same title, following preschoolers through the holiday festivities. It's a cheery little number, but you may want to accidentally disable the musical chip early on, particularly if your family appreciates music or keeps the Sabbath.

Rare among spinoffs, "Laura's Album: A Remembrance Scrapbook of Laura Ingalls Wilder" actually adds something to the books it's based on, giving a glimpse of the life of the "Little House" author. Here are photos of Laura's china box, Mary's patchwork quilt, Pa's fiddle, the family's houses, homestead applications, teaching certificates -- and, of course, the family. Who would have guessed that Pa's beard was triangular, coming to a point just below his nose? Or that little Carrie grew up to be a printer and newspaper editor?

Fans of Lurlene McDaniel will be happy to hear that she has written a Christmas book, "Starry, Starry Night: Three Holiday Stories." McDaniel is a curious phenomenon, the author of some 30 volumes of morbid teen romance with titles like "Sixteen and Dying," "A Season for Goodbye" and "Six Months to Live." Apparently adolescents can't get enough of them. In part one, "Christmas Child," the heroine's baby sister is born without a cerebral cortex and dies in four days; for legal reasons, the family can't even donate her organs. In case that's not mournful enough, the other stories involve leukemia and abandoned children.

N E X T_ P A G E: One grisly, righteous murderess is enough