Christmastime!
Arthur decides to make Mother and Father special Christmascookies as a present. But when the cookies are finally finished,they are hard as rocks! Can Arthur think of a way to turn thisdisaster into the best Christmas present ever?

for the youngest reader.

Ms. Hoban was born and raised in Philadelphia. Among the firstbooks she illustrated were the ever-popular "Frances" books, andseveral years later she wrote and illustrated Arthur's ChristmasCookies, thereby ushering in her beloved 'Arthur" series.

In 1967 Ms. Hoban was asked to illustrate Will I Have a Friend?by Miriam Cohen. It was the beginning of an enormously popularcollaboration that produced more that a dozen books about Jim,Paul, Danny, Anna Maria, and the rest of the first-gradeclasscharacters as familiar to children as their ownclassmates.

Perhaps the key to the unfailing popularity of Ms. Hoban'sstories and illustrations is that she's long been a keen observerof children, having had firsthand experience raising four of herown.

Lillian Hoban lives in Connecticut.