Southampton - Sometimes there's nothing more perfect after a long day than curling up with a book and your child to read about mythical places, heroes and heroines, and fantastic adventures. The only thing better for a parent is when that young child takes the book in his or her hands and reads to you instead in their sweet little voice. This holiday season the hottest toys are surely flying of the shelves and will for a brief moment be the highlight of the day. Yet when the parts are lost and the newness dims you'll find yourself back on the couch, curled up reading a book just before bedtime - so why not make it something magical and memorable.

Dreamer and award winning soprano Judy Collins' New York Times bestselling children's book, "Over The Rainbow" (Peter Yarrow Books, $17.95, hardcover with CD) encourages imagination and a sense of wonder with each turn of the page. Brilliant illustrations by Eric Puybaret take the reader out of the city to a little red farmhouse, up into the skies with magnificent blue birds dancing along rainbows. The iconic song, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," which inspired millions the world over to hunt for the proverbial yellow brick road, is sung beautifully by Collins and includes the original prelude that was missing from the version sung by Judy Garland (who Collins' is named after). Two additional songs, "White Choral Bells" and "I See the Moon," are just as delightful.

Bringing a moral tale to life, New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews' "The Boy Who Changed The World" (Tommy Nelson Publishers, $16.99, hardcover) is a book that reinforces the idea that one small act can have endless effects that can change the world in extraordinary ways. "The Boy Who Changed The World" begins by telling the story of Norman Borlaug, a boy who eventually saved the lives of over two billion people worldwide by hybridizing wheat and preventing starvation. The story twists and tells story upon story of the people - Borlaug's father, George Washington Carver, and Moses and Susan Carver - who in a butterfly effect shaped the life of young Norman. These inspiring individuals alone did nothing extraordinary yet when added together their sum is more than equal to their parts. When it comes to inspiring 'sweet dreams' before bedtime this tale, vibrantly illustrated by Philip Hurst, helps a child feel that they too, no matter how small or young, can change the world.

As editors and writers we receive so many books to review over the course of the year and these few are truly special. I've shared them with my daughters, ages six and seven. They are simple and lovely and we return to them time and time again. Enjoy them with your little ones - or better yet gift them to friends and new parents who are building their child's libraries.