Wee things abound this time of year: Tiny Tim, the Littlest Angel, tiny tots with their eyes all aglow and, of course, a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. Can you tell it's time for our annual review of small gift books? A wise man once said, "Less is more." This year's offerings bear him out, including a very cool history of the snowman, detailed instructions for building your own igloo and a captivating Christmas story by the author of "Angela's Ashes." "A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays," by David Valdes Greenwood (Da Capo, 182 pages, $14.95). Twelve yuletide tales (one for each day of Christmas) based on the author's '70s childhood in rural Maine. No Red Ryder BB gun for this 5-year-old -- he wants a baby doll, and he battles his iron-willed Grammy to get one. He also plays a prank on a small-town Santa, fights with his brother over fudge and offers pointers on how to avoid a tacky tree. This is a fruitcake you might actually enjoy.

"The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming," by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Lisa Brown (McSweeney's, 43 pages, $9.95). In the manner of the runaway gingerbread boy, a latke makes a break for it. During his series of events (OK, his escape), he encounters twinkling lights, candy canes and pine trees while sorting out Christmas and Hanukkah before coming to a tasty end. Pass the applesauce and sour cream.

"Angela and the Baby Jesus," by Frank McCourt, illustrated by Loren Long (Scribner, 27 pages, $14.95). The prize-winning author of "Angela's Ashes" recounts a story about his mother as a child. Knowing cold and hunger firsthand, the 6-year-old Angela kidnaps the baby Jesus from the church Nativity to take him home and warm him up. If this slight but charming tale doesn't warm your heart, you're cockle-impaired.

"The History of the Snowman," by Bob Eckstein (Simon Spotlight, 177 pages, $14.95). Who came up with the idea of placing large snowballs on top of each other? Who first decided to use a carrot for a nose? And how can these mysteries be solved, what with all the evidence long since melted? Eckstein bravely tackles these questions and more in his delightfully illustrated social history of the snowman. There's even a version of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" and snowmen. How cool is that?

"Christmas Stories," edited by Diana Secker Tesdell (Everyman's, 395 pages, $15). A rich and classy story collection (with sewn-in red ribbon bookmark) by such literary greats as Dickens, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Cather, Nabokov, Cheever and Munro. If this were an assortment of chocolates, it would be a feast of the finest dark truffles -- not a cheap, waxy bite in the bunch.

"A Christmas Beginning," by Anne Perry (Ballantine, 194 pages, $17.95), and "Kissing Christmas Goodbye," by M.C. Beaton (St. Martin's, 234 pages, $23.95). In recent years, the Christmas mystery has become a genre in itself. Is it any wonder? It's the season for families to gather, conflicts to arise and occasionally for someone not to make it to New Year's. Perry's fifth holiday outing is set on the Isle of Anglesey off the coast of Wales. Visiting Scotland Yard Superintendent Runcorn discovers a body in the local churchyard, and is drawn into a tale of passion and redemption. Beaton, who has cornered the British cozy market, sends her sleuth, Agatha Raisin, to spend Christmas with the Tamworthy family, whose wealthy matriarch thinks she's been marked for murder -- by one of her kin. Put down that Christmas cracker and stand back!

"The Complete Book of Aunts," by Rupert Christiansen with Beth Brophy, illustrated by Stephanie Reiswitz (Twelve, 244 pages, $19.99). From Auntie Em and Auntie Mame to John Lennon's Aunt Mimi, this volume surveys aunts fictional to real and heroic. Is there an aunt on your gift list? (There are 30 million of them in the United States.) Would she like to whip up a batch of Aunt Bee's spoon bread? The recipe is included.

"The Last Flower: A Parable in Pictures," by James Thurber (University of Iowa, 112 pages, $19.95). Thurber's timeless antiwar parable is back in print and is as relevant now as when it first appeared in 1939. After World War XII has destroyed civilization (even dogs have deserted their human masters), love has deserted the planet. Can salvation be found in nature when the last flower is discovered? This book should never be out of print.

"The Fish House Book: Life on Ice in the Northland," by Kathryn Nordstrom (Dovetail, 128 pages, $19.95), and "How to Build an Igloo and Other Snow Shelters," by Norbert E. Yankielun, illustrated by Amelia Bauer (Norton, 148 pages, $17.95). Did you know that more than 140,000 ice-fishing shelter licenses are sold in Minnesota? Have you ever tried to explain ice fishing to someone from a warmer clime? Nordstrom could help. She spent four years photographing fish houses, chronicling their idiosyncratic styles and following the season -- from preparing ice roads on the lakes to storing the houses on land come spring. What about an igloo instead? If you've ever wondered how something so cold can keep a person warm, Yankielun has the answer. Back-yard builders and seasoned winter campers will appreciate the concise instructions and diagrams. My favorite tip: Start by making a snow angel for an idea of the minimum diameter needed for your igloo.

"The Mayan and Other Ancient Calendars," by Geoff Stray, "Islamic Design: A Genius for Geometry," by Daud Sutton, and "Perspective and Other Optical Illusions," by Phoebe McNaughton (Walker, each 58 pages, each $12). Three more titles join the Wooden Books Small Books, Big Ideas series. These compact, crisp black-and-white guides are a delightful blend of scholarship and visual design.

"The Sunny Side: Short Stories and Poems for Proper Grown-ups," by A.A. Milne (Ecco, 313 pages, $19.95). These engagingly brief stories, essays and poems originally appeared in Punch magazine. When the collection was first published, a New York critic ended his review with these lines: "Mr. Milne is at present in the trenches facing German bullets, so this will probably be his last book." To which we can only hope he replied, "Oh, Pooh!"

"Coffee With Marilyn" and "Hemingway," "Michelangelo," "Oscar Wilde," "Mozart," "The Buddha," "Plato" and "Groucho" (Duncan Baird, various authors, each 144 pages, each $9.95). This audacious series offers a chance to hang with some of the wisest and most brilliant personalities of the ages -- with a few stars of stage and screen thrown in for good measure. Each book offers a brief biography followed by an imagined conversation based on fact. But hold the java, I think I'll have tea with the Buddha.

Jarrett Smith is a Star Tribune copy and layout editor.