A Review by the New York Times...

HOWEVER mindful one is of the true spirit of the year-end holidays, it's still easy to get completely swamped in the seasonal surge of capitalism. While they are convenient, the massive inventories and low, low prices of big-box stores or the antiseptic ease of point- and-click Internet shopping can sometimes emotionally distance the giver from the giftee to the point where the whole exercise feels like a mere financial transaction - even to a child recipient.

In a nice change of pace, ''Shall I Knit You a Hat?,'' a new picture book written by Kate Klise and illustrated by M. Sarah Klise, takes the handcrafted approach to the holidays. It is a simple tale involving some yarn, two rabbits and their warm feelings for their friends, and in it the Klise sisters team up to show that the giving is just as important as the gift.

The story opens in the single-parent household of Little Rabbit and his mother. News of an approaching blizzard has Mother Rabbit worried. ''It will start snowing on Christmas Eve and won't stop until it reaches the tallest tips of your ears,'' she tells Little Rabbit.

So Mother Rabbit spends the day knitting a warm hat for her son, a colorful woolen winter cap that covers the tallest tips of his ears and the rest of his head. Little Rabbit is so excited by his Christmas hat that he puts it on and doesn't take it off for the rest of the book. Even in his sartorial excitement, however, his thoughts turn to the Rabbit family's friends: ''Shouldn't we make hats for them, too? We could give them as Christmas presents!''

The rabbits leap into covert action the next day. As Little Rabbit distracts them, Mother Rabbit secretly takes proper measurements for each of their friends' heads, including the horse, the goose and several acquaintances in the animal-run farmers' market. With the measurements in tow, the rabbits return home to create stylish hats.

Little Rabbit thinks really hard and comes up with a custom design for every one of their pals, taking into account each animal's unique needs. For the goose, they make a hat and scarf combo that protects her long neck, while the deer gets a chapeau that shows off and protects his antlers.

The rabbits give the presents to their friends in the marketplace on Christmas Eve. M. Sarah Klise's illustrations, created with acrylic paint on Bristol board, are wonderfully detailed and expressive throughout, but the image of the animals standing around looking slightly embarrassed in their elaborate Christmas hats speaks volumes, even though none of them actually say anything (not even a thank-you) at the time.

Then the blizzard hits. The snow begins to pile up and the animal friends suddenly realize what brilliant, truly useful gifts they have been given. They run to catch up with the Rabbits to thank them properly. ''This is the nicest, most thoughtful Christmas present anyone has ever given me,'' one says.

In these days of Wal-Mart stampedes and quantitative gift accumulation, ''Shall I Knit You a Hat?'' offers a gentle respite. Kate Klise's text, without being stiff and didactic, shows the joy one can get in creating the absolutely perfect gift for a loved one. And the glad hatter and his mother end up celebrating the holiday in a way many of us would find appealing: at home, together and with three pieces of cake each.

- Reviewed by J. D. Biersdorfer
New York Times Sunday Book Review (12/19/04)