Dennis Lee won the Governor General's Award for poetry in 1972 for his poetic meditation on Canadian identity in Civil Elegies, but he made perhaps his most enduring contribution to Canadian nationalism two years later with a short collection of near-nonsense rhymes written for a much younger set. Alligator Pie, which remains the classic Canadian bedtime book, is written as if Mother Goose had the Latin name Branta canadensis, from William Lyon Mackenzie King, who "loved his mother like anything," to Trois-Rivières, which, of course, rhymes with "eat you hair."

Samantha Stephens, the grooviest witch on TV, is up to some good-natured holiday mischief in these classic Bewitched Christmas episodes. In "Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here," a grouchy client of Darrin's stops by to talk business on Christmas Eve and threatens to ruin everyone's fun. In "A Vision of Sugarplums," Sam and Darrin adopt an orphan for the holiday--but it just so happens the boy thinks Christmas is "a lot of bunk." Fortunately Samantha is chummy with Santa Claus, and a couple of quick trips to the North Pole restore the Christmas spirit to both nonbelievers. Best of all, Sam's daughter Tabitha gets a one-of-a-kind Susie Bruisie doll out of the deal! Both episodes are full of good clean holiday fun--for maximum enjoyment, bake cookies while you watch. --Claire Campbell

The Grammy-nominated, twenty-something, pop-classical phenomenon's fourth studio album is an expertly accomplished entry to the holiday marketplace. Noël tackles the familiar sounds of holiday music with a charmingly eclectic array of guest vocalists and a wide range of material. The songs range from the sacred to the secular, while Groban--buoyed in spots by none other than the London Symphony Orchestra--soars in his duets with Brian McKnight, Faith Hill, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There's even a song with a gospel choir directed by Kirk Franklin. Produced yet again by crossover maestro David Foster, the arrangements never overwhelm the songs. Groban's smooth and supple vocals can be hard to categorize--seeing how his range is somewhere in-between a high baritone and a low tenor--but he always finds and emphasizes the emotional core of these songs. And whether they have origins in pop or classical music seems not to matter. The addition of messages from troops stationed in Iraq on top of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is undeniably heart-wrenching, while the album's highlight is its most spare song, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," which finds Groban alone at his piano, sounding very much like some kind of angel. --Mike McGonigal