Each year, as part of our special holiday coverage, TODAY's Gene Shalit chooses the best books to give to those on your holiday list. Here are the selections he discussed on the show:

R. Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country
Illustrator: R. Crumb
Authors: Stephen Calt, David Jasen, and Richard Nevins
Publisher: Abrams
$19.95; www.abramsbooks.com

Joy of Cooking: 75^th Anniversary Edition
Authors: Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker
Publisher: Scribner
$30.00; www.joyofcooking.com

Mommy?
Author: Maurice Sendak
Art by Maurice Sendak
Scenario by Arthur Yorinks
Paper Engineering by Matthew Reinhart
Publisher: MDC Books, Scholastic
$24.95; w.scholastic.com

The Intellectual Devotional: 365 Daily Lessons from the Seven Fields of Knowledge
Authors: David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim
Publisher: Rodale
$22.50; www.TheIntellectualDevotional.com and www.rodale.com

Golf Courses: Fairways of the World
Photography by David Cannon
Publisher: Rizzoli
$195.00; www.rizzoli.com

Skylines of the World: Yesterday and Today
Author: M. Hill Goodspeed
Published by Hugh Lauter Levin
$75.00; www.HLLA.com

Burton Holmes Travelogues: The Greatest Traveler of His Time, 1892-1952
Editor: Genoa Caldwell
Publisher:Taschen
$49.99; www.taschen.com

Ali Rap: Muhammad Ali The First Heavyweight Champion of Rap
Editor and designer: George Lois
Publisher: Taschen
$24.99; www.espn.com and www.taschen.com

The Little Engine That Could
Author: Watty Piper
Illustrator: Loren Long
Publisher: Callaway Classics
$85.00; www.callaway.com
(Each copy is numbered and limited to an edition of 10,000 copies. An edition of 250 copies of each title, signed by the artist, is also available at a suggested retail price of $250.00.)

The Ugly Duckling
Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Illustrator: Henri Galeron
Publisher: Callaway Classics
$85.00; www.callaway.com
(Each copy is numbered and limited to an edition of 10,000 copies. An edition of 250 copies of each title, signed by the artist, is also available at a suggested retail price of $250.00.)

Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know
Authors: David Roberts and Jeremy Leslie
Publisher: DK Publishing
$29.99; www.dk.com

The Complete How To Kazoo
Author: Barbara Stewart
Publisher: Workman Publishing
$10.95; www.workman.com and www.howtokazoo.com

MORE FROM 'TODAY' HOLIDAY GUIDE

'Today' Holiday Guide Section Front

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