by JULIET WATERS

Got a cool kid on your Xmas gift list? Odds are she probably already has Where the Wild Things Are, so you might want to consider some new way to inspire rebellion. Kids' lit is booming these days, which fortunately means there's a lot to choose from. To make things easier, here's a handy list of recommendations organized according to what kind of cool your kid might be.

HIPSTERS A few years ago, comix icon Art Spiegelman (author of Maus) and his long-time partner Françoise Mouly put together the first Little Lit: Folklore & Fairy Tale Funnies, a collection of fairy tales updated and illustrated by some of the world's best alternative comic book artists. The most recent collection, Little Lit 3: It Was a Dark and Silly Night, proves this anthology is only getting better. Neil Gaiman, Tony Millionaire, Kaz and other stars of the genre jam on the classic opening line and come up with Jell-O fights in graveyards, a world saved from warrior florists and some of the most creative puzzles and games you'll ever find. ($23.99)

SLACKERS Diary of a Wombat, by Jackie French, is a brilliantly minimalist tale of a wombat named Mothball who trains a family of humans to satisfy her simple whims. Not a lot of action in your average wombat's life. Generally they sleep, scratch, dig, destroy stuff and eat carrots. There's a fine message here as Mothball shows how a character with very little ambition can be surprisingly controlling. ($16.99)

GEEKSTERS Otto's Trunk, by Sandy Turner. Otto has a tough life. As part of a tribe of inner-city elephants, he gets a lot of abuse for his freakishly small trunk. Sandy Turner's deceptively casual illustrations aren't afraid to exploit all the phallic implications of this charmingly honest story. The artwork, which looks like it's been scrawled on a paper bag, may inspire future comix artists. Fortunately, Otto is able to funnel his pent-up anger creatively and gain the respect of his elephant peers. ($23.99)

ADVENTURERS AND ACTIVISTS Sinbad's Secret, by Ludmila Zeman. Montreal-based Zeman's exquisite illustrations paint a very different portrait of Baghdad than we're hearing about in the news these days. This is a land of opulence and far-out elephant-shaped ships. Her poetic retelling of the Sinbad stories is much closer in spirit and art to the original Sinbad stories than the recent Disney release. Part of a series based on the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights, this is a beautiful addition to any kid's library. ($23.99)

SPOKEN WORDIE Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech, is an ingenious novel about a boy named Jack who discovers, thanks to a devoted teacher, that just about anything can be poetry. Told in blank verse as a series of journal entries, Jack learns how poetry is a simple way to tell stories, entertain people, express his emotions and pay tribute to a lost dog. ($8.99)

GOTHS You can't go wrong with Neil Gaiman's Coraline ($8.99), a brilliantly Jungian take on Alice in Wonderland. Keep in mind, however, that Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is gearing up for the final installments over the next year. A movie is also currently in the works. Get a kid hooked on this series and you're set for the next few years. The most recent release is #10, The Slippery Slope. ($16.99)

PRE-COOL For a tot whose defining cool traits haven't quite emerged, Supercat, by Kate McMullan and Pascal Lemaitre, is a colourful, ironic story about a diapered kitty who lives in the Milky Way, recharges his cellphone with milk and uses his superpower - reading babies' minds - to make the world safe for the blankey set. This year's sequel is Supercat to the Rescue. (Both $10.95)