I have always given books for birthdays and Christmas. I could mostly get away with it with the kids – even if they looked askance at it, at least the parents appreciated the effort. And it was much easier when the kids were little – who doesn’t need another book, when you can read through Dora the Explorer in less than 10 minutes, or Magic Tree House in 5 bedtime reads. Or are my kids the only ones that demanded two chapters at a time?
The adults were a little less thankful, unless they were avid readers. But I persisted, even winning over my non-reading M-I-L with The DaVinci Code and a bonus, tear worthy little book, The Christmas Box.
As the kids (and their friends) have gotten older, though, I’ve resorted more to B&N gift cards. Even the kids don’t know what their friends have read or what they’ll like.
But, tis the season for book lists, and I’ve been scouring the blogosphere for kid-friendly ones. The Mother Reader blog brings us the hilarious, and quite useful, 105 Ways to Give a Book, with age-categories of book suggestions paired with ways to give them.
My favorite: #58 Pair fantasy book Savvy with an assortment of temporary or henna tattoos. In Savvy, Mibs gets her own special power at age 13, and the tattoos have a something to say about it.
Meanwhile Your Friendly Librarian blog has a much smaller listing of her favorite picks for 2009.
My favorite: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, about a girl at the turn of the 20th century who pines for science and is given a copy of The Origin of Species by her grandfather. I haven’t read Calpurnia, but as a science girl myself, it’s at the tippy top of my TBR list. Plus I’ve heard fabulous things about it.
Keeping with the science theme, I couldn’t pass up the ALA’s Top 10 Books for Youth lists. The have the Top 10 Sci-Tech Books for Youth. But if science isn’t your child’s thing, they also have the Top 10 Art Books for Youth.
My favorite: The Frog Scientist, a non-fiction book with a high reading level (6.3) for young readers, that is also on my TBR list.
And, finally, a 2009 MG list from Boing Boing, with a range of books.
M y favorite: Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld. Author of the wildly popular Uglies (a YA series) and a great SF author, I hadn’t realized he had written a MG book. It’s an alternate steampunk history of WWI, with the steampunk aspect putting it at the upper end of middle grade (around 12+). Another for my TBR list.
Are you planning on giving books for Christmas? What books would you like to give (or receive) for the wee ones on your list?
I've always considered myself the "eat your vegetables" Aunt in the family because I give books as gifts.