Okay, last-minute shoppers. There’s no one out there I know that doesn’t want a book! Here are some of my favorites from this blog, divided by the age of the person for whom you are shopping.
Babies and Toddlers:
For its brilliant illustrations and book-loving message: Bats at the Library, by Brian Lies
For its introduction to Spanish and wonderful story: The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, by Samantha Vamos
For its fun poems and read-aloud-ability: Dirt On My Shirt, by Jeff Foxworthy
For a great personalized name book: Following Featherbottom, by Philip Haussler
To encourage physical play and a love of trucks: I Am a Backhoe, by Anna Grossnickle Hines
To encourage being different: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, by Mo Willems
To celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah: The Trees of the Dancing Goats, by Patricia Polacco
To encourage your princess to be a little wild: The Very Fairy Princess, by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton
For the art-lover and the book-lover: When Pigasso met Mootisse, by Nina Laden
Early Readers and Chapter Books:
To encourage a little adventure: Bink and Gollie, by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
To encourage some friendly neighbors: Ivy and Bean, by Annie Barrows
To tell a worrywart that it’s going to be okay: Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters, by Rachel Vail
For its beautiful cover, wonderful mousy characters and fun stories: Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall, by Emily Bearn
Because it’s awesome: We Are In A Book! by Mo Willems
Middle Grade and Young Adult
For its honest story about growing up in America: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
For its take on the angst of becoming nothing special: An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
For its beautiful story and lovely characters: Chasing Redbird, by Sharon Creech
For the budding chef or exuberant eater (or even the finicky one): Eat it Up!, by Elisabeth de Mariaffi
Because it’s a phenomenal book and is about to be a movie: Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
In case there’s someone out there who hasn’t read the phenomenal page-turner: Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
For the mystery-lover, a story and a character they will fall in love with: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley
More posts by Wendy Lawrence
Cook-It-Up-and-Eat-It-Up
Every Student May Not Be a Parent, But Every Parent Is a Student
Wendy Lawrence is a Seattle native who is now living with her husband and two young sons in Nashville, Tenn. A longtime educator and former middle school head at Eastside Prep in Kirkland, she now blogs about parenting and books at The Family that Reads Together.
