For The Kids In Your Life (or the kid in you!)

My two posts this week will be dedicated to holiday gift ideas. Today is for kids (Friday will be for YA/adults), so I’m going to share my favorite Christmas story and an amazing series that might just get a reluctant reader on the book bandwagon.

The first suggestion is my absolute favorite Christmas book~ I made sure I had a fresh copy of it for my youngest kiddo, who was born only a few days after Christmas. I tried drinking tons of eggnog to get her to come out on December 25, but it didn’t work (*note to expecting ladies~ remember to drink the pregnancy-safe eggnog). Anyway, I adore this story and I’m slightly obsessed with Barbara Cooney’s illustrations. If you’re looking to add a holiday book to your family’s collection, this is a MUST-HAVE:

The Story of Holly & Ivy

by Rumer Godden & Barbara Cooney (*Click on the book for details)

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For the Reluctant Reader:

Equally great for avid readers and kids who just don't seem to like books, try the hilarious (and educational…shhh!) You Wouldn’t Want To… series. The books are actually used in primary school classrooms in the UK, and are definite crowd-pleasers.

The authors change, but the illustrations are always by the delightful David Antram. They blend historical fact with a fictional narrative, and can be blunt and a little gruesome...aka, they have an aura of the forbidden about them, which is something a lot of kids count as a plus.

These have been around for awhile, but I recently bought a stack of them to keep around the house. The covers alone are so compelling that my twelve-year-old (a sports-fanatic who lives by the credo, "this-activity-better-have-movement-or-I'm-outta-here") couldn't leave them alone. His favorites are You Wouldn't Want to Meet a Body Snatcher! and You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pirate's Prisoner!

Here are a few more titles:

NEXT UP: On Friday I’ll have suggestions for YA, Foodies, Animal Lovers, and Women. I’ll also have my first giveaway, and will ship one winner a book in time for X-Mas!







**MY APOLOGIES ON THE FORMATTING :)