Christmas Gift Ideas for Book Lovers

'Tis the season for gift ideas... with Christmas coming, here are some of the books that have been favorites in our household this year!

For our youngest (non-)reader, these are the favorites that we're asked to play with again and again:

- Doctor Maisy
- Maisy Goes Shopping

I'm not a big stuffed animals fan but our son loves Maisy (published by Candlewick Press) so much and seems to be identifying with characters (like Pooh) and so I "stooped" and went ahead and bought him the stuffed Maisy with overalls for Christmas. I don't mind stuffed Storybook characters so much though because they attract my son to the books. It's an easy way to promote books to a two year old.

- Dinosaur Picture Pops (huge realistic dinosaur pop-ups... every little boy's dream!) These books are published by Priddy Books and I've reviewed them for 5 Minutes for Books.

- Knick Knack Paddy Wack (CD included -- and one that can be listened to on 'repeat' without producing nausea!)

- Can You Cuddle Like a Koala?
- Can You Growl Like a Bear? I reviewed these books over at 5 Minutes for Books also. These are awesome interactive books! We pulled these out for the boy's second birthday party and all of his aunts and uncles (and grandpa!) participated in acting out like the animals presented in the book. We LOVE these books by John Butler (published by Peachtree Publications).

Next up, these books are exciting tales of adventure that can be enjoyed by all ages (including adults), with writing at about a middle-school level that younger kids would still enjoy being read aloud. In fact, I know several people who have been reading a few of these aloud as a family and are enjoying them very much!


- The Mysterious Benedict Society (We particularly loved this series! If you STILL haven't read my review of it, you can click here and do so.)

- The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey

- Inkheart

- Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

- The Princess Bride

- Leepike Ridge (You can see my very recent review of Leepike Ridge here.)

- The Looking Glass Wars

- The Moffats

- The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (No book list would be complete without this... and Amazon has the whole set at a bargain price!)

One of the most creative titles we saw this year was also published by Candlewick Press.:
Spyology I reviewed this title over at 5 Minutes for Books.

And for high-school or adult readers who enjoy reading, these more advanced titles are great picks!

- Safely Home (Our favorite work of Christian fiction, by Randy Alcorn) Jonathan reviewed Safely Home and since his review was better than mine, take a look and see what you think!

- The Ice Diaries(Recently reviewed over at 5 Minutes for Books.

- Just Jane (Historical fiction with a twist. See my review of Just Jane.)

- Titanic's Last Secrets (Reviewed at 5 Minutes for Books.)

- Leave It to Psmith (One of our favorite novels by P.G. Wodehouse.) You've probably read a lot more Jeeves & Wooster than Psmith and so he's a safer pick in the gift department but just as funny and classic in perfect Wodehhouse style!

Do you have books that you are gifting this Christmas season and, if so, what are they? I love the gift of books (if you can't tell) although it's harder and harder for people to surprise me with a title that I don't own and haven't read. I'm personally wishing for one title in particular . . . can you guess which one? ;)

And with that we're wrapping up the Christmas posts and moving on to an entire week's worth of discussion on Narnia!