10 Children’s Books You’ll Want To Give This Christmas
Every Christmas, I always make sure to pick up at least a few new children’s books for the kids on my shopping list. It can be overwhelming choosing at times though- there’s SO many great books to choose from at the store! Check out this quick list I’ve put together of some of our favorite recent additions to our home library. You may find the perfect choice for the little readers on your list this Christmas!
GIRL POWER
The Girl Who Thought In Pictures (◘)
The story of Dr. Temple Grandin is presented in rhyme from Julia Finley Mosca. Dr. Grandin’s experience of living with autism, and working to become an animal science expert has been one of my favorites for a long time. (I read her own writing years ago, so was thrilled to discover a version perfect for my boys!) Daniel Rieley’s artwork helps to relay young Temple’s frustrations with not fitting in, and struggling to make sense of her place in the world. This book is great for both inspiring future scientists as well as reassuring those who may sometimes feel on the outskirts of social groupings.
The Doctor With An Eye For eyes (◘)
Julia Finley Mosca has written the story of Dr. Patricia Bath in sweet, lyrical rhymes. The verses tell the story of a young girl able to move beyond all the obstacles standing between her and her career goals. Dr. Barth conquered racism, sexism, and poverty on her journey towards a career as a physician. Daniel Rieley’s illustrations are sweet and comforting. It’s a perfect choice to inspire young girls, and show young boys how much women are capable of accomplishing.
A MATTER OF SURVIVAL
How To Survive As a Firefly (◘)
This fun picture book was written by Kristen Foote, and illustrated by Erica Salcedo. It’s a lively, engaging look at the life of a firefly. The book is sprinkled with fun facts. All the information is presented in a playful way that kids love learning from. The firefly illustrations are hysterical- prepare for giggles as you check out their kooky faces! Young readers will get a strong vocabulary boost after hearing words like larvae, metamorphosis, and bioluminescence.
How To Survive As A Shark (◘)
Another fun choice in the ‘How To Survive…’ series is Kristen Foote’s How To Survive As A Shark. This edition is a bit more text heavy than it’s firefly counterpart, but still just as fun and informative. Novel terms like apex predator, pectoral fin, and electroreception will keep your kids curious. Erica Salcedo’s sea creatures are silly without being scary, perfect for even the most timid ocean-goer!
QUIRKY AND CUTE
Vegetables In Underwear
I grabbed this one for #thelittleone recently. We’re hoping to potty train soon so I thought maybe some silly veggies in undies would be a good warm up for him. Jared Chapman has created such a silly little book. The vibrant veggies in their unmentionables make me smile, and always make my boys laugh. Use the bright, graphic illustrations to discuss types of produce and colors while you read through the book.
Semicolons, Cupcakes, And Cucumbers (◘)
Steve Newberry’s take on teaching punctuation has more substance than Vegetables In Underwear, but similarly bright and quirky imagery. The conversations between the punctuation is silly and will keep kids engaged in the reading. There’s so much humor in seeing exclamation points and question marks jumping on trampolines or walking through a forest. The ‘learning time’ section at the end of the book is the perfect review to make sure young readers took in the main ideas of the book.
HANDS ON FUN
Pancakes!
I’m not going to lie, I think I love this ‘interactive recipe book’ more than my kiddos! Pancakes! is a sturdy board book, filled with fun, bold illustrations from Lotta Nieminen. Mixing, flipping, and pouring can all be acted out as you read through the recipe for making pancakes. There are a few other books in the series, and we can’t wait to check them out as well!
All Aboard!
Nichole Mara has written such a fun little look-and-find book in All Aboard! The book is perfect for engaging toddlers is hunting for objects, talking about colors, and counting. The bright, clear illustrations from Andrew Kolb make it easy to adapt the seek-and-find to whatever skills you may be working on currently, or tailor them to your child’s interests. The fold out format gives the book a bit of novelty appeal that kids will find exciting.
INSPIRED BY HISTORY
The Journey That Saved Curious George
Growing up, my ‘lovey’ was a plush Curious George doll. I had all the books, and loved everything about that silly primate. It was a bit of selfish nostalgia that prompted me to pick up Louise Borden’s tale of ‘the true wartime escape of Margaret and H.A. Rey’ for #thebigone. He’s been very interested in biographies and non-fiction for several months now, so it’s been a perfect choice for him. It chronicles the Rey’s departure from Paris on bicycle in 1940, saving themselves and their famous books from Hitler’s troops. Allan Drummond has provided beautiful gestural illustrations, filled with washes of color. The book is also filled with authentic photos and other period documents, which help kids truly feel that they have uncovered a bit of history.
Tru & Nelle A Christmas Tale (◘)
G. Neri’s Christmas novel was inspired by the friendship of Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee. As part of #thebigone’s recent love for history and biographies, I’ve enjoyed helping him see that famous folks started as people just like us. Although this isn’t a true biography, it is a wonderful way to peek at the ‘normalcy’ of two hugely famous writers. It’s a sequel to Neri’s earlier True & Nelle- both make beautiful chapter book read alouds to share with your kiddos.
ARE YOU GIVING YOUR CHILDREN BOOKS THIS CHRISTMAS? WHICH ONES? TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CHOICES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
Allie
This is totally adorable! I love the animal and veggie themes. Those vegetables in underwear are the cutest haha. These are great gift ideas for all the kiddos in my life. I love hearing about some of the authors, too!
Kate
The veggies in underwear is definitely one of our current silly favorites!
Melanie
Ohh! These looks soo cute! Will keep in mind for the gifts
Kate
Thanks so much Melanie!
jmusselman8
We don’t have any of these books so thanks for the suggestions! We always buy books for the kids for the holidays..fortunately they all love to read.
Kate
Books always make great gifts! Hope you find some good ones to give this year!
Amy Poulton - Page Traveller
Yay! Books! I love these – maybe for the big kid in me? (I don’t have my own kids). Thanks for sharing.
Kate
Fun books are definitely for everyone, not just kids!
vidyatiru
love these books.. while my kids are older at 11 and 14, some of the books here will still work for them; and my favorite gifts to give are books.. always..
just discovered your blog recently through FB groups for bloggers and totally loving it..
also, nominated you for a 7 day challenge – no pressures to join but do check it out here http://www.ladyinreadwrites.com/black-white-blog-photo-challenge-day-seven/
Kate
Thanks very much!
livewellplaytogether
These all look so fun and I haven’t seen so many of them before! The How to Survive Books look awesome as do the Vegetables one and the recipe book! Great list!
Kate
Thanks so much for taking a look at the list!
thebusyboymama
OK normally I would scroll past all those books but those LEGITIMATELY look interesting and I want all of them besides the Curious George for my oldest!
Kate
We definitely don’t like boring books over here!
Kristen
My daughter loves books. These are great recommendations.
Kate
Thanks very much for taking a look at them Kristen!
antokay4real
Hi,very amazing list of books,I like ”The Journey That Saved Curious George” Thanks
Kate
One of my favorites as well!
Sarmistha Goswami
I don’t have kids but there are kids in the family who love reading! I can see some good options here and have definitely considering “Doctor with an Eye for eyes” for my niece 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Do drop by my blog as well : http://styleovercoffee.com 🙂
Kate
Thanks very much Sarmistha.
Tiffany
I hadn’t seen any of these before now but they look perfect for several of my kids!! Thanks!!
Kate
Glad you found some that interested you! Thanks for looking at the list!
twoboysonepup
The quirky and cute ones look SO sweet! Also, I completely forgot about Curious George books! Thanks for the recommendations, we can always use them!
Kate
We’re all about ‘Monkey George’ over here lately- my two year old is obsessed!
April@loveourreallife
What great book ideas! Thank you!
Kate
Thank you April!
Francesca
Such a big selection of awesome books! I’ll definitely be picking some of these up!
Kate
Glad you found some that interested you!
maintainingmeghan
I love giving books for the holidays! This is perfect!!
Kate
Books are usually my go-to gift too!
Joanna Clute
My kids love getting books for Christmas! Definitely using this list!
Kate
Mine do too!
Discov. Parenthood (@discoveryparent)
Books, books, and more books. As a kid this would have made my soul so happy. I adored reading books then. The one about the girl who sees in pictures completely got my attention and I am hunting that down for my girls.
Kate
Temple Grandin is such an inspiration! Your girls will love that book!
itsahero
These all look so awesome!! I love the idea of giving books to kids for the holidays!