MotherReader

Yes, it’s Festivus, the holiday for the rest-of-us. The iron pole is up and the feats of strength are on the schedule (mine are primarily of emotional strength, as I’ll be hosting my family, including my divorced parents, in my smallish split-foyer). Now is the time for the airing of the grievances. You have free space in the comments — my gift to you this holiday season. I’ll start:

• The high school’s decision to omit honors courses where AP ones are offered is killing my teen. There is no reason my fifteen-year-old sophomore needs to be taking college-level world history and it is completely dominating her homework schedule. And that’s even though she’s taking pre-calculus.
• I’m still peeved at my county’s decision to have new part-time employees of the library work both Saturdays of the two-week pay period. So for those of you keeping track, that’s every Saturday. Since I can’t possibly do that with all of my family obligations — every other Saturday was bad enough — I cannot get my old job back. Which totally sucks, because I loved it.
• My mom — who doesn’t read this blog, btw — has call to stop using our phone conversations to turn some event into something that is critically sad or upsetting. And then the next time I call, she tells me that it’s all fine. The last was a friend’s new marriage, which she might annul because it was so awful, and the follow-up call was that they “worked things out.” Seriously, I have enough in my life without adding second-hand drama.
• I’m not sure I get to have a grievance about the Republican party, not being a member or supporter. But with all that is going on between the ridiculous primary nominees, the constant filibusters, the amazing hypocrisy and outright intolerance, the best case scenario is that it’s some elaborate performance art piece.

So how about you? None of your people are likely to see your grievances all the way over at my blog, so go nuts. Talk about your boss, your neighbor, your mother-in-law. Tomorrow we can get back into the spirit of the season, but now it’s venting time.

I really wanted to do a couple of reviews today, but I realized that I haven’t done Christmas cards, wrapped presents, or returned my library books from the Cybils reading. So instead it’s the return of creative ways to wrap a book. This is at the end of 150 Ways to Give a Book, but who knows how many people made it that far. At this point, I’m not sure I’d trust Amazon’s shipping in time for Christmas, but if you want to make the gamble or have post-Christmas day festivities, you can still take advantage of the pre-shopping done in that list and this.

Wrap a Book

1. Wrap your book up in solid paper and tie a cool scarf around it. This is from Hanukkah gifts with Old Navy scarves — just look at how the silver wrapping paper sets off the gray in the scarf. Masterful!
2. For just a little something extra, make headbands the ribbons around your wrapped package. Red and white dots for Christmas, blue and white for Hanukkah.
3. Wrap a cookbook in photocopies of your favorite recipes. A knitting book with your own favorite patterns. Or hey, wrap a book about finances in real money.
4. Wrap your book up in a clever Threadless t-shirt. Want a literary theme? They’ve got that covered. But my favorite shirt has to be the Harry Potter inspired Tee Which Shall Not be Named.
5. If you’re going the book gift card route, give it in a cute coin purse.
6. Tuck a book or two in an Aeropostale tote. Three things to know. One, pick the solids for teens and logos for tweens. Two, don’t pay over $15 because these things are almost always on sale. Three, don’t think you can use another brand of tote unless you are very confident in your teen tote radar. Believe me, I know of which I speak.

7. Try reusable shopping bags — wrap in one, attach another in its pouch as a gift. These bags fold up into little strawberries. Cute!
8. Stick a book inside another book — a book box, that is.
9. Find a little booklight to put in the gift bag for a little late-night reading.
10. Maybe you just want to attach a little something to the gift for fun. I suggest a keychain, an ornament, bangle-bracelets, locker magnets, or lip gloss. You can find these online, but personally, I go to the very back of Claire’s stores where they often have incredible discounts on such little things for tweens and teens. Honestly, the dollar stores have potential for this kind of little extra thing too.

Trying to get a present for Christmas? Today until 8:00 p.m. PST you can still get free two-day shipping at Amazon and take advantage of the helpful shopping I’ve done for you with 150 Ways to Give a Book. If you are overwhelmed by the choices for your younger readers, try ten top picture books with gift pairings. If you’re aiming for the end of Hanukkah, you’ve got just a little more time. I’m not sure this would be the best gift for the festival of lights, but it is...


(Picture from The Strand in New York City.)

This is a new one for me. I read the first chapter of this book online, switched to Amazon, and ordered it immediately.

To back up, I interviewed Aaron Starmer about darker middle grade books based on a fabulous conversation we had at the BEA KidLit Drink Night, but I hadn’t read the his book because the ARCs had been given out by then. I meant to go back to read it, but with Cybils on my plate, I lost track of it. But I do follow @AaronStarmer on the Twitter, and when he noted there that the first chapter was online, I thought I’d dip in and get a feel for the book. I was hooked.

I spent all day yesterday reading it. I resented the times I had to put it down. It’s darker than my usual middle-grade fare, skirting the edge of Young Adult. It’s realistic and dystopian and science fiction and old-fashioned and smart and sensitive all at the same time. Simply a fantastic book. So let’s do this for realsies.

The Only Ones
by Aaron Starmer
Delcorte 2011, purchased copy
Martin Maple is tucked away from the world on an island with only his father for company, and the occasional summer vacationers to observe. But on his eleventh birthday, his father sails away and doesn’t return. Self-sufficient, Martin waits for him for two years, and then in searching for his father on the mainland finds a world deserted of people. One strange traveler points him on his way to the village of Xibalba, composed of a group of misfit teenagers trying to get by and make a life. Threaded through the book is the mystery of what happened on The Day and what can possibly happen next for this new world. Intensely smart and constantly gripping, realistic characters combine with mystical elements in a perfect story of nothing less than humanity itself. The resolution lingers, tickling the brain with the continuing questions offered by the very best of literature.

Let me say two things here personally. One, I’m calling this as a movie waiting to be made. Two, this book would make a perfect gift, and you’ll have to trust me that its gift-giving potential has an element in the book. Right now, you don’t even need to leave the house, because you can buy The Only Ones with free two-day shipping at Amazon.

Note that free two-day shipping at Amazon and take advantage of the helpful shopping I’ve done for you with 150 Ways to Give a Book. If you are overwhelmed by the choices for your younger readers, try ten top picture books with gift pairings.

The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska
by Colleen Mondor
Lyons Press 2011, purchased copy

This book is simply the worst marketing campaign ever for arctic aviation. So you want to be an Alaskan pilot? Because it’s cold, lonely, boring, erratic, stressful, exhausting (very, very cold needs another mention), and you may die. Blending the adventure stories of plane trips both successful and unsuccessful with personal narratives, Colleen Mondor brings the reader into the last frozen frontier. With money at stake, planes fly in weather too cold, with cargo too heavy to be legal or safe. Everyone personally knows some pilot who died, yet the collected stories of deadly accidents don’t change the rules or risks. Published as adult nonfiction, there is crossover appeal for teens in the subject and — let’s be honest here — shorter page count then many nonfiction titles. There is some language throughout the book, but nothing that teens won’t have heard, read, and likely said before.

Personally, I read the book on a deadline, and now feel that it deserves a less rushed reader. Because when I could stop, I was able to process much more of the weight of what I had just read. For example, one anecdote detailed how the operations department was expected to lie on the official documentation for the flight — but in her job the author would write the correct weight on scrap paper, for only cargo and the pilot to see. Based on that real number, they would make the decision whether to take the flight. In a way, that number was the only thing that had substance, reality — in that everything else was faked (like the numbers), uncertain (like the weather) or precarious (like the aging planes): all but that one scrap of paper that would get thrown away. That’s something to think about, right? And that’s this book.

My fellow book blogger and good friend Colleen Mondor agreed to stop by to answer some questions about her book and new authorhood:

When did you start writing and/or seeing yourself as a writer?

I really started thinking that I could write as part of who I intended to be (as opposed to writing all through school and being told it was “a nice hobby”) after I left graduate school and realized that all the research I had done for my thesis was too valuable to shelve. The thesis was the longest thing I had ever written (160+ pages) that made sense and had a real beginning and ending. Once I had it in my hands I believed I could be more than just someone who writes after I do my “real work” every day (as I had always been told growing up) and that’s when I got serious. (I should note that my thesis was on pilot error accidents among Alaskan bush commuters — so it played right into Map.)

Who inspires you personally or professionally?

Ray Bradbury, Louis Armstrong, Hepburn & Tracy, Springsteen, Dan Eldon, Peter Beard, Barbara Hodgson (The Sensualist, Dreaming of East, etc.), Sara Vowell (!), Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried), and so many more. Lately my life is filled with images of my great grandmother, Julia Lennon, whose photo albums recently came into my mother’s possession. Her life was incredibly hard and I find it amazing how she survived — her sheer force of will is the stuff of legend. If that isn’t inspiring (and she was my Nana!), I don’t know what is.

The narrative has an organic flow, elaborating on things previously mentioned and hinting at stories to come. With that structure, how did you organize the writing process?

Ha! Organization was something that came up all the time — sticky notes and index cards everywhere to keep straight what I wrote where and when I said what and on and on. (I have Scrivener now and I’m hoping it will help a lot in the future.) I wrote the book completely out of order and then, with the help of my agent and editor, put it in the final order you see now. I wish I could have been more straightforward when writing the book as it would have been easier from an organization perspective, but in terms of the actual creative process, easy was just not any part of the writing.

With such a personal and difficult topic, what was the hardest part to write?

Technically it was most difficult to make sure I protected the identities of all the people involved while still writing the complete truth. The hardest chapter though was a surprise for me — it was “The Good Pilot,” about my friend “Adam” who crashed due to pilot error but is still alive and well in Alaska. You would think as he is still here that would have been easier but the crash had such a detrimental affect on him and was so preventable that I really struggled with how not to let my frustration with the whole situation boil over. I wanted a different story for him — I still want a different story for him — and there is nothing that anyone can do about that. At one point I wondered if I could even include the chapter at all. It took forever to get it right.

You’ve had a longtime perspective on publishing from the reviewing side of things at Bookslut and Chasing Ray. What have you found surprising as a new author?

How quickly you become overwhelmed by the need to sell the book now that the book is written. I wish writers could just write and write and write and while I had some idea from friends how much work I would have to put into marketing Map after it came out, I was still surprised. It can overtake your life if you let it.

Where do you go next, either literally with author visits or figuratively as a writing path?

Literally, I will be going through several cities/towns in Alaska this spring and also hopefully in the Pacific northwest. To get the book on lots of shelves I have to help generate interest, and the best way to to do that is to show folks the pictures I have of flying up there and to talk about the job. There is a lot of interest in Alaska — a lot of curiosity — and I have found people very receptive to events where they can see what we saw and ask questions about what the Company was like. That is my plan for early 2012. For writing, I have several essay projects in the works and intend to continue with narrative nonfiction — more on that as it develops!

Be sure to check out other reviews and interviews:

• Whatever: Big Idea series
• SLJ’s Tea Cozy
• Writer Jen
• Beth Kephart Books
• Booklist Online
• Booklist Interview

The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes
by Linda Glaser
As a family prepares for Hanukkah, more guests are due to arrive than expected. The daughter, Rachel, borrows potatoes and eggs from their elderly neighbor to make the latkes, each time hoping that by borrowing food she will convince the woman to join the family for Hanukkah. She can’t make her come over, but in the end comes up with another plan to bring Hanukkah to the woman. Light and bright illustrations complement the tone perfectly. A fun story that doesn’t feel the need to explain either the history or the specific celebration of the holiday. There a sequel, too: Mrs. Greenberg’s Messy Hanukkah.

Hanukkah at Valley Forge
by Stephen Krensky
In the middle of the Revolutionary War, a soldier takes a quiet moment to celebrate Hanukkah. Spotted by General Washington, he explains the religious history of Hanukkah as we see the connection between the fight of the Maccabees and America’s fight with the British. The book has a historical basis, as the author’s note describes. Lovely book too, in its detailed watercolor illustrations.


Chanukah Lights
by Michael Rosen
There’s no need to review this new and spectacular book. I got the promotion piece at Book Expo America and was already sold on this title. Just watch.

Today is another repost, but a good one. The focus is Christmas books that aren’t so very heavy on the Christmas — a trait I’ve found useful for classroom readings and library storytimes. Because as it turns out, I do live in the part of the country where — as Rick Perry see it — kids aren’t allowed to celebrate Christmas. I say that with sarcasm, but since the D.C. area is culturally diverse, there is great care to not offend. I agree with the logic, but it sure does make seasonal storytimes difficult.

In the past, I’ve focused on the cultural aspect of holidays around the world — including this set of Christmas books. I’ve pulled together books I liked that focus more on the gift-giving aspect of Christmas rather then Santa or — I can’t even imagine presenting this in this area — the Nativity. These are books about gifts and giving, that happen to be at Christmas but aren’t so much about Christmas. I haven’t done research on this in years, so many of them are on the older side. I’d appreciate some new title suggestions to explore. Oh, and I like them too.

My Penguin Osbert, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Joe gets a penguin for Christmas from Santa after years of misunderstandings, but having a penguin turns out to be a lot of work. This is one of my favorite books for the “be careful what you wish for” message, but it is handled with humor and grace.

Shall I Knit You a Hat? by Kate Klise
A mother rabbit knits a special hat for little rabbit, and together they decide to make some very creative hats for all of their friends. The book mentions Christmas, but otherwise is really focused on the giving aspect. A cute book, sweet and simple, with some humor in the illustrations as hats are made for the variety of animals.

Merry Christmas, Matty Mouse, by Nancy Walker-Guye
A little mouse is heading home from school with six Christmas cookies for his mom. On his way home he runs into some hungry friends and, one by one, gives all but one cookie away. In the end, mom and little mouse share that cookie, and then realize that they have the recipe to make more cookies. They make more and invite all the forest friends. Very sweet book about sharing and being kind.

Okie-Dokie, Artichokie! by Grace Lin
A Monkey gets so mad at his giraffe neighbor below him for being noisy that he stops talking to him. One day, near Christmas, he gets a package meant for the giraffe. He delivers it to Artichoke and finds out that they are ceiling pillows. Artichoke hasn’t been banging the ceiling on purpose, he’s just too tall! A book about gifts and misunderstandings, with a little bit of Christmas thrown in.

The Perfect Present, by Michael Hague
A bunny buys a toy for his sweetie, but it takes off without him. He chases it down the streets and around the town (letting kids look for it in the highly detailed pictures) and then it rolls in a snowball right to his sweeties house. There are Christmas colors and some decorations in the background, but actually only a couple of mentions of Christmas. Hague’s illustrations are amazing.

Jingle Bells, by Nick Butterworth
Two mice are threatened by The Cat. They make Christmas stockings out of glove fingers, but the Cat puts up a note at Christmas saying they went away. They decide to teach cat a lesson, that involves a noisy jingle bell as a present. A twist on the idea of the present, where the present they give the cat is actually much better for the mice.

The Christmas Crocodile, by Bonny Becker
A crocodile is left under the tree at Christmas and he wreaks havoc on the family. There’s a lot more text to this one than many of the other picture books, making it a good choice for classroom reading. Illustrated by David Small and very funny.

Today didn’t go as planned in terms of writing, blogging, or doing useful things. Since I get pretty frequent searches for books about Christmas around the world I’m reposting those titles today, with apologies to others for my recycling.

What’s Cooking, Jamela?
by Niki Daly

Jamela’s family gets a chicken to fatten up for Christmas dinner, but Jamela gets attached to the chicken as a pet. Tension builds as a woman comes to prepare the chicken dinner, but in the end, Jamela’s mother finds something else for the Christmas dinner and gives the chicken to Jamela as a present. A fun story of a South African Christmas, conveying a sense of the culture along with a few words of the country.

The Magic Maguey
by Tony Johnson, illustrated by Elisa Kleven

A large maguey plant sits in the middle of a Mexican village providing many resources to the people of the town, as well as a gathering spot. As Christmas approaches, a rich man who owns that land says that he will get rid of the maguey and build a house there. Miguel, with the help of the other children, decorates the maguey so beautifully for Christmas that the rich man realizes his error and doesn’t cut it down. A great story about resourcefulness with a little bit of Christmas tradition and a smattering of Spanish words.

A Kenya Christmas
by Tony Johnson, illustrated by Leonard Jenkins

Juma’s Christmas wish is to see Father Christmas, and his special aunt brings a red and white suit to the village. She tells Juma to find someone to wear the suit so that the whole village can see Father Christmas for the first time. He does so, and Father Christmas surprises the village with his arrival. But it is Juma who is surprised later when he finds out that the man who was supposed to play the part didn’t do so after all. Who was that man on the elephant? A very different picture of Christmas in Africa with amazing pictures by Leonard Jenkins.

Cobweb Christmas: The Traditon of Tinsel
by Shirley Climo, illustrated by Jane Manning

In Germany, a old woman sets up a Christmas tree and cleans her house throughly, chasing the spiders outside. Let back into the house by Kris Kringle, the spiders are curious about this interesting tree, and end up “decorating” it with their cobwebs. What could be a holiday mishap becomes magical as Kris Kringle turns the webs into silver, making the first tinsel. A sweet story about the Christmas tree tradition.

There’s a new meme in town. STEM Friday focuses on books that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The round-up this week is hosted at Wrapped in Foil.

Over the year I’ll be sharing the preschool program I created for the library and that I’m presenting once a month. The concept behind the program is to introduce science topics by combining fiction and nonfiction, songs and mini-experiments, action rhymes and hands-on times. The target age for the program is three to six years old, so the information and experiments are basic, and intended to encourage a questioning, observational approach to scientific topics.

Motion and Force
Book: Move! by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Song: “This Is the Way”
This is the way we walk to school
Walk to school, walk to school
This is the way we walk to school
So early in the morning.

(Repeat with: kids’ suggestions and/or run, hop, slide)

Book: Forces Make Things Move, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Experiment: “Pushing, Pulling & Stopping”
Give each child a ball. Push the ball. Stop the ball. Both the push and the stopping were forces. Show other forces. Pull the ball with a rubber band. Drop the ball to show gravity. Push, pull, and stop on different surfaces to show the effect of friction.

Book: Hot Rod Hamster, by Cynthia Lord

Experiment: “Animal Crash”
Put a stuffed animal on a toy car and push against a stable object. The animal goes flying off, because objects in motion tend to stay in motion. (Which also shows why we need seat belts.)

Book: What is Velocity? by Joanne Barkan

Book: What’s Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah? by Robert E. Wells

Experiment: “Speed and Distance”
Set up toy cars on different-size ramps and of different surfaces. What changes the speed or distance the cars will go? The size of the ramp? The surface they roll on?

My kids aren’t little anymore, and our taste in holiday picture books has changed. These are my favorite books for the season — even when it seems like everyone is too old for picture books. Never, my friends, never.

The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming
by Lemony Snicket

Just hysterical. A latke runs screaming from the frying pan and encounters various Christmas icons along its path. As the latke explains what it is and its significance in the celebration of Hanukkah, it keeps getting compared to Christmas. And so it keeps screaming. Lemony Snicket actually gets in a fair bit about the meaning of Hanukkah, while keeping a wry tone throughout. For instance, as the latke explains in a long paragraph about being fried in oil — as a reference to the oil that was used to rededicate the temple and the miracle that made the oil last for eight nights — the answer it receives is par for the course:

“So you’re basically hash browns,” said the flashing colored lights. “Maybe you can be served alongside a Christmas ham.”

“I’m not hash browns!” cried the latke. “I’m something completely different!”

And then it runs screaming, “AAAHHHHHHHHH!” for two pages. As my kids have grown past the traditional — and too often schmaltzy — Hannukkah stories, this one is our new family classic.

The Lump of Coal
by Lemony Snicket

On the same note, we’ve turned to this title to replace the cute Christmas stories that absorbed us in the past. It contains perhaps one of the most perfect opening sentences of all times:

The holiday season is a time for storytelling, and whether you are hearing the story of a candelabra staying lit for more than a week, or a baby born in a barn without proper medical supervision, these stories often feature miracles.

A humble lump of coal longs to be something more and visits an art gallery and Korean barbecue in hopes of fulfilling his search for meaning. Instead, a drugstore Santa decides the lump will be the perfect thing for his stepson’s stocking — as punishment. But this ill intent goes right, as the coal finds his purpose in an artist’s hand. Wry, funny and odd, this book ends on just the right note for the holidays, and in echoing the first sentence, with miracles.

Robert’s Snowflakes
by Grace Lin

Lest you think I’m all about the wit, my third choice is not about either holiday, but it is about beauty, joy, and hope. The book features dozens of snowflake shapes decorated by famous children’s illustrators and gentle haikus for the winter season. The artwork created is amazing. Some illustrators featured their characters — like Ian Falconer’s Olivia and the dinosaurs of Mark Teague. Others contributed scenes of snow, skating, Santa, and lights. The real story within the book is the dedication of this group in auctioning the original snowflakes to fund cancer research. A lovely book that will be especially enjoyed by those who appreciate children’s book illustrators.

At the Fifth Annual KidLitCon, I was on a panel discussing relationships among bloggers, publishers, and authors. Noting that it remains an open topic, we continue to define relationships that contain both collaborative efforts and critical reviews.

Perhaps writers of blogs and authors of books don’t need a lesson on how much words matter. We all have spent time carefully crafting a post, a page, a phrase for exactly the right impact. So when a publisher talks about continuing to offer “free books” instead of review copies, those words matter. If they refer to “free shipping” as a bonus feature, it matters. When they say “your job is simply to review the book,” then I wonder either when I became an employee or how — after referring to the dictionary — this became a duty or assignment. And “simply” is not how I would categorize the reading, reviewing, posting, and perhaps running a giveaway while scheduling in the one-month timeline that they are seeming to require. All of that matters.

Look, I can imagine that they meant to say: Hey, bloggers! We’ve heard that you’d prefer to receive more targeted review copies, and that works for our bottom line, too. So we’ll be sending emails of new titles, which you can request with a reply email. FYI, that first month around release is huge for us, so keep that in mind in scheduling reviews, if you can. Thanks!

What would go unsaid is the part about taking bloggers off the list if they didn’t review books, because it’s understood, and it’s unprofessional to point out. Reviewers can also pan a book, but we don’t write publishers: Hey, publisher! We’ve heard good things about this book and would love a review copy. But if we don’t like it, we plan on letting our readers know, and BTW we are not adverse to using the word ’suck.’ Thanks!

I wasn’t planning on writing about this issue, because I feel picky playing up one specific publisher to highlight a broader topic, even though the publisher wrote a terrible letter and the topic is important to me. I was fine with being part of the Twitter storm about it, because it resulted in an instant reply from the publisher changing the tone of the email. As Maureen Johnson tweeted, “One thing I love about the internet: you don’t have to wait long to find out if you’ve had a really bad idea.”

But since then, my tweet was written about in the LA Times Jacket Copy and The Guardian, and I felt the need to say more. Friend and fellow KidLitCon panel member Liz Burns of SLJ breaks down the issue superbly in three posts about relationships, volunteers, and reader access. She also gets me in my tweet “Can you imagine them sending this to Horn Book or The NYTimes?” as not setting myself at a status level equal to these institutions, but needing to establish where book bloggers fall in the publishing world. Essentially it comes down to whether book bloggers are to be treated more like print reviewers or like marketing employees. I’d prefer the former.

In truth, it’s not exactly either — which is why we have this problem. It would suit book bloggers to be considered reviewers. It would suit publishers to consider them marketing partners. And ultimately, the group that defines the language defines the relationship.

While I respect publishers, I don’t want that definition solely in their hands. I don’t feel entitled to “free books,” but I do feel a responsibility to correct language that has the potential to set the status quo. Maybe it’s just one publisher, one email. But book blogging is too important to me to sit back and let others establish the dialogue. Because words matter.

For all of their elementary school years, I always gave books to my kids’ teachers for the holidays. My favorite book to give was Earth from Above for Young Readers. It’s out of print now, but it embodies my perfect gift for teachers as a book that the adult can enjoy and appreciate, and can also be used in the classroom. That particular title could be used for such a wide range of ages that it was absolutely perfect. Seriously, I bought six of them when they went to a discount price and gave them out for three years straight — and my kids are three years apart. But here are three other great gift suggestions and I’d love to hear about more perfect teacher titles in the comments. You know you have them.

How to Heal a Broken Wing
by Bob Graham
A pigeon is hurt on the sidewalk, and everyone walks by — except one boy and his mother. They take the bird home, take care of it, and let it fly away. I’m keeping the plot simple, so that I can leave room to say that I have not shown this book to one adult yet who hasn’t been deeply moved by it. Kids may see the simple story first, and then the kindness beneath. Adults can see the deeper levels of helping others, healing wounds, and letting go. Or even, as I told my seventh grader, “that sometimes we’re the bird.” Bob Graham’s illustrations are wonderful, and truly tell the story more than the simple text. It’s a beautiful book and would be great for preschool through second grade teachers.

One Voice, Please: Favorite Read-Aloud Stories
by Sam McBratney
Elementary school teachers have tight schedules with all the pressures of different tests and required curriculum. It can be hard to fit in reading as much as they might like. But this book is perfect to use in those extra five or ten minutes. Filled with familiar stories from around the world, it can be shared with a few minutes to spare while ensuring kids are hearing the stories that make up our common understanding.
Side by Side: New Poems Inspired by Art from Around the World
edited by Jan Greenberg
Poetry and art. Multiple languages and multicultural images. This comes pretty close to my new perfect book for teachers, only losing a mark for being too sophisticated for the early elementary kids. The art is amazing. The poems represent a wide range in style and subject. Each poem is written in the poet’s native language, as well as in English. Each page is perfectly illustrated by a related work of art from that area. This is an amazing book that will be enjoyed by the adult who receives it and as a classroom tool. (If you’re dying for a poetry book for a younger classroom, I can never mention Poetry Speaks to Children enough.)

For more ideas on giving books this holiday season, look to 150 Ways to Give a Book. With all the live links, you may not even need to leave the house to do your shopping.

As you are doing your holiday book shopping, consider giving a few titles to Ballou High School in Washington, D.C. Their library started out with a meager one title per student, before Colleen Mondor kicked off a spring book drive. With all the contributions from the KidLitosphere things have improved, but they could get better — and need to get better. All the information is over at Guys Lit Wire, but time is running out. I’m sending Tankborn, Wolf Mark, and Unforsaken. How about you?

Making the rounds last year was a video showing a little boy disappointed with his present. “Books for Christmas!!??” he cried, and the book lovers among us cringed. Perhaps we always hesitated in our literary gift-giving, afraid that our carefully chosen titles would fall flat. But the very popularity of the video seemed to make it more real that giving books for the holidays was a joke. To add insult to injury, reputable newspapers informed us that the picture book was dead and that teen books are too dark. The death of the book continued to be reported as the e-reader wars raged. At this point, we would all be excused for giving up and grabbing the noisiest truck or hottest fashion doll or popular movie tie-in toy.

Ah, but book people are strong. We’ll continue to give our favorite titles, tied with ribbons and presented with love. We’ll find new ways to fight the commercial tide. Use the books we love to encourage creativity, discovery, and imaginative play. Finding things that enhance the reading experience.

With those thoughts in mind, I’ve pulled together 150 Ways to Give a Book this holiday season, with ideas for everyone from tots to teens — and even some adult suggestions. For today, with Picture Book Month coming to a close, I’ll highlight ten titles from this year. All are Cybils award nominees, and many have made the various “Best of 2011” lists that are trickling in for the end of the year.

Blue Chicken tells the story of a painting that comes to life and a little chicken who makes a big mistake. Investigating her surroundings, she knocks over a jar of blue paint and changes the very picture that she is in. She is able to solve the problem and save her animal friends and the picture. The clever tale is enhanced with lovely illustrations and would be perfectly paired with a paint set. Set aside some time to share the book and art time with a special child.

Everyone is raving about Me... Jane — and no wonder. With its charming illustrations and its story of a strong girl, the book is something special. The end includes information about the inspiration — Jane Goodall — but the book itself stays storylike in the world of a girl growing up to inspect and respect the natural world around her. As the storybook Jane carries a pet chimpanzee, a perfect gift would be a plush chimpanzee.

Bedtime books tend toward soft colors and dreamy settings, but Little Owl’s Night takes a different and welcome direction. The little owl is checking out his nighttime surrounding in the dark before his bedtime at dawn. The story is gentle enough, but the black blackgrounds and strongly contrasting graphic design of the illustrations make this book a standout. Since we are not night creatures ourselves, perhaps this title could be given with a night light to chase away the darkness parts of the bedtime hours.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site is a winner for combining its sweet bedtime story with trucks. Trucks! As each construction job is completed, each truck turns in for the night. The illustrations are informative and fun. And speaking of fun, wouldn’t it be nice to connect the story with playtime with toy construction vehicles? Or add more reading pleasure by throwing dinosaurs into the mix with Dinosaur Dig! which combines construction trucks with dinosaurs, and throws in counting for good measure. The endpapers give the names of both dinosaurs and trucks for even more educational value. The text and story are simple, but the artwork is as realistic as dinosaurs operating vehicles can be. On its own this book could be given with bunch of plastic dinos.

Blackout takes the reader to a day when all of the city went dark. A family, previously busy with all things electronic, heads to the roof to escape the summer heat and find the stars filling the night sky and neighbors socializing, and it is all magical. When the lights come back, they’ve remembered that sometimes they can have simple fun together. A picture book with graphic novel influences, the illustrations are wonderful and the story relatable. Since anywhere can have a power outage, every kid needs his or her own flashlight.

Take a trip around the world with the moon as your guide in A Full Moon is Rising, with poems by Marilyn Singer and illustrations by Julia Cairns. The lovely poems capture the different cultures under the moonlight and specific activities honoring its glow, while engaging illustrations perfectly display the diverse world. Give as a gift with glow-in-the-dark moon and stars — or go high tech with this Moon in my Room.

Another poetry picture book takes us Around the World on Eighty Legs: Animal Poems with fun, light selections about many of our animal friends. The poems are brief with little facts about the areas covered and the animals mentioned, while fun illustrations in colored pencil and watercolor add to the playful feel and humor. Great for a variety of ages and perhaps even a good teacher gift. Encourage poetic exploration with word beads or magnetic poetry.

In Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku we are introduced to a lonely shelter cat, lean and longing, who gets a home and adjusts to his new surroundings with the typical practiced nonchalance and semi-disdain exhibited by the feline. Poems cover fishy breath, scratching furniture, and hairballs along with the cuter aspects of cats. The illustrations keep the focus on the feline, tuning out the backgrounds in soft colors, and capturing the essence of each poem and its subject. Give a cat card game for more feline fun. If you need another cat book, add on Dear Tabby.

Dog lover instead? Then you must meet Mark Teague’s LaRue Across America, a dog with mad letter-writing skills. Here he is taking a trip across the country in the company of two cats. Cats! These unfortunate companions ruin his vacation in funny ways, and the reader is let in on the humor in the letters home and the wonderful illustrations. Add to the playtime with dog themed dominoes and even an extra book, Charlie the Ranch Dog.

For more ideas on giving books this holiday season, look to 150 Ways to Give a Book. With all the live links, you may not even need to leave the house to do your shopping.

Or rather, the Threadless edition. Yes, I love Threadless for its artistic, clever, funny, and sometimes literary selections. Tomorrow they start a $10 sale, which I noticed features an old favorite:


Pair this shirt with a poetry book for teens or adults. There are some other bookish shirts available, far better choices than a generic READ t-shirt that you might otherwise blindly choose. I don’t know which go on sale tomorrow, but check out Storytellers:


And adorable Book Lover:


A very lovely book and page tribute in Origami Dragon:


And this Voyage of Discovery:


And Ohmigod how did I miss this Harry Potter-inspired shirt titled Tee Which Shall Not Be Named. Seriously, look closely at the picture to see all the little references to the books. Brilliant.


For more ideas on giving books this holiday season, look to 150 Ways to Give a Book. With all the live links, you may not even need to leave the house to do your shopping.

For all of your holiday shopping needs, here are 150 Ways to Give a Book, grouped by (approximate) age. They are all MotherReader-approved titles — i.e., Good Books. There are a lot more choices for younger kids, as that’s the group we adult most fear disappointing with giving “only” a book. And picture books are my specialty. After the book and gift selections, I’ve also included ways to wrap a book, and book-themed gifts to include for a variety of ages. There are new 2012 titles mixed in with older ones — though there aren’t many classics, as I’ve tried to select books that kids would be less likely to have on their shelves. So no Harry Potter.

Sometimes I choose the hardback when the paperback is also available, so check if that is important to you. I’ve also linked to the fun extras through Amazon, for example, to save you shopping time, and because I get some small credit for your purchases through the Amazon Associates program. But know that you can find cheaper alternatives for some small things — paints, pens, journals, etc. — at a local discount store. On the other hand, doing all your purchases online and having them sent to your door is priceless.

Multi-Age

1. Give an experience like a trip to a zoo, aquarium, museum, aviary, arena, or city. Put the passes, tickets, or homemade gift certificate with a relevant book to make it feel more tangible.
2. Take a road trip with Ask Me so you can use the driving time to ask each other the interesting questions from the book.
3. Give a book with a movie theater gift card to see the upcoming film.
4. Give a book with a gift card to rent the movie. Include a box of microwave popcorn.

5. Give One Hen — How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference with a loan to Kiva or a donation to Heifer International to buy chicks. For more charity and book matches, look to this list from Abby the Librarian.
6. Pair any book with another book from the bargain section, maybe something silly or crafty or gimmicky.
7. Pair a detective book with a magnifying glass.
8. Match poetry books with word beads or magnetic poetry.
9. Pair a picture book with a related stuffed animal.
10. Give an interesting, insightful book with a restaurant gift card and a date to discuss the book together over a meal.
11. Honor the book enthusiast with necklace along with a new title.
12. Celebrate writing too with special journals from Tara Books, an independent press based in India.

Picture Books

13. Learn letters with ABC, Baby Me! board book or The Sleepy Little Alphabet and letter links.
14. Or work with numbers (and colors) with 10 Hungry Rabbits and magnetic numbers.
15. Give Jeremy Draws a Monster with a pack of fat crayons and a stack of copy paper from an office supply store.

16. Or go with Art and Max or Blue Chicken with a paint set.
17. Pair The Curious Garden with gardening tools and seeds.
18. It’s almost dessert when you give The Cow Loves Cookies with a cookie counting game.
19. Get moving with Dancing Feet with Fisher Price: Disco Dance Party CD.
20. Keep up the music giving Drum City with an old-time tin drum.
21. What else can go with Extra Yarn but extra yarn? Well, and knitting needles and instructions.
22. Pair Kite Flying and/or Kite Daywith a new kite.
23. Give Bats at the Ballgame with a bat and ball. You can throw in a coupon book for practice sessions.

24. Take a bedtime book like Little Owl’s Night, A Bedtime for Bear or Sweet Dreams and add a night light.
25. Or choose A Full Moon is Rising or Moonlight with glow-in-the-dark moon and stars — or go high tech with this Moon in my Room.
26. Pair Bubble Trouble with touchable bubbles.
27. Ballet dancers will love Brontorina or Bea at Ballet with a fancy tutu or two… two.
28. Give little superheroes SuperHero ABC along with a superhero cape.
29. Encourage a future Iron Chef by giving Oscar and the Very Hungry Dragon with a cooking set.
30. Silliness ensues with Pigs to the Rescue and the Pass the Pigs game.
31. Take it outside with Chalk with 3-D sidewalk chalk.

32. Pair Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site or Building with Dad with toy construction vehicles.
33. Give Yuck! That’s Not a Monster! with the Moody Monsters Memory Game.
34. Who can resist that match-up of Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek with Lincoln Logs?
35. Give your little dragon-lover Hush Little Dragon or Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood with a cute dragon.
36. Is there a doctor in the house? There will be with picture book Doctor Ted along with a doctor kit.
37. Future firefighter instead? Give Fire! Fuego! along with Firefighters A to Z and firefighter gear.
38. Pair picture book Crafty Chloe with a selection of craft supplies.
39. What else can go with Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum other than lots of bubble gum.

40. Cat lovers can enjoy picture books I Don’t Want a Cool Cat, Katie Loves the Kittens, and Won Ton with a cat card game.
41. Or let the dogs out with Dogs, Charlie the Ranch Dog, and If You Give a Dog a Donut and dog themed dominoes.
42. Inspire young builders with Iggy Peck, Architect and a building set.
43. Nature lovers will enjoy Birdsongs along with a guidebook like Backyard Birds and some binoculars.
44. For more nature, pair Butterfly Tree with a butterfly garden kit.
45. Give your favorite girly-girl Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy with dress-up jewelry and/or a fancy poodle.
46. Give your rough little boy Pirates Don’t Change Diapers along with genuine pirate gear.
47. Take sweet picture book Lissy’s Friends and pair it with an origami kit.
48. Make a perfect pairing with Elsie’s Bird and a singing bird music box.
49. Picture books A Sick Day for Amos McGee or Pssst! would be perfect with a zoo animal collection or game.
50. Or head down to the Farm, adding a Lace and Trace Farm Set.
51. Taking a Bath with the Dog and Other Things That Make Me Happy is a book that deserves its own bathrobe and/or bubble bath.
52. For a western theme, give A Night on the Range or Every Cowgirl Loves a Rodeowith a cowboy hat.
53. Another nighttime choice is Goodnight, Little Monster with an Ugly Doll.
54. Give picture book The Moon with a special flashlight and a promise for a nighttime walk or two.

55. Or for a different angle with that flashlight, pair with Blackout and prepare for indoor fun with the lights out.
56. Take a special book, like Wow! It Sure is Good to Be You (which is about an aunt loving her far-away niece), and make a CD recording of you reading it.
57. Pair Duck and Goose with a bright spotted ball.
58. The funny wordless book Once Upon a Banana is a perfect fit with a stuffed monkey — but show your sense of humor by throwing a banana into the gift bag.
59. Another wordless book choice is the visually stunning The Tree House, which works surprisingly well with Littlest Pet Shop brown bear and polar bear.
60. Give The Snow Globe Family with a snow globe.
61. Pair Lilly’s Big Day with dress-up clothes.
62. Or another dress-up option is the Ladybug Girl books with wings and antennae.
63. Pair Bubble Bath Pirates with a cool rubber duck.
64. Give the wonderful The Day the Babies Crawled Away with a baby doll.
65. Everyone needs Mo Willems’ book Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, maybe adding a toy bus and a cargo truck.
66. Pair classic A Bargain For Frances with a tea set.

Early Elementary

67. Pair a nonfiction book about dinosaurs, like Boy! Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, with a bunch of plastic ones.
68. Give Instructions with a book of classic fairy tales, and make time to read them together.
69. Expand the idea of giving with The One and Only Ivan with an adopt-an-animal program at your local zoo.
70. Or give Goal! with a soccer ball and a donation to Project Play.
71. Introduce a folktale with Maneki Neko: the Tale of the Beckoning Cat and giving lucky cat bank.
72. Pair silly beginning reader book The Monster in the Backpack with a cute backpack (monster additional).
73. Give beginning reader books Amazing Sharks! and National Geographic Readers: Sharks! and throw in a shark on a stick.
74. Take to the ice with book choices Katie Kazoo, On Thin Ice and passes to the local ice-skating rink.

75. Pair Toys Go Out with a red bouncy ball, or a stuffed stingray or buffalo.
76. Pair Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs with a kazoo.
77. Give early chapter book series books Ella the Rose Fairy (Rainbow Faires series) or Rose’s Special Secret (Flower Fairies series) with a lovely little fairies.
78. Blooming fashionistas will appreciate Paper Fashions (Klutz) (all thirty-five Amazon reviews gave five stars!) along with Fashion Kitty and the Unlikely Hero.
79. Combine sweet Jenny and the Cat Club with a red scarf (don’t worry if it’s too long — so is Jenny’s) and a black cat.

Elementary

80. Pair Operation YES! with green army men.

81. Be a hero and give Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set with Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths.
82. Pair fantasy book Savvy with with an assortment of temporary or henna tattoos.
83. Give What the World Eats with a promise for an international dinner out or in.
84. Pair Every Soul a Star with The Kids Book of the Night Sky and plan a date to look at the stars together.
85. You can’t go wrong with the funny poems and outstanding art in Frankenstein Takes the Cake along with a cake-baking session, followed by reading the book together. As a matter of fact, throw in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and make a whole day — and a meal — of it.
86. Speaking of the amazing Adam Rex, give the hilarious book The True Meaning of Smekday with a the related T-shirt Regarding Stickyfish Teams, I Favor the Bigfield Fighting Koobish.
87. For business-minded kids, pair The Lemonade War with a coin counter bank.
88. All the elementary school kids will love The Invention of Hugo Cabret, but you can pair it with tin wind-up toys for extra flair.
89. Give Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little with um, Stuart Little.
90. Give Kimchi & Calamari with a promise for a dinner out Korean style, or Italian style, or both.
91. Wrap up A Crooked Kind of Perfect with excellent toe socks.
92. Perhaps Fabulous Hair with a collection of hair accessories will make someone smile.
93. Pair a diary-format book like Lucy Rose: Big on Plans (3rd/4th grade), Amelia’s Notebook (4th/5th grade), or The Princess Diaries (6th/7th grade) with a journal and fun pens.

94. For a boy, how about the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Third Wheel with the Do It Yourself Journal?
95. Or maybe Here Be Monsters! with a Nightmare Snatcher Journal.
96. Have fun with Clarice Bean Spells Trouble and a game of Scrabble.
97. Pair Phineas MacGuire... Erupts! with a science kit, or the next book in the series, Phineas MacGuire... Gets Slimed! with the slime science kit.
98. Look to fantastic nonfiction, giving Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon with a homemade coupon for a visit to the Air and Space Museum (okay, this might only work around Washington, D.C.) or astronaut ice cream.
99. Give a drawing book like Draw 50 Aliens or Draw 50 Animals with a couple of nice sketch pads.
100. Pair a spy-themed book like Harriet the Spy (chapter book) or The Real Spy’s Guide to Becoming a Spy (nonfiction) with rear-view sunglasses and/or a fingerprint kit.

101. Bigger girls like stuffed animals, too. How about Hoot with an owl or The World According to Humphrey with a hamster?
102. Select a magic book and fun magic tricks.
103. Pair D.I.Y.: Kids with a gift card to a local craft store, and maybe some shopping and crafting time together.
104. Match the book and the movie, like The Spiderwick Chronicles with the DVD.
105. Pair a theme book like Katie and the Mustang with a horse charm and a satin cord from a craft store.
106. Or maybe Fairy Realm with a charm bracelet.
107. Give the first books of The Series of Unfortunate Events with a brass telescope.
108. Pair The Art Book for Children with watercolor paints or an art set.
109. Give Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart or Poetry Speaks to Children with hot chocolate, a mug, and a gift certificate for time to read it together.

Teen

110. Give the companion books Goth Girl Rising and The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl , and throw in How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains.
111. Pair a book that you and a teen can enjoy with a gift card to Starbucks and a promise to talk about the book over coffee. Some suggestions? Liar, Candor, or The Adoration of Jenna Fox have interesting issues.

112. Give Beauty Queens with a small makeup kit, and a healthy dose of irony.
113. Rock out with Beige along with a mix CD of the songs in the chapter titles (or an iTunes gift card).
114. Buy a teen Dramarama along with tickets to a show.
115. Pair House of Dance with ballroom dance lessons.
116. Give delicious book A La Carte with personal cooking lessons.
117. Match casino gambling themed Drop with a deck of cards and a family game of penny poker or blackjack.
118. Pair King Dork with a CD of The Mr. T Experience.
119. Treat a tween to Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf along with pink nail polish, lipstick, post-it notes, and special bubble bath, as mentioned in the book.
120. Pair The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting and/or the completely unrelated YA fiction Chicks with Sticks with yarn, knitting needles, and a promise for some lessons.
121. Give Ductigami: The Art of Tape with... well, rolls of duct tape.

Adult

122. Give nonfiction book Fruitless Fall with real honey from a whole foods store.

123. Buy two copies of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World  — one for you, one for a friend — and make a lunch date to talk about the book and one’s personal quest for happiness.
124. Pair Life is Sweet with chocolate, any kind.
125. Give This I Believe II with the first book This I Believe and a journal to capture great revelations of inner truth.
126. Recapture that one exciting election year when we had hope with Dreams From My Father and Life’s The American Journey of Barack Obama.
127. Match travel memoir-themed books with the... um, drink of the region. Like In a Sunburned County with Yellow Tail wine from Australia or The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific with coconut rum. (Adults only for this gift, obviously.)
128. Colbert fans and soon-to-be converts need the new book, America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't along with the greatest gift of all, the DVD A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All.
129. Give The Devil Wears Prada, Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office, and This Little Piggy Went to Prada in a Prada bag (from eBay! C’mon, a girl can dream...)

Wrap a Book

130. Wrap your book up in solid paper and tie a cool scarf around it. I love this red and white striped one, which would look great with red or green paper.
131. For just a little something extra, make these headbands the ribbons around your wrapped package.

132. Try reusable shopping bags — wrap in one, attach another in its pouch as a gift. These bags fold up into little strawberries. Cute!
133. Or tuck a book or two in an Aeropostale tote.
134. Wrap a cookbook in photocopies of your favorite recipes. A knitting book with your own favorite patterns. Or hey, wrap a book about finances in real money.
135. Wrap your book up in a clever Threadless t-shirt. Want a literary theme? They’ve got that covered. But my favorite shirt has to be the Harry Potter inspired Tee Which Shall Not be Named.
136. If you’re going the book gift card route, give it in a recycled newspaper change purse.
137. Maybe you just want to attach a little something to the gift for fun. I suggest a keychain, bookmarks, an ornament, bangle-bracelets, locker magnets, or lip gloss. You can find these online, but personally, I go to the very back of Claire’s stores where they often have incredible discounts on such little things.
138. Okay, I listed keychains, but here are some reading-themed ones like this one.
139. And yes I mentioned bookmarks, but not a Reading Ninja bookmark.
140. Don’t have the time or energy to deal with the mall? Find a little booklight to tie on the package. I like the look of this one

Add a Book-Themed, Handmade Gift

141. Give recycled book postcards like these Armful of Books.
142. Everyone isn’t on GoodReads, so here’s a little reading journal.
143. For home, locker or cubicle cabinets, some reading-themed Bottle Cap Magnets.
144. Bibliophiles don’t need to hide their love of the page with a Bookish necklace.
145. Or proclaim a love of words on your ears with Shakespeare earrings.
146. A sweet art print for people who love to read.
147. Or for another take, a print of a favorite animal on vintage book pages. I’m a fan of this peacock, but you can pick from many kinds — like this artistic fantasy tree.
148. Maybe give a tote to carry those tomes, but one with attitude — like My book club can beat up your book club. Book Fiend has many other gift ideas for literary folk
149. Maybe give a book loving coffee mugs filled with chocolates for a special treat.
150. Send out some love to the readers with a special cover of words.