As I look through Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Kirkus Review and the American Library Association’s picks for best children’s books of 2014, ready to order what’s missing from our library collection, I realize that the books from these lists can be great for Holiday gift giving. When my kids were growing up, above all else, a new book was always ready for them to open on Christmas morning, and I love the idea from Amy Dickinson, now adopted by the Family Reading Partnership, of a book on every bed on Christmas morning. What a great holiday tradition to start, the idea being that a book will be the first thing opened up by a child on Christmas morning, with adventures and stories waiting to be discovered! So, taking from these great list compilations, I recommend the following books, all available at a CCLD library:
For younger readers:
A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems
Here Comes Destructosaurus by Aaron Reynolds
Baby Bear by Kadir Nelson
The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Locomotive by Brian Floca
Little Santa by Jon Agee
Gravity by Jason Chin
For middle readers:
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and his Service Dog by Luis Carlos Montalvan
The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus by Jen Bryant
Happy Holiday Reading Everyone!
Janet Ackerman
Head of Youth Services
Steele Memorial Library, CCLD