While toys are usually the talk of the holidays for children and young adults many would be thrilled to receive a book under the tree or in their stocking.
There is no shortage of classics and old standbys to rely on each year as the perfect literary gift, but Jan Dundon of Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville offered the following as hot or new suggested gifts for the bibliophile on your holiday shopping list.
In addition to being available at Anderson’s three suburban locations these titles are widely available at major bookstores.
AGES 3-8
IF THEY LIKE: “Fancy Nancy” by Jane O’Connor
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Princess Party” by Joy Allen ($16.99, Penguin Group, hardcover)
“Princess Party” celebrates inventive fun and feeling special – the best parts of every little girl’s princess phase.”
IF THEY LIKE: “Time For Bed” by Mem Fox
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Bedtime in the Jungle” by John Butler
($16.95 Puffin, paperback)
Incorporating counting, this bedtime book follows animal parents in the Indian jungle as they call their babies to sleep.
IF THEY LIKE: “Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel” by Loren Long
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Otis”
by Virginia Burton ($17.99, Philomel, hardcover) Otis, a loveable tractor develops a friendship with a little calf on the farm and ends up as a hero.
IF THEY LIKE: “Woolbur” by Leslie Helakoski
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Bea Rocks the Flock” by Victoria Jamieson ($16.99, Bloomsbury, hardcover)
Bea the sheep is “ewe-nique” and after dancing to the beat of her own drummer inspires her flock to be more unique too.
IF THEY LIKE: “Frog and Toad” series
by Arnold Lobel
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Mouse and Mole” series by Wong Herbert Yee (Prices vary, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, hardcover and paperback)
A series of books about the unlikely friendship of a mouse and mole, their adventures and their different outlooks on life.
AGES 9-12
IF THEY LIKE: “Captain Underpants” series by Dav Pilkey
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute” by Jarrett J. Krosoczka ($5.99 Randomhouse Paperback)
Children find adventure and justice when they seek to find out what the lunch lady does.
IF THEY LIKE: “The Penderwicks” by Jeanne Birdsall
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Strawberry Hill” by Mary Ann Hoberman ($15.99, Little Brown Book Group, hardcover) Ten-year-old Allie learns the challenges of moving, fitting in and finding friends.
IF THEY LIKE: “Everything on a Waffle” by Polly Horvath
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “The Year the Swallows Came Early” by Kathryn Fitzmaurice ($16.99, HarperCollins, hardcover)
When she turns 11 the life of main character Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson begins to fall apart — from her dad going to jail, to the annual migration of the swallows to her hometown coming early. As she learns to deal with the unexpected, Groovy learns forgiveness, understanding and the importance of family.
IF THEY LIKE: “The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney” by Lauren Barnholdt
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Luv Ya Bunches” by Lauren Myracle ($15.95, Amulet Books, hardcover)
The story of unlikely friendships when social worlds collide told through blogs, instant messages and narrative.
IF THEY LIKE: “Flipped” by Wendelin Van Draanen
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “11 Birthdays” by Wendy Mass ($13.59 Scholastic, Inc., paperback)
Two friends have always shared a birthday until a falling out and time stands still on their 11th birthday.
IF?THEY?LIKE: “A Long Way From Chicago” by Richard Peck
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “When the Whistle Blows” by Fran Cannon Slayton ($16.99 Philomel Books, hardcover)
A boy growing up in the 1940s wants to continue his family legacy working on trains but his dad has other plans.
YOUNG ADULT
IF THEY LIKE: “Eragon” by Christopher Paolini
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Eon” by Alison Goodman Hunger ($19.99, Penguin Group, hardcover)
Eona, a 16- year-old girl, is living a dangerous lie and masquerading as a boy named Eon for the chance to become a Dragoneye. It is forbidden for females to practice Dragon Magic and if caught she could face a terrible death.
IF THEY LIKE: “Twilight” (“Twilight” saga) by Stephenie Meyer
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater ($17.99, Scholastic Inc., hardcover)
A novel about a boy who is human in the summer and a wolf in the winter and his struggle to remain human to save himself and his relationship with a young girl named Grace.
IF THEY LIKE: “Games” by Suzanne Collins
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Graceling” by Kristin Cashore ($17, Harcourt Books, hardcover)
The main character, Katsa, has an extreme skill, she has been able to kill people with her bare hands since she was eight. In the kingdom where she lives she is feared and exploited and takes readers on an adventure of fantasy, kingdoms, secrets, truth and romance.
IF THEY LIKE: “The Truth About Forever”
by Sarah Dessen
THEY MIGHT LIKE: “Waiting For You” by Susane Colasanti ($12.23, Vikings Children, hardcover)
A romantic novel about a high school girl who gets the guy, but realizes Mr. Right has been right in front of her all along.
