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Holiday Book Gift Guide for Everyone on Your List

Our holiday gift guide [1] series is in full swing! If you are planning to give books this holiday season, this week we are featuring book gifts for everyone on your list!

Who doesn’t love a good book? A gift of a book is a wonderful thing but sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to get someone. (He loves this author, but then wouldn’t he have already read them all?) Here are 10 suggestions for books to get everyone on your list.

Photo Credit: cogdogblog [2]

Holiday Book Gift Guide

  1. The Pre-Reader
    Just because the kid can’t read yet is no reason to leave them off your book list. A book we “read” every Christmas (and really all year long because it’s so cool) is The Night Before Christmas Recordable Storybook [3]. My lucky kids were given this by their grandparents a few years back and they still love it. They’re making plans to record one for a little friend of theirs this year.
  2. The Early Reader.
    Let’s face it – most early reader books are mind numbingly boring. The Elephant and Piggie [4] series is a breath of fresh air. These books are really funny (and not just 5yr old funny). With just a few simple words on each page Mo Willems gives early readers a story that entertains as well as teaches. The parents will thank you (because if you’re going to hear a book 100 times it had better be a good one).
  3. The Chapter Reader.
    Here is an oldie but a goodie. Though written many years ago the Ramona Quimby [5] books continue to delight. I don’t remember many of the gifts I received as a kid but I distinctly remember getting Ramona Quimby age 8 when I was….8! I’ve passed these onto my own kids who continue to enjoy her adventures.
  4. The Young Boy.
    I don’t know if any book list would be complete without a call out to Lego Star Wars Dictionary [6]. If there was a prize for most loved book in our house then this one would win. The whole line is great as I have also given (multiple times now) the Lego Ninjago Character Encyclopedia [7] to kids who were into Ninjago and heard that it is as equally loved.
  5. A Woman with Kids.
    Anyone can’t help but laugh their way through Maria Semple’s totally awesome book Where’d You Go Bernadette [8] but I think it is especially funny for anyone who has ever lived their way through PTO hoopla. She was one of the writers for Arrested Development so that gives you an idea of her comedic genius.
  6. The Cook.
    Sure you can get someone a cookbook but The Homemade Pantry [9] is so much more. Part story book and part recipe you come to feel that the author is a good friend who has invited you in for tea. This is the book that finally convinced me I could make yogurt (which it turns out is both easy and awesome).
  7. The Grandparent.
    This is really a 2 way gift – once for the receiver and secondly for the grandkids (though they will probably only appreciate it years later). We gave out From Your Grandfather: A Gift of Memory for my Grandchild [10] and For My Grandchild: A Grandmother’s Gift of Memory [11] last holiday season. What we’ve gotten back is amazing beyond words. The simple questions can be quickly answered or bring on whole stories (we got ours back with extra sheets of paper). There is room for pictures too. A family treasure.
  8. The Frugal Person.
    If there’s one book that I keep going back to both for reference and inspiration it has to be The Complete Tightwad Gazette [12]. Originally written as a newsletter (pre-internet days) it quickly became a phenomenon. The frugal person in your life might have read it in the library but it’s one of those books you love to re-read. Give them their own copy.
  9. The Puzzle Fan.
    If you haven’t tried Sudoku before it sounds deceptively easy. Just put the numbers 1-9 in each row, column and box. Indeed some of the puzzles are easy but they can get hard very fast. Will Shortz Presents The Little Black Book of Sudoku [13] has 400 of these puzzles (that can keep you entertained for hours, days, weeks!) Will Shortz is a puzzle master and as an added bonus it is spiral bound (if you’ve ever tried to work on a puzzle that is constantly closing you’ll understand the benefit here).
  10. The Cool Dad.
    You know that dad – he’s too cool for school. He wouldn’t be caught dead with a “world’s greatest dad” t-shirt and he thinks he’s the same guy he was before he had kids (don’t ruin his reality). There’s a good chance that this is a dad book he’ll actually love. Darth Vadar and Son [14] or Vader’s Little Princess [15] are books about Darth Vadar if he had been around when Luke and Leia were growing up. Pretty funny and also very cool.

What books are you giving this holiday season?

More Holiday Gift Ideas