Top 10 Book Related Gifts for Kids, Young & Old

Our town has a monthly community paper, Upper Bucks Free Press. Anyway, I was doing laundry one night and scanning through the December issue when I came across the section of book reviews. There is a young man, Erik, 10, who has a dedicated place in it where he does reviews and such. It's titled "This Kid Reviews Books." I really enjoy reading his reviews, for a kid he catches all the details and is quite entertaining.  Erik also has a great blog for kids books and his parents are very supportive.  They monitor and maintain his blog, but the content is all Erik.  Well, with the holiday season upon us and many of us are trying to figure out what gifts to get for friends and family, the following article he wrote caught my eye and I just wanted to share it with you all. 

Gift Ideas for Readers

Young, Old, and In-Between

by Erik Weibel

 

Do you have a book-loving kid in your house? Maybe your kid is a reluctant reader? Since the holidays are here, I thought I would give you my top ten book-related gifts that are good for kids both young and old!

1.       A Gift Card to a Local Independent Bookstore – I love looking around independently owned bookstores. They usually have great programs and clubs you won’t find in a big chain bookstore. Plus you will be supporting a local business! You can find the nearest independently owned book stores near you by visiting www.indiebound.org.

 

 

2.       A Signed Book or Book Plate – Signed books by a favorite author are always a thrill to get! Many times bookstores have copies of signed books, but if you can’t find the one you want, sometimes if you email the author, he/she will mail you a book plate so you can put it in your copy of the book.

 

3.       A Classic Book – With many choices for books out today, some people don’t think about classic books. Whether it’s abridged or not, a classic story is always a good thing to get your child into reading! You could try Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Gulliver’s Travels, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Robin Hood… I could go on and on!



 

4.       A Book Light – The perfect thing for reading in the dark! I keep a book light in our car so I can read while we’re traveling.

 

5.       A Journal – Does your child want to be a writer, English teacher, poet, or just a doodler? Then a journal is a great gift! They can record their thoughts, stories, doodles, and ideas in it!

 

 

6.       A Subscription to a Comic Magazine – Comics are great for getting your kid into reading at a young age. I remember being 4  years old and waiting every month to get my Marvel Kids: Avengers comics. Kids love comics and it is fun to get something in the mail. They are a great gift for a reluctant reader too. There is a huge variety of comic books and you can find an appropriate comic for any age child (make sure you check the age rating on them).

 

7.       A Book App – Do you have an iPhone, android, iPad or maybe you or your kid has an iPod? Book apps are reading and video games combined! They are interactive, colorful and fun to read.  Most apps are pretty inexpensive and some you can even get for free. Instead of getting more video games for your kids to play with, try book apps!

 

 

8.       The First Book in a Series – There are some great kid book series to really get your kids hooked on reading. Some of my favorites are The 39 Clues, Percy Jackson Series, Boxcar Children, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, Wimpy Kid,  Magic Tree House, NERDS, Warriors, Redwall and Origami Yoda. There are many more choices out there!

 

9.       An Audio Book – This type of book is good for long car rides, for young kids learning to read, or kids that have trouble reading. They can follow along in the book as it is read to them. A lot of the time kid’s audio books have sound effects or music which makes it a lot of fun.

 

10.   An eReader – A lot of people don’t think about giving a kid an eReader but eReaders are very kid friendly. Many of them have a read-aloud feature and color. They have built in dictionaries so if you don’t know a word you can click on it and it will tell you what they word means and how to pronounce it. They are light and you can carry around thousands of books in one little device!

I hope everyone has a great holiday and that you all keep reading!

For book reviews and book discussions, please visit his website .

Erik also has a Facebook page This Kid Reviews Books.  Check him out, share with your family and especially your children.  There are not many sites out there with kids talking directly with other kids about books.