A book gift guide 🎁 for readers 10 and under
November 28, 2024
Hello, hello!
Since you are subscribed to this newsletter about books and reading, we can probably agree that books make wonderful, lasting gifts for children of all ages.
I’ve got you covered here from newborns all the way to 10 years old, and I hope you find a gift (or two or twelve) here for the kiddos in your life.
At the bottom of every section, I’ve included:
Another recommendation
A poetry pick
A link to find more titles for the age group — this takes you to my Bookshop.org storefront, where I’ve compiled heaps of books (even though I think books for specific ages are irrelevant, I know that’s how people like to categorize things). If you’ve looked at these lists before: I’ve done a massive update on them all.
If you’re looking for more personalized recommendations, hit reply on this email and I’ll help you out. This is a service I provide only to paid subscribers (but it’s easy to become one!)
3-12 months old
Love You Head to Toe by Ashley Barron
In this super sweet board book — with pages on the left comparing darling babies of all skin tones and situations to an animal and some sort of activity babies and animals both do on the right — Barron knocks it out of the park with rhyming prose that flows well and bright, utterly joyful paper collage illustrations that will please grownups as well as the tiniest of readers. (Link to purchase)
Baby Love (Boxed set) by Helen Oxenbury
This tiny, perfect box set — full of Oxenbury’s tiny, perfect titles Clap Hands, Say Goodnight, All Fall Down, and Tickle Tickle — is an excellent gift for the littlest littles, not least because you cannot go wrong with books that fit into babies’ hands, but also because of the enchanting vignettes within. (I had these when I was a baby and I actually remember them — if you need further convincing of their power.) (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim
Poetry pick: Little Poems for Tiny Ears by Lin Oliver
➡️ Find more recommendations:
12-18 months old
Hands Can by Cheryl Willis Hudson
Through rhythmic text and lively photographs that foster self-awareness and motor skill development in an approachable way, this is a simple yet joyful celebration of all the wonderful things hands can do. Each engaging page encourages exploration and curiosity, and diverse representation in the images adds to its universal appeal to children of this age, who love looking at other children of this age. (If you don’t already know this: trust me.) (Link to purchase)
Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
This lap board book comes close to the most perfect title I can think of, wherein swaddled babies, bottle- and breastfed babies, rocked babies, stroller’d babies, babies eating, babies sitting, babies playing, babies being incredibly loved on by their families — which come in all varities, colors, and situations here — are showcased with breathtaking honesty, humor, and grace on every page. (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: A Bear, A Bee, and a Honey Tree by Daniel Bernstrom
Poetry pick: ¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes selected by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (bilingual English-Spanish title)
➡️ Find more recommendations:
2-3 years old
Bear on a Bike by Stella Blackstone
Small readers will be eager to join Bear again and again (and again) as he travels on different modes of transportation, from a bike to a boat and even a hot air balloon, in a fun, rhyming adventure you won’t mind reading 1000 times (and then 1000 more). P.S. Repetition is a real developmental need at this age and it’s imperative that you meet it, so read a book — even if it’s not this one — as many times as they want. It will pass soon! (Link to purchase)
Mama Zoom by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
“Mama’s got a zooming machine, and she zooms me everywhere.” Toddlers will delight in the adventures one little boy takes with his fun-loving (and fun-making!) mother. Her wheelchair is a starting point for all the places they zoom together in his mind, and while this book has simple text, the genuine enjoyment these two have in each other’s company is contagious and continually appealing. (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: Good-Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins
Poetry pick: Things We Feel by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell
➡️ Find more recommendations:
4-5 years old
The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord
In this rollicking, rhyming read, four million wasps fly into the town of Itching Down, and the desperate townsfolk come up with an ingenious idea: wasps like strawberry jam, right? Let’s trap them in A GIANT JAM SANDWICH. And that’s exactly what they do. This is a wacky, uproarious treasure of a book that’s a big hit with preschoolers. (Link to purchase)
Let’s Eat! by Ana Zamorano
Sprinkled with Spanish and told through the lens of traditional Spanish food, this rich and entertaining glimpse into one busy, multigenerational family’s life — wherein one very pregnant mother sends her youngest out each day of the week to gather a member of their household for their evening meal — will leave readers’ stomachs (and hearts) with a full sense of satisfaction. (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolen
Poetry pick: Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems by J. Patrick Lewis and Douglas Florian
➡️ Find more recommendations:
6-7 years old
A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
This is a highly enjoyable, crowd-pleasing story about a little boy whose life is turned topsy-turvy (in the best way) one day when his veterinarian mother brings home an orphaned skunk kit. Bat — who has autism — thrills at the chance to be the kit’s caretaker, and the story centers around his sweet determination to be a good one, as well as all the things in his life that sort of get in the way. A truly excellent read. (Link to purchase)
The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet
This quirky and humorous tale about a dog named Scamp who wishes he could be something more exciting — and then gets his wish, as he’s transformed into a strange creature called a Whingdingdilly — offers a valuable lesson in self-acceptance, disguised inside a fun adventure (there is zero preachiness here). I have yet to meet a kid in this age group who doesn’t love Bill Peet — this is one of his most engaging and enjoyable titles. (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: Too Small Tola by Atinuke
Poetry pick: Awful Ogre’s Awful Day by Jack Prelutsky
➡️ Find more recommendations:
8-9 years old
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
Alvin Ho, a second-grader “who comes from a long line of farmer-warriors,” is nevertheless afraid of many, many things — and his escapades in this first book in a series are not only wonderfully human and relatable (he experiences selective mutism at school, borrows and accidentally breaks a childhood toy of his father’s, thinks chicken pox comes from actual chickens and secretly visits the house of a stricken classmate to try to catch both the chicken and its pox), they are wonderfully told. Look’s hilarious tale is delightful for this age. (Link to purchase)
Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
The inimitable Lindgren created more lovable protagonists than just Pippi Longstocking, and I highly recommend getting to know Ronia. She’s a courageous young girl living in her criminal father’s crumbling castle and exploring the wild woods beyond every chance she gets. When she stumbles upon an intruder her own age — the son of her father’s sworn enemy to boot — things get complicated fast. This adventure story is beautifully written, but it’s the relationships at its heart that will leave you — and your young readers — begging for one more page. (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Poetry pick: The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again by Allan Wolf
➡️ Find more recommendations:
9-10 years old
The McNifficents by Amy Makechnie
If you’re looking for a romp of a middle-grade read, look no further than this one. Lord Tennyson, a mini Schnauzer, tries his best to manage the six chaotic McNiff children, but summer vacation tests his limits: these kids are a hand — er, paw —ful! As things spiral, Mr. and Mrs. McNiff consider hiring a real nanny. Can Lord Tennyson restore order and keep his job, or will he end up back in the doghouse? This one is pure fun. (Link to purchase)
Mari in the Margins by Rebecca J. Gomez
In this thoughtful novel in verse, 12-year-old Marivel Jiménez is the middle child in a family of nine. In her journal entries filled with poetry and art, she shares her true feelings about the chaos that surrounds her, including how her parents overlook her and her youngest sister makes things tough. Will winning the school-wide poetry contest bring her the recognition she so deeply desires? Mari’s yearning to be seen for who she really is is real and relatable, and perfect for tweens reaching that age where perhaps the only antidote to the pain of existing on the margins — and wanting so badly not to — is knowing you’re not alone. (Link to purchase)
Also recommended: Marvelous Jackson by Laura Anne Bird
Poetry pick: I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups by Chris Harris
➡️ Find more recommendations:
Didn’t find any gifts here?
Don’t worry: I have a HUGE variety of booklists available on Bookshop.org, including (but not limited to):
Resource books for raising readers (possible gifts for the adults in your lives!)
Please note that all Bookshop.org links are affiliate ones — when you shop using any of these links, I get a small commission, meaning you support independent bookstores and this newsletter, all at no additional cost to you.
If you found this post helpful, please pass it on — this is an easy way to share gift ideas with folks who want to buy presents for your children but don’t know where to begin.
Happy gifting!
Sarah
Thank you for including Mari in the Margins! Also, I’m Just No Good at Rhyming is fantastic, and what appropriate book to pair with Mari!
Great list!