12 Best Kids’ Books to Gift This Holiday Season
photo: Eleonora Albasi via Unsplash
It’s never too early to get a jump on holiday shopping, especially because this year, a paper shortage could mean fewer books on store shelves. Books make some of the best holiday gifts for kids, so if you’ve got them on your shopping list, don’t wait until it’s too late. Here are some of the best kids’ books of 2021 for every age and stage to give the joy of reading this holiday season.
12 Best Kids’ Books to Gift This Holiday Season
Baby and Toddler
Jungle Night
You can never go wrong with beloved board book author Sandra Boyton. For her latest, the iconic author/ illustrator has teamed up with acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma to create an atmospheric soundtrack to the snoozing jungle animals. Each copy of the book comes with a free download of recorded narration with animal sounds cleverly interpreted by instruments.
Unicorn Day: A Magical Kindness Book for Kids
Calling all young readers! It’s time to celebrate Unicorn Day! It’s a magical day filled with cupcakes and glitter, and above all, kindness and inclusivity.
Preschool
Change Sings
National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman just released her own picture book. The beautifully illustrated story is filled with lyrical prose to inspire budding activists to use their voices for change.
I’ll Meet You In Your Dreams
Filled with gorgeous illustrations, this beautiful bedtime book is the perfect gift for young readers and the parents reading it to them. Diving into the bond of parent and child over space and time, this is a story the whole family will treasure for years to come.
Early Elementary
Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic
The fourth installment of this New York Times bestselling series chronicles the lives of 100 barrier-breaking Black women and girls from poet Amanda Gorman to tennis champ Naomi Osaka.
Doodling 101: A Silly Symposium
Fans of author Mo Willems’ popular Lunch Doodles web series will be ecstatic to try all the imaginative activities in this fun book inspired by the videos. The book features 15 chapters of daily doodling, pop-out finger puppets, and how-to-draw instructions for Willems’ popular characters.
Older Elementary
The Awakening Storm (City of Dragons #1)
This inspired new graphic novel series about finding courage will immediately hook Fans of Amulet and Wings of Fire. Fitting in at a new boarding school in Hong Kong is the least of Grace’s problems when she and her new friends discover a newly hatched dragon they must protect from evildoers.
Kaleidoscope
Author extraordinaire Brian Selznick is back with a stunning new book in his signature style. Kaleidoscope is another inventive tale and work of art about two friends bound through time and space and coping with grief.
Middle Grades
The Beatryce Prophecy
Newberry Medalist Kate DiCamillo (Despereaux and Flora and Ulysses) is back with an adventurous tale set in a faraway medieval land. A young girl named Beatryce sets off on an epic journey that teaches her the power of stories and, most importantly, the power of love.
Pony
Anyone still mooning over the beautiful story of Wonder (one of the best kids’ books ever!) will be excited to see author R.J. Palacio is back with an instant classic about a young boy on a journey to find his missing father. A mysterious pony and a ghost only he can see accompany 12-year-old Silas as he heads on an incredible quest through the 19th-century American frontier.
High School
Take Me With You When You Go
This beautiful story of hope comes from powerhouse YA authors David Levithan and Jennifer Niven. After being torn apart, siblings Ezra and Bea must find their way back to each other, and they’ll discover that home truly is where the heart is.
One of the Good Ones
An excellent choice for fans of historical fiction, the story follows two sisters headed on a life-changing road trip after the death of their third sister at the hands of police brutality. The thrilling mystery intertwines themes of racial injustice and the bonds of sisterhood.
What are your picks for best kids’ books for gifts? Share your favorites with us on our Facebook page!
