Gifty Books for Kiddos


Aren’t these classics extra lovely in a foreign language?  For the grown up who loves the story to kiddos being exposed to new languages, I just think it makes a fun gift to deliver a favorite in a new language.  And green eggs and ham in Italian: Prosciutto e Uova Verdi?  SO CUTE! Also adore Le Chat ChapeauteYoruga la Tortuga, and Cat in the Hat Comes Back (Hebrew).


L’Arbre Genereux

Wo die Wilden Kerle Wohnen

Bonsoir Lune

What?  You prefer your books in English?  OK then, see our english pics for more Great Gift Books for Kids after the jump…

And tell us what gift books you love for the kiddos this holiday season in the comments, because we need to restock, and also because you could win that pretty key fob set!

Gift Books for Kids


Bread and Jam for Frances
: Scarlet loves this book, it’s a message about how nice it is to eat a variety of foods and enjoy every bite.


An Awesome Book of Thanks
: I’ve already told you how much I adore this book so I’ll leave it at that.


Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed
:  I love Mo Willems so very much.  If you don’t already have Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus, get that one first.  The pigeon begs to drive and your kid keeps telling him NO!


Joelle Jolivet Zoo-ology
:  Scarlet knows what a vole and peccary are because there is nothing she loves more than pointing out all the strange animals in this book.


Where’s My Sweetie Pie?
:  In this pocket?  In this locket?  No, in a mirror at the end!  Scarlet yells “I YOUR SWEET PIE!”


Chicken and Cat
:  My husband picked this book up and at first I was like, umm it has no words?  How i am supposed to read this to her?  But it’s such a charming story of moving to the big city and making it feel like home, it doesnt need any words.  Scarlet “reads” it to me.


Caps for Sale
:  A classic.  I love books that are interactive, and Scarlet likes to clap her hands, stomp her feet, and say TZZT! TZZT! just like the monkeys who steal the peddler’s caps.


Welcome to my Neighborhood: A Barrio ABC
: This book is so charming and a nice break from the usual farm and fruit type ABC books: “N is for the noisy neighbors who sit on the stoop and catch the breeze.”


This is New York
:  Or any of this “This is” books.  We are pondering a move to the big apple, so New York is our favorite right now.


The Gangsta Rap Coloring Book
:  This is my go-to gift for friends who like to laugh.  It’s hilarious.


Rosie Flo’s Animals Coloring Book
:  Jacinda gave us this, and it’s so pretty I haven’t even let Scarlet color in it yet, ha.

So, what did we miss?  What should I pick up for my little bookworm this year?

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24 Comments

Lindsay and Co.

Usborne's Farmyard Tales. I got it for my daughter last year for Christmas, and we are already going to have to replace it. She isn't hard on books, but when the ENTIRE book (a collection of 21 stories) gets read daily, it gets worn out. My fav? It comes with a CD so she can listen along during quiet time 🙂

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Dawn

My daughter loves anything by Eric Carle. The illustrations really catch her eye. And she loved Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? from when she was a baby…we read it to her so many times, she could "read" it to herself – flipping the pages and saying what color and animal was on each page. I think that's part of why she loves reading so much now.

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Ruth

'Careful with that ball Eugene' by Tohby Riddle is possibly my favourite kids picture book, I'm so sad my kids (12 & 15 years old) think they are too old for it, maybe I can impose it on my 18 month nephew next time I see him. My son loved 'Bumper to Bumper, a Traffic Jam' by Jakki Wood as a toddler and one of my daughter's favourites was 'Mouse paint' by Ellen Stoll Walsh.

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Jamie

My husband is fluent in Spanish (English is his second language) and we are raising our kids to be bilingual. We have many great books in both English and Spanish, like Huevos Verdes con Jambon (Green Eggs and Ham). Scholastic has many Spanish kids books and our local used book store also has an entire section of kids book in other languages. Our favorite book series would have to be Skippyjon Jones, he looks so much like our kitty and acts a lot like our son (and the stories are hilarious, even for adults).

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Nico

We LOVE The Yellow Tutu by Kirsten Bramsen! It's a great story with adorable illustrations about a spunky little girl who gets picked on by mean kids – and now my baby girl runs around the house with her tutu on her head yelling "TUTU-HEAD"….love it!

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jessica

LOL, my kid (17 month's) does the monkey "finger" with the "tzz tzz" sound. We had to hide the book because that was the only one she wanted to read – it's really good!

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ekateclark

My babe is only 3 months, so I get to pick the books — but I am currently obsessed with "Always Lots of Heinies At the Zoo." So funny – and a great vocab builder, if you want the kiddos to know lots of words for "bottom."

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Mariel

We LOVE books at our house! Usborne books are fantastic, my kids also love Farmyard Tales. Doctor Seuss is a must! We also have Buenas Noches Luna, which I can read with my eyes closed! 🙂 But this Christmas my daughter is getting:
My Name Is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream? By Jennifer Fosberry

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Taylor {Sew Much Love}

That's a great list!

I bought my daughter "Where The Sidewalk Ends" on cd. He does such an amazing job with the poems and makes them so funny. I used to fall asleep to them when I was little and I can't wait for my daughter to do the same. They are so clever!

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Vic

Fab list! I want the zoo book… I agree with Megan on the Giant Jam Sandwich from when I was little (I read Violeta my copy that my mum saved for me, it has hilarious 70s illustrations, very Monty Python). Another all-time fave which I see is still in print is The Wild Washerwomen. Seriously, you have to get this book, it's about a troupe of washerwomen who rebel against their boss and go on the rampage, and it has the coolest illustrations by Quentin Blake (whilst we're on the subject, his book Zagazoo is a great gift for new parents). And he also illustrates Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes (delightfully horrible retellings of fairy tales for slightly older kids) and the Enormous Crocodile. I was so stoked when I found a (vastly overpriced) translation of Revolting Rhymes for my best friend's son here in Argentina: Cuentos en verso para niños perversos! Finally (sorry, this is my favourite subject ever), if you want a cool book in Spanish that's not translated from English (it's actually translated from Portuguese), try this http://www.amazon.com/VECINA-VECINO-MELLO-ROGER/dp/9500729601/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie;=UTF8&qid;=1291115662&sr;=1-8 Vecina, Vecino, fab story with GORG illustrations by three Brazilian artists. Over and out!

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Lil' Bit and Nan

I know my daughter is only 8 months old, but she really loves it when I read Olivia the Pig. She recognizes the book and gets excited. She will even watch the cartoon in excitement.

– Bethany

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Poists

We love the Barbapapa series that were originally in French. My parents read them to me as a kiddo and now I'm reading them to my son.
Barbapapa is this amorphous pink shape that can shift into many things.

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Ghislaine

Bonsoir Lune is already on my daughter's "wishlist". At 21 months she doesn't actually choose what goes on the wishlist! I speak French with her full time so finding books in French is de rigueur!

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Mands

I adore Mo Willems! We have a couple of his books and I just ordered the Naked Mole Rat book for $5! (thanks to a book club I joined a few weeks ago and was so worth it…and no they didn't pay me to mention it…haha)

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Ali Smith and Noah Thomas

I grew up with my mom reading lots of classic children's books and I'm having fun introducing them to my daughter! What we love: A TIme to Keep by Tasha Tudor (anything by Tasha Tudo!), Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCluskey, George and Martha by James Marshall (My 16 month old LOVES this series!), Babar, and The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats.

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Mom-topia

I just bought Quiet Loud, Yummy Yucky, No No Yes Yes for my 18-month-old and picked up a Star Wars Choose Your Own Destiny book for my 7-year-old stepson. Not quite fine literature but it's interactive so hopefully it will spark his interest in reading enough that he'll forget we don't have a Wii. And Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, and Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate for his twin sister.

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Emily

If you appreciate quirk, you must try Calef Brown's Polka Bats and Octopus Slacks. It's one of MY favorite books to read to my 16 month old daughter, and she appreciates the cadence and rhyme, if not yet the content. There are no life lessons here – just silliness and wit.

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