I hate to shop, and I make no exception for the biggest shopping excuse of all, the onslaught of gift-giving-guilt that comes with the Christmas season. (Pardon me for a moment; I'm struggling to refrain from a full-blown lecture on the reason for the season and our misguided notion that we must shop instead of reflect at that time.)
My response, right or wrong, is to collect gifts all year. When I see the "just right" thingamajig for so-and-so, I buy it, whether it's August or February. With a little organization (read: a lot of luck) I'll not only have my holiday shopping done way early, I'll also be able to find all of the items and match them to their intended recipients before December 24. I can hope.
Books, no surprise, are some of my favorite things to give as gifts - and picture books are the best of the best. Good picture books are timeless, sturdy, beautiful, and read countless times.
Without further blabbering, here are the picture books I highly recommend as gifts this year:
- There are Cats in this Book
- The Seven Silly Eaters
- The Gruffalo
- Harold and the Purple Crayon
And for moms, again I'll add a plug for two of my favorites that came out before Mother's Day:
-Because I Love Her, edited by Andrea N. Richesin, and
-mothers & children, published by National Geographic
Books I could give to anyone include
-Wesley the Owl and
-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Of course a gift card is always an easy choice, and while Amazon and the big chains are obvious/convenient choices, there are many good reasons to support your local independent book seller - more on that later!
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