Excellent books make great gifts

We are big readers of small books.  Add to that a healthy dislike for all plastic toys that require batteries and make loud BEEPING noises and it's easy to see why books are one of the preferred presents at our house.  Well, if you have a family of readers and would like to give your child a book that can be passed down to their children's children, I would like to recommend a few of our long-standing favorites...  In no particular order.

Dangerous Journey.  It's the story of Pilgrim's Progress for youth. Great book.  The illustrations, though a little dark, intrigue our 6-year-old.  If you aren't familiar with Pilgrim's Progress, it was written by John Bunyan in 1676 while he was in prison.  Ironically, imprisoned for preaching, he wrote this book as an allegory of the Christian life. Highly recommended.  If your child is 10 or older, we recommend the real thing-- Pilgrim's Progress, but in today's English.  Katrina read and re-read this book as a child.

The Children's Book of Virtues. This is a fun book for ages 4 and up. Well written, beautiful illustrated and, best of all, contains excellent morals with each story.

The Chronicles of Narnia.  We love this series.  This is great for all ages, whether they read it themselves or you read it to them.  We don't own the whole series in print, but we are reading through library paperbacks during our bedtime routine with the boys.  We have the dramatized series on CD and love it.  Riveting. Great for car rides... or quiet times if you torture your children with quiet times like we do.  This is one example of books that we like my kids to read or hear before watching the movie.  These are also excellent books for grown-ups that might be interested in Christianity because they are full of metaphorical biblical parallels.


The Big Picture Bible.  This children's Bible tells the story of salvation in a unique way suited for young readers.  Our boys love the illustrations and it increased their understanding of God and the Bible.

Where the Wild Things Are.  If you have a toddler, you simply must own this book.  The illustrations come alive and it's just plain fun.

Frog and Toad.  These are "first readers", but our kids liked them as toddlers.  Frog and Toad are silly AND easy to read.  Or pick another book from Arnold Lobel.

The Children's Story Bible.  Written chronologically but as appealing as a fairy tale, this a Bible for children... and adults.  We love this Bible.  We would recommend it for ages 5 and up, but our three-year-old listens to it every morning during breakfast.

Dr. Seuss books.  Kids love Dr. Seuss's silly style and funny illustrations.  Alex was given a set of board books by his Aunt Jody when he was quite small and we have nearly worn them out.  We still read them often.

James Herriot's Treasury for Children.  This is both beautifully written and illustrated.  James Herriot tells his intriguing tales, in the way only he can, about special animals he encountered as a country veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. Ages 3 and up.

Mercer Mayer books.  Little Critter and Little Monster books make Christian a little nostalgic.  We hope they do the same for my boys. Your children will love the illustrations.

A Children's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes.  Nursery rhyme books are fun for kids. We found this particular one at the library years ago. Alex liked it so much, we bought all three in the series (nursery rhymes, lullabies and songs).  Almost any nursery rhyme book will do, but these were fun since we knew the tune to a lot of the songs. The boys love to sit down with the book and sing through them.  Cute illustrations enhance the fun rhymes, songs and lullabies.

Just a couple more...  These aren't on our shelves, but we regularly check out from the library because they are just that good: Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, Blueberries for Sal or One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey, Sleepytime Tales (collection of classic Little Golden Books), and The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman.

Enjoy your shopping!

~ Christian & Katrina

P.S.  Although we make a little money through our links, we want you to get a holiday bargain!  Some of these books can be found at Half Price Books or another used bookstore near you.  But we often find amazing deals at Amazon.com.  Shipping is free if you order more than $25 worth of merchandise.  For all of you Swagbucks followers, here's a good chance to redeem your gift cards. :)

P.P.S.  As always, love the feedback!  Please leave your favorite children's book in the comments section below.