Can you believe that Christmas is a mere DAYS away? It seems like yesterday we were handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Before you know it, it will be Valentine’s Day. It’s crazy how quickly time flies.
Are you scrambling to find last minute gifts? I know I need to find a replacement gift for my daughter. One of her gifts got “lost in the mail,” literally. It as a purchase from Etsy coming from the United Kingdom. Even if the seller sends a replacement, there is no way it would get here in time (not to mention it was custom made). Sigh…
If you need a gift (or two) for your child, grandchild or a special child in your life, never forget about books. Books are affordable, appreciated and you can purchase them from many retailers, even on Amazon with prime shipping.
Here are a few titles you might want to consider before the jolly old man in a red suit and white beard makes his way to your home. All of these books are from the publisher Simon and Schuster.
Happy All-idays!
By Cindy Jin and Illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.
ISBN13: 9781665921411 | Ages: 1 – 5
All Season’s Greetings and Happy ALL-idays! Learn how different families celebrate the winter season with this holiday card-inspired board book that captures the meaning of Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and more!
This is a fun rhyming book about the various holidays we celebrate this time of the year. I really love the illustrations in this book. They made me smile.
This is a great way to introduce young children to the other holidays celebrate during the month of December.
Jingle the Christmas Clown
ISBN13: 9781534466579 | Ages: 4 – 8
With a little bit of magic, one plucky clown is determined to turn Christmas around for a village that’s down on its luck in this enchanting tale from Tomie dePaola.
The kids I work with love Tomie dePaola. I believe he even came to the school I am currently working at before I started there for a “meet and greet” with the children, as well as to autograph pre-purchased copies of one of his books (I THINK it was him… I could be wrong).
This is not your typical Christmas story. The illustrations are cute and colorful, even if they are a bit “muted” (they are not vibrate, bright colors). Jingles even has a sad face in part of the book, which you wouldn’t expect.
Reindeer Games
By Alan Katz and Illustrated by Sernur Isik
ISBN13: 9781534467910 | Ages: 5 – 8
The Elf Academy elves go on a field trip in this second book in a series about a young elf’s merry misadventures, part of the Aladdin QUIX line of fun-to-read, short chapter books that’s perfect for emerging readers.
This is a fun easy reader. The text is large, and from what I see, most words are easily pronounceable. I have a 2nd grader who has a hard time reading, so she reads books to me every day (or parts of books). She was able to read this book with hardly any help on my part (meaning she was able to pronounce most of the words easily).
It’s a silly book, that even I enjoyed.
Santa Mouse Bakes Christmas Cookies
By Michael Brown and Illustrated by Robert McPhillips
ISBN13: 9781534438040 | Ages: 3 – 7
Santa Mouse becomes Santa’s littlest helper…in the kitchen! Join Santa Mouse and the elves at the North Pole as they bake Christmas cookies in a sweet holiday tale.
I love Santa Mouse books. There are several different Santa Mouse books (I think we have all of them in our family library). I find the illustrations so adorable and charming, and the stories make for great bedtime reading in anticipation of the “big day.”
I think this is relatable for many young children who might have a parent or grandparent who enjoys baking this time of the year. Maybe you can even start a new holiday tradition and have your child help you bake cookies for Santa with you?
Snow Horses
By Patricia MacLachlan and Illustrated by Micha Archer
ISBN13 9781534473553 | Ages: 4 – 8
From Newbery Medal–winning author Patricia MacLachlan comes a cozy picture book of love, light, and community during New Year’s and taking the past with us as we step into the future, brought to life with tender and intricate cut paper illustrations.
This book relies heavily in it’s BEAUTIFUL and unique illustrations.
I took photos of the inside of this book to show readers what the illustrations look like, but my photos came out blurry, and unfortunately the book is at work in our program’s library, so I don’t have it handy to snap more pictures of it. There is a (blurry) example above of what I am referring to. I wish I had known the photos didn’t turn out well, I would have retaken them.
It’s no wonder this book won a Newbery Medal award,
A Sweet New Year for Ren
By Michelle Sterling and Illustrated by Dung Ho
ISBN13 9781534496606 | Ages: 4 – 8
Celebrate the Lunar New Year through a young girl’s family traditions in this charming picture book featuring illustrations by New York Times bestselling artist Dung Ho that also includes a recipe for pineapple cakes.
I love to see other cultures represented in books. I’m not familiar with the Lunar New Year or family customs. It’s a “sweet” way (no pun intended) to learn how other cultures celebrate, and the pineapple cakes sound so good!
This book is also beautifully illustrated. Ren is an adorable little girl.
Yetis Are the Worst!
By Alex Willan and Illustrated by Alex Willan
ISBN13: 9781665921770 | Ages: 4 – 8
In this hilarious follow-up to Unicorns Are the Worst! and Dragons Are the Worst!, Gilbert the Goblin’s next adventure takes him to the frozen tundra where he’s determined to find the legendary yeti.
My photo turned out so bad for this book. As it was with the above book (Snow Horses), had I realized it before I took the books to work with me, I would have taken better photos.
It’s hard to tell from my blurry photo, but some of the text in the title looks “sparkly,” to make it look like glistening snow.
This book reads more like a comic than a traditional book. That is is why it’s a popular book at work, because the kids see it as a comic book.
It’s a fun, silly book. I want to check out the other books (Unicorns are the Worse! and Dragons on the Worse!!), especially if they are written and illustrated in this style.
I Want to Be a Vase
By Julio Torres Illustrated by Julian Glander
ISBN13: 9781534493902 | Ages: 4 – 8
Former SNL writer and comedic rising star Julio Torres takes readers on a journey through the lives and intimate dramas of some of the unsung shapes of our time in this picture book inspired by his HBO special My Favorite Shapes.
My husband just gave me a look when he saw this book lying on the table, as if to say “really?” Sadly, this photo turned out blurry too (I don’t know what was wrong with my phone’s camera when I took a lot of these photos), but all you see if a huge toilet plunger in a field of flowers. Yes, the plunger wants to be a vase to put those pretty flowers in. He/She doesn’t want to be seen as an ugly plunger.
This book is done in soft, pastel colors, mostly shades of pink, which was an odd choice for a book about a plunger. But somehow it all works.
Noodle and the No Bones Day
By Jonathan Graziano and Illustrated by Dan Tavis
ISBN13: 9781665927109 | Ages: 4 – 8
From the creator of the viral “Bones or No Bones” TikTok videos comes a sweet and entertaining picture book following Noodle the pug and his human as they navigate Noodle’s first No Bones Day—a day for being kind to yourself.
This book is ADORABLE! Just look at Noodle’s face! And I love the name Noodle too. If I ever have to name another pet, I’m going to use Noodle (or Waffle, I think that is a cute name too).
I can relate to have Noodle feels in this book. I think there are days I don’t want “bones,” and I just want to lie around, napping and having someone feed me snacks. LOL! I think we can all relate to that.
BTW… I looked Noodles up on TikTok, and the illustrator did a great job making an illustrated version of this super adorable pug.
Hippos Go Berserk!
The 45th Anniversary Edition
By Sandra Boynton
ISBN13: 9781665926034 | All Ages
From the one and only Sandra Boynton comes an all-new deluxe edition of the picture book that started it all: Hippos Go Berserk!Celebrated for 45 wild years, this modern classic has been completely redrawn and redesigned by Boynton for a new generation of readers (and hippos.) And don’t worry—the board book version (first published in 1996) is still alive and well.
As you guessed, ANOTHER blurry photo. I honestly don’t know what happened. My pictures seem to come out just find lately. Maybe there was something smudged on my phone’s camera lens? I’m very sorry about that.
I have always loved Sandra Boynton’s illustrations. I never realized that she’s been writing books for 45+ years. I know she’s been around since I was a teenager. But wow! 45+ years. That’s amazing.
This book features the funny illustrations she’s well known for. This is also a great counting book for children, featuring crazy herd of hippos.
Fun fact… a heard of hippos is called a “bloat.” Weird huh?
All of these books are from Simon and Schuster, and they are available where most books are sold, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other book retailers.
To learn more about these and other great titles, visit SimonandSchuster.com. You can also find them on social media.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do these reviews. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.