For a merry season, books make great gifts for kids, encouraging them to use their imaginations. Here are some titles to consider for the young book lovers in your life:
1
Every year, families deck their trees with strings of popcorn, popsicle sticks, and gingerbread—but this holiday season, LEGO fans can build lasting memories by making their own DIY ornaments with the help of The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book ($19.95).
With colorful graphics and detailed instructions, The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book is the perfect gift for do-it-yourselfers and crafters. The 15 designs in the book include holiday classics like a wreath, snowflake, poinsettia, Christmas tree and gingerbread house.
2
A Present For You, A Present For Me is authored by Anton Media Group editor, Jennifer Fauci. Christmas is her favorite time of year; she loves the snow, holiday food, and spending time with family and friends.
Fauci’s book is available on Amazon for $7.95.
3
Marvel’s Absolutely Everything You Need To Know by Adam Bray, Lorraine Cink, John Sazaklis, Sven Wilson, is packed with fun facts, bizarre-but-true tales, and quirky insights into everyone’s favorite Marvel comic characters, including The Avengers, Spider-Man, and Daredevil. Discover why the Hulk comes in three different varieties-green, gray and red. This unique guide sheds light on the most fascinating corner of the Marvel Comics Universe, from secrets of the heroes to the making of Marvel’s finest and strangest comic moments.
Marvel Absolutely Everything You Need to Know ($19.99) will delight new and die-hard fans.
4
In this instant classic, Give Please A Chance, Bill O’Reilly and James Patterson together present a beautifully illustrated picture book that celebrates the magic of the word “please” for children. In this collaboration, bestselling authors O’Reilly and Patterson remind us all that a single word—please—is useful in a thousand different ways. From finding a lovable stray dog to needing a partner on a seesaw, from reading a bedtime story to really, really needing a cookie, Give Please a Chance ($17.99) depicts scenes and situations in which one small word can move mountains.
5
Packed with more than 50 full-color, intricate cross-section artwork and 3-D maps, Star Wars Complete Locations by Kristin Lund, Simon Beecroft, Kerrie Dougherty, James Luceno and Jason Fry, is an amazing visual guide into the incredible worlds and locations of a galaxy far, far away. From the towering skyscrapers of Coruscant to the terrifying technology of the Death Star, see in astonishing detail the numerous worlds, bases, cities, landscapes and battles from the Star Wars galaxy. Discover the secrets of the Jedi Temple Complex and tour Yoda’s House on Dagobah.
With brand-new cross-section artwork, Star Wars: Complete Locations ($35) is the definitive one-volume collection that takes you inside the world of the Star Wars saga.
6
Also from James Patterson, Word of Mouse, cowritten with Chris Grabenstein, illustrates a middle grade story follows the illuminating journey of a very special mouse, and the unexpected friendships that he makes along the way. What makes Isaiah so unique? First, his fur is as blue as the sky—which until recently was something he’d never seen, but had read all about. That’s right—Isaiah can read, and write.
He can also talk to humans…if any of them are willing to listen! After a dramatic escape from a mysterious laboratory, Isaiah is separated from his “mischief” (which is the word for a mouse family), and has to use his special skills to survive in the dangerous outdoors, and hopefully find his missing family. But in a world of cruel cats, hungry owls, and terrified people, it’s hard for a young, lone mouse to make it alone. When he meets an equally unusual and lonely human girl named Hailey, the two soon learn that true friendship can transcend all barriers.
Word of Mouse is available in hardcover ($13.99) and audiobook ($22).
7
This deliciously creepy young adult horror novel, Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco ($18.99), has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion. Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling debut from Maniscalco impossible to forget.
