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You’re Invited to the Online Holiday Party of the Year! The authors of CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, Marley Gibson and Cecil Murphey, along with the book's 50 contributors, will be the featured guests at The Knight Agency’s annual online holiday party! This is a wonderful opportunity to talk with writers who’ve truly been inspired by the Christmas spirit! Also, TKA Santa has more than a dozen prizes

If you're looking for thoughtful gifts to give this Hanukkah and Christmas, check out my online bookstore for ideas for booklovers. There are my favorite children's books, books written by my friends, Kindles, funky laptop carriers, reading lights and items relating to book characters.

Suggestions: The Lovely Bones is coming out in a movie. Why not give someone the book to read first? Or, if you know a dog lover, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a good one, and appeals to men as well. (My husband loved it!) Or, if you have someone who's in the armed forces, Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by my friends, Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson, is a heart-warming war time story.(You might have seen Nubs the dog on The Today Show).

So, enjoy a leisurely browse through Cookie Monkey Books by clicking on the post title above, and take care of your shopping in a snap.

I am probably much prouder of this gift idea than the idea deserves, but just look at how the silver wrapping paper sets off the gray in the scarf. Masterful!

For the Hanukkah gathering at my aunt’s house, I get gifts for six girls — including my own — and I like them to be coordinated somehow. This year I had the books ready, but not the theme. Not until I ran across the scarves in six colors at Old Navy. Honestly, I am holding myself back from buying twenty more and using this idea for everyone I know.

Here’s the gift list, in case it will help your last minute shopping.

For the college freshman: Everything You Want, by Barbara Shoup
While starting off at college, Emma’s family wins the lottery. Suddenly, with everything a possibility, the choices become too much for Emma — especially with a unresolved friendship and a new crush on the horizon. With family and identity crisis taking the forefront, money is part of the problem. Or a chance to grow up. Or both. Interesting book about finding your own way.

For the tenth grader: Angel, by Cliff McNish
Angel is darker than I usually go in my own reading, but it really gripped me and held on fast. It’s the story of a girl who is so obsessed with angels as a girl that she goes crazy. As a teen, she’s making her way back into the world, only to be confronted with a dark angel, a strange new girl, and her own ultimate destiny. A haunting book that stays with you. Take a look at the Editorial Reviews. Stunning.

For the eighth grader: Beige, by Cecil Castellucci
Nice, orderly Katy is forced to stay with her former-punk-rocker father while her mother goes on a trip. Katy, nicknamed Beige for her bland personality by a new friend, finds herself able to shed some of her self-imposed rules and insecurities as she crashes into the music scene. Fun, fresh, and well-done. Can’t go wrong with Castellucci.

For the seventh grader: Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
Okay, this was for my daughter, who has been bugging me to get it from the library — but it’s never there. All her friends have read it. Peer pressure rules.

For the sixth grader: The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex
For an essay contest, Gratuity Tucci recounts the story of Earth’s takeover and occupation by the Boov from a personal point of view, which includes her own unlikely friendship, wild cross-country trip, and the eventual saving of mankind. Simply one of the best, funniest books ever written.

For the fourth grader: Jenny and the Cat Club, by Esther Averill
I love this classic book so very much. I gave it to my daughter with a red scarf like Jenny’s and a stuffed black cat. The gentle story follows Jenny, a shy house cat, and her adventures with the neighbor cat club. Absolutely adorable.

And in case you need an adult book, I highly recommend The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, by Eric Weiner
Part travel diary, part self-help book on happiness, and all humor, Eric Weiner takes the reader all over the world to apply the tenets of happiness. Wonderfully done, and would be a perfect gift for any adult. Strangely, it’s only available at Amazon for the paperback pre-order, so I’m linking to Barnes & Noble.

Oh, come back tomorrow for the Annual Airing of the Grievances at Festivus. The things you can’t bitch about on your site because the people involved might read it? You can bitch about it here. Tomorrow.

Mission Accomplished! Here’s one more list of gift suggestions, this time with a number of adult titles that should also be fine for older teens. Thanks to Boni Ashburn and Lorie Ann Grover (where are your blogs, ladies?), who gave great suggestions — and made my job that much easier.

I hope that you find these lists helpful in giving books for the holidays and for gifts through the rest of the year. Hey, tell your friends. December is the only time of year I can really earn any money as an Amazon Associate, and that tiny referral fee allows me to rationalize my enormous amount of time on this blog.

1. Pair Toy Boat with toy boats.
   


2. Give Go to Bed, Monster! with a pack of fat crayons and a stack of copy paper from an office supply store.
   


3. Give little superheroes Wombat And Fox along with a superhero cape.
   


4. Pair Abe Lincoln Crosses A Creek with Lincoln Logs.
   


5. What else can go with Monkey With A Tool Belt but a tool belt?
   


6. Inspire young builders with Iggy Peck, Architect and a building set.
   


7. Take to the ice with book choices Angelina Ice Skates or Katie Kazoo, On Thin Ice or Mia (American Girl) and passes to the local ice-skating rink.
   


8. Pair fantasy book Savvy with with an assortment of temporary or henna tattoos.
   


9. Take a road trip with Could You? Would You? and passes to a museum or zoo or activity some distance away, so you can use the driving time to ask each other the interesting questions from the book.
   


10. Blooming fashionistas will appreciate Paper Fashions (Klutz) (all thirty-five Amazon reviews gave five stars!) along with Fashion Kitty for younger girls and Fashion 101: A Crash Course in Clothing for tweens.
    


11. Give Inkheart with a movie theater gift card to see the film in January.
    


12. Give Looks with the CD Acoustic Soul.
    


13. Pair House of Dance with ballroom dance lessons.
    


14. Give Life is Sweet with chocolate, any kind.
    


15. Buy two copies of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World  — one for you, one for a friend — and make a lunch date to talk about the book and one’s personal quest for happiness.
    


16. Give This I Believe II with the first book This I Believe and a journal to capture great revelations of inner truth.
    


17. Election withdrawal? Buy Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope or Life’s The American Journey of Barack Obama and throw in an Obama finger puppet just for fun.
    


18. Give nonfiction book Fruitless Fall with real honey from a whole foods store.
    


19. Match travel memoir-themed books with the... um, drink of the region. Like In a Sunburned County with Yellow Tail wine from Australia or The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific with coconut rum. (Adults only for this gift, obviously.)
    


20. Colbert fans and soon-to-be converts need I Am America (And So Can You) along with the greatest gift of all, the DVD A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All.
    


21. Give The Devil Wears Prada, Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office, and This Little Piggy Went to Prada in a Prada bag (from eBay! C’mon, a girl can dream...)
    

All right, here are 2008 books with gift suggestions. Thanks to Abby the Librarian, whose suggestions got me a quarter of the way through the list. She is also running twelve days of great book suggestions, so stop on by and pick up more ideas. Fresh ideas also came from The Reading Tub — where you’ll also find more wonderful titles to read and give — and from The Kiddosphere — now with comments!

I’d like to do one more list and bring the total suggestions up to a hundred. For this one, I’m taking suggestions for any book from any year. I’m also looking to include some new title suggestions to my original ideas. Maybe there’s another great bathtime or bedtime book I should highlight. The only thing I ask is that the book be something that you know and would recommend. Have fun.

1. Pair Monsters on Machines or Building with Dad with toy construction vechicles.
   


2. Give your little dragon-lover Hush Little Dragon or Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood with the cutest dragon ever.
   


3. Is there a doctor in the house? There will be with picture book Doctor Ted along with a doctor kit.
   


4. Future firefighter? Give Firefighters (People in the Community) and Firefighters A to Z and firefighter gear.
   


5. Pair picture book stunner How I Learned Geography with an inflatable globe.
   


6. What else can go with Lester Fizz, Bubble Gum Artist other than gum — and perhaps an early apology to the parents.
   


7. Nature lovers will enjoy Birdsongs along with a guidebook like Backyard Birds and some binoculars. (BTW, these look like a good deal.)
   


8. For more nature, pair Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly with a butterfly garden kit.
   


9. Cat lovers can enjoy three new picture books, Grumpy Cat, Katie Loves the Kittens, and Wabi Sabi with a cat card game.
   


10. Expand the idea of giving with Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and a Pawsitively New Orleans T-shirt, and throw in some Mardi Gras beads.
    


11. Give One Hen — How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference with a loan to Kiva or a donation to Heifer International to buy chicks.
    


12. Give What the World Eats with a promise for an international dinner out or in.
    


13. Give Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank You Notes with, um, cute stationery.
    


14. Pair Every Soul a Star with The Kids Book of the Night Sky and plan a date to look at the stars together.
    


15. You can’t go wrong with the funny poems and outstanding art in Frankenstein Takes the Cake along with a cake-baking session, followed by reading the book together. As a matter of fact, throw in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and make a whole day of it.
    


16. Speaking of the amazing Adam Rex, give the hilarious book The True Meaning of Smekday with a the related T-shirt Regarding Stickyfish Teams, I Favor the Bigfield Fighting Koobish.
    


17. Buy a teen My Life the Musical or Dramarama along with tickets to a show.
    


18. Give Young Adult book A La Carte with personal cooking lessons


19. Match casino gambling themed Drop with a deck of cards and a family game of penny poker or blackjack.
    


20. I’ve used this before, but there is no 2008 book that more deserves post-reading discussion at Starbucks than The Adoration of Jenna Fox.
    


21. I left this picture book for the end, because I think it has many levels and can be enjoyed by all ages. Give How to Heal a Broken Wing in a quiet moment and have a heart-to-heart talk.
    

I’m still working on this year's titles — I'm really hoping for some suggestions in the comments — and reposting my first three lists. Today's list is from last December, focusing on 2007 titles. It should be noted that all the lists have some combinations that will work for other titles. Of course, you can always give your book blogger buddies BACA logo mugs, T-shirts, and bumper stickers — available for purchase at the MotherReader store — with any non-celebrity book. But we won’t count that suggestion.

1. Take a bedtime book like The Bunnies are Not in Their Beds or At Night and add a personalized pillow.
   


2. Give your favorite girly-girl Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy with dress-up jewelry and/or a fancy poodle and its own dress-up clothes.
   


3. Give your rough little boy Pirates Don’t Change Diapers along with genuine pirate gear.
   


4. Take sweet picture book Lissy’s Friends and pair it with an origami kit.
   


5. Picture book stunners The Zoo or Pssst! would be perfect with a zoo animal collection or game.
   


6. Taking a Bath with the Dog and Other Things That Make Me Happy is a book that deserves its own bathrobe and/or bubble bath.
   


7. Looking for something a little offbeat? Maybe Cowboy and Octopus with a cowboy hat or an octopus.
   


8. For business-minded kids, pair The Lemonade War with a coin counter bank.
   


9. All the elementary school kids will love The Invention of Hugo Cabret, but you can pair it with tin wind-up toys for extra flair.
   


10. Give Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little with um, Stuart Little.
    


11. Give Kimchi & Calamari with a promise for a dinner out Korean style, or Italian style, or both.
    


12. Perhaps Fabulous Hair with a hair accessory kit will make someone smile.
    


13. Wrap up A Crooked Kind of Perfect with those excellent socks from the cover. (Maybe these are closer?)
    


14. Treat a tween to Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf along with pink nail polish, lipstick, post-it notes, and special bubble bath, as mentioned in the book.
    


15. How about Diary of a Wimpy Kid with a the Do It Yourself Journal?
    


16. Or maybe Here Be Monsters! with a Nightmare Snatcher Journal.
    


17. Or Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer with a fairy diary.
    


18. Buy His Dark Materials Trilogy along with tickets to The Golden Compass.
    


19. Give Young Adult book Beige with a mix CD of the songs in the chapter titles (or an iTunes gift card).
    


20. Give Young Adult book The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl with How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains (or an iTunes gift card).
    


21. Match poetry books with poetry beads or magnetic poetry. Some 2007 suggestions: Animal Poems, This is a Poem That Heals Fish, Tap Dancing on the Roof, This is Just to Say, or Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems.

While I’m working on my goal to match 2008 books with a little something extra — and feel free to make suggestions in the comments — I’m reposting my first three lists. Like yesterday’s list, this one focuses on 2006 titles with some older books. It should be noted that all the lists have some combinations that will work for other titles.

1. Pair Mo Willems’ book Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus with a toy bus and a cargo truck.
   


2. Pair The Moon with a flashlight and a promise for a nighttime walk or two.
   


3. Pair new-classic Duck and Goose with a bright spotted ball (fans will know why).
   


4. Pair MotherReader favorite The Day the Babies Crawled Away with a baby doll.
   


5. Pair the funny wordless book Once Upon a Banana and a stuffed monkey — but show your sense of humor by throwing a banana into the gift bag.
   


6. Pair silly beginning reader book The Monster in the Backpack with a cute backpack (monster additional).
   


7. Pair classic A Bargain For Frances with a tea set.
   


8. Pair the offbeat book Pecorino Plays Ball with a bat and ball. You can throw in a coupon book for practice sessions.
   


9. Pair Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs with a kazoo.
   


10. Combine sweet Jenny and the Cat Club with a red scarf (don’t worry if it’s too long — so is Jenny’s) and a black cat.
    


11. Pair Clarice Bean Spells Trouble with a game of Scrabble, and some of your time to teach it.
    


12. Pair a drawing book like Draw 50 Airplanes, Aircrafts, and Spaceships or Draw 50 Cats with a couple of nice sketch pads.
    


13. Pair Phineas MacGuire... Erupts! with a science kit, or the next book in the series, Phineas MacGuire... Gets Slimed! with the slime science kit.
    


14. Pair a spy-themed book like Steal Back the Mona Lisa! (picture book), The Case of the Climbing Cat (beginning reader), Harriet the Spy (chapter book) or Secrets, Lies, Gizmos, and Spies: a History of Espionage (nonfiction) with rear-view sunglasses and/or a fingerprint kit.
    


15. Bigger girls like stuffed animals too. How about Hoot with an owl, The World According to Humphrey with a hamster, or Room With a Zoo with a puppy?
    


16. Pair a magic book of your choice with magic tricks.
    


17. Pair The Crafty Diva’s D. I. Y. Stylebook: A Grrrl’s Guide to Cool Creations You Can Make, Show Off, and Share or The Girls’ World Book of Friendship Crafts: Cool Stuff to Make with Your Best Friends with a gift card to a local craft store, and maybe some shopping and crafting time together.
    


18. Pair Knitgrrl: Learn to Knit With 15 Fun And Funky Projects and/or Chicks with Sticks: It’s a Purl Thing with yarn, knitting needles, and a promise for some lessons.
    


19. Pair Ductigami: The Art of Tape with... well, rolls of duct tape.
    


20. Pair King Dork with a CD of The Mr. T Experience.
    


21. It’s not really a toy or separate gift, but take a special book, like Wow! It Sure is Good to Be You (which is about an aunt loving her far-away niece) and make a CD recording of you reading it.
    

All over the kidlitosphere, I’ve been reading about giving books for the holidays. Chasing Ray is keeping track of bloggers’ book recommendations. There’s even a Buy Books for the Holidays website. As it so happens, over the past couple of years, I’ve made lists pairing books with something extra to give it that fun factor. Each day this week, I’ll be posting those lists with updated shopping links. I’ll also be creating one with the newest titles. Altogether, I hope these ideas make your holiday shopping more fun.

The links to products are to make it easier for devoted online shoppers. Many things could be found cheaper at discount and even dollar stores. Today’s re-posted list has some classic favorites and some often new-to-you 2006 highlighted titles along with a matching gift idea.

1. Pair a classic Raggedy Ann or Winnie-the-Pooh book with its character stuffed animal.
   


2. Pair a book with a related stuffed animal, like Where’s My Teddy? with a teddy bear. Or Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type with a stuffed cow — or if you prefer, a slingshot cow.
   


3. Pair Bubble Bath Pirates or Beasty Bath with a cool rubber duck at Captain Quack... or hey, even a huge rubber duck.
   


4. Pair The Snow Globe Family with a snow globe.
   


5. Pair Lilly’s Big Day or Fancy Nancy with dress-up clothes.
   


6. Pair Toys Go Out with a red bouncy ball, or a stuffed stingray or buffalo.
   


7. Pair a nonfiction book about dinosaurs, like Boy! Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, with a bunch of plastic ones.
   


8. Pair Amazing Sharks! and A Shark Pup Grows Up for beginning readers and throw in a shark on a stick.
   


9. Pair a book like The Spiderwick Chronicles with the DVD.
   


10. Pair a theme book like Katie and the Mustang with a horse charm and a satin cord from a craft store.
    


11. Pair a theme book like Fairy Realm with a charm bracelet.
    


12. Pair a detective book with a magnifying glass.
    


13. Pair Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon with a homemade coupon for a visit to the Air and Space Museum (okay, this might only work around Washington, DC) or astronaut ice cream.
    


14. Pair any book with another book from the bargain section, maybe something silly or crafty or gimmicky.
    


15. Pair a diary-format book like Lucy Rose: Big on Plans (3rd/4th grade), Amelia’s Notebook (4th/5th grade), or The Princess Diaries (6th/7th grade) with a journal with fun pens.
    


16. Pair a book like Eragon or Charolotte’s Web with a gift card to rent the movie.
    


17. Pair The Art Book for Children with watercolor paints or an art set.
    


18. Pair Poetry Speaks to Children with hot chocolate, a mug, and a gift certificate for time to read it together.
    


19. Pair a teen or tween poetry book with poetry beads, alone (provide some stretchy cord) or in a kit.
    


20. Pair a special teen favorite with a gift card to Starbucks and a promise to talk about the book over coffee.
    


21. Give a book all on its own, carefully picked and lovingly wrapped, with no excuses and no guilt.
    

Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu
I'm not usually sucked in by the wordless beautiful magical dream journey type of picture book. I'm one of the few people I know who wasn't entranced by The House in the Night. Imagine a Night leaves me worse than cold. And I seem to remember some kind of flying magic bed book that made me actually groan.

But man, I love Wonder Bear. I love the wordless narrative - so simple that even a five-year-old can follow and predict, yet so subtle that his older brother will find repetitions and clues to the dream logic at work.



I love the technique - Tao Nyeu does some neat things with layering colors in her silk screen prints; I love the colors, and I love the style. The bulbous shapes, repeating patterns, and swirly clouds make me think of Central Asian and Siberian embroidery: simple shapes that gain strength through repetition. I'm totally going to steal some of her tree shapes for my niece's baby blanket.

This book has been given the high-class treatment by Dial. Lush, toothy paper, large size, and a dust jacket that is not merely a repeat of the book's cover. You can tell that someone on Hudson Street thinks this book is something special. For once, I really have to agree.

Plus: MONKEYS!