Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library  ~  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
           
Great Gifts that don't need batteries

           Make the gift of a book something special
            by adding a little extra fun !

    Book & gift suggestions for
         ˜ kids of all ages
         ˜ young children
         ˜ elementary-aged and older children

---

SOME WINNING COMBINATIONS
TO GIVE TO KIDS OF ALL AGES ARE:

FAVORITE BOOKS
   Your favorite book
   &
   a book stand; bookends; a book rack; a canvas book bag; a clip-on lamp for a bed;
   a set of bookplates; a tiny light to clip on a book; or a flashlight for under the covers!

ART
     For younger children:
   Seen Art? By Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith,
   You can't take a balloon into the Museum of Fine Arts
   by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman
     For older readers:
   From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg,
   Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett,
   Linnea in Monet’s Garden  by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson
     &
   a painting set; or a trip to the fine arts museum.

MYSTERIES
     For younger children:
   Encyclopedia Brown mysteries by Donald Sobol,
   Nate the Great mysteries by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat,
   Cam Jansen mysteries by David Adler
     For older readers:
   The View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts,
   Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams,
   Sammy Keyes mysteries by Wendelin Van Draanen,
   Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
     &
   a fingerprint kit; a magnifying glass;  or a book of codes and ciphers.

ARTS & CRAFTS
     For younger children a craft book such as:
   Crafts for All Seasons by Kathy Ross,
   The Little Hands Art Book by Judy Press
     For older readers a craft book such as:
   The girls' world book of friendship crafts : cool stuff to make with
   your best friends by Joanne O'Sullivan,
   The girls' world book of jewelry : 50 cool designs to make  by Rain Newcomb,
   Nature smart : awesome projects to make with mother nature's help
   by Gwen Diehn, Terry Krautwurst & Bobbie Needham
     &
   colored paper, scissors, crayons, and glue sticks for young children;
   beads & beading wire; felt, needles & thread; or a gift card for
   a craft store for older kids.

PAPER PROJECTS
     Drawing:
   Ed Emberley’s Big Red Drawing Book,
   a drawing book by Lee J. Ames
     &
   paper and a set of colored pencils or pastels; or a class at a local art school.
     Origami:
   Easy origami by Didier Boursin,
   Paper pandas and jumping frogs by Florence Temko
     &
   a stack of plain or origami paper

FAIRIES
     For younger children:
   Cinderella by Barbara McClintock,
   Fairy Houses by Tracey Kane
     For older readers:
   Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine,
   The book of fairies selected and illustrated by Michael Hague
     &
   mini-muffin tins, a cake mix, a can of icing and colored sugars to
   make & decorate fairy cakes; or a special wand.

MUSIC
     For younger children:
   Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett,
   Lentil by Robert McCloskey,
   Mama don't allow by Thacher Hurd
     For older readers:
   Handel, who knew what he liked by M.T. Anderson,
   Gentle’s Holler by Kerry Madden,
   The Black Canary by Jane Louise Curry
     &
   a favorite musical recording; a recorder; or tickets to a concert

FISH
     For younger children:
   Swimmy by Leo Lionni,
   Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood,
   Sharks by Gail Gibbons,
   The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
     For older children:
   The Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick,
   The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse
     &
   tickets to the aquarium.

COOKING
     For younger children:
   If you give a mouse a cookie by Laura Numeroff,
   Cook-a-doodle-doo by Janet Stevens,
   I will never not ever eat a tomato by Lauren Child
     For older children:
   Strudel Stories by Joanne Rocklin,
   Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech,
   Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
     &
     A cookbook such as:
   Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters,
   Blue Moon Soup by Gary Goss,
   Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen
     &
   an apron; a fancy pan with a special muffin mix; or
   cookie cutters and a box of cinnamon.

JAZZ
     For younger children:
   Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka,
   Ella's Big Chance : a Jazz-Age Cinderella by Shirley Hughes,
    Ruby sings the blues by Niki Daly
   For older readers:
   Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Curtis
     &
   a favorite jazz or blues recording.

WASHINGTON, D. C.
     For younger children:
   So you want to be president? by Judith St. George
   George Washington’s Teeth
   by Deborah Chandra & Madeleine Comora
     For older readers:
   The founders : the 39 stories behind the U.S. Constitution
   by Dennis Brindell Fradin
   Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
   George Washington, spymaster : how the Americans outspied the
   British and won the Revolutionary War by Thomas B. Allen
      &
   a trip to Washington, D. C.

POPCORN
     For younger children:
   The Popcorn Dragon by Jane Thayer
     For older readers:
   Popcorn poems by James Stevenson
     &
   a tin of popcorn.

MOVIES
     For younger children:
   If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff,
   Silent Movie by Avi
     For older readers:
   Ruby electric : a novel by Theresa Nelson ,
   Before Hollywood: From Shadow Play to Silver Screen by Paul Clee
     &
   tickets to the movies and a package of popcorn.

DINOSAURS
     For younger children:
   My Visit to the Dinosaurs by Aliki,
   Patrick’s Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick,
   Prehistoric actual size by Steve Jenkins
     For older readers:
   Eyewitness dinosaur by David Norman and Angela Milner,
   A Dinosaur Named Sue: The Story of the Colossal Fossil, The World’s
   Most Complete T. rex by Pat Relf
     &
   a bag of plastic dinosaurs; a box of dinosaur cookies; a shovel; or tickets to the museum.

BALLET
     For younger children:
   Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird,
   Time for ballet by Adèle Geras
     For older readers:
   Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
     &
   dancing lessons or tickets to the ballet.

GARDENING
     For younger children:
   Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney,
   And the good brown earth by Kathy Henderson,
   Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
     For older readers:
   Squashed by Joan Bauer,
   Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
     &
   a trowel, a few pots, gardening gloves, and some seeds;
   or a visit to Phipps Conservatory.

HOLIDAY STORIES
   A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore,
   The Family Read Aloud Christmas Treasury by Alice Low,
   Joy to the World : A Family Christmas Treasury
   edited by Ann Keay Beneduce,
   The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco,
   Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! by Esmé Raji Codell
     &
   a holiday cookie cutter & a plate of special cookies; or a recording
   of the book along with a holiday ornament.

ANIMALS
   Chameleon, chameleon by Joy Cowley ,
   I see a kookaburra! : discovering animal habitats around the world
   or Actual size by Steve Jenkins,
   Animal stackers by Jennifer Belle
     &
   tickets to the zoo.

BIRDS
     For younger children:
   Guji-Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen,
   Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
     For older readers:
   Hoot by Carl Hiaasen,
   The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
     &
   a bird house kit; or a trip to the Aviary.

MICROSCOPES
   Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
     &
   a microscope or camera.

BATS
     For younger children:
   Bats!: Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle,
   Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
     For older readers:
   Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel,
   Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
     &
   a kit to make a bat house.

TRAINS
     For younger children:
   Freight Train by Donald Crews,
   The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
     For older readers:
   The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg,
   Stop The Train! : A Novel by Geraldine McCaughrean
     &
   a train set; a train whistle & engineer’s cap; a bell; tickets for a special train trip;
   or a visit to a train museum.

SNOWMEN
   The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats,
   Snowballs by Lois Ehlert,
   The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
     &
   supplies to outfit a snowman (hat, corncob pipe, wooden carrot, scarf, and buttons).

WINTER
     For younger children:
   The Mitten by Jan Brett,
   Winter Eyes by Douglas Florian,
     For older readers:
   Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky
   Snowed in with Grandmother Silk by Carol Fenner
     &
   woolen mittens and a hat; or a mug, some packets of hot chocolate, and cookies.

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SOME NICE IDEAS JUST FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN INCLUDE:

BEARS
   Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarick,
   Again! by John Prader,
   Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell
     &
   a bear puppet or bear stuffed toy.

DOGS
   Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats,
   Bark, George by Jules Feiffer,
   McDuff stories by Rosemary Wells
     &
   a dog puppet or stuffed toy dog.

CATS
   Mama Cat has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming,
   Kitten’s Full Moon by Kevin Henkes,
   Angus and the Cat by Marjorie Flack
     &
   a cat puppet or stuffed toy cat

BUGS
   I Love Bugs by Philemon Sturges,
   Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin,
   Insects are my Life by Megan McDonald
     &
   a bug catcher.

HATS
   The Hat by Jan Brett,
   A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Stoeke,
   Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
     &
   a new hat.

FAVORITE STORYBOOK CHARACTERS
   A favorite storybook such as:
   Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans,
   Curious George by H. A. Rey,
   Spot by Eric Hill,
   Arthur by Marc Brown,
   Little Bear by Else Minarik
     &
   a doll of the main character.

CIRCUS
   Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully,
   Sidewalk circus by Paul Fleischman & Kevin Hawkes
     &
   tickets to the circus.

TRUCKS
   Building Machines and What They Do by Derek Radford,
   Power Machines by Ken Robbins,
   Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton,
   I Stink! by Kate McMullan
     &
   a toy digger or dump truck.

MOTHER GOOSE
   Mother Goose Remembers by Clare Beaton,
   Here comes Mother Goose
   edited by Iona Opie ; illustrated by Rosemary Wells,
   Baby Goose by Kate McMullan
     &
   a stuffed toy or puppet.

BREAKFAST
   If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff,
   Tippy-toe chick, go! by George Shannon
     &
   an invitation to breakfast.

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AND SOME GREAT IDEAS FOR OLDER KIDS ARE:

CHOCOLATE
   The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling,
   Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith ,
   Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
     &
   a bag or mug full of chocolate kisses.

SCIENCE STORIES
   Einstein Anderson books by Seymour Simon,
   Bet You Can and Bet You Can’t by Vicki Cobb ,
   any book of science experiments
     &
   equipment to perform a few experiments; a science kit (making crystals, simple chemistry,
   or physics); or a trip to the Carnegie Science Center.

WORLD ADVENTURES
   Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne,
   Worlds apart : traveling with Fernie and me : poems by Gary Soto
     &
   a globe.

HARRY POTTER
   Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling
     &
   a magic set; a stuffed owl; or a broom.

DIARIES
   Dear America series,
   My Name is America series,
   The Royal Diary series,
   Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh,
   Anastasia books by Lois Lowry,
     &
   a diary or journal and a nice pen.

FLIGHT
   Airborne : a photobiography of Wilbur and Orville Wright
   by Mary Collins,
   Smithsonian Book of Flight for Young People by Walter J. Boyne,
   Fantastic flights : one hundred years of flying on the edge
   by Patrick O'Brien,
   Into the air : an illustrated timeline of flight by Ryan Ann Hunter
     &
   a book on making paper airplanes such as The Paper Airplane Book by Seymour Simon
   and a stack of plain white paper.

QUILTING
   The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy,
   The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock,
   Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabet by Ann Whitford Paul,
   Winter lights : a season in poems and quilts  by Anna Grossnickle Hines.
     &
   fabric, needles, batting, and instructions on quilting.

POETRY
   A book of poetry such as:
   Sing a Song of Popcorn edited by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers,
   All the small poems and fourteen more by Valerie Worth,
   Under the spell of the moon edited by Patricia Aldana,
   Read a Rhyme, Write a Poem by Jack Prelutsky
   Poetry collections by Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Lee Bennett Hopkins,
   James Stevenson, Douglas Florian, Myra Cohn Livingston
     &
   pens, pencils and a blank book for budding poets.

KNITTING & CROCHETING
   Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick,
   Crochet: Fantastic Jewelry, Hats, Purses, Pillows & More
   by Jane Davis
     &
   knitting needles or a crochet hook and yarn.

SPORTS
   Books by Matt Christopher,
   Baseball card adventure books by Dan Gutman
     &
   tickets to a sporting event; sports equipment;
   or a special team shirt or cap.

ARCHITECTURE
   Building Big by David Macaulay,
   Gargoyles, girders & glass houses : magnificent master builders
   by Bo Zaunders,
   Greene & Greene for kids : art, architecture, activities
   by Kathleen Thorne-Thomsen
     &
   some graph paper, pencils, a compass, and a ruler; or a kit for building things.

STRING STORIES
   Lost!: A Story in String by Paul Fleischman,
   Cat’s Cradle, Owl’s Eyes: A Book of String Games by Camilla Gryski
     &
   a piece of string.

ASTRONOMY
   The Glow-in-the-Dark Night Sky Book by Clint Hatchett,
   The Kids Book of the Night sky by Ann Love & Jane Drake
     &
   a flashlight; a telescope; or a trip to the planetarium.

PHOTOGRAPHY
   Photo by Brady : a picture of the Civil War by Jennifer Armstrong,
   America through the lens : photographers who changed the nation
   by Martin W. Sandler,
   Witness to our times : my life as a photojournalist by Flip Schulke
     &
   a camera or photography lessons.

SCARY STORIES
   Diane Goode’s Book of Scary Stories & Songs,
   Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz,
   Here There Be Ghosts by Jane Yolen
     &
   a flashlight to keep away the monsters that lurk in the dark.

JEWELRY
   Many Moons by James Thurber,
   The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbottson
     &
   a ring; or a book on beading or jewelry making and some supplies.

THE CIVIL WAR
   The Boys’ War: Confederate and Union Soldiers
   Talk About the Civil War by Jim Murphy,
   Fields of fury : the American Civil War by James M. McPherson,
   Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
     &
   a trip to Gettysburg.