9 of the Best Books to Gift Kids

If you’d like to motivate and inspire the young readers in your life, you should gift them Dear Rebel, a collection of poems, essays, self-portraits and more that give kids the opportunity to understand how influential teen girls and women experience the world. 

This book is filled with heartfelt and insightful advice from an assortment of brilliant women, from business executive Laurene Powell Jobs to actress Drew Barrymore to mountaineer Carla Pérez,  making it perfect for children who want to make a positive impact like these history makers. Those who are curious to learn how these powerful women view success and how they went after their passions will find a wealth of knowledge within its pages.    

Do you know a curious child who’s always asking questions? Most kids are naturally inquisitive as they attempt to navigate living in a world that is new and exciting to them. As a result, many parents are often asked what may seem like a never-ending barrage of questions. Those who don’t want every reply to kids’ questions to be “Because I said so” should encourage young ones to read the Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything. This is an easy-to-read guide to well…everything!

From information describing what insects are to interviews with airline pilots to answer kids’ most prevalent queries to a history lesson on the rise of Rome, this book will keep bright minds busy and foster a love for learning! Whether they want to discover information on nature, science, history or technology, this encyclopedia has the answers with corresponding photos and illustrations to capture young ones' attention and keep them engaged in discovery. Just don’t be surprised when, after the child in your life reads this book, you’ll find yourself going to them to answer your questions instead!

What would you do if Santa Claus lost his Christmas spirit? 11-year-old Juniper Lane is not feeling particularly festive at the moment either—her mother is missing, so Juniper must rely on the help of a mysterious man living in her neighborhood park to aid in finding her. But soon she discovers that this disenchanted man was once the harbinger of holiday merriment. This action-packed Christmas adventure, which has both young reindeers in training and dangerous crime bosses after Santa’s magic, promises to be a memorable holiday tale you’ll want to reread for many Christmases to come.  

Young Barney is exceptionally bored one day and gets too close to the edge of a chalk pit and falls in. What he finds amid the discarded junk is a boy named Stig—a fascinating young man who communicates in grunts and has been living among the garbage wearing only a rabbit-skin loincloth. 

Not merely a touching story of an unlikely friendship, this book provides meaningful social commentary on class and cultural differences as a young boy discovers how he can communicate with someone vastly different from himself and begins to view the world around him from a new perspective.   

Sabrina and Daphne are orphaned sisters who are sent to live with their grandmother, Relda Grimm. But this Granny is not what the two expected at all! It turns out that a family secret had been withheld from them—they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, and the fairytales that led to their ancestors’ acclaim are not the stuff of fiction; their stories are based on factual history. 

The two find themselves smack in the middle of a fairytale come to life and must retrieve her grandmother from a formidable giant who’s kidnapped her. Who let the giant out for its rampage? Is it Mayor Charming or the Three Not-So-Little Pigs? Join these sisters as they try to protect their new home of Ferryport Landing in this fast-paced, fantasy mystery novel.      

Not just any joke book, The Don’t Laugh Challenge fosters social interaction between friends and family members by having them compete to be crowned the Don’t Laugh Master! Filled with funny puns and silly scenarios that test kids’ charade abilities, this book will give you hours of laughs while you spend quality time with your loved ones. 

Even though the person who gets the other to laugh is the game’s winner, there are no actual losers—not when everyone will be grinning from ear to ear!

Author Pamela Turner introduces readers to the amazing work of The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project—a group of scientists who work tirelessly to protect mountain gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda who, due to increased tourism, are threatened by human disease. Although tourism has been financially beneficial in funding the services that protect these gorillas, unfortunately, contact between humans and gorillas has put them at risk. That’s where the gorilla doctors come in! 

They provide aid and act as foster parents to orphan gorillas while researching the effects of human and gorilla interaction. Kids and adults will find this work fascinating and become more knowledgeable about this magnificent animal’s reality.

In the age of technology, sometimes we forget the wonders that nature has waiting for us. This beautifully illustrated book is a much-needed reminder to spend some time outdoors. 

It follows three friends who go on a hiking adventure and teaches young readers about various flora and fauna. It also contains a glossary that identifies the new plants you’ll discover, a sketchbook from one of the characters and even instructions on how to make your very own leaf basket.

With over 40 mouth-watering baked sweet recipes to choose from, kids will enjoy learning about various baking processes as much as they will enjoy biting into their delectable, finished desserts, whether it be snickerdoodle cookies or PB & J cupcakes. This cookbook will teach important cooking skills and help children feel more confident in the kitchen, all while rewarding their hard work with a scrumptious treat.