The 12+ Books of Christmas
Here's the 12+ Books of Christmas: twelve books that are on my list to give as gifts this year. If you want to find out more about these books, watch the video above. (Spoiler alert: there's more than 12! Bwahahahaha...it's like picking favorite children!)
For my complete list of holiday gift book suggestions for all ages PreK- Adult, check out my blog post here.
Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!
Please note, several titles work for a variety of ages, not just the ones listed. They might be appropriate for your readers at a higher or lower grade level.
Picture Books:
Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins
The Epic Adventures of Huggie and Stick by Drew Daywalt and David Spencer
Early Chapter Books:
The Infamous Ratsos (series) by Kara LaReau and Matt Myers
You Should Meet (series) Lin-Manuel Miranda by Laurie Calkhoven
2nd-5th Grades:
Mr. Wolf's Class by Aron Nels Steinke
Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares
5th-8th Grades:
Ghost/Patina/Sunny/Lu (Track series) by Jason Reynolds
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring-Blake
6th-12th Grades:
Girl Who Drew Butterflies by Joyce Sidman
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
8th-12th grades:
Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess
The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti
Adults (and high school):
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Nonfiction Friday:
Make sure to tell the science teachers in your life about this title, especially if they teach life cycles. Additionally, there are natural tie-ins to art, poetry, and bookmaking. You can also have students research the work of scientists such as Linnaeus, Audubon, and Darwin and discuss/debate the influence that Merian had on their work.
Pair this with biographies of other little known scientists (for example, Mary Anning), or ask students to generate a list of scientists that have been overlooked in our studies.
#classroombookaday
However, if you teach writing in your classroom and want a good mentor text for Point of View or Perspective, look no further! Huggie (a GRUMPY bunny) and Stick (a REALLY happy stick-shaped toy) fall out of a back pack and go on adventures. Each page includes a separate letter from both of them reflecting on the adventure...and trust me, they have two wildly different ideas about how good or bad the experiences are.
IT IS SO FUNNY. And it is a great read-aloud for all ages. WARNING: practice first so you don't laugh out loud like I did the first time I read it to a group of teachers.
To hear more about the book, check out the video link at the top. It's also on the top of my gift book list.
FYI, it is written by the author of "The Day the Crayons Quit" and "The Day the Crayons Came Home," two other books that include perspective and letter writing. Use all three books together in your classroom when you are teaching that unit.
Happy Reading!
