When I was younger, I would’ve been pissed off if I’d gotten all books for the holidays. I can’t remember what exactly it was that I wanted, but books always seemed boring and a cop out. But now I can’t think of anything I’d rather get.
(Flowers, chocolate, and jewelry might be a Valentine dream come true, but this year my darling husband gave me a Kindle and I just love it!)
As in the past, my kids are going to mainly receive books this holiday season. I figured I may as well buy something they’ll enjoy and get more use from than a piece of plastic that makes noise when they so robotically press a button.
Here’s the eclectic list of books one of them will receive:
Gene Luen Yang’s powerful graphic novel, American Born Chinese (First Second, 2006). Centered around three main characters, the stories are empowering, educational, and witty.
Sherman Alexie’s semi-autobiographical novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown, 2009), about a Native American teen who dreams of a life outside the reservation.
Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (Knopf, 2007), a novel about a girl who steals books in WWII Germany and shares them with her neighbors, including a Jewish man who hides in her basement before he’s sent to Dachau.
And Marie Lu’s debut, Legend (Putnam, 2011), a dystopian novel about two teens who come from opposite socio-economic circles and together fight to learn the truth their government is hiding.
My younger kids will also receive books, along with a few blocks sets. I’ve bought them some Grace Lin picture books, Ni Hao Kai-Lan books, and some nice picture books that tell stories with Chinese characters.
Happy Holidays!
Looks like a nice selection of books for your kids. Wished I had books as gifts too when I was a kid myself. But alas!
Yes, never to late, right? Thanks for your comment!!
It’s great that you’re giving your kids books. As a kid, all I wanted for a gift was mindless action figures. (Although, you could argue that action figures can also nurture imagination and creativity.)
Anyway, Happy Hanukkah!
Thank you! The kids have been enjoying the books so far. I agree that toys like action figures can be played with in a creative way. When I was young, we didn’t have so many electronic toys like kids have now.
Books for the holidays – what a novel idea…
No, seriously, it’s nice to see people giving things to kids that forces them to expand their thinking capacity, even if only for a while.
When I was a lad, I used to go and seek out the books I wanted, and stress that they’d probably be very educational (they weren’t), and drop monumental hints about how grateful I’d be if I found them under the tree.
Mind you, being the son of a high school librarian and a primary school teacher, I was usually neck deep in books most of the time. I still have a room full of them in their house in Australia, and a largish overflow library stored at my Nan’s house.
These days I just fill my iPhone and iPad with eBooks, because they’re a lot lighter (and no one has to post them to China).
It’s good to see that you’re having a crack at making your kids enjoy a wider sphere than mere video games and sticking blocks up noses.
Thanks, Stu! My parents were both teachers and were always reading. I guess I rebelled when I was younger, but I do remember receiving some books that I still treasure, like “The Secret Garden”. Our books usually came from the library, except for special occasions, ie gifts.
During my time in China, I couldn’t find many English books there. Luckily that’s changed, at least in the huge cities.
What a cool collection of books! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you’re keeping warm there in Texas 🙂