Apples With Many Seeds: 2016 Tammy and Paula's Most Wonderful, Best-Ever, Miracle at the Doucette Holiday Book List

Here’s the pitch…

Want to impress the young folk in your life with an awesome book or two this holiday season?

Want to avoid the disappointed /horrified / mortified looks of these same young people with stunning gaffes with selections like Boy’s Body Book or Golden Girls Forever or A History of Interest Rates (4^th ed.)?

Or perhaps you’re aiming bigger and want to turn them into life-long readers or at least temporarily redirect their attention to something other than social media, their phones or computer games?

Then this list may just get you on your way.

This is our Second Annual Holiday Children’s Book List and it was a blast pulling these titles together. So in anticipation to those of you who like to check in with Paula and myself about what to get for sons, daughters, nieces and nephews, kids of friends, kids with special interests or godchildren, we spent some time at a local bookstore and online to find books that we think will make great gifts. The titles are linked to the Chapters website for book details, summaries and reviews.

We’ll be publishing our list over the next four days. Books recommended on days 2 to 4 are of mixed grade levels and likely to list both fiction and nonfiction titles.

Here’s the lineup:

Day 1. Picture Books & The Subversive Grinch

Middle Grade Novels

Young Adult Novels

Crossovers: Adult Books For Teens

Day 2. Seasonal best bets

Play, Play, Play (interactive books for all ages)

Making and Doing

Day 3. Nonfiction

Series (all level of readers)

Classics
Fan fiction

Day 4. Pretty Pictures (coffee table books and the like)

Kid Books for Supposed Grown-ups

Not Our Demographic Or Books That Are Cool Even Though We’re Not

If you are going to invest in books this year for a young person, these suggestions may help you find just what you are looking for. Spend a few minutes with the list and at the store making someone very happy.

And, of course, have a wonderful holiday break everyone.

Tammy and Paula

DAY 4

Pretty Pictures

For those who love to curl up in a big chair with steamy hot chocolate and take life at a slower pace during the Holiday Season, here are a few books to savour the pictures and the text on a snowy afternoon.

Fairy World: Enter the Magical and Mysterious Realm by Stella A. Caldwell

*Gr. 4-7 *Guidebook *Fairy Realm *Rich Multimedia *Good Gift Book

Magnificent Magical Beasts: Inside their Secret World by Simon Holland, David Wyatt, Kev Walker and Gary Blythe

*Gr. 5 & up *Guidebook *Vivid Illustrations *Dragons *Unicorns *Werewolves

Gods, Heroes and Monsters: Discover the Wonders of theAncient Greek Myths by Selene Nicolaides

*Gr. 5 & up *CGI Artwork *Facts, Stories *History *Mythology

Sketchy Stories: The Sketchbook Art of Kerby Rosanes

*Young Adult *Doodle Art *Graphic Design *Inspiration *Technique

Puppyhood: Life-Size Portraits of Puppies at 6 Weeks Old by J. Nicole Smith

*All Ages *Too Cute for Words *Title Says it All

Hyper Nature by Philippe Martin

*All Ages *Nature *Animals *Insects *Plants

Nat Geo: The Most Popular Instagram Photos

*All Ages *Photographs *2016 *#Hashtag *Nature *People *Animals

Not Our Demographic OR

Books That are Cool Even Though We Are Not!

Okay, we work in a library and we work with Education students who love picture books and middle grade novels and even the dystopia that is YA but here is the category that is a bit beyond our comfort zone. Do you remember the Bay City Rollers, The Monkees, Boys to Men, The Back Street Boys? We do but we choose to always, categorically deny it. Here are those books that are the treasure of the preteen and teenage fan with names we do not recognize but we guarantee that if you recognize one name on this list, you should have that book under the tree. You would be a hero!

Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance bySimone Biles

*Gr. 6 & up *Olympics *Gold Medalist *Gymnastics *Sports

Z or Zayn by Zayn Malik

*Young Adult *Cutie Patootie *1D (One Direction) *Music *Memoir

Stay Golden by Lucky Blue Smith

*Young Adult *Cutie Patootie *Biography *Fashion Model

Nasty Galaxy by Sophia Amoruso

*Young Adult *Social Media *Entrepreneur *EBay Vintage Clothing *Nasty Girl ™

G.L.G. (Good Looking Guys) that Teens Follow on Social Media

(but we don't know from a hole in the wall…)

Matty B.: That’s a Rap with Travis Thrasher

*Young Adult *3 Billion YouTube Views! *Social Media

A Work in Progress by Connor Franta

*Young Adult *Social Media *YouTube Personality

Jack and Jack: You Don’t Know Jacks by Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson

*Young Adult * Vine *YouTube *Social Media

Follow Me by Ricky Dillon

*Young Adult *Social Media *YouTube Personality

Don’t Try This at Home by Kian Lawley and JC Caylen

*Young Adult *Social Media *YouTube Personality

Kid Books for Adults

Do you ever find that feeling of really enjoying a picture book

even though you are a mature adult who doesn’t DO picture books any more? Here are a couple of books, we think you might enjoy.

A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers

*Classics *Retrospective

Teacup by Rebecca Young and Matt Ottley

*Beautiful *Sentimental

A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of the Snowy Day by Andrea Pinkney

*Beautiful Illustrations *Writers and Writing *Biography *Race Issues *Poem

DAY 3

Harkening to the olden days (Classics)

We all have favorites that we remember fondly from our childhoods and would love to share with the young folks in our lives.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett; illustrated by Inga Moore

*Gr. 5 and up *Orphans *Friendship *Beautiful illustrations

The Best Bear in All the World by Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders, Brian Sibley, Paul Bright; illustrated by MarkBurgess

*Gr. 2 and up *Sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh stories *Pair with Finding Winnie (Caldecott winner)

Fan Fiction – For the Groupie in All of Us

If someone mentions a favorite author doesn’t it make your heart race, maybe just a little? Or maybe want you go ‘sqweee’ and then gush about how much you love said author? Just be prepared if you ask Paula about Bunjitsu Bunny. Fair warning… Sqweeee....

The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield

*Gr. K-3 *Picture book *Facing fears * Bedtime *Passions

Where’s Waldo: the Wonder Book,Deluxe Edition by Martin Handford

*Gr.2 and up *Interactive *Games

Bunjitsu Bunny Jumps to the Moon by John Himmelman

*Gr.2-5 *Humour *Life

Ramona series by Beverly Cleary

*Gr.3-7 *Growing up * Family * Read alouds *Humour *Classics

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

*Gr. 8 and up * Fantasy *Death *Futurist world

Lady Midnight: The Dark Artifices,Book One (Shadowhunter’s novel) by Cassandra Clare

*Gr. 9 and up *Fantasy *Romance *Series *Great cover

More, Please (Series)

Well, this kinda goes with Fan Fiction. For those of us who like to return to wonderful places and visit with ‘old friends’ finding a series to get immersed in, is the way to go. Let me introduce you to a few wonderful characters and their worlds…

Picture books

Jon Klassen trilogy: I Want My Hat Back; This is Not My Hat; and We Found a Hat(2016)

*Gr. 1-6 *Dark humour *Hats *Animals *Fantastic illustrations

Aaron Becker trilogy: Journey; Quest; and Return (2016)

*Gr. K-4 *Wordless *Adventures *Imagination *Friendship *Fathers and daughters

Tedd Arnold: Fly Guy series: Fly Guy’s Ninja Christmas (2016)

*Gr. 1-3 *Chapter book *Picture book *Humour *Boy book *Insects

Novels

Doreen Cronin: The Chicken Squad Misadventures: The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken (2016)

*Gr. 2-5 *Humour *Detectives (sort of) *Poultry *Hounds *Fun

Sara Pennypacker: Clementine series: Completely Clementine (2016)

*Gr.2-4 *Family *Everyday stuff *Humour

Lenore Look: Alvin Ho series: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions (2015)

*Gr.2-5 *Family *School *Fear *Anxiety *Humour

Catherynne M. Valente : Fairyland series: The Boy Who Lost Fairyland (2016); The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home (2017)

*Gr.4-7 *Fantasy *Adventures *Fairies

Lucy and Stephen Hawking: George’s science series: George and the Unbreakable Code

*Gr. 4-7 *Yes, that Stephen Hawking *Science *Space *Universe *Illustrated *Humour

Kazu Kibuishi: Amulet series:Firelight (2016)

*Gr.4 and up *Graphic novel *Fantasy *Adventure *Strong female

Daniel Kraus: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Vol.1 At the Edge of the Empire, Vol.2 Empire Decayed

*Gr.9 and up * World Wars *American history *Fantasy *Humour *Second chances *Great cover

Michael Grant: Soldier Girl series:Frontlines #1

*Gr. 9 and up *Alternate history *WW Ii *Girl soldiers *Epic

Colleen Houck: Reawakened series: Recreated (2016)

*Gr.9 and up *Time travel *Ancient Egypt * Adventure *Fantasy *Romance *Great cover

Rae Carson: The Gold Seer Trilogy: Walk on Earth a Stranger

*Gr.9 and up *Fantasy *Historical *Magic

Just the Facts

Not everyone loves a great fiction story. Some may love a great true story and here is a list for just such people on your list. From dinosaurs to social media world record holders, we have something for everyone…

Prehistoric Predators by Brian Switek, illustrated by Julius Csotonyi

*Gr. 1 & up *Dinosaurs

Give and Take by Lucie Felix

*Preschool – Gr. 1 *Die cut Shapes *Interactive *Opposites *Manipulatives

Creaturepedia: Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth byAdrienne Barman

*Gr. 1-4 *600 Animals *40 Categories *Some Mythical *Misc. Info *Browsing

New Way Things Work by David Macaulay

*Gr.4 & up *Science *Inventors *History *Updated *Technology *Computer Technology

Life-Size Birds by Nancy J. Hajeski

*Gr. 5 & up *Birds – North American *Nature *Scaled Photography *Fun Facts *Bird Guide

Unfolding Journeys: Amazon Adventure Frieze by Lonely Planet Kids and Stewart Ross

*Gr. 5 & up *History and Landscape *Interactive *Lonely Planet Book *Maps *Nature *City *Fascinating Facts

Illusionology: The Secret Science of Magic by Albert D.Schafer

*Gr. 5 & up *Magic and Magicians *Boy Book *Interactive *3D pop-ups *Tricks

Best and Buzz Worthy 2017 World Records, Trending Topics,and Viral Moments

*Gr. 5 & up *Trivia

The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation)by Daniel James Brown

*Gr. 7 & up *History *Berlin Olympics *Rowing *True Story *Sports *Underdogs

New Scientist The Origin of (Almost) Everything by New Scientist and Graham Lawton

*Crossover *Science *Universe *Life *Invention *Knowledge *Civilization

Mars: A New View of the Red Planet by Giles Sparrow

*Crossover *Exploring *Solar System *History *Space *Planets *Science

DAY 2

Seasonal Best Bets

Not necessarily for Christmas but more to get into that winter mindset of snow days, hockey, and, perhaps, a little romance to keep us warm …

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

*Preschool – Gr. 3 *Classic *Play *Winter *Red Hooded Coats

Before Morning by Joyce Sidman

*K- Grade 2 *Winter *Snow Day *Beautiful Illustrations

Snow by Sam Usher

*Gr. 1-3 *Humour *Grandparent *Snow Day *Play *Animals

The Most Perfect Snowman by Chris Britt

*Preschool – Gr. 2 *Winter *Giving *Empathy *Generosity *Animals

A Porcupine in a Pine Tree; Dashing Through the Snow; andDeck the Halls by Helaine Becker

*Gr. 1-6 *Christmas *Songs *Canadiana *Humour *Animals

The Hockey Song by Tom Connors, illustrated by GaryClement and The Hockey Sweater (30thAnniversary Edition) by Roch Carrier

*Preschool – Gr. 5 *Songs *Hockey *Canadian *Classics

The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

*Gr. 1-6 *Novels *Dogs *Humour *Magic *Read Aloud

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

*Gr. 10 and up *Dual Voices *Sequel *Contemporary *Romance *Humour

Making and Doing

For those people who love to have a book under the tree but love, also, to do, not just read. This list of books with have you making and doing as a family or as individuals clear into the New Year.

365 Things to Do with Lego Bricks

*All Ages *LEGO *Enough Said

Oh, Ick! 114 Experiments Guaranteed to Gross You Out! By JoyMasoff

*Gr. 3-6 *Boy Book *Science

Project Kid: Crafts that Go by Amanda Kingloff

*Gr. 3-7 *Family Activity Books *Transportation *Things that Move

Smithsonian Maker Lab by Jack Challoner

*Gr. 3-7 *Family Activity Book *Science *Easy, Medium, Hard Rating

Art Play by Marion Deuchars

*Gr. 3-7 *Art Activities

Let’s Make Some Great Art by Marion Deuchars

*Gr. 7/8 & up *Drawing *Artist Based Masterpieces

Thug Kitchen 101 by Thug Kitchen

*Young Adult *Cookbook *Humour *Healthy Eating *Kickass Kitchen Primer

1000 Steampunk Creations: Neo-Victorian Fashion, Gear andArt by Dr. Grymm and Barbe Saint John

*Young Adult *Crafts *Hobbies *Sewing *Steampunk

The Puzzle Universe: A History of Mathematics in 315 Puzzlesby Ivan Moscovich

*Crossover *Puzzles *Mathematics *Problem-Solving *Illusions *Paradoxes

Play, Play, Play

Play, Play, Play is a category that engages those on your list who like to interact with what they read. Our favourite book from this year’s list is here and we both, immediately thought how much most kids (and some adults) would love this book. Look at the YouTube video of Illuminature to see what we mean. Giving one of these books is an ongoing conversation with the person who gets it about what they find out.

Illuminature by Carnovsky, written by Rachel Williams

*All Ages *YouTube Video *Animals *Habitats *Special Effects *T&P Favourite

Where’s Warhol? By Catherine Ingram and Andrew Rae

*All Ages *Art Masterpieces *Game Book *See also Fan Fiction – Where’s Waldo

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur by DK (pop-ups and such)

*Gr. 1-5 *Fossils *Flaps *Games *Activities

The Ultimate Book of Space with 40 flaps, pop-ups, pull tabsand more! By Anne-Sophie Baumann

*Gr. 1-5 *Facts *Universe *Space

Leonardo da Vinci by Jasper Bark

*Gr. 5-8 *Illustrated Journal *Technology Inventions *3D Model Building *History

Spyology: TheComplete Book of Spycraft by Spencer Blake and Dugald A. Steer

*Gr. 5-9 *Codes *Puzzles *Spies and Spying

My Wonderful World of Fashion: a Book for Drawing, Creatingand Dreaming by Nina Chakrabarti

*Young Adult *Art *Colouring Book *Fashion Designing

DAY 1

Picture Books – PreK – Grade 3

We both love reading picture books and funny picture books are our favourites. We have tried to find something that appeals to most picture book buyers like grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles but there is a definite bias that Storytime should be fun as well.

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

*Senses *Imaginative Thinking *Animals *Perspectives

More Blueberries by Susan Musgrave

*Rhyming Text *Exuberant *Eating *Read Aloud

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie

*Read Aloud *Identity *Father and Son

Little You by Richard Van Camp

*Baby Board Book *Canadian

Everyone is Yawning by Anita Bijsterbosch

*Flaps *Bedtime *Animals

Secret Agent Man Goes Shopping for Shoes by Tim Wynn-Jones

*Canadian *International Intrigue *Humour *Boy Book

Superhero: Instructional Manual by Kristy Dempsey

*Boy Book *Humour

Bear and Hare Series of Books by Emily Gravett

*Buddy Books *Humour *Read aloud

Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino

*Friendship *Caring *Read Aloud

Are We There Yet? By Dan Santat

*Humour *Dinosaurs *Pirates *Knights *Family Road Trip

My Favorite Pets by Gus W. For Ms. Smolinski’s Class byJeanne Birdsall and Henry Bliss

*Humour *Read Aloud *Pets *Sheep *Baby Brother

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

*Grandparent *Gift Book

Subversive Grinch in Picture Books

Not necessarily the usual picture book fare – Are the sweet, sentimental, nicey-nice stories getting to you over the holidays? Give these a try to cleanse your palate. Good fun with a bit of a bite.

Naughty Mabel Sees It All by Nathan Lane

*Humour *Over-the-top funny *Nathan Lane people!!! *Dogs *Friendship

Penguin Problems by Jory John & Lane Smith

*Kids books for adults *Humour *Life lessons *Perspectives

Baa Baa Smart Sheep by Mark Sommerset

*Snort - Humour- Snort *Animals *Tricksters *Gags *Fecal matter

Middle Grade – Upper Elementary/Junior High

– Grades 5 to 8 or 9 Novels

How do we choose just a few to post this year. This category is always rich with plenty of good reading in a variety of genres. Pick a book that fits the reader in your life.

The One and Only Ivan (Full Color Collector’s Edition) byKatherine Applegate

*Gr. 3-7 *Beautifully Illustrated *Animals *Newberry Award Winner *Read Aloud

Snow White: a graphic novel by Matt Phelan

*Gr. 4-8 *New York City *Fairy Tale Re-Telling *Graphic Novel *No Dwarfs *Art Deco

Gertie’s Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley

*Gr. 3/4 – 6 *Identity *Contemporary *Family *Humour *Strong Female *Read Aloud

John Baxter Levels Up by Gavin Brown

*Gr. 3-6 *Video Gaming *Contemporary *New Kid at School *School Dynamics

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

*Gr. 5-7 *Modern Day Fairy Tale *Magic *Fantasy *Awesome Writing

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

*Gr. 3-6 *Read Aloud *Robots *Survival Story *Deserted Island *Illustrated

Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart

*Gr. 5 and up *Family Secrets *Magic *Humour *Mystery *Adventure

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

*Gr. 4-7 *Animals *War *Friendship

One Half from the East by Nadia Hashimi

*Gr. 4-8 *Gender Issues *Contemporary *Afghanistan *Breadwinner Read Alike

The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

*Gr. 6-8 *Mystery *Contemporary *Friendship/Romance *Disappearances

Secret of Goldenrod by Jane O’Reilly

*Gr. 5-8 *Mystery *Suspense *Family Dynamics *Identity *Strong Female

YA – Young Adult – Teens – High School Novels

We tried. We really, really did try to find lots of light-of-heart, quirky, comedic novels for this age group.

BUT— there just seem to so many more titles that are intense, dramatic, about teens who come from dysfunctional families or are struggling to figure out their identities and their place in the world. But then again, who isn’t in this crazy Trumptonia POTUS-in-waiting, world? Just saying…