Holiday gifts in October? Yes! It’s never too early to look for special gifts for the holiday season. Check out our list below for books and series to share with the people in your life—or add them to your own wish list.
Laney Dances in the Rain
Laney Dances in the Rain is a wordless picture book that allows young children to use their imagination to tell a story in their own words and their own way. Its empathy-building storyline about being true to oneself supports self-belief and self-expression even in the face of questioning or criticism.
Laney loves to dance in the pouring rain. One day, she encounters a scowling boy who tries to ruin her fun outside. But with the support of her mom, Laney goes back to what she loves—even after the boy attempts to destroy her beautiful yellow raincoat. When Laney embraces her true self, she brings joy to herself and her neighbors.
You Got a Phone! (Now Read This Book)
Phones are super fun, really convenient, and amazingly useful tools! But when kids and smartphones are together, problems can pop up. You Got a Phone! (Now Read This Book) offers fun and straight-to-the-point advice for kids with phones and parents who want to keep phone trouble at bay, making this the perfect book for any kid with a new phone.
Starting with six basic phone rules to help keep kids safe online with a healthy life balance, this book also includes information on:
- How to avoid muddled misunderstandings
- Bullying, cyberbullying, and phone-y meanness
- Safely posting and sharing photos online and how to avoid phone-related stress or anxiety
Check out the rest of the Laugh & Learn® series!
Screen Time Is Not Forever (Board Book & Paperback)
Discover easy ways to set boundaries and positive screen-time limits with children. Part of the Best Behavior series, Screen Time Is Not Forever comes in a board book for ages 1–4 and an expanded paperback for ages 4–7.
You Wonder All the Time
“Where do colors go at night, and why do shadows creep?” You Wonder All the Time celebrates curiosity and the thought-provoking questions children ask and supports them as they continue to learn. “Will you stay curious as you grow? It’s a brilliant part of you!” The book’s charming rhyme and heartwarming message that children’s many questions are welcomed and their wondering is loved make the book perfect for storytime, home, and the preschool classroom.
Also grab the rest of the All the Time series.
Jayden’s Impossible Garden
Timeless and vibrant, this story highlights the beauty of intergenerational relationships and the power of imagination and perseverance in bringing the vision of a community garden to life.
Amidst all the buildings, people, and traffic in his neighborhood, Jayden sees nature everywhere: the squirrels scrounging, the cardinals calling, and the dandelions growing. But Mama doesn’t believe there’s nature in the city. So Jayden sets out to help Mama see what he sees. With the help of his friend Mr. Curtis, Jayden plants the seeds of a community garden and brings together his neighbors—and Mama—to show them the magic of nature in the middle of the city.
Dream Up Now™
Dream Up Now offers a safe space for creative self-expression of all emotions, both positive and negative. Using simple journal prompts and art project ideas, with plenty of room for writing and reflection, Dream Up Now is a powerful tool for navigating emotions and self-reflection.
Coloring Book and Reflections for Social Emotional Learning
With a unique combination of coloring book illustrations and reflection prompts, this activity book effectively combines mindfulness and SEL. Each of the SEL topics features two pages of activities and prompts. The left page includes a prompt for reflection through journaling or free-drawing, and the right page is an illustration for mindful coloring. Topics range from positive self-talk to empathy to trying your best.
Also available in Spanish!
Me and You and the Universe
Foster an appreciation for all the ways everyone and everything—from the tiniest cells to the largest solar systems—are connected. Author and illustrator Bernardo Marçolla beautifully articulates the value of learning at an early age to look up to the sky and, as we see the stars, to know that we are part of them. The world will remain the same, but if we open our eyes and our hearts, our experience will be completely different.
“Although we seem different from each other, all of us, deep down inside, are very similar.”
Gentle Hands and Other Sing-Along Songs for Social-Emotional Learning
Favorite songs like “Frère Jacques” and “B-I-N-G-O” get turned on their heads with new, easy-to-remember lyrics offering lessons on social and emotional skills, such as how to manage anger, how to ask for help, what to do when you’re afraid, how to be a good friend, when to use a quiet voice, and more.
Happy Healthy Baby® Series
A perfect gift for baby showers, newborns, and birthdays. Bouncy rhythms and bright photos and illustrations capture the moments and moods of baby’s day and hold baby’s attention. As the books are shared with them, babies absorb concepts of love, safety, and confidence.
Available in English and in English-Spanish bilingual editions!
Which books will you be giving this holiday season?
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My favorite gift to give friends and family members are books! Thank you for this list!
This year I came across a really lovely Christmas book that I want to recommend because all of the proceeds from it go to The Last Road Dog Sanctuary in WA. Their mission is: to prevent cruelty to animals in need of medical attention, subject to danger or abuse, hungry or starving, or under any other distress or cruelty. They take in cats, dogs and horses and although I haven’t had the chance to go yet the pictures on the website make it look like a truly magical place (https://thelastroaddog.com/).
The book is a great fantasy read for the whole family and the illustrations are wonderful too. It is primarily a story of good vs. evil with sorcerers and goblins, animals, acts of heroism, and long-lost siblings all woven together in a thrilling and epic story about the magic of Christmas. I have bought this for friends with fur babies and human babies and I feel great about giving back to a sanctuary that does a lot of good. Hope you will check it out and happy holidays!