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There are so many social changes to adjust to when your children start school (even pre-school), and one or the whole family is having weekends suddenly overrun by school-friend birthday parties. This is amazing fun for the kids, but one thing that goes with the birthday party territory is the constant need to buy birthday gifts, sometimes for kids you don’t know well, if at all. What do you get for little Aidan from kindergarten whose parents have invited the whole class, and your kid gives a vague shrug when you ask what he’s into? A book, obviously. The answer is always books.
When a good bookshop sale or free shipping on your favorite online shop pops up, it’s the perfect time to stock the birthday party drawer
(whether that drawer is actually a drawer or just a plastic bag in the back of the closet) with a nice stash so that you don’t have to scramble to the shops at 6:30p.m. the night before. Here area few books with wide appeal that I think are perfect for the birthday party drawer, particularly for kids from pre-school through early primary.
Lots
By Marc Martin (published by Penguin). U.S. title – Everything & Everywhere (Chronicle Books).
Miss 6 was gifted this book for her 3rd birthday, and it has been a source of endless fascination. On each double page, the reader is taken to a different city around the world, from Cairo, to Tokyo, to New York City, and beyond. Martin illustrates each city with some of the most iconic and quirky places and thing about the location, including how many of each. Every page is is covered in images, so there’s so much to take in about each location. It’s a visual feast around the world.
Mr. Shaha’s Recipes for Wonder
By Alom Shaha; Emily Robertson, illustrator (Scribe Publications). U.S. Amazon sales.
I’ve gifted a few copies of this fun science book, written by science teacher Alom Shaha. It’s a lovely book with colorful illustrations, but the thing I like most about it is that it offers science experiments that you can actually do at home without purchasing any special equipment. Shaha is very encouraging in his tone, and his excitement for kids doing science comes across on the page. This one is probably a bit old for the pre-school set, but great for primary aged kids.
Look Inside Space
By Rob Lloyd Jones (Usborne). U.S. Amazon sales.
Still on the theme of science, but gearing slightly younger than Mr. Shaha, this lift-the-flap book about space is out of this world with fun facts. Miss 6 (who is a bit of a space fanatic) got this for a 4th birthday present, and it has been so well-loved that I’ve gone on to give copies to other birthday kids. The layout it excellent, with colorful pictures and flaps to lift all over each page (some even have flaps under flaps). I’d say around 4 – 6 would be an ideal age for this one.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
By Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo (Penguin Books). U.S. Amazon sales.
For a year, I think I gave this book at every five year old birthday party we went to. It is an amazing collection of one-page stories about awesome women from history, each accompanied by an original illustration. My only gripe about this book is that it should be called Good Night Stories Of Rebel Girls, not For Rebel Girls because these stories aren’t just “for girls”. You can read more about an artsploring mum who reads this book with both her daughter and son here.
Strong is the New Pretty
By Kate T. Parker (Workman Publishing). U.S. Amazon sales.
More super cool girls, Strong is the New Pretty is a photography collection of girls doing sports, playing in nature, and generally being fierce and themselves. We don’t often see girls portrayed quite like this, and I think they’re amazing images. My daughter was given a copy of this book when she was 4, and I can’t actually see an age where kids will grow out of this book. (And, for the boy recipients, keep an eye out because Parker is releasing a new one called The Heart of a Boy in April. Australia pre-order. U.S. pre-order).
Stories for Boys Who Dare
to be Different
By Ben Brooks. Quenton Wintor (illustrator). (Quercus Publishing) U.S. Amazon sales.
In the same vein as Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls, Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different tells a one-page story with an illustration about 75 notable “boys” who lived his life their own way. Entries include artists, sportsmen, musicians, politicians, innovators, and more. The writing tends to gear a bit older than in Rebel Girls, and it sometimes touches on some darker themes, so this is probably most suitable for primary and up.
If I Was Prime Minister
By Beck and Robin Feiner. (ABC Books)
What if the Prime Minister was a kid? Turns out kids have some pretty good (and cooky) ideas for running the country. You might just get the impression that we could do worse than having a kid for a P.M.! The illustrations are bright and imaginative, and this one is sure to spark some great conversations about all of our plans for when Australia comes knocking and asks us to be Prime Minister. (For international readers, this one is Australia specific).
Guinness World Records
By Guinness World Records. U.S. Amazon sales.
Did you have a Guinness Book when you were growing up. I didn’t, but my brother did, and boy did we love combing through his copy to find out about the tallest/widest/longest/fastest everything. There’s something particularly fascinating to kids about seeing what the limits of things are. World records never go out of style in kid-world.
The Art Book For Children
By Amanda Renshaw and Gilda Williams Ruggi. (Phaidon Press). U.S. Amazon sales.
You didn’t think I was going to finish this list without including and art book, did you? This is a beautiful volume that explores some of the world’s most important pieces of art from a child-friendly angle through questions and ideas. Some of the concepts may be too old for younger children, but families can enjoy looking at the pictures from any age, while children grow into the text.
Do you have a favorite book that you give as a birthday gift? Feel free to add to this list in the comments!
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