Giving the Gift of Books!

Books make for wonderful companions. They inspire and inform. They take us to exciting places and give us a taste of new experiences. I love to have bookshelves full of good books that we read over and over again!

And now it’s that time of year when I start getting gifts for the people that I love. At the top of that list are books, of course. From now until Dec 8th you can get $5 off a $15+ book purchase at Amazon using code GIFTBOOK at checkout.  I’ve loved using these codes from Amazon to order the books I had on my list. {affiliate links used}

If you are needing some inspiration, here are a few of our favorites!

Picture Books

Building our House! by Jonathon Bean. I think Greta had me read this to her twice a day for at least a month. It finally landed a spot in our permanent library.

This is our Home, This is our School by Jonathon Bean. Turns out the author of one of my favorite picture books was homeschooled growing up. If you homeschool, this book deserves a place on your shelf. Your kids to read about other kids living this kind of life (the class bully was priceless) and as a mom, you’ll appreciate (and laugh) at his recollections from his childhood. Learning can be messy and this book reminded me to take a big breath and embrace the chaos.

Chapter Book Current Favorites

Dangerous Journey – We’ve read this book probably at least a hundred times. The boys love it. It inspires us to live out this crazy faith walk with its beautiful prose and amazing illustrations.

My Side of the Mountain – This childhood favorite of mine is now a favorite for each of my boys. They’ve all read it multiple times!

The Tripod Trilogy – I discovered this when I was in that tween age and it became a childhood favorite that my kids now love. This series is very well written and it was my first encounter with a literary “Christ-figure.” If you end up reading this, be sure and start with the Trilogy. He wrote a prequel afterwards called When the Tripods Came” that isn’t as interesting unless you’ve read the series first. I compare it to reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before reading The Magician’s Nephew. You’ll enjoy the prequel far more when you have context.

Swallows and the Amazons This is  a delightful book that my sister gave (along with two more in the series) to my children last year for Christmas.

I love books and referenced great books in each category for my gift guides that inspire learning.  Here are a few more of our favorite books!

For more ideas see my 31 Day Series on Gift Guides that Inspire Learning. Nearly every one features the best books to capture the imagination and promote learning about history and science! I love to give the grandparents Christmas ideas that relate to what we will be learning about the following semester. It is a win-win because the grandparents get great ideas and they are gifts that inspire the imagination and foster a love of learning!

We are clearing things out and rearranging over there. I’m super excited to put up our teepee again as a permanent reading nook. I can’t get over how much they’ve grown since I took this picture…