We all know a book is the best gift you can give a child, and I encourage everyone to give a child at least one book this holiday season. If you want to go even further, you can give extra gifts that encourage lifelong reading habits.
This holiday gift guide includes a variety of items—some traditional and some super snazzy—that will support your child's literacy development. Games, book accessories and supplemental materials improve reading fluency, vocabulary and grammar skills. Plus, many of them will make your kids laugh!
These are also gifts that will encourage reluctant readers, and help them to view reading in a positive, fun light and not something that must be accompanied by a reading log!
So give the gift of reading this year! You'll be glad you did.
Table of Contents
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Snazzy Book Accessories
These bookmarks from Bookjig are my absolute favorite. I love them so much and use them every time I read a book. No joke. You clip the bookmark to the front cover of the book and then use the ribbon to mark your spot. That way you never lose your bookmark! They come in some seriously cute designs, and are the perfect stocking stuffer or addition to a book gift.
Magnetic bookmark clips are a more economical choice that the Bookjigs above, but they are also awesome. Plus, there so many cute choices to match your child's interest. I love the cupcake ones and the pandas!
Snazzy book light. Convey to your kids it is okay to stay up late—as long as they are reading! These cute and colorful booklights come in a wide variety of designs and will appeal to kids.
Library Book Bag - These bags from Out of Print will inspire your kids to fill them up with books at the library ! I really need someone to get me this Oz bag. But the Nancy Drew bag is awesome too. Other books and designs available, too!
Reading Subscriptions and Book Sets
Bookroo has book subscriptions boxes for different age ranges, including a middle grade box perfect for tween readers. Each box includes two high quality middle grade books for ages 9-12. A useful feature of Bookroo is that you can alternate between different box levels, so if your reader also needs chapter books for 7-10 year olds, they can get a few of both. All of the the past boxes have featured books that I would personally recommend.
Epic Books is a book app for your tablet or phone. While I encourage the reading of print books whenever possible, we use Epic for traveling and many parents find ebooks very convenient and a great way to encourage their kids to read. You can try out the app free for 30 days and explore all the books, audiobooks, and bilingual books yourself. You can read my full review of Epic books here.
Kindle Fire for Kids. Amazon offers a 2 year warranty against it breaking, no matter what your kids do to it. If your kids like to read ebooks, you can't beat that. There are several kinds based on the age of your child so be sure to pick out the right one.
Book Box Sets!!! Nothing inspires reading more than a compelling narrative that takes kids on a multi-volume adventure. Check out these lists of our favorite box sets to give as gifts:
Literacy Calendars
Joke Calendar. Who doesn't like to tell or hear a good joke? Kids love to tell their grown-ups a joke they can laugh at. This is a fantastic gift for reluctant readers who will have fun running to the calendar each morning to read a joke to tell their parents or friends at school! A great way to encourage reading and family fun!
Word A Day Calendar. Encourage your kids to learn new vocabulary! Just remember that kids learn best when they hear new words in context so be sure to use the new word each day in a sentence as many times as possible!
Literacy Games
We have even more suggestions in our list of the best word games for kids!
Zingo Sight Words. This version of the popular game is a fun way for the whole family to support beginning readers during family game night.
Silly Sentences helps kids learn to read through laughter. Large pieces with illustrations are great for little hands and kids learning to sound out words.
Lynda says
Books have a lot of positive effects on kids. As much as it gives kids the opportunity to be productive while being entertained, it also teaches a lot of life lessons, such as finding what they are passionate about. You can build a love for learning for your kids at home