Sometimes finding just the right gift to give isn’t easy — and sometimes we may wish we hadn’t gotten the gifts we’ve been given. This month’s reads offer new perspectives on giving, getting and using gifts.
PICTURE BOOKS
“On Our Way! What a Day!”
by JaNay Brown-Wood, illustrated by Tamisha Anthony
Six siblings set out to find a birthday gift for their grandmother. Along the way, they discover various delights — for themselves. From a scritchy-scratchy pinecone, to jingly-jangly quarters, to clicky-clacky stones, each child finds something they want. But they haven’t found anything for their grandmother — until they realize they can use the things they found to give their grandmother what she really wants: a boisterous birthday song from her grandchildren!
“The Midnight Mitzvah”
by Ruth Horowitz, illustrated by Jenny Meilihove
Giving gifts can feel as good as getting them. But what happens if someone won’t take the gift? Hanina Chipmunk loves to share the nuts she gathers, so she doesn’t understand when Mathilda Squirrel turns down her gift — until her friends explain that Mathilda is embarrassed because she’s gotten too old to gather nuts herself. Hanina has to
use her creativity and courage to find a way to help Mathilda without embarrassing her.
EARLY ELEMENTARY
“Dancing With Our Ancestors”
by Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson, illustrated by Janine Gibbons
The potlatch is an important ceremony for many Indigenous tribes in the Pacific Northwest. It is a time to build community by sharing food and cultural traditions, and by giving gifts. For many years, potlatches were banned by the Canadian and U.S. governments as a way to force Indigenous tribes to give up their cultures and identities. This colorful and informative book shares how the Haidi tribe has revitalized the potlatch tradition to recognize their history and build their future.
“From Megabat With Love”
by Anna Humphrey, illustrated by Kris Easler
We all want to give the people we care about a gift that they will love, but that can be easier said than done. Megabat is determined to prove his love for Birdgirl by giving her the best Valentine’s Day gift ever, but his attempts keep going disastrously, hilariously wrong. He has to learn to pay attention to what Birdgirl wants to get — and not what he wants to give — to find the perfect present.
MIDDLE GRADE
“The Ogress and the Orphans”
by Kelly Barnhill
Stone-in-the-Glen has fallen on hard times ever since its library burned down. An ogress living on the outskirts of the town tries to help by leaving baskets of baked goods and other gifts on the townspeople’s doorsteps. She drops off her gifts anonymously under the cover of night because the mayor has led everyone to believe that ogres are to blame for the town’s hardships — everyone except the children at the Orphan House, who need to convince their neighbors of the ogress’ good deeds when she’s falsely accused of abducting a child.
YOUNG ADULT
“This Day Changes Everything”
by Edward Underhill
Abby has spent months putting together the perfect gift for her best friend and crush, Kat, to tell her that she’d like to be more than friends. Leo is dreading “Outageddon,” when his extended family learns that he is a trans boy by watching him on national television. When
Leo accidentally causes Abby to lose the gift on a subway train, the two teens go on a rom-com-worthy adventure through New York City. Along the way, they discover that sometimes the thing you think you want most isn’t as perfect as it seems.
