105 Ways to Give a Book

150 Ways to Give a Book

I realize I haven't been posting, but it wouldn't feel like the holidays if I didn't update and share my traditional 150 Ways to Give a Book. They are all MotherReader-approved titles — i.e., Good Books. There are a lot more choices for younger kids, as that’s the group we adults most fear disappointing with giving “only” a book. And picture books are kind of easier to do. After the book and gift selections, I’ve also included ways to wrap a book, and book-themed gifts to include for a variety of ages. There are a few new 2015 titles mixed in with older ones — though there aren’t many classics, as I’ve tried to select books that kids would be less likely to have on their shelves. I've also tried to avoid any branded products, which is surprisingly difficult.

Sometimes I choose the hardback when the paperback is also available, so check if that is important to you. I’ve also linked to the fun extras through Amazon, for example, to save you shopping time, and because I get some small credit for your purchases through the Amazon Associates program. But know that you can find cheaper alternatives for some small things — paints, pens, journals, etc. — at a local discount store. On the other hand, doing all your purchases online and having them sent to your door is priceless.

I'm always looking for new ideas, so leave suggestions in the comments. I hope you'll share this link as you promote giving books as gifts for the holidays and that you find some great ideas for your own friends and family. Enjoy!

Multi-Age
  1. Give an experience like a trip to a zoo, aquarium, museum, aviary, arena, or city. Put the passes, tickets, or homemade gift certificate with a relevant book to make it feel more tangible.
  2. Take a road trip with Ask Me so you can use the driving time to ask each other the interesting questions from the book.
  3. Give a book with a movie theater gift card to see the upcoming film.
  4. Give a book with a gift card to rent the movie. Include a box of microwave popcorn.
  5. One Hen - How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
  6. Give One Hen — How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference with a loan to Kiva or a donation to Heifer International to buy chicks.
  7. Pair any book with another book from the bargain section, maybe something silly or crafty or gimmicky.
  8. Pair a detective book with a magnifying glass.
  9. Match poetry books with word beads or magnetic poetry.
  10. Pair a picture book with a related stuffed animal.
  11. Give an interesting, insightful book with a restaurant gift card and a date to discuss the book together over a meal.
  12. Honor the book enthusiast with necklace along with a new title.
  13. Celebrate writing too with special journals from Tara Books, an independent press based in India.
Picture Books
  1. Learn letters with ABC, Baby Me! board book or The Sleepy Little Alphabet and letter links.
  2. Or work with numbers (and colors) with 10 Hungry Rabbits and magnetic numbers.
  3. Or let them battle it out with 123 vs ABC and bath toys
  4. The Day the Crayons Quit
  5. Give The Day the Crayons Quit and the sequel The Day the Crayons Came Homewith a pack of fat crayons and a stack of copy paper from an office supply store.
  6. Or go with Art and Max or Blue Chicken with a paint set.
  7. Pair Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt and/or The Curious Garden with gardening tools and seeds.
  8. It’s almost dessert when you give The Cow Loves Cookies with a cookie counting game.
  9. What else can go with Extra Yarn but extra yarn? Well, and knitting needles and instructions.
  10. Pair Kite Flying and/or Kite Day with a new kite.
  11. Give Bats at the Ballgame with a bat and ball. You can throw in a coupon book for practice sessions.
  12. Take a light-hearted bedtime book like Goodnight Already! or A Bedtime for Bear and add a night light.
  13. Or choose A Full Moon is Rising or Moonlight with glow-in-the-dark moon and stars — or go high tech with this Moon in my Room.
  14. Giant Dance Party
  15. Get moving with Giant Dance Party with Kids Dance Party CD.
  16. Keep up the music by giving Drum City with an old-time tin drum.
  17. Pair Bubble Trouble with touchable bubbles.
  18. Ballet dancers will love the classic Angelina Ballerina or the slightly edgyVampirina Ballerina (or both) with a fancy tutu or two… two.
  19. Give little superheroes SuperHero ABC along with a superhero cape.
  20. Encourage a future Iron Chef by giving Rainbow Stew or Oscar and the Very Hungry Dragon with a cooking set.
  21. Silliness ensues with Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure and the Pass the Pigs game.
  22. Take it outside with Chalk with 3-D sidewalk chalk.
  23. The Monstore
  24. Pair Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site or Building with Dad with toy construction vehicles.
  25. Give The Monstore with the monster game.
  26. Who can resist that match-up of Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek with Lincoln Logs?
  27. Give your little dragon-lover Have You Seen My Dragon?, Lovabye Dragon or Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood with a cute dragon.
  28. Is there a doctor in the house? There will be with picture book Doctor Ted along with a doctor kit.
  29. Future firefighter instead? Give Fire! Fuego! along with Firefighters A to Z and firefighter gear.
  30. Pair picture book Crafty Chloe with a selection of craft supplies.
  31. What else can go with Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum other than lots of bubble gum.
  32. Cat lovers can enjoy picture books Here Comes Santa Cat, Katie Loves the Kittens, and A Castle Full of Cats with a cat card game.
  33. Here Comes Trouble!
  34. Or let the dogs out with Dogs, Here Comes Trouble!, and If You Give a Dog a Donut and a dog themed game.
  35. Add a car to a child's train set, but include Steam Train, Dream Train or Elisha Cooper's Train.
  36. Nature lovers will enjoy Birdsongs along with a guidebook like Backyard Birds and some binoculars.
  37. For more nature, pair A Butterfly is Patient and/or Butterfly Park with a butterfly garden kit.
  38. Give your favorite girly-girl Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy with dress-up jewelry and/or a fancy poodle.
  39. Give your rough little boy Bad Pirate along with genuine pirate gear.
  40. Another nighttime choice is Goodnight, Little Monster with an Ugly Doll.
  41. Give picture book Flashlight with a special flashlight and a promise for a nighttime walk or two.
  42. Blackout
  43. Or for a different angle with that flashlight, pair with Blackout and prepare for indoor fun with the lights out.
  44. Take fun picture book Fold Me a Poem and pair it with an origami kit.
  45. Picture books A Sick Day for Amos McGee or Panda-monium at Peek Zoo would be perfect with a zoo animal collection or game.
  46. Or head down to the Farm, adding a Lace and Trace Farm Set.
  47. 999 Frogs Wake Up goes nicely with Flingin' Frogs game.
  48. For a western theme, give A Night on the Range or Rodeo Red with a cowboy hat.
  49. Take a special book, like The Lion and the Bird (about a friendship and seeing each other again), and make a recording of you reading it.
  50. Pair Duck and Goose with a bright ball.
  51. Dusk
  52. Celebrate the season with the beautiful Dusk and appropriate lights or decorations.
  53. The funny wordless book Once Upon a Banana is a perfect fit with a stuffed monkey — but show your sense of humor by throwing a banana into the gift bag.
  54. Another wordless book choice is the visually stunning Pool, which begs to be given with googles and a trip to the nearest indoor swimming pool.
  55. Give The Snow Globe Family with a snow globe.
  56. Pair Lilly’s Big Day with dress-up clothes.
  57. Or another dress-up option is the Ladybug Girl books with wings and antennae.
  58. Pair Bubble Bath Pirates with a cool rubber duck.
  59. Give the wonderful The Day the Babies Crawled Away with a baby doll.
  60. Everyone needs Mo Willems’ book Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, maybe adding a toy bus.
  61. Pair classic A Bargain For Frances with a tea set.
Early Elementary
    Boy! Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs
  1. Pair a nonfiction book about dinosaurs, like Boy! Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, with a bunch of plastic ones.
  2. Give Instructions with a book of classic fairy tales, and make time to read them together.
  3. Introduce a folktale with Maneki Neko: the Tale of the Beckoning Cat and giving lucky cat bank.
  4. Pair silly beginning reader book The Monster in the Backpack with a cute backpack (monster additional).
  5. Give beginning reader books Amazing Sharks! and National Geographic Readers: Sharks! and throw in a shark on a stick.
  6. Take to the ice with book choices Katie Kazoo, On Thin Ice and passes to the local ice-skating rink.
  7. Soccer Cats
  8. Give a title from the Soccer Cats series with a soccer ball.
  9. Pair Toys Go Out with a red bouncy ball, or a plush stingray or buffalo.
  10. Pair Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs with a kazoo.
  11. Give early chapter book series books Rainbow Fairies or Flower Fairies with lovely little fairies.
  12. Blooming fashionistas will appreciate Paper Fashions (Klutz) (all thirty-five Amazon reviews gave five stars!) along with Fashion Kitty.
  13. Combine sweet Jenny and the Cat Club with a red scarf (don’t worry if it’s too long — so is Jenny’s) and a black cat.
Elementary
    Candymakers
  1. Satisfy a sweet tooth with The Candymakers with a candy making kit.
  2. Pair Operation YES! with green army men.
  3. Be a hero and give Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set with Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths.
  4. Pair fantasy book The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda with a Stars Wars 'Ask the Force' top.
  5. Give What the World Eats with a promise for an international dinner out or in.
  6. Pair Every Soul a Star with The Kids Book of the Night Sky and plan a date to look at the stars together.
  7. For business-minded kids, pair The Lemonade War with a coin counter bank.
  8. Expand the idea of giving with The One and Only Ivan with an adopt-an-animal program at your local zoo.
  9. All the elementary school kids will love The Invention of Hugo Cabret, but you can pair it with tin wind-up toys for extra flair.
  10. Give Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little with um, Stuart Little.
  11. Frankenstein
  12. You can’t go wrong with the funny poems and outstanding art in Frankenstein Takes the Cake along with a cake-baking session, followed by reading the book together. As a matter of fact, throw in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and make a whole day — and meal — of it.
  13. Speaking of the amazing Adam Rex, give the hilarious book The True Meaning of Smekday with a the related T-shirt Regarding Stickyfish Teams, I Favor the Bigfield Fighting Koobish.
  14. Give Kimchi & Calamari with a promise for a dinner out Korean style, or Italian style, or both.
  15. Wrap up A Crooked Kind of Perfect with excellent toe socks.
  16. Perhaps Fabulous Hair with a collection of hair accessories will make someone smile.
  17. Pair a diary-format book like My Explosive Diary (2nd/3rd grade), Amelia’s Notebook (4th/5th grade), or The Princess Diaries (6th/7th grade) with a journal and fun pens
  18. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck
  19. For a boy, how about the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School with the Do It Yourself Journal?
  20. Have fun with Clarice Bean Spells Trouble and a game of Scrabble.
  21. Pair Phineas MacGuire... Erupts! with a science kit, or the next book in the series, Phineas MacGuire... Gets Slimed! with the slime science kit.
  22. Look to fantastic nonfiction, giving Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon with a homemade coupon for a visit to the Air and Space Museum (okay, this might only work around Washington, D.C.) or astronaut ice cream.
  23. Give a drawing book like Draw 50 Aliens or Draw 50 Animals with a couple of nice sketch pads.
  24. Pair a spy-themed book like Harriet the Spy, Spy School (chapter book) or The Real Spy’s Guide to Becoming a Spy (nonfiction) with rear-view sunglasses and/or a fingerprint kit.
  25. Bigger girls like stuffed animals, too. How about Hoot with an owl or The World According to Humphrey with a hamster?
  26. Select a magic book and fun magic tricks.
  27. Pair D.I.Y.: Kids with a gift card to a local craft store, and maybe some shopping and crafting time together.
  28. Book of Animal Poetry
  29. Match the book and the movie, like The Spiderwick Chronicles with the DVD.
  30. Pair a theme book like Katie and the Mustang with a horse charm and a satin cord from a craft store.
  31. Or maybe Fairy Realm with a charm bracelet.
  32. Give the first books of The Series of Unfortunate Events with a brass telescope.
  33. Pair The Art Book for Children with watercolor paints or an art set.
  34. Give National Geographic's Book of Animal Poetry, Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart or Poetry Speaks to Children with hot chocolate, a mug, and a gift certificate for time to read it together.


Teen
  1. Buy a tween Better Nate Than Ever and/or Jack & Louise: Act 1along with tickets to a show.
  2. Give the companion books Goth Girl Rising and The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl , and throw in How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains.
  3. Pair a book that you and a teen can enjoy with a gift card to Starbucks and a promise to talk about the book over coffee. Some suggestions? Liar, Candor, or The Adoration of Jenna Fox have interesting issues.
  4. Beauty Queens
  5. Give Beauty Queens with a small makeup kit, and a healthy dose of irony.
  6. Rock out with Beige along with a mix CD of the songs in the chapter titles (or an iTunes gift card).
  7. Pair House of Dance with ballroom dance lessons.
  8. Give delicious book A La Carte with personal cooking lessons.
  9. Match casino gambling themed Drop with a deck of cards and a family game of penny poker or blackjack.
  10. Pair King Dork with a CD of The Mr. T Experience.
  11. Treat a tween to Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf along with pink nail polish, lipstick, post-it notes, and special bubble bath, as mentioned in the book.
  12. Pair The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting with yarn, knitting needles, and a promise for some lessons.
  13. Give Ductigami: The Art of Tape with... well, rolls of duct tape.
Adult
  1. Give nonfiction book The Beekeeper's Lament with real honey from a whole foods store.
  2. Geography of Bliss
  3. Buy two copies of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World  — one for you, one for a friend — and make a lunch date to talk about the book and one’s personal quest for happiness.
  4. Pair Life is Sweet with chocolate, any kind.
  5. Give This I Believe II with the first book This I Believe and a journal to capture great revelations of inner truth.
  6. Recapture that one exciting election year when we had hope with Dreams From My Father and Life’s The American Journey of Barack Obama.
  7. Match travel memoir-themed books with the... um, drink of the region. Like In a Sunburned County with Yellow Tail wine from Australia or The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific with coconut rum. (Adults only for this gift, obviously.)
  8. Colbert fans and soon-to-be converts need the new book, America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't along with the greatest gift of all, the DVD A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All.
  9. Give The Devil Wears Prada, Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office, and This Little Piggy Went to Prada in a Prada bag (from eBay! C’mon, a girl can dream...)
Wrap a Book
  1. Wrap your book up in solid paper and tie a cool scarf around it. I love this blue and white striped one, which would look great with silver paper for Hannukkah.
  2. For just a little something extra, make these headbands the ribbons around your wrapped package.
  3. Strawberry bags
  4. Try reusable shopping bags — wrap in one, attach another in its pouch as a gift. These bags fold up into little strawberries. Cute!
  5. Or tuck a book or two in an Peace Love Books tote.
  6. Wrap a cookbook in photocopies of your favorite recipes. A knitting book with your own favorite patterns. Or hey, wrap a book about finances in dollar bills.
  7. Wrap your book up in a clever Threadless t-shirt. Want a literary theme? The Pictures and Coversations one is particular cool.
  8. If you’re going the book gift card route, how about tucking it in a Keep Calm and Read Books coin purse
  9. Maybe you just want to attach a little something to the gift for fun. I suggest a keychain, bookmarks, an ornament, bangle-bracelets, locker magnets, or lip gloss. You can find these online, but personally, I go to the very back of Claire’s stores where they often have incredible discounts on such little things.
  10. Okay, I listed keychains, but there are also reading-themed ones like this one.
  11. And yes I mentioned bookmarks, but not a Reading Ninja bookmark.
  12. Don’t have the time or energy to deal with the mall? Find a little booklight to tie on the package. I like the look of this one
Add a Book-Themed, Handmade Gift
    Recycled Book Notecards
  1. Give recycled book postcards like these Paris Ladies.
  2. Everyone isn’t on GoodReads, so here’s a little reading journal.
  3. For home, locker or cubicle cabinets, some reading-themed Bottle Cap Magnets.
  4. Bibliophiles don’t need to hide their love of the page with a Bookish necklace.
  5. Or proclaim a love of words on your ears with Shakespeare earrings.
  6. A sweet art print for people who love to read.
  7. Or for another take, a print of a favorite animal on vintage book pages, especially one for book lovers
  8. Maybe give a tote to carry those tomes, but one with book club tribute.
  9. Maybe give a book loving mugs with literary tea.
  10. Send out some love to the ereaders with a special cover of words.

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Tenth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge: Winners!

Of course, we're really all winners to have had so much great reading time! But prizes are fun too, and there are among us some dedicated reader demons and they are...

The One and Only Marfalfa who takes this year's 48HBC with 38.75 hours and 16 books! Incredible! This blogger will receive a prize package of signed books from my Book Expo America trip, along with some other great bookish gifts. Congratulations!

Specific Junkie comes in just behind with 36 hours of reading - on the weekend they got a puppy! He will receive two fantastic signed ARC's from my BEA trip, along with some special speculative fiction. Great job!

Our "Just for Playing" Winners are...

Lapwings Read and From Tots to Teens who will receive selected ARC's and books.

Our 20 Hour Club is seventeen members strong this year!

Abby the Librarian - 20 hours

As Inclination Leads Me - 25 hours

By Singing Light - 24.25 hours

Boys Rule Boys Read - 22.5 hours

Charlotte’s Library - 20.75 hours

Lapwings Read - 27 hours (teen) 20 hours (tween)

Library Chicken - 33.75 hours

Literacious - 20 hours

Merrily Reading - 21.25 hours

More Like a Flower’s - 20.5 hours

MotherReader - 22 hours

Ms. Yingling Reads - 31 hours

The One and Only Marfalfa - 38.75 hours

SonderBooks - 28.25 hours

Specfic Junkie - 36 hours

Write. Sketch. Repeat - 30.75 hours

Thanks to everyone for participating and making the 48 Hour Book Challenge a fun experience! Read on!


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Tenth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge: Finish Line

Congratulations! You've completed the challenge!

When you finish your 48 hours, sign in with Mr. Linky below with the link to your final summary, which should include the number and/or titles of books read and the amount of time spent on the challenge. Rounding to the quarter hour will do just fine. Given different time zones, all final summary posts should be up by 7:00 a.m. Monday, June 22nd. Winners, prizes and such will be announced on Monday afternoonish.

Thanks to everyone who participated, supported, and promoted the 48 Hour Book Challenge!



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48 HBC: Personal Update II

I'll be editing this post as I finish my reading, but I wanted to get it up so that I can post the 48HBC Finish Line afterwards. So here's my quick update on my second 24 hour period.

Saturday night I read The Girl in the Torch, by Robert Shareow from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. I really enjoyed the book about an orphaned Jewish immigrant in the early days of New York City. Then I wrote my blog post and checked online stuff for an hour and got back to reading until 1:00 a.m. It was a challenge to keep reading after 11:00 p.m., because I was really tired from my long day. But fortunately Lies I Told, by Michelle Zink was an engrossing book.

But not so engrossing that I didn't take the out offered by a 1:00 a.m cutoff time to go to bed and return to the book at 8:00 a.m. this morning, finishing about 10:00 a.m. I should have done my blog post then, but didn't really think about it and went right into reading Endangered. by Lamar Giles. Then it suddenly hit me that I am not only reading for the challenge but running the challenge, and I might want to get the finish line up. So here we are at about 11:30 a.m., ready to do that and then go back to my own reading.

Edited to add:
Almost at the end of my 48 hour period and I'll have to cut out early for a dance recital, so for the next hour I'll be blogging and connecting with my 48HBC peeps. From 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. I've been reading Endangered, and it was a thriller that kept me excitedly reading in the last hours. But with lunch and a break for seeing teen's dance, I'll say it was more like three hours than four.

Totaling up, I have thirteen hours for the second 24 hour period, with an overall total of 22 hours. Short of my 24 hours goal, but good considering my weekend of work, recitals, and American Idol. I read seven books, which is also less than in the past. But my eyes aren't what they used to be and I did have some longer, denser books.

Hoping to write up and post reviews in the week to come, but for now I'll call it a challenge completed.


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48HBC: Personal Update

Coming up on the 48 Hour Book Challenge I knew that I'd have to contend with working on Saturday and dance recitals on Sunday. I didn't expect to be engaged of the logistics of getting my teen to American Idol auditions, but there you go. So my reading has been disjointed and distracted, putting any writing or connecting on the back burner. Only now, late Saturday evening, can I even figure out what I've been doing.

I started at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, reading until about 10:30 p.m. I am glad I started off easy, with Elvis and the Underdogs: Secrets, Secret Service, and Room Service, by Jenny Lee. I really enjoyed this lightly funny book about a boy and his former service dog that is now living in the White House. Just a good, fun book - which is what I needed. Last Night at the Circle Cinema, by Emily Franklin was not light, and was too much to finish on a distracted night. The rest of the night was spent on preparations for the American Idol auditions, which included conversations about why we were just figuring out to do this the night before the bus pulled into Baltimore.

Up at 5:00 a.m. to get the teen off to auditions with her dad and sister - along with four frozen water bottles, three umbrellas, two back-up phone batteries, various granola bars, hand sanitizer, and sunscreen. Got them out and started reading about 5:30 a.m., finishing the previous book and starting Those Girls, by Lauren Saft. This is the book I kept checking to make sure it was a teen title, because it was pretty explicit in scenes and language. It was like a old-fashioned, trashy novel but with teens. I read until about 9:00 a.m. and then got ready for my work day.

I had a program to supervise in the morning, but some of it was waiting for people to check in - so I got a little reading done then, plus a little time later in the day. Not my usual approach, but it was an unusual day. My book choice there was Nuts to You, by Lynne Rae Perkins, which I really enjoyed. But again, kind of a distracted reading.

Back home after 4:00 p.m., I spent some time catching up. I knew that my teen did not move on in the American Idol auditions, but was glad to hear more about the day. She was happy with her performance and the experience, and she was really glad that we had made the last minute push for her to be able to go. At 5:00, I got back to reading Nuts to You finishing by my 24 hour mark at 6:00 p.m.

Halfway through the 48HBC, I have four books finished with nine hours to the challenge. Not as good as I'd hoped, but tomorrow is another day.



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Tenth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge: Starting Line

So it begins. Whenever you start your 48 hour period, sign in with a link to your blog with old, reliable Mr. Linky. Keep track of your time — which includes reading, reviewing, blogging, and connecting (blog reading, tweeting, and general bookish socializing). To keep the Starting Line post at the top of my blog, I won’t publish my personal posts until sometime Saturday evening.

On Sunday, I’ll have a Finish Line post where you can leave the link to your final summary, which should include the amount of time spent on the challenge. Rounding to the quarter hour will do just fine. Winners, prizes and such will be announced on Monday afternoonish. Happy Reading!

48 Hour Book Challenge: Get Ready

Okay, we are seriously close to the Tenth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge and it is time to get ready. Do you have your books? I've got mine. Do you have your plan? I sort of have mine. Which can serve as an example for those of you without clear schedules.

When I set the dates, I wasn't really thinking about my daughter's dance recitals over that weekend. With a little internal negotiating of what does or does not make me a bad mother, I've settled on going to the last one and skipping one entirely. This isn't quite as awful as it may sound because my teen is less interested in the recitals than others may be. It also turns out that I work on Saturday, so I'm going to lose a huge chunk of time. But so be it. I'm making my own goal to hit 24 hours of reading in the 48 hour period - and I'm not sure I can do it. But that's why it's a Challenge.

So don't worry if you can't put in a whole weekend. Just let it be a weekend where reading is a priority and done with friends. Sign up in the comments and look for the starting line post on Friday. See you there.


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48 Hour Book Challenge: Prizes

One reason to go to Book Expo America was to get books for the 48 Hour Book Challenge this coming weekend. Here are some of the signed books that I plan on reading this weekend and giving away as prizes:

Last-But-Not-Least Lola: Going Green, by Christine Pakkala; Last Night at the Circle Cinema, by Emily Franklin; House of Charms, by Christina Cameron; Lies I Told, by Michelle Zink; Those Girls, by Lauren Saft;
Elvis and the Underdogs, by Jenny Lee; The Girl in the Torch, by Robert Sharenow; Five Nincompoops, The Princess and One Saviour, by K. Edward; Endangered, by Lamar Giles; and The Summertime Girls, by Laura Hankin

There are also potentials for prizes among the ARC's I received. I didn't gather many, so most of these were ones that I requested that the publishers were able to give me.

The Murdstone Trilogy, by Mal Peet; Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, by Hal Johnson; The Bamboo Sword, by Margi Preus; When Mischief Came to Town, by Katrina Nannestad; Samurai Rising, by Pamela Turner; Steve Jobs, by Jessie Hartland;
Hunter, by Mercedes Lackey; How to Capture an Invisible Cat; by Paul Tobin; George, by Alex Gino; Sunny Side Up, by Jennifer Holm; Currents, by Jane Petrlik Smolik; and The Golden Compass: the Graphic Novel, adapted and illustrated by Stephanie Melchior-Durand and Clement Oubrerie.

So I've got my reading cut out for me. Are you gathering your choices for the 48 Hour Book Challenge this weekend? If you haven't signed up to participate, there is still time. And remember, you don't actually have to read the whole 48 hours. Consider it more like blocking off the time to make reading a priority. Check out the 48 Hour Book Challenge info and read along.

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Book Expo America: Part IV

I know by Friday that some of my blogging buddies were beginning to wear out, but not me. I was ready for another day of authors, books, and kid lit learning. I got it all, plus some.

I started off tracking down my new best friend from the previous night, Jory Johns, who was listed in a number of places pretty much simultaneously. I took my chances on the table signing being the closest to accurate, and was able to get my own copy of Goodnight Already! signed by this one-to-watch author. I jumped into Sarah Durst's line to pick up her book, The Girl Who Could Not Dream, and was attracted by the lively jacket of her neighbor author to grab a copy of You Can't Ruin my Day, by Allen Klein. I also couldn't resist Carol Alt, so took her book too. Then I grabbed one of the last rounds of bagels at the Library Lounge, and sat in on the YA Book Buzz.

I made sure I was back at the signing area to see Sophie Blackall, who was signing prints from Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. But I also got a bonus Alvina Ling sighting, who was helping out there. Then it was on to pick up Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton, written and illustrated by Don Tate. I've followed this guy online for years, so it I really enjoyed the chance to meet in person - and to get this lovely book!

After those signings, I was doing a little wandering around the booths and catching the nonfiction panel led by Betsy Bird and the Middle Grade Buzz session. Starred on my agenda was the signing by Felicia Day, which Liz informed me was getting rock star lines an hour early. Eeek. I couldn't get there that quickly, but did make it there in time and the line moved very efficiently. So my payoff was a minute with Internet star, where I told her that my daughter had her hair - which was a bit alarming, until I clarified that I meant that she had used a photo of Felicia Day to chose her new hair color and was playing her character in a school show, and ohmigod I'm an idiot. But she couldn't have been sweeter, and I can't wait to get her book You're Never Weird on the Internet.

With three hours before my bus trip back to DC, it seemed wise to get books shipped off. Indeed it took a while to get them sorted out and packed tidy enough to fit in one box. The packing up also limited what else I could take from the floor, so I tried to avert my eyes. Okay, with the one exception of picking up a copy of Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon. I also snapped a quick pic of Gloria Steinem's signing which is too stalkerish to share. Instead here's the day's highlights:


I ended Friday with my BEA Buddies - Liz, Jackie, Leila, and Gwenda - hanging out at an unused publisher's table, hoping we wouldn't get kicked out and yet too tired to keep walking around. It was a great way to close out, just talking books and such. My bus trip back was not ideal, but with so many good things to reflect on, it was overall a win of good friends, good books, and good visit. What more could I ask for.


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