Books are one of the best gifts any child can receive! If you need some direction, here is a little list of some top book gift ideas for kids.

We don’t know about you, but with Christmas coming up in just a few weeks we’re checking all of our lists twice. One of the best Christmas gifts to give any child is a book! There’s something so special about encouraging the joy of reading in your kids or grandkids, so we’ve created a list of our recommended books to give the kids in your life at Christmas this year. 

On this list, you’ll find books filled with encouragement, jokes, biblical truth, and sweet, wholesome stories. 

Book Gift Ideas for Kids

Picture Books for Preschoolers (Ages 3-5)

Reading with little ones is always a special time, especially when the books have thoughtful and beautiful illustrations. These books have such a great message while also including fun illustrations for your little one to look at and interact with on each page.

So Happy to Know You! by Annie F. Downs

What Sounds Fun To You? by Annie F. Downs

You Can Pray Big Things by Julia Jeffress Sadler

The Happy Crab by Layla and Kevin Palmer

Learning and Laughter for Young Kids (Ages 5-9)

We love books that educate while keeping it fun and interesting!

Finding great books for brave boys doesn’t have to be impossible. Here is a fantastic list to get you started!

My brothers were “all boy” and constantly on the move as they built outdoor forts, played with (harmless) snakes, and frequently managed to be covered in dirt. But they also loved to read. And the books they thoroughly enjoyed almost always contained that special mixture of mud, danger, and bravery that appeals especially to such adventurous young men.  

Thanks to my brothers, some books on this list are ones I’ve known of since I was young. Other books I’ve discovered more recently, as my husband has introduced me to some of his own boyhood favorites. And all of these are ones that I can see my own four-year-old son enjoying in the not-too-distant future! Because there is nothing that spans the generations quite like a well-written book, full of courageous moments that may be well covered in mud.  

King of the Trees by William Burt 

Rolin’s mundane life is turned upside down when strangers in the marketplace strive to steal his heirloom pendant. In his flight to escape, he climbs a tree and is suddenly transported to another world.

Being captivated by a good chapter book can be a challenge in our screen-driven society. But these may well capture your kids attention!

Like many families from the ’90s, I have fond memories of our Saturday mornings. But unlike many others, it wasn’t Saturday morning cartoons that pulled us from our beds on the weekend—it was the kid’s radio programs on our Christian radio station.  

It wasn’t quite as simple as just getting up and turning on the radio, however. Because we lived in Alaska and our station was transmitted from a different time zone, we either had to get up at 4 a.m. to hear our favorite programs or talk my brother into getting up and taping them for us.

One way or another, we almost always caught our favorite shows—Ranger Bill, The Sugar Creek Gang, and the iconic Adventures in Odyssey. Listening to these radio shows blaring through the house on Saturday mornings will forever be one of my favorite childhood memories.

Along with loving radio programs, I was also an avid reader. I read books faster than my parents could supply them and the books I loved best were historical novels.

I have two sons, a freckled seven-year-old with sparkling hazel eyes and a jolly, roly-poly baby.

My greatest desire is that they will know they are loved: by the Lord, by me, and by others. Unconditionally. And I want to be a voice of encouragement and affirmation in their lives. So I was thrilled to hear that Rachael Denhollander has written a book that celebrates how much a little boy is worth.

And as it turns out, little boys are worth, well, everything. 

Affirming Your Little Boy’s Worth

How Much Is A Little Boy Worth is a lovely and heartfelt picture book. With lyrical prose and glowing illustrations, it’s just right for snuggling up and sharing with your little boy.

It reminds me a bit of the classic I’ll Love You Forever in style, but I personally find this one much more substantial. My son told me he really liked the illustrations, and I enjoyed the variety of settings and ethnicities portrayed in the pictures. The scenes will be familiar and relatable to most boys ages 3-8, the age range I’d recommend for this book. 

In a world that is conflicted about what manhood looks like, our sons can hear conflicting messages.

A comic book can unlock the imagination and inspiration of a hero saving the world from bad guys. Have I got a comic book to share with you!

One doesn’t have to look any further than a list of upcoming movies to recognize that superheroes have caught hold of the public’s imagination. No matter how many times the stories have been told, people still flock to watch and experience the excitement and hope, and adventure of their favorite hero.

The comic book section of any bookstore reflects the same excitement and connection to the idea of superheroes fighting to save the world. But if you’re like me, you might watch or read the stories with a bit of melancholy. After all, despite the way they grip your emotions and create epic storylines…there is an emptiness at the end. Not much from those adventures translate to real-life or godliness or the hope of Christ.

When it comes to what I provide for my children to read over and over again—I want the stories to carry truth that can help them make sense of their world and encourage them to follow Christ.

 If you’ve ever felt this way—I have an awesome resource for you!

A good story can help shape and grow your tween son in character and integrity.

In my parents’ home, we have a closet under our staircase where all manner of decor, future gifts, and boxes of dress-up are stored, but the wood-paneled door serves a special purpose. Though the outside of the door faces the living room, the inside is etched with years of measurements.

Nine children, one decade, and many pencil marks, labeled with a name and date. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past decade, watching my little siblings grow, it’s that no one can hold back time.

No matter what curriculum you use, no matter what parenting philosophy you subscribe to, no matter how many ups and downs they may face, time passes and children grow up.

My dad always told me he was going to put some heavy books on my head to keep me down. Today I’m going to talk about books to stand on.

In May I shared my list of 7 Books for Your Tween Girl’s Journey to Womanhood.

Do you offer the boys in your life a great variety of adventurous reads to expand their imagination?

Don’t try this at home, but I have it on good authority that it’s possible to drive a riding lawn mower and read simultaneously. I never actually saw him do it, but apparently, my brother was known to enjoy a good book while cutting grass at a local church. (My parents put a stop to this escapade when it was discovered. But it does seem like a good use of time, provided nothing is damaged in the process.)

In our growing up years, my brothers were just as voracious readers as my sister and I. And while they also enjoyed their fair share of LEGO® and outdoor adventures, a great book was a magnet for them. Sometimes that meant deciding whether to mow the lawn or read a book, other times it meant trying to combine two activities.

The books in this list are entertaining, full of adventure, and likely to capture the attention of the young fellows in your life. And if your son’s sister happens to enjoy reading, then I’d recommend she check these titles out, too.

Danger. Adventure. Mystery. Tweens are ready for these and quite often involved in one of the three, if not all at once! It’s no surprise that their books are filled with great adventure and mystery where bold action are required to right the wrongs. They read books like Ender’s Game that tell of a boy learning how to protect a world in grave danger. The Hobbit shows how even the least and the most unskilled can do more than the mighty.

While reading these great adventures and mysteries, they are absorbing values and principles that will shape their life forever. For example, in The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, Alec Ramsey finds the courage to live after being shipwrecked and despite his struggle, he finds the compassion to help a wild stallion. As the story progresses, he learns how to follow his dreams by overcoming challenges and starting a very successful racing stable.

Adventure and Lessons

Even more exciting and important are the lessons in C.S. Lewis’ fantasy The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In this book, the reader sees Eustace transform from a boy who wasn’t much fun to be around to a hero set on vanquishing evil to protect the innocent.