It wasn’t until I embarked upon the path of becoming a children’s book author that I learned about fantastic initiatives to give books, such as Picture Book Pass It On, Books for Africa, and International Book Giving Day to name a few. Valentine’s Day is also International Book Giving Day with the aim of “getting books into the hands of as many children as possible” according to their website. For my part, I’m thrilled to (finally!) have my own children’s book to be able to give away in addition to some fantastic books that I’ve found through my new network of authors and bloggers.
As I compiled my list of books for giving, I thought about memorable children’s books that were given to me as a child…
Children’s Cookbook
I can’t recall the relevant details (the poor book is safely packed away in storage after moving half way around the world), but I know it has a green paperback cover with an illustration of a boy and girl in a kitchen and is almost certainly out of print. It was given to me by a former neighbor and family friend and is my all-time favorite book gift . I’m sure this book is responsible for my love of food, but can’t be blamed for my lack of cooking talent. It tried.
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
I’m sure I’ve read this book over 1000 times. I even have the Spanish board book edition that I read to my toddler. From the vintage-looking illustrations to the sweet innocence of the little bird looking for his mom to the heartwarming ending, this a perfect picture book, in any language.
The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
How can anyone not love a book containing the classic stories Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor’s New Clothes? The book itself is small and fits perfectly in little ones’ hands. My edition is made just that much more special because it’s signed by my late grandmother.
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
Thanks to the thoughtful inscription in this well-loved book, I’ll always remember that it was given to me by my mom when I turned four. And within just a few months, I’ll be reading it to my own four year old. Now that is a gift that keeps giving.
If there is anything to learn from this list of books, it’s this…I’m still talking about them years (OK, decades) after receiving them as gifts. Why not find a special book, maybe a picture book, to give to a child this Valentine’s Day? Who knows, they may one day, many years from now, write about how much it meant to them.
Visit the International Book Giving Day website for more information, creative ideas and downloadable items including bookmarks, bookplates and posters.
P.S. Here’s my book gift list for Valentine’s Day, I mean International Book Giving Day…
Picture Books
Sing-Along Construction Song – For my two year old nephew
The Wandering Bear by Colin West – For my three year old son
The Legend of the Dust Bunnies by Michelle Eastman – For my four year old nephew
Middle Grade/Chapter Books
Barney and Barry, The Hitchhikers by Sharon Powers – For my seven year old niece
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon – For my 12 year old niece
In a Sunburnt Country by Bill Bryson – For my 14 year old nephew who is planning a trip to Australia
Laurinda by Alice Pung – For my 15 year old niece who attends a private girls school in Australia 
And finally, I’ll be sending Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin half way around the world to friends in Paris! How’s that for International Book Giving Day? Leave a comment below and let us all know how you’ll be celebrating!
Stephanie Ward 
Great post! The kid lit community is so amazing. Looking forward to International Book Giving Day!
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We are participating in International Book Giving Day! 🙂 I like the book you authored. Cute. I came here via #kidlitbloghop
Have a wonderful day.
Pamela Hall from Literate For Life
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Hi Pamela. Great to hear you are participating in International Book Giving Day. And thanks for mentioning my book, glad to hear you like it 🙂 See you on the Kid Lit Blog Hop! Warm Wishes, Stephanie
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Isn’t that the BEST thing you could do on Valentines 🙂 I love the idea of giving books on the 14th.. looking forward to it. Thanks for stopping by on KidLitBlogHop this week.
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Hi Resh. Thanks for stopping by and great to see you on the Kid Lit Blog Hop this week. It’s such a great idea to give kids books on Valentine’s Day…I wish I had thought of that years ago! Have a nice Intl Book Giving Day on the 14th 🙂
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We love International Book Giving Day! The blue elephant on Chris Haughton’s book giving day poster is absolutely adorable and I added him to my blog’s sidebar to help spread the word about giving a book to a child.
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Hi Catherine. Thanks for stopping by. I adore the Intl Book Giving Day posters, bookplates and bookmarks. I’m running out of ink printing everything 🙂 I popped by your blog and love the sidebar image…it’s great to have your support for giving books to children 🙂 Happy Book Giving Day on the 14th!
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Love this new idea of sharing books on Valentine’s Day. I am already planning to share Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin with a friend and will certainly look forward to choosing other books to share as well. Thank you for the wonderful idea!
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Hi Victoria 🙂 So glad you stopped by. I agree…I love the idea of giving books on Valentine’s Day, especially for kids. And thanks so much for sharing Wally with friends. Warm Wishes, Stephanie
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Great minds think alike! I’ll soon be posting details about The World Read Aloud Day “Speak Your Story” Blogging Challenge at https://michelleeastmanbooks.wordpress.com/. It begins February 9 and runs through March 8. If you choose to take the challenge, each week you will be asked to write a post in response to a prompt or question for a total of 4 posts counting down to World Read Aloud Day. You can read more about the challenge on The Busy Librarian’s blog:
http://www.busylibrarian.com/2015/01/world-read-aloud-day-2015-blogging.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBusyLibrarian+%28The+Busy+Librarian%29/
Happy Reading!
Michelle
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Hi Michelle. Thanks for stopping by. I love the World Read Aloud Day Blogging Challenge…count me in! I’m already working on drafts of posts for the very clever prompts. I look forward to reading your posts 🙂 Thanks again, Stephanie
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Hi Stephanie. As soon as they have the blogging challenge posted on their main website, I will share the instructions on my blog. Matthew Winner did a great job with the prompts. It should be a fun thing to do!
Michelle
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