Several years back, my favorite gift for young children used to be the Cheerios play book along with a small box of Cheerios.  Kids could read, interact with the book pages and eat Cheerios at the same time - triple win! Since I like making reading and making connections, I thought I would take some of the Reader Maker posts intended for larger Maker Spaces and rethink them for individual gift ideas.  I have plenty of kids in my life who will be getting books and maker kit sets for Christmas:

Reader:  Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep by Barney Saltzberg             Maker:  Fleece Pillow Kit

Kids can help Chengdu fall asleep by creating a pillow for him. Then they can use the pillow for themselves as they read the book. This is a great big brother or big sister gift to do with younger siblings.

Reader:  Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett  
Maker:  Gemstone Mine

This beautifully illustrated book will make you smile.  I love the dog throughout the story.  Its open-ended conclusion offers an opportunity for fun discussions. The child in your life can then have a dig of their own with the gemstone mine. There are a lot of dig kits out there with other treasures such as dinosaurs, fossils, etc.

Reader:  My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald  
Maker:  No Sew Throw

This is a beautiful story about resilience, acceptance and language among other things.  This book is an especially good choice if you have a child in your life that has just moved to a new place.  

Reader:  Cardboard by Doug TenNapel
Maker:  Cardboard Creatures or Google Cardboard

Very fun story about a cardboard creature that comes to life. Kids can make their own card board creature or they can make their own Google goggles and explore some 3D apps.

Reader:  The Apprentices by Maile Meloy
Maker: Rock Candy