Reader Maker Gifts 2016
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
Janie's experiments with desalination of water are a part of the first few chapters of this book. She hangs string in the water with her chemicals hoping the salt will cling to the string. As I read this, I kept visualizing making rock candy when I was a kid.
1 comments
This is so fun! What great ideas for Christmas gifts! Shared...
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