Holiday Book Pairings

In the spirit of the holidays, CWILL-BC members offer you our annual holiday book pairing list. Just as fine wine is enhanced when paired with the right food, these writers have paired their books with other small gift suggestions.

Caroline Adderson‘s Very Serious Children would pair well with a set of juggling balls.

Karen Autio suggests pairing Saara’s Passage, sequel to Second Watch, with the recipe for Finnish cardamom cookies featured in the novel. Here’s Karen’s recipe for these treats. Or better yet, pair the book with the recipe plus a freshly baked batch of the cookies! Visit Karen’s website here.

Dianna Bonder‘s Dogabet could be paired with a donation in your child’s name to your local Animal Rescue or SPCA and a small stuffed puppy. (Look in your local yellow pages for Animals Rescue organizations.) Pair Leon’s Song with some froggy slippers or froggy gumboots (available at any children’s clothing/shoe store).

Spiral, by K.L. Denman, will be enjoyed by teen girls, especially if matched with horseback riding or a visit to a Therapeutic Riding School show to witness the benefits of this special therapy. The Shade will be enjoyed by tween girls who enjoy ghostly mysteries and could be paired with a Ouija board game or a date to visit a museum and archives to ‘dig out’ legends of local hauntings. Visit K.L. Denman on her website.

Pair Lee Edward Fodi‘s Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers with a small craft box so that young fantasy lovers can decorate and create their very own magical keepsake chest. For those kids who couldn’t get enough of the maze of monsters  in Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger,  pair this latest Kandlestar book with a book of mazes, such as Monsters, Myths, and Mysteries ­ A Tangled Tour Maze Book. You can visit Lee on his website.

What could be better with Nan Gregory‘s picture book, Pink,  than a beautiful pink doll?

Have a tween or teen who’s into drama and puppetry? Pair Glen Huser’s Governor-General’s-Award-winning novel, Stitches, with a how-to book on puppetry and materials that might be used to fashion puppets (pieces of felt, glue, beads, buttons, etc.). Or package up his first young adult novel, Touch of the Clown with a set of face make-up for actors/clowns.

For Heather Kellerhals-Stewart‘s,  The Whale’s Way, arrange a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium to see the new baby beluga. Or, give an I.O.U. for a summer trip to Vancouver Island and Robson Bight to view the Orcas. You could also promise a ferry ride to Quadra Island where this story is set and you might even see a pod of orcas go by while you’re on the ferry.

Eileen Kernaghan‘ s Wild Talent: a Novel of the Supernatural is perfect to pair with a journal,  ideally one with a Victorian cover and lots of blank pages. For an  older teenager  Wild Talent could be paired with a Eurorail pass and a Paris guidebook. You can learn more about Eileen and her books on her website.

Shar Levine suggests her Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope could be paired with, what else… a microscope.  This book reveals all the secrets of microscopy.  And Shar’s Sports Science is the perfect book to pair with any piece of sports equipment, like skis, hockey sticks, skates, soccer balls, or baseballs.

Sheryl McFarlane suggests pairing The Smell of Paint with running gear for active tweens and teens. You can learn more about Sheryl and her books on her website.

Michelle Mulder‘s Maggie and the Chocolate War could be paired with a single nickel (the price of a bar of chocolate in 1947, when the book takes place), or, better yet, a jarful of nickels — enough to buy a chocolate bar these days. Michelle’s Yeny and the Children for Peace could be paired with a food basket of some of Colombia’s most delicious exports — bananas, papayas,cocoa — and a world map. You can visit Michelle on her website here.

Rachel Dunstan Muller suggests pairing Ten Thumb Sam (a junior novel for 8 to 10 year olds) with a kit or book of magic tricks for beginners.

William New suggests pairing The Year I Was Grounded with a bat, ball, and glove for a young baseball player (Geordie, the main character in the book, plays Little League).  Or for a young budding gardener, try pairing the book with some packages of seeds and a trowel (Geordie loves carrots, and learns that growing them is easy!).

William’s Dream Helmet pairs well with a special stuffed animal, especially for young children who are starting to have bad dreams or are afraid of the dark. (FYI, a “dream helmet” works like a bicycle helmet, except that, in this case, it protects its wearer from nightmares!)

Dog House Blues and/or The Truth About Rats (and Dogs) by Jacqueline Pearce could be paired with a BC SPCA Kids’ club membership.  Jacqueline’s Manga Touch could be paired with a copy of Japanese manga magazine Shonen Jump or Shojo Beat, which are available in the kids’ magazine section of larger book stores and newstands, and a Japanese food treat like a box of Pocky.

For older readers, pair Meeting Miss 405 by Lois Peterson with a calligraphy set, or felt markers with calligraphy nibs. Younger readers will enjoy the same book with a jumbo bag of wine gums and/or a package of multicoloured bulldog clips from Staples. Visit Lois on her website.

Pair Sheri Radford‘s Penelope and the Humongous Burp, with a whoopee cushion, so you can celebrate more than one rude (but funny) noise. And Penelope and the Monsters would be perfect with a DVD of the animated movie Monsters, Inc. Visit Sheri at her website.

Pair Margriet Ruurs’, Wake Up, Henry Rooster, with  a pair of fuzzy slippers and a reading light to read this book in bed! And In My Backyard would be perfect with a backyard exploration kit and a subscription to Ranger Rick magazine! Visit Margriet at her website here.

Joan Betty Stuchner‘s book Sadie the Ballerina could be paired with a ticket to the Nutcracker and Shira’s Hanukkah Gift could be paired with a ticket to any musical event – especially if there’s a violin in the concert.

Nikki Tate‘s Tarragon Island would pair well with a blank journal and fancy pen.

Pair Kari-Lynn Winters‘ Jeffrey and Sloth or A World of Stories with a globe. Find out where Sloth travels or locate where the (World of Stories) stories come from.

Pam Withers‘ Going Vertical could be paired with a Smurf kayaker toy or Huck Doll Tao kayaker toy. Visit Pam on her website.