Laughing Leopard Blog

Book Lover's Gift Guide

12/11/2019

Christmas is just around the corner and, if you’re like most people, you still have some shopping to do!

While books make WONDERFUL gifts, sometimes finding that special something for a book-obsessed friend or family member can be tricky. What have they read? What do they want to read? What do they absolutely not want to read? The list of questions could fill, well, a book!

There’s no need to get your Christmas lights in tangle, though! We have you and your literary loving friends covered with a gift guide to help you feed into their book obsession--without agonizing over which book to choose! Without further ado, here are 10 gifts to please any book lover in your life.

1. DIY Curated Box

From makeup to dog toys, it seems like there is a curated box service for just about everything these days. There is nothing quite like opening a box of items selected just for you; however, these boxes can come with a hefty price tag.

If you love the idea of a bibliophile’s dream box, but want to save some money for the rest of your Christmas list, why not curate your own box? Below is a list of just a few customizable items that would make any reader’s heart soar. Any of these items would also make an excellent gift all on its own!

Mini Book: Yes, we know we just said choosing a book can be tricky, but this gift strikes the perfect balance by delivering an old favorite in a new way. There’s nothing worse than being stuck somewhere without a good book, so grab a copy of a mini-sized novel, or simply a collection of quotes by a favorite author that can be discretely stowed in a purse or pocket for those inevitable book emergencies.

Mini reading light: Light up your tiny book with this cute, tiny reading light! It stores easily and even doubles as a bookmark.

Mug: Nothing goes with a book quite as well as a hot beverage! Thankfully, there is no shortage of book-themed mugs! Whether your loved one is into classics like Alice in Wonderland , by Lewis Carroll, or loves all kinds of genres, there is sure to be a mug for them to enjoy as they turn the pages.

White ceramic mug with painted on tea bag tag that reads 'drink me'

This gentle nod to Lewis Carroll's famous piece can be found on etsy.com

White ceramic mug with painted black heartbeat line with book in the center of the line

Find it on etsy.com

Bobble: Most curated boxes include a bobble or two, such as a keychain, necklace, earrings, or bookmark. Here are a few ideas to inspire you:

silver and white cufflinks with 3 black stars from Harry Potter

Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling Cuff Links

Dangling earrings. One is a pink and teal typewriter with paper printed with I am. I am. I am. A black circle with the words 'margin release' in white hanging on the bottom.Other earring is a teal book with 'The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath' printed in black. A black circle with a white B is attached to the top of the book.

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath earrings

Dark maroon hairbow with the words from The One Ring printed in gold on the bow.

Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien hair bow

4 coasters with Wizard of Oz old fashioned illustrations.

Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum Coasters

Cozy Socks- Make sure your friend is decked head to toe with these bookish socks!

Jane austen socks. Pale purple socks with dark teal heels and ankle trim. A Jane Austen quote is in gold. Floral accents and a woman's silhouette are in dark purple.

Library card socks. Socks are solid golden yellow with library checkout card printed on top.

Edgar Allan Poe socks. Gray blue socks with black heels and ankle trim. Black and white edgar allan poe heads decorate the socks.

Book nerd socks. Socks are black with light blue toe and heel. Ankles are white with black books and teal trim. Book is written in white on the bottom of one foot. Nerd is written in dark teal on the foot of the other.

If you’re in a pinch and want to go with a ready-made box, My Subscription Addiction reviewed 19 different book boxes that do the work for you, so all you have to do is click 'purchase'!

2. Audio Book Subscription

January is when a lot of people make the move to...get moving! What does the reader on the run need? An audio-book subscription, of course! Now your friend won’t have to choose between reaching their reading goals and reaching their fitness goals.

Here are a few more items to round out the perfect gift for the running reader in your life:

Headphones
Running sleeve
Bookish shoelaces

3. Board Games

Mix it up on game night with some literary-themed board games. This list, curated by Bustle, will have you competing all year long.

221B Baker Street Sherlock Holmes Board Game

4. Recipe Book

Now you can dine like your favorite characters with these recipe books themed after old and new favorites. List by Buzzfeed.

Ernest Hemingway A Movable Feast book cover

5. Book-Scented Candle

As much as we would all love to live in a library, it just isn’t possible. But that doesn’t mean your house can’t smell like a literary wonderland! Frostbeard Studio has a selection of book-themed candles that would make any reader swoon.

Book Lover's soy candle in old books scent. Candle is dark cream in a clear jar with black lid.

6. Literary postcards

These fun literary postcards are a great way to help your friend rediscover the lost art of letter writing, or to simply frame up and deck out their home!

Postcards from Penguin box. It is orange with a sepia envelope in the middle

7. Creative Storage

All book-lovers have the same universal struggle--where to keep all their books! Help your favorite bookworm feed their obsession with these cute and clever storage solutions:

book ends that look like books. Each fake book is a drawer. Books are dark emerald green, tan gold, white and emerald green, and white and tan gold.

Metal book holding bracket that screws into wall.

Large wooden spool painted white. Books are stored around the spool. The top is used as a table for a book and fan.

Skateboard bookshelf. 2 black skateboard decks connected with 2 metal bars on each side.

8. Literary Calendar

In today’s hectic world, it can be difficult to find the time to sit down and enjoy a good book. Thankfully, these literary calendars provide a welcome boost of books each and every day!

Jane Austen Every Day. Jane Austen quotes calendar.

Tolkein Calendar 2020 illustrated by Alan Lee

Month by month literary holiday calendar.

9. Embosser

Is your friend’s book collection their pride and joy? Help them make it their own with a personalized embosser!

From the Library of embossed paper. Text encircles open book outline.

10. Blanket

Wrapped your loved one in their favorite book with a customized blanket.

Peter Pan blanket. Peter Pan outline stands in the nursery window while outlines of Wendy, John, and Michael look on. Outlines are in ivory. Rest of blanket is made up of words from the book in teal and navy blue.

2018 The Grinch Movie blanket. Green with Grinch frowning and the top of dog Max's head.

11. BOOKS!

Ok, we couldn’t help adding this to the list! Book really are the best gift you can give. They take you on adventures, expand your mind, and become old friends you can take with you wherever you go. So how do you avoid buying something your favorite reader has already read? A great way to get a peek inside their head is to take a peek at their Goodreads profile! On Goodreads, users can create lists of books they have read and enjoyed and books they want to read. It’s almost like a ready-made Christmas list!

Young or old, books are gifts that keep on giving.

This is A. Blob and A. Blob on a Bus by L.A. Kefalos on white tissue paper with silver snowflakes.

One final bonus idea: if your friend isn’t into material items, why not give the gift of giving? Donate books or money to an organization that champions children’s literacy in your friend or family member’s name and change two lives this Christmas!

Here are a few organizations spreading the joy of reading:

National Novel Writing Month Challenge, blog post

Picture books and bullying prevention, blog cover

Picture book cover for A. Blob on a Bus by L.A. Kefalos

Picture book cover for This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos

A. Blob is back, and this time it's on a bus! As the slimy bully pokes and pesters the children of Lincoln Elementary School, it seems like they will never be able to ride the bus in peace. That is, until one brave girl takes stand.

Can one act of bravery change everything--including A. Blob? Find out in this second installment of The Blob Series!

Before it was on a bus, A. Blob was on the playground. This first installment of The Blob Series follows the antics of A. Blob, as it wreaks havoc on the elementary school playground with its bullying ways. As the story progresses, however, readers learn that A. Blob may have more than meets the eye.

Along with its powerful illustrations and rhymed verse for early readers, this story invites children to put themselves in the shoes of another and encourages readers to consider why bullies behave the way they do – and start to consider what can be done to help.

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Is It Bullying? Identifying bullying behavior cut-and-sort activity.

12/2/2019

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If you look up “the steps of problem solving” on Google, nearly every expert will tell you that the first step is to ‘define the problem’. While this may seem almost insultingly obvious, it's a step that is easily and often skipped.

As an example, let’s say your coworker arrives late every single day. What is the problem? The most basic answer? She’s late, of course! Lateness is the problem. Or is it?

What if, instead, lateness is actually a symptom of the true problem?

When rephrased this way, the issue--and the resulting solution--becomes far more complex. If the true problem is traffic, solutions could include going to bed earlier to make it easier to wake up earlier and beat traffic, or finding an alternate route to work. If, however, the true problem is that your coworker is dealing with a negative family situation that keeps her up late, disrupts the sleep, and delays her each morning, finding a backroads route to work will do little to solve her problem.

Defining the problem--the true problem--is the first step to good problem solving. This is just one of several reasons that schools, parents, students, and educators struggle with defeating bullying. Like the situation with your coworker, the question 'what is bullying?' is deceptively complex. Conflicts and teasing get mislabeled as bullying and true bullying is too often mislabeled as teasing or a conflict. Until the problem of bullying is well defined, students will continue to struggle to enact solutions.

To help you and your students tackle step 1 of solving the problem of bullying, we’ve put together this fun cut-and-sort printable activity. Keep scrolling to grab your free, downloadable copy.

Below is the definition of what bullying is, along with the definitions of 3 situations that are often mislabeled as bullying.

Get This Anchor Chart

After discussing these 4 situations with your students, work together to decide if the scenarios described on the 'Is it Bullying?' worksheet are bullying, mean, teasing, or conflict, or use the worksheet as independent practice to assess student understanding. This worksheet can also easily be pasted into a notebook for easy reference.