Looking for a last-minute gift for the kids in your life?
Why not give something they'll never grow out of, something that won't need batteries, something that requires no set up or building... How about the gift of literature!
Librarian Mara Alpert, with the Children's Literature Department at L.A.'s Central Library, has these six picks for great books to gift, each with a certain nostalgia factor to please the gift-giver too.
Picture books
"What Pet Should I Get?" by Dr. Seuss
The story of a brother and sister (who just may have also starred in 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish') with plenty of Dr. Seuss's trademark weirdness, and a little mystery thrown in.
"More Caps for Sale: Another Tale of Mischievous Monkeys" by Esphyr Slobodkina
A sequel to the 1947 original, with the monkeys up to their trademark monkey business once again.
"The Little Shop of Monsters" by R.L. Stine, illustrated by Marc Tolan Brown
R.L. Stine's very first picture book is a bit of a love child between Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. It's a fun, slightly-scary story for little ones who are craving something spooky.
"The Full Moon at the Napping House" by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood
Twenty years after the original, this is sort of "The Napping House" backwards. When the full moon keeps everyone awake, each creature calms down the next one in a sleepy chain reaction.
Chapter books (Fiction)
"Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure" by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry, illustrated by Phil Noto
Princess Leia heads off on an adventure with a whole new gang of cohorts in this fabulous story that takes place between "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi."
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay
This beautifully illustrated version of the classic works for anyone-- from young kids who are just getting ready to experience Harry Potter for the first time, to teenagers and young adults who lived, breathed and bled Harry Potter as they were growing up.
To listen to the full interview with Mara Alpert, click the link above.