It's that time of year again; the time where we embrace our capitalist roots in a bizarre gangbang of pseudo "Christian" ideals and Pagan rituals. That time where we bankrupt and stress ourselves to the nth degree, and annoy the ever-loving hell out of every Jewish or Muslim person in our lives by insisting our traditions are more important than theirs, all for the sake of convincing our families that we still love them.

Look, I'm trying to hate Christmas slightly less than I used to. (It used to make me actively suicidal.) If I keep my focus on the kids in my life, it's more fun. So.

I decided to get all three of my nieces (and two of my nephews) three books each that I loved as a kid for Christmas (so, 15 books total) based on how old I was when I read/loved that book. (Obviously I excluded books that I genuinely thought they wouldn't like. I know my kids!)

Blue Fish, age 8:

This sweet little fishy doesn't particularly care for reading on her own, but she LOVES reading with her mother and big sis, so I tried to choose simple, fun titles; good for read-alongs. (I tried to pick books my sister would enjoy, too, since she's gonna have to read 'em.)

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews (yes, THAT Julie Andrews. Fraulein Maria herself). This book is so FUN and imaginative, and it's stuck with me since I first read it. The ice cream machine, the wiffle bird, the literal sweet tooth. It's a tale about three children and a scientist helping a mythical creature find out if he is truly the last of his kind, with fantasy, adventure, and danger on every corner. Likable characters and great world-building.

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville. If I learned anything hanging out with the kids this year, it's that little girls love dragons now just as much as I did. I LOVED the Magic Shop series as a kid; SO creative, such great fantasy tropes, poems, talking rats... I haven't read this book since I was a kid, but I still remember Tiamat the female dragon and "Midsummer night will break your heart, but Hallow's eve will patch it." Just gorgeous. (Technically it's the second entry in the Magic Shop series, but come on. The Monster's Ring isn't as good.)

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. This one is cheating a little bit, since I actually read this as an adult. But Kathy Apples, AKA my dream-mother, AKA the co-author of Animorphs, has crafted yet another wonderful story from the perspective of a tree who witnesses anti-Muslim racism towards a child in her neighborhood and recruits all her bird and squirrel friends into helping the child out. It's a beautiful story that should help kids appreciate nature more, as well as being more loving and accepting to those who are different from them. Did it make me cry? Maybe. Leave me alone.

Thing Four, Age 10

Thing Four and I don't have much of a relationship (yet) but that's my goal for the upcoming year, getting to know and connect with him better. He mostly only reads with his mother, so I'm trying to choose books good for read-alongs. (Again: I tried to pick books my sister would enjoy, since she's gonna have to read 'em.)

Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles. My third grade teacher bought this book for me, specifically, as a goodbye present! I miss her so much... Anyway, this is a gorgeous tale of a girl who's beloved grandmother takes an indefinite trip to Hawaii, forcing her to try and make friends for the first time in her life. She also raises and hatches three chicken eggs, and must finally come to terms with a girl who "hates" her after her (Ruby's) grandfather fell asleep at the wheel, killing himself and this girl's father. And yes, it's Emotional and Makes me Cry. I'm a crybaby; what do you expect?

My Louisiana Sky by Kimberly Willis Holt. YET ANOTHER TEAR-JERKER with focus on grandmothers. Listen: my grandmother half-raised me and was a shining influence in my life, so of course I love books about 'em. Anyway, this is a book about a girl who's parents are both mentally disabled, and the stigma that surrounds her family in the town. After her matriarchal grandmother dies, Tiger is given the opportunity to live with her glamourous aunt in Baton Rouge. She's tempted... Her parents are beloved, but a burden. It's hard to take care of someone who's supposed to take care of you.

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder was a book I read with my mother one summer, and never forgot. I think it was kid-me's first introduction to the concept of real-world serial killers (told in a kid-appropriate fashion), and how to be safe around dangerous people. It might be a bit odd to recommend him a book written in the sixties, but what was good for the goose might be good for the gander. (Kid-Me being the goose in this idiom.)

Red Fish, age 11:

Red Fish is the most like who I was as a kid... Mostly. Yeah, I was a precocious lil bookworm with an attitude like her, but I never had a type-A personality; she got that from both of her parents. (And she's way smarter than I was, too, but that goes without saying.) She's sweet to me because I'm the Cool Auntie (hopefully), but man can she get sassy! (I love it.)

The Wind Singer by William Nicholson. The Wind Singer was, to me, what The Giver was to most kids (aka: baby's first dystopia). Before The Hunger Games was even a twinkle in Collins' eye, there was The Wind on Fire trilogy, which is INTENSE AND EPIC AND DYSTOPIAN. Oh, my heart. (And yes, I had to order this off eBay cuz it's kinda hard to find.)

Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel. Since Red likes books with animal protagonists, this series was a no-brainer. My dad and I listened to these audiobooks in the car every day on my way to school, and I HATED having to stop. Sometimes Dad was sneaky and kept listening after he dropped me off! This tale of two little bats separated from their family and struggling to find their way back, while hunted by THE most terrifying villains a kid could imagine, are unforgettable.

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. Funke is one of my all-time favorite children's authors (see 'Inkheart' below) and this niece of mine is dragon-crazy, so I just know she'll appreciate this tale of the "last" dragon teaming up with a human boy to find out what happened with his species. Danger and excitement abounds! (And once more we're faced with a super scary villain. WHY ARE KIDS' BOOK VILLAINS SO SPOOKY?)

Thing Three, age 12:

I've got three nephews in addition to three nieces (so, six kids total) from my two sisters. (Thing One isn't getting books from me; I got him something else. I don't think he'd like them.) Three cracks me up every day by being a rough-and-tumble boy with a truly gentle heart. I'm never having kids, but if I did, I'd want them to be just like him.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. So I wanted to get him the Coraline graphic novel, but he hates horror and that might dip a little too close for his taste, so I'm testing the water with Gaiman's Graveyard Book, which is a take on The Jungle Book about a child raised by ghosts and a vampire after his parents are killed by an assassin (who has definite Shere Khan vibes). The boy has to decide whether he belongs with the living or the dead. It's a beautiful, emotional story that I really hope this kid can appreciate.

The Last by Katherine Applegate is the first in the Endling series. It's kind of cheating, because I read this series as an adult, not a child. But it's a great adventure of a dog-like creature named Byx who may be the last of her kind, travelling with her ragtag found family to (hopefully) stop an impending war. It's a lovely story by one of my favorite authors, and I hope Thing Three finds as much enjoyment in it as I did.

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori. It's so freaking tragic that I only know one other person who's read this series; it's GREAT. One of Kid-me's top faves. A weird family of Scottish-Italian witches and Mafiosos? What kid WOULDN'T love it? Wacky hijinks and bathroom humor and dry UK wit only partially obscures the warm heart at the center of it all; the genuine and visible love a non-traditional family shares.

Thing Two, age 15:

I had a harder time getting books for Two, my sweet girl, because most of the stuff I liked as a teen was either really sexual or VERY problematic by today's standards, and her parents are... Strict. So. (Plus, I don't wanna get her books with a crappy message! PLUS plus, she still reads a lot of kid-lit, so I didn't want to get her anything above her level. Nothing turns a budding reader off more than being forced to read something. It's just a matter of preference!)

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. From ages 15 to, like, 23, I was OBSESSED with Stiefvater. I read everything she'd ever published and went to all her book signings. I even took a class she taught! Anyway, Races was her book I always introduced people to, since it's a standalone and it's just beautifully written, about a girl who enters into a deadly magic horse race to save her family's farm and prevent her brother from finding work in the mainland.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. Whenever I bring this one up, people say "oh, I've seen the movie!" No, babe; the movie is NOT the same. The title and very basic premise are the same, but this tale is a serious high fantasy about a girl cursed to be utterly obedient, no matter how much suffering it causes her. Levine is a favorite for a reason.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke was THE book that made Kid-me realize I was going to become an author. The way the words are woven so GORGEOUSLY was something I'd never seen before; before this, words were only a tool for story-telling; not a piece of art themselves. It made me long for the Italian countryside; I wanted so badly to evade Capricorn's gang with Meggie and Mo and Dustfinger, and read creatures out of books with the power of my voice... (The other books in this series, not so much. Let's pretend this is a standalone.)

(If you're wondering why I chose THOSE particular nicknames for my kids, Sibling2's kids are a reference to "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss, and Sibling1's kids are characters from "The Cat in the Hat." I don't want to put their information, including their names, online. Heck; I don't want to put my information online; why do you think I go by "L. Rambit"?)