The December Carnival of Children's Literature

Welcome to the December Carnival of Children's Literature. This month the carnival is all about giving and our favorite books. Shall we celebrate? Grab a mug of hot chocolate and let's get going:

Kidlit bloggers always have great ideas and are willing to share. Three bloggers help us with our gift-buying process:

Alyssa gets practical in a way we all can use at The Shady Glade. She shares her tips for online shopping and how to find the perfect books.

Susan Kusel also thinks practically and gives us a fabulous guide to buying a book for baby at Wizards Wireless.

MotherReader gives us 21 Ways to Give a Book, Even 21 More Ways to Give a Book, and Yes, 21 More Ways to Give a Book.

A bounty of booklists brings good cheer. There's something for everyone on these lists here:

Kelly Fineman shares books for little dancers this holiday season at Writing and Ruminating.

Teachers extraordinaire--Mary Lee and Franki--share their Dear Santa lists at A Year of Reading. Here's hoping Santa is good to you this year!

Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect shares a great list, divided by category, of the perfect books for kids of all ages.

Megan Germano recommends three new picture books (in no particular order) at Read, Read, Read.

Jenny provides a Recommended Gift Books guide for children ages 1 to 7 at Little Acorns Treehouse.

Heidi Estrin wrote in and shared a great list--the Hanukkah Read Up! list, created by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Heidi also recommends Letter on the Wind, by Sarah Lamstein, and Like a Maccabee, by Barbara Bietz, which she reviews on her December podcast at The Book of Life.

Writer Candice Ransome shares holiday gift book ideas and a cute cat picture at Ellsworth's Journal.

Jennie tells us about the books she's received as gifts over the years at Biblio File.

Sarah lists her Hot Gift Books for Middle Grade Students at The Reading Zone.

Kbookwoman of 4IQRead wrote in with her list, which includes: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie; Good Enough to Eat, by Brock Cole; Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal, by Paul Fleischman; Igraine the Brave, by Cornelia Funke; The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County, by Janice Harrington; Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonelle; and Library Mouse, by Daniel Kirk.

Writer Sam Riddleburger shares the "Books We're Giving for Christmas" and puts just one graphic novel on his personal Dear Santa list. (I hope Santa doesn't sell you short, Sam!)

Jama Rattigan talks Cool Cookbooks for Kids at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup.

Nancy tells us to Wrap 'em Up with her favorites at Bees Knees Reads.

You know the type and Jen Robinson has you covered with Two Books for Boys who Like Trucks and Tractors at Jen Robinson's Book Page.

Cheryl Rainfield recommends inspiring picture books this season and lists her favorites for your consideration.

Cloudscome shares her favorite gift books for children of all ages this year at A Wrung Sponge.

Becky Laney, of Becky's Book Reviews, provides us with Becky's Favorite Things: A Gift Guide for Book Lovers. (Bonus List from Becky: Make Your Holidays Pop--with the best pop-up books of the season.)

Little Willow asks children's writers what their favorite books of 2007 are and links to all their lists in this useful and fascinating post atBildungsroman .

Looking to add a little verse to a child's life this season? Then Elaine Magliaro's got you covered with her Poetry for Children Post at Wild Rose Reader.

Marcie Atkins recommends Writing Books for Young Writers at World of Words.

Anamaria brings us a set of "Alterna-Princess" books at Books Together.

Libby Gruner discusses her favorite Christmas books and stories at Literary Mama.

Denise Johnson tells us why an audio book is the perfect gift for a child and recommends her favorites at Children's BookJoy.

The Cybils casts a glow on holiday gift-giving:

Sherry from Semicolon links to her reviews of Middle Grade fiction titles nominated for the Cybils. Sherry finds the perfect book for every reader--from the sports fan to the gardener--in this useful post.

Charlotte, who is busy reading Young Adult fiction this Cybils season, recommends her Young Adult favorites from 2007.

A book makes the perfect gift for the holidays. But which one should you choose, for whom, and why? These bloggers have the goods:

Kerry knows you can't go wrong with Lauren Child's Clarice Bean (box set) and tells us why at Shelf Elf.

Jules, Eisha, and guest star MotherReader review Mo Willems's Early Readers with style and good humor in a tri-review up at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Jenny puts four books to the test in The 4 Books Battle at the so called me. (A YA title goes toe-to-toe with three adult books.)

Know a dinosaur-crazy child? Of course you do! Amanda suggests Dinosaurium as the Amazing Dinosaur Stocking Stuffer at Pajama Mommy Community.

Suzanne shows her appreciation for Jenny Linsky at Adventures in Daily Living.

Alkelda the Gleeful recommends Jane Cobb's What'll I Do With the Baby-o? Nursery Rhymes, Songs, and Stories for Babies at Saints and Spinners. Let's get singing with baby.

Susan Thomsen of Chicken Spaghetti gives us an easy gift choice for young readers not quite ready for chapter books: Garfield.

Anastasia Suen recommends an interactive book for the active toddler--My Mommy's Tote--at Create/Relate.

Tasha of Kids Lit reviews Orange Pear Apple Bear, by Emily Gravett, and finds it perfect for "an artistic, silly, and yes classy emergent reader."

Travis recommends Gallop! A Scanimation Picture Book, by Rufus Butler Seder, at 100 Scope Notes.

Authors share their own work this holiday season:

Steve Lafler gives us Nina Funnies #5 at Cute as a Button but Tiger Tough. Perfect for Ninja Toddlers and their caretakers.

James Bow provides us with the latest installment of his work-in-progress, THE DREAM KING'S DAUGHTER. Read, enjoy, comment

Writer Kakie Fitzsimmons tells us why her Bur Bur and Friends are iParenting Media Awards winners this year.

Thank you for participating in the December 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature. I wish you all a Happy Holidays and safe travels if you'll be on the road.
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Speaking of being on the road...I'm headed out west today. If I've missed your link, drop me a line or a comment. I'll be checking in from airport to airport.
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The next Carnival of Children's Literature will be held at Wizards Wireless. Awards are the theme. Details to come.