Just in case you’re still looking for a gift to give to a kid in your life, here are two beautiful books, each suited to a different kind of kid, or perhaps different moods. Both of these have been nominated for the Cybils this year. Side note: is it just me who rolls my eyes at lists of gift books that start at $50 each? I have never been able to afford books that pricey for the many people I gift books to at the holidays. These are both priced at $20 US, which seems very reasonable for books with color illustrations on nearly every page.

My Head Has a Bellyache by Chris Harris. Illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi. Little, Brown, 2023. ISBN 978-0316592598. Read from a library copy.

I confess that I nominated My Head Has a Bellyache for the Cybils based on what I’d heard about it, and then read it a poem or two a day up until last week until I finished it. I am still glad I heard about it! There’s nothing wrong with Shel Silverstein, of course, but I am always happy to see new and truly funny books of poetry for kids come out. There are lots of poems in this, describing crazy dreams, the conflict between a kid’s story-telling and his mom calling him to dinner, meteor strikes, one written to Future Me, and much, much more. Nearly all the poems rhyme (I know teachers who look for non-rhyming examples to give kids). While most of them are standard AABB, there are lots of creative word choices, a page of limerick haiku and haiku limericks, poems for more than one voice, and some that require creativity from the reader to figure out, such as a poem that travels around the page and one where snakes have taken over some of the letters, changing the meaning of the words. There are running gags, like the word “buffalo” that wanders out of one page and travels in and out of multiple other spreads before reappearing late in the book, and a poem made out of the page numbers at the bottom. For yet more variety, there are even a couple of thoughtful reflections on time and nature. I was reading this at work, so my coworkers had to put up with me reading poems or whole shorter poems aloud to them, or just laughing out loud. Illustrations by Andrea Tsurumi are cartoonish digital line drawings with color washes, which show kids (and a few adults) of lots of ethnic backgrounds and add to the overall humor of the book. These would be lots of fun to read out loud, and would also be a good choice for kids who either don’t have the focus for a novel or who read through novels so quickly that a book that’s good for dipping in and out of is the best choice. 

Three Tasks for a Dragon by Eoin Colfer. Illustrated by P.J. Lynch. Candlewick, 2023. ISBN 9781536229998. Read from a library copy. Ebook and audiobook available from Libby. 

This book by two award-winning Irish creators starts out in classic fairy-tale style: Prince Lir is sent by his stepmother and stepbrother to rescue a maiden from a dragon. If he does not, he will be banished from his beloved kingdom, because he, truthfully like all the kings from the past few hundred years, is unable to summon the wolfhounds sacred to the kingdom. But Prince Lir is neither a brave warrior nor the classic fool. He’s a scholar and scientist, determined to use his wits to save the maiden and be able to return home without harming the dragon – because why would a scientist want to harm such a rare species? Prince Lir is honest enough not to see the treachery, but the maiden, Cethlenn – a palace servant taken to the dragon by the stepbrother – is much cannier. The dragon, Lasvarg, doesn’t trust humans in general, but the tasks that Prince Lir offers to perform for him are worth the small risk that Lasvarg will lose his new servant. Thus many traditional elements are combined to make a tale that feels both classic and fresh. What truly pushes this into gift book quality are the full-color, often full page illustrations on nearly every page, turning the slim book into something to savor. (I’m really curious how they make up for this lack in the audiobook – perhaps with extra music?) All the characters read as white, and the expected romance, though understated, is heterosexual. I would still count this as having some diversity, as we get some passages from Cethlenn’s point of view, and she is definitely economically underprivileged. And with a scientific prince, a clever maidservant, and a glorious dragon, there is a lot to enjoy here.