Gift books that will get kids excited
Before school starts, gifting a special book that screams “WOW!” is a smart way to get children excited to read again. These new coffee table-worthy tomes are too cool.
“The Lightning Thief,” the first book in Rick Riordan’s best-selling “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” novel series, was an international hit when released and has been read by most kids at this point. This deluxe gift edition is festooned with detailed, gorgeous illustrations from artist John Rocco. The actionpacked mythical tale of young Percy Jackson, who has to return god Zeus’s master lightning bolt and bring peace to a battling Mount Olympus, is full of mystery, adventure, human betrayal and strengths, resonating powerfully with an entire generation of kids.
With maps and lavish pictures and extra details and a big-time wow factor, Disney Hyperion’s oversized gift book will thrill.
“You hold in your hands the secrets of the magic that brought the Star Wars saga to life,” reads a blurb on the back of this fascinating all-encompassing behind-the-scenes “Star Wars” movie guide. Kids and adults will see how detailed sketches became lifelike creatures. Through diagrams and up-close photographs, they’ll learn about different types of special effects, from puppetry to motion capture. It’s truly amazing, really, to see how the alien beings that we have all known for so many years were cultivated and created. With booklets and accordion folds and interactive flaps, mini sketchbooks, sidebars and “Force Facts,” this grand edition is pure movie magic.
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, this oversized, gloriously beautiful book is a poetic, lyrical tale about all it took to accomplish the historical mission.
Former mechanical engineer Suzanne Slade, who worked on space projects, has the technical details down to pat and uses her expertise smartly.
But what makes this amazing book sing is Slade’s captivating and powerful method of goal setting, trial and failure, sacrifice and hard work to achieve a dream. With a poetry setup and magnificent paintings as a backdrop, this ode to the 400,000 people who helped make Project Apollo a reality is fascinating and inspiring.