I love buying books as gifts. What else can provide so much joy for so little money? Okay, the best things in life are free, as they say. But for things that have a price tag, books are really high on the entertainment value/dollar meter. I’m reminded of this every Christmas and every August when my soon-to-be-twelve-year-old bookworm makes a wish list.

Her wish list was not only books, but it was dominated by them. It included:

• A pre-order of Heartless by Marissa Meyer
• An “I read past my bedtime” T-shirt (Thanks to Abby Cooper for rockin’ that shirt on Pitch Wars live!)
• The Divergent Series in DVD (the books have already been read several times over)
• The Sequels to Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
• LOTS OF BOOKS (all caps by the bookworm)

The first four of these are easy. The “LOTS OF BOOKS” request is a bit more challenging. My daughter reads so much it’s tough to keep track of what she’s read and to find something new. Luckily I have suggestions from buds at The Winged Pen, books by presenters at the New England SCBWI conference, and Twitter suggestions cataloged on my Goodreads TBR. I set out to spend $50 on books. How many books do you think that got my little bookworm?

The BFF Bucket List by Dee Romito – $6

I’m with Cupid by Anna Stanizewski – $8

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee – $8

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry – $7

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – $8

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson – $7

Six book, untold hours of fun and adventure, all for $48. It’s a bargain! If only everyone I give gifts to loved books as much as my daughter!

So here’s a shout-out to these authors, as well as the authors whose books already sit on her shelf, for the joy they bring to children! (And to me, ‘cause another thing about buying books for my bookworm is that I get to read them too!)

What books are on your kids’ book list? I need to recharge my TBR now. Help me out with some suggestions in the comments!