How to Buy a Book as a Gift for a Kid

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By Kristan K
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Buy a Book as a Gift for a Kid

Every good aunt, uncle, grandparent and godparent wants to buy books as gifts for the kids in their lives, but it's hard to choose a book when you don't have kids of your own. Luckily, publishers make that decision easy, so long as you know what to look for to determine if your niece/nephew/grandchild/godchild is going to like the book you pick.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

A bookstore, online or in person
A child for whom to buy books

Step 1

You will need to find yourself a bookstore. Of course, you can always browse books online, but it's easier to choose a book if you can see it in your hands and flip through it.
Step 2

Photo Credits Fong Lam

Determine the age group -- most bookstores divide kids fiction books into five or six age groups. They are board books (0-3 years), picture books (3-8 years), learning to read or early reader (5-9), independent readers (8-12), and young adult (13-17). There are also alternative formats, some of which make better gifts, or are easier gifts for kids with really specific tastes (for instance, the little boy who loves dinosaurs would adore the DK Eyewitness Guide to Dinosaurs.) Some of these are poetry books, story collections, reference, science, and history books, and activity books.
Step 3

Newbery Awards are for the story, Caldecott Awards are for the pictures

Once you have an age range and format, you will need to take as much information as you can about the child to the section. The more you know about the kid, the easier it will be to find your gift. Stick to big name authors, classics, and award winners. Alternatively, some of the best gifts are books you read as a child and remember fondly. Often, bookstores put the newest or best selling books on display; sometimes you can find a great gift without sifting through the sections.
Step 4

Judge the book by its cover. Pink, fancy script, cutesy drawings equal book for a girlie girl. Browns and blues, monsters, dinosaurs, dogs, jagged or extreme fonts equal the classic boy book. Silly-looking characters on the cover are funny books; popular characters (like Dora and Diego) are usually simple stories with the character injected into the main role.
Step 5

If you are having trouble or you just don't know what to get, ask a bookseller for some help. They generally spend 40 hours a week with those books so they tend to know them pretty well. Or, if you can't find one, try asking some of the parents in the store, especially if it looks like they have kids with them around the same age as the one you are buying for.
Step 6

Once you've found that perfect gift, don't forget a gift receipt! Just because you think it's perfect doesn't mean they don't already have it, especially if it's a new book or a classic book.