Mother Reader has a list of 105 Ways to Give a Book, and I think it’s a great list. All book-givers should check it out. I am shamelessly copying her idea, but I’d like to give you some ideas about some stuff you could pair with one of the Cybils books that I’ve read for this year’s judging.

1. Mother Reader herself had this one on her list: Pair Operation YES! with green army men. I just read Operation YES! by Sara Lewis Holmes, and I haven’t managed to review it yet. But it’s a great book about art and drama and soldiers and those who love them. Perfect for anyone who has a friend or loved one in the armed services.
More Cybils books featuring members of the armed forces and their families.

2. Give The Beast of Blackslope (Sherlock Files) by Tracy Barrett (Semicolon review here) with the 221B Baker Street Mystery Game. We have this game, and my kids have enjoyed playing it and trying to figure out the mysteries.

3. Dani Noir by Nova Ben Suma (Semicolon review here) would go great with a DVD of this movie or this one. Or any noir film that you love and want to share with a film fan.

4. Some of the Cybils nominated books just go with other books:
William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (Semicolon review here) plus The Complete Works of Shakespeare. (Only for a kid who already likes Shakespeare)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Semicolon review here) plus A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
Callie’s Rules by Naomi Zucker (Semicolon review here) plus Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
If the child you’re giving to already loves the second book in one of these pairs, he or she will probably like the first one, too, since the protagonist in each story really likes the second book in the pairing.

5. Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez (Semicolon review here) could be a hit with aspiring astronomers if it were given with an inexpensive telescope. (Last year’s Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass would also go well with the telescope idea.)

6. Extra Credit by Andrew Clements plus a box of stationery, boy-themed or girl themed, or offer to help your gift recipient go online and find his or her own pen pal, just like the kids in the book.
ePals: the Internet’s largest global community of connected classrooms.
Student Letter Exchange.
Kids’ Space Connection.

7. Born to Fly by MIchael Ferrari (Semicolon review here) would be a perfect match with this InAir E-Z Build Model Kit of a P-40 Warhawk, the same WW II plane that’s featured in the book.

8. Give a baseball and maybe a bat with any of the following baseball stories:
Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta. Semicolon review here.
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane. Semicolon review here.
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg. Semicolon review here.
The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz.

9. Make the Double Decker Chocolate Bars recipe in the back of the book and give a dozen of them along with Hallie Durand’s Dessert First. Semicolon review here.

10. If you know a girl who loves funky socks, either or both of these books would go well with a gift of some special socks.
Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez. Semicolon review here.
Standing for Socks by Elissa Brent Weissman.

11. Give My Life in Pink and Greenby Lisa Greenwald (Semicolon review here) with a gift certificate for a makeover or a make-up session at a local boutique or department store. Or you could just buy some appropriate-for-the-age makeup for your favorite pre-teen to go with this story about growing up and taking responsibility.

12. Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass seems to me to be a remake of the movie Groundhog Day. Well, sort of a remake, similar premise. Anyway the movie and the book together would make a good gift for an eleven year old, maybe even one who’s celebrating a birthday at Christmas time. Brown Bear Daughter was born two days before Christmas, and it’s hard to figure out what to get her for her birthday and for Christmas at the same time.

So there you go: ten+ gift ideas from me and one from Mother Reader, and you can check out Mother Reader’s list for 104 more ideas. Give a book to every child on your Christmas list. Books are cool!

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One or more of these books is also nominated for a Cybil Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own.