Holiday Gift Guide 2012: Zonderkidz Books

A book is always a great gift idea. For any age group, any reason at all. (Said the mom who majored in Creative Writing and who desparately hopes to publish a book someday so you all please buy it when that happens! LOL).

I have grown very fond of the high quality kids books put out by Christian publisher Zonderkidz. Here’s a sampling of some titles you may want to wrap up this year for a child you know!

The Friendly Beasts – a classic Christmas carol read and sung by Grammy award-winner Rebecca St. James! This book and CD combo would make a lovely gift or a great holiday tradition to read before bedtime as a retelling of the birth of Jesus through the eyes of animals. The CD contains four tracks – St. James singing the carol, then reading the carol, a bonus track by the singer, and then her narrative recounting her own Christmas memories. The illustrations by Anna Vojtech are beautiful and sophisticated. I found the musical style a bit contemporary for us, so I was glad there is also the read-only track. ($16.99).

Legend of the Candy Cane – newly illustrated by Richard Cowdrey, this classic legend told by original author Lori Walburg has delightful images to make the story come alive for children. Kids will wonder what is going on at the mysterious new store in town, and along with the main character, Lucy, discover the meaning behind the candy cane’s shape and stripes. ($15.99).

The Beginner’s Bible Series – we’re always on the lookout for fresh picture books to share Bible stories with our son. We like to read a few after dinner. Four new books are added to this series this year. Two picture books include Jesus Feeds the Hungry and Jesus Heals the Sick ($3.99 each). I like these particular books because they tell the stories with some detail, unlike many Bible picture books on the market. Original illustrations by Kelly Pulley are vibrant and engaging.

Two jumbo coloring books give kids ways to keep thinking about Bible stories and truths as they color and play games, connect the dots and more. Super-Duper Might Jumbo Coloring Book has 384 pages for coloring just about every Bible story imaginable! And Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Activity book contains page after page of activities, which are best for the 3+ crowd, but younger kids can still color or be guided through a few activities. ($5.99 each).

The Jesus Storybook Bible Collector’s Edition – one of my favorite Bible story books, I was pleased to receive this edition, as it comes with three CDs of the stories read aloud, and one DVD which has ever story animated! The animations are actually the book illustrations with edits to provide moving eyes, characters and scene changes! It’s really quite cool – the action is slow-paced, which I like because I think that let’s kids settle in and listen to the story.

If you haven’t heard of Zonderkidz yet, they are a division of Zondervan, a world leader in Christian publishing. Visit Zonderkidz at www.zonderkidz.com.

WIN IT: TWO of my readers will win this entire set of books for holiday gifting and enjoying! ARV $97! Enter in the Rafflecopter form below!

And for an extra entry, check out Crunchy Beach Mama’s giveaway today – she’s giving away two of this exact same set of books!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY RULES: Open US/CAN. 18+ to enter/win. Winner will be emailed directly and have 48 hours to respond to claim their prize! Ends 11:59 on November 22, 2012. Fulfillment handled by Zonderkidz. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook.

Thanks to Zonderkidz for providing books for review and offering this great giveaway! All opinions are 100% my own!