Holiday Reading


Great Gifts for the Bookworms on Your List


By Nick Petrulakis
Photography by Al Wright

If the commercialization of the holidays has you despairing, and you’re in search of an antidote, look no further. Freddi Zeiler’s A Kid’s Guide to Giving is exactly what you need. Zeiler was a Berkeley teen, living a normal teen’s life, until she started reading the newspaper and watching the nightly news. She realized that the life she assumed was normal was actually quite privileged—and she decided to do something about it.
Zeiler wanted to give, to literally break open her piggy bank and share what she had with those less fortunate. Her search for the best charities led to research—lots of research—and all that research led to the publication of this handy guide.
   
A Kid’s Guide to Giving explains how to give, what to give (time is a gift, in addition to money) and provides a handy list of worthy charities. Zeiler then explains how readers can research charities on their own. Prove that it is truly better to give than to receive by giving this book to a young person on your list.
A Kid’s Guide to Giving by Freddi Zeiler
(innovativeKids, 2006, 206 pp. $9.99)

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Robert Sabuda, the master of pop-up, is back this season with a delightful offering that’s a perfect stocking stuffer. In this charming confection, Sabuda spells out “Christmas,” one letter per page, each animated by a delicate and joyful pop-up that flies out at the reader (in the case of the angel), rears up (as does the toy hobbyhorse) or bursts from the page (watch out for snowflakes!).
    This beautiful little book is being released in conjunction with the 10th anniversary edition of Sabuda’s 12 Days of Christmas. If you haven’t experienced the magic of one of his captivating books, start with this one—it even comes with its own pop-up turtledove ornament to hang from your tree. Or, if you have everything Sabuda offers, grab a few of the Christmas books. It’s the perfect extra something to stuff inside a stocking.
Christmas by Robert Sabuda
(Orchard Books, 2006, 18 pp. $12.99)

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And then, of course, what would the holidays be without coffee table books? Shelves this year will be filled with big, beautiful hardbacks on jazz, birds, art and architecture. And if you look hard enough, you might even find a remarkable volume about the Islands of San Francisco Bay.
    James Martin and Michael Lee have produced a visually stunning work—part history, part ecology and 100 percent beautiful. The book is divided into 13 chapters, and chapter five, titled “The Encinal,” deals primarily with Alameda, giving a concise and thorough explanation of how our peninsula came to become an island and projections of what our future may hold.
    Page after page, chapter after chapter will have you gawking at the pictures: aerial views of the islands, close-ups of the birds, the ships, the piers and beaches—all breathtaking. If you think this might be the perfect gift for that special someone, you better have it wrapped at the store, because once you get a look inside, you just might want to keep it for yourself.
The Islands of San Francisco Bay by James Martin and Michael Lee (Down Window Press, 2006, 199 pp. $55)