I firmly believe that books make the best gifts. Is there anything more exciting than opening the cover for the first time, eagerly anticipating the treasures that lay inside?
To those of you who have instilled that same giddy excitement in the children in your lives, this list is for you. I've created some general categories for you to peruse. In each category the books have been broken down by age range - board books, picture books, early readers and middle grade books, and young adult books.
One of the best ways to change the world is to instill a love of reading and learning into the children we're lucky enough to know and care for.
ABCs/COUNTING/COLORS/LITTLE LEARNER:
Board Books:
Indestructibles: Big & Little by Carolina Búzio AND All Year Round by Carolina Búzio AND Things that Go! by Stephan Lomp
Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell
Our World: A First Book of Geography by Sue Lowell Gallion
My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
Picture Books:
Gyo Fujikawa's A to Z Picture Book
Green is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
EARLY READERS: (Great for kids who are starting to read on their own)
Lola Levine Is Not Mean! by Monica Brown
Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds by Elise Gravel
Pea, Bee, & Jay SERIES: Stuck Together AND Wannabees by Brian "Smitty" Smith
The Dragon Masters SERIES: Rise of the Earth Dragon AND Saving the Sun Dragon AND The Secret of the Water Dragon by Tracey West
WINTER/HOLIDAY:
Picture Books:
A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett
Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper
Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter by Eugenie Doyle
Hershel & the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric A. Kimmel
Once Upon a Northern Night by Jean E. Pendziwol
Between Us & Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by 
Mitali Perkins
Olive, the Other Reindeer by J.Otto Seibold
Mice Skating AND Sugar and Spice and Everything Mice by Anne Silvestro
Middle Grade:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
PURE SILLINESS:
Picture Books:
Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-El
The Wolf, The Mouse, & the Duck by Mac Barnett
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
The Lost Cousins by B.B. Cronin
In the Half Room by Carson Ellis
The Great Indoors by Julie Falatko
The Cranky Ballerina by Elise Gravel
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO by Tamara Pizzoli
Nanette's Baguette by Mo Willems
Professional Crocodile by Giovanna Zoboli
Middle Grade Books:
Premeditated Myrtle: A Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery by Elizabeth C. Bunce
InvestiGators AND InvestiGators: Take the Plunge by John Patrick Green
POETRY:
Picture Books:
Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer
Middle Grade:
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
Finding Langston AND Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Young Adult:
The Poet X AND Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
HISTORICAL FICTION:
Middle Grade:
The War That Saved My Life AND The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Jem SERIES: A Girl of London AND A Fugitive from London AND A Foreigner in Philadelphia by Delaney Green
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth by Sheila O'Connor
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
GRAPHIC NOVELS:
Middle Grade:
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
The Mac B, Kid Spy SERIES: Mac Undercover AND The Impossible Crime AND The Secret Smackdown AND Mac Cracks the Code AND The Sound of Danger by Mac Barnett
New Kid AND Class Act by Jerry Craft
The Olga SERIES: And the Smelly Thing from Nowhere AND We're Out of Here! AND Out of Control! by Elise Gravel
Aster & The Accidental Magic by Thom Pico
PEACEFUL BEDTIME:
Picture Books:
Time for Bed, Miyuki by Roxane Marie Galliez
The Way Home in the Night by Akiko Miyakoshi
ANTIRACISM:
Picture Books:
I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes
Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World AND Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard
This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by Matt Lamothe
Most People by Michael Leannah
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story Kevin Noble Maillard
Tía Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina
The Old Truck by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero
When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang
Middle Grade:
This Is Your Time by Ruby Bridges
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds
Trailblazers: Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers in Baseball by Kurtis Scaletta
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Front Desk AND Three Keys by Kelly Yang
Young Adult:
With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
School edited by Tea Rozman Clark & Rachel Lauren MillerThis Place: 150 Years Retold, A Graphic Novel Anthology
The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
FANTASY:
Picture Books:
Chirri & Chirra by Kaya DoiMargaret's Unicorn by Briony May Smith
Middle Grade:
Pages & Co. SERIES: The Bookwanderers AND The Lost Fairy Tales AND The Map of Stories by Anna James
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline Ogburn
Young Adult:
Children of Blood and Bone AND Children of Virtue and 
Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
The Mirror Visitor Quartet: A Winter's Promise AND The Missing of Clairedelune AND The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos
EDUCATIONAL/NONFICTION:
Picture Books:
Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy
Everything & Everywhere: A Fact-Filled Adventure for Curious Globe Trotters by Marc Martin
Middle Grade: (some of these titles would also likely be appropriate for 
high school-aged children)
Whales: An Illustrated Celebration by Kelsey Oseid
Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum Raman Prinja
Trees: A Rooted History by Piotr Socha & Wojciech Grajkowski
What's the Difference?: 40+ Pairs of the Seemingly Similar by Emma Strack
Young Adult:
Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne
CLASSICS: OLD & NEW:
Board Books:
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Picture Books:
The Birchbark SERIES: The Birchbark House AND The Game of Silence AND The Porcupine Year AND Chickadee AND Makoons by Louise Erdrich
Fern & Otto: A Story About Two Best Friends by Stephanie Graegin
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mr. Rogers - Lyrics by Fred Rogers
Middle Grade:
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Young Adult:
Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: LEARNING TO ACCEPT YOURSELF & OTHERS, KINDNESS, & EMPATHY
Picture Books:
Unplugged by Steve AnthonyMorris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino
Jabari Jumps AND Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall
Edmond: The Thing AND Edmond: The Moonlit Party by Astrid Desbordes
Birdsong by Julie FlettWhat We'll Build: Plans for Our Together Future by Oliver Jeffers
What's My Superpower? by Aviaq Johnston
Lift by Mihn LêJulián is a Mermaid AND Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love
Pilar's Worries by Victoria M. Sanchez
We Are Grateful: Ostaliheliga by Traci Sorell
From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Cheng Thom
Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler
Middle Grade:
The Line Tender by Kate AllenInsignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus AND Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Young Adult:
Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh
All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Darius the Great Is Not Okay AND Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz