Book and Gift Pairings for Holiday Giving

  Happy Holidays! Books are always great gifts, but especially at the holidays we may want to give a little bit more. When you pair a book with a coordinating gift, it makes the experience of reading even more fulfilling! This year’s Read, Discuss, Do! book and gift pairing guide lists some of our favorite picture books with other gift ideas to help you extend the fun of the story beyond the last page, and maybe even encourage some new experiences.  Continue reading for the full list of recommendations.  

Summer Challenge Week Three: You're Super, Hero!


by Marci Whitehurst

Welcome to week THREE of the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge! It’s super hero week!

Heroes are people who help others, especially when helping might be difficult or scary (or, for heroes like a firefighter, even dangerous). Who are your heroes?

Summer schedules often mean park days, traveling, and time outside—all of which are super fun! We’ll highlight some of these themes throughout our summer reading challenge. As we go about our activities, let’s also consider HOW we do them. How can we be someone’s hero?

Suggestions for books to READ:

TEN RULES OF BEING A SUPER HERO by Deb Pilutti 

This story shares the rules that a young child, Lava Boy, and Captain Magma see for being a super hero. Rule #1: A superhero must ALWAYS respond to a call for help.

SUPER HERO INSTRUCTION MANUAL by Kristy Duncan Dempsy, illustrated by Mark Fearing 

A comic book style with funny illustrations and instructions for what’s most important for being a super hero. Step 3: Craft a super disguise!

SUPER ROOSTER SAVES THE DAY by Maureen Wright, illustrated by Rob McClurkan 

A humorous story full of farm puns, the chicken dance, and a rooster who’s certain he’s a hero—until he realizes sometimes you need a friend to be a hero.

MAX AND THE SUPER HEROES by Rocio Bonilla and Oriol Malet 

In this charmer, Max admires a girl super hero, even though his friends aren’t sure a girl can be strong. However, Megapower is brave, tames animals, has x-ray vision, is super smart, and she can fly. She’s Max’s favorite. Maybe because she’s his mom.

Suggestions for things to DISCUSS:
  • If you could be a super hero, who would you be? Why?
  • What powers would you have?
  • What powers do you already have?
  • What super heroes do you look up to? Why?
  •  If you could be a hero for someone this week, what would you want to do?
Suggestions for things to DO:
  • Create a costume for your super hero or dress up as a super hero.
  • Make up a special super hero name for yourself.
  • Write a list of super hero traits that you admire.
  • Make up your own rules for how to be a super hero.
  • Declare a day this summer as super hero day! Maybe a day this week!


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