Items included in this post were received at no cost to me. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In my family, we are all readers and we look to books for so many things. I am a collector of cookbooks and wish I could cook all the food in the world. My kids love arts and crafts books, in addition to their favorite fiction books. I turn to books for advice, for comfort, and just to escape from everyday life. If you are looking for some great books to gift this holiday season, here is a list of 15 of our favorites!

1. 1. Wild Zoo Train by Carmela LaVigna Coyle – Illustrated by Steve Gray This zany Wild Zoo Train is off on a mysterious adventure! Choo-choo-choo goes the Wild Zoo Train. Ding-ding-ding goes the bell on the roof. Clickerty-clack go the wheels on the track. A zoo train full of children takes a mysterious turn into the wilds. As each train trip becomes more and more wild, curious children observe the whimsical world around them. Wild Zoo Train takes readers on a wild, animal-filled adventure through canyons, jungles, the arctic poles, and more!
   2. The Diehard Football Fan’s Bucket List Blitz by Steve Greenberg The first and only all-inclusive, fully illustrated football fan’s bucket-list book. Here’s a full-color, full-speed ride through 101 must-see and must-do gridiron experiences—from the NFL to college football’s greatest venues and rivalries, from coast to coast, from must-have eats to the game’s best seats, from the sport’s greatest meccas and museums to its rowdiest tailgate parties. This book—filled with photos, sidebars, and loads of football attitude—is an essential guide to any football fan’s fantasy (or real!) road-trip and To Do list.
   3. Origami Animals Super Paper Pack Origami Animals Super Paper Pack includes everything origami lovers and paper crafters need to create their own paper menagerie! Tucked behind the cover is a fully illustrated, 32-page booklet with instructions for how to fold 10 bird and animal designs. A dazzling assortment of origami papers, 6 inches (15.2 cm) square, are also included. Fold animals for display, giving, or just for fun. Origami Animals Super Paper Pack is great for family craft time too.
   4. Fold and Fly: Origami Butterflies, Birds, and Other Animals that Fly It’s easy to make charming origami animals that also fly with the Fold and Fly: Origami Butterflies, Birds, and Other Charming Animals that Fly kit. The kit includes an 80-page book and more than 140 sheets of paper. More than half of the paper features preprinted designs and fold lines, so your butterflies, birds, and insects will be flying in no time.
   5. Soups, Stews & Breads by Gooseberry PatchWith more than 350 of the most delicious recipes you can imagine,Soups, Stews & Breads makes it easy to whip up a batch of homemade chicken broth, a party-size crock of spicy chili, quick breads, crackers and croutons…all from one handy cookbook. Also included are quick-fix and slow-cooker recipes. Filled with photos, tips and serving ideas, this is the last soup cookbook you’ll ever need!
   6. The Complete Month of Meals Collection by American Diabetes AssociationBack in its beloved classic format, The Complete Month of Meals Collectionis the ultimate cookbook and nutrition guide for people with diabetes, containing hundreds of recipes and meal planning tips from the American Diabetes Association’s bestselling series of Month of Meals meal planners. Using a unique, three-part split-page design, this interactive book allows readers to create meal plans instantly. With bonus chapters on salads, sides, drinks, and desserts, the meal combinations are nearly limitless, helping you plan meals that fit your needs.
   7. Wonder by R.J. PalacioAugust Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance. 
   8. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli“Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls” is a children’s book packed with 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world. Each woman’s story is written in the style of a fairy tale. Each story has a full page, full color portrait that captures the spirit of the portrayed hero.

   9. Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza and Barack Obama

      During Barack Obama’s two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else–and he photographed them all. Souza captured nearly two million photographs of President Obama, in moments highly classified and disarmingly candid.
       
      Obama: An Intimate Portrait reproduces more than 300 of Souza’s most iconic photographs with fine-art print quality in an oversize collectible format. Together they document the most consequential hours of the Presidency–including the historic image of President Obama and his advisors in the Situation Room during the bin Laden mission–alongside unguarded moments with the President’s family, his encounters with children, interactions with world leaders and cultural figures, and more.
   10. What Happened by Hillary Rodham ClintonFor the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.
   11. Everything is Mama by Jimmy FallonJimmy Fallon, one of the most popular entertainers in the world and NBC’s Tonight Show host, was on a mission with his first children’s book to have every baby’s first word be DADA. And it worked! A lot of babies’ first words were DADA. However, everything after that was MAMA.So take a lighthearted look at the world from your baby’s point of view as different animals try to teach their children that there are other words in addition to MAMA for familiar objects and activities.
   12. She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea ClintonThroughout American history, there have always been women who have spoken out for what’s right, even when they have to fight to be heard. In early 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to be silenced in the Senate inspired a spontaneous celebration of women who persevered in the face of adversity. In this book, Chelsea Clinton celebrates thirteen American women who helped shape our country through their tenacity, sometimes through speaking out, sometimes by staying seated, sometimes by captivating an audience. They all certainly persisted.
   13. Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe BidenIn November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden’s eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. “Promise me, Dad,” Beau had told his father. “Give me your word that no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right.” Joe Biden gave him his word.
   14. The Handmaids Tale by Margaret AtwoodThe Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population.
   15. Everything Is Awful: And Other Observations by Matt BellassaiFrom the break-out star of BuzzFeed and the People’s Choice Award-winning comedian behind the web series “Whine About It” and “To Be Honest” comes a collection of hilariously anguished essays chronicling awful moments from his life so far, the humiliations of being an adult, and other little indignities.Matt Bellassai has no idea what he’s doing. Well, to be fair, he did become semi-Internet famous by getting drunk at work, making him a socially-acceptable—nay—professional alcoholic. He’s got some things figured out. But the rest is all just a terrible, disgusting mess