GiftLit: June Book Recommendations

We have some great books to recommend for June including great gift books for children, gifts for teens and gifts for moms and dads.

Happy Reading!

June Book Recommendations

Children's Book Recommendations

I'm the Best by Chris Barton – Who would win if a toy shark and toy train faced off in a battle royale for playroom supremacy? Find out in this hilarious picture book that includes a trick-or-treating challenge, a marshmallow roasting contest and progressively wacky scenarios. Part of our Great New Picture Books Age 2-5 collection. Browse our gift books for girls and gift books for boys ages 2 to 5.

How to Clean Your Room in 10 Easy Steps by Fred Bowen – Bowen brings to life the inspirational story of baseball great Ted Williams who didn't take the easy way out but succeeded in hitting .406 for the season in 1941 - a feat not matched since. Part of our Laugh Out Loud Age 5-8 collection. Browse our book gifts for girls and book gifts for boys ages 5 to 8.

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams by Stephen Swinburne – Great for reluctant readers, this zany adventure set in 1960's London has the perfect mix of suspense, humor and mystery as two friends stumble upon a mad scientist's plot for world domination. Part of our Favorites for Girls Age 8-10 collection. Browse our book of the month gifts for girls and for boys ages 8 to 10.

The Kane Chronicles, The, Book One: Red Pyramid ( Kane Chronicles #01) by Tom Angleberger – Tommy's misfit friend Dwight animates an origami Yoda finger puppet that is uncannily wise and can predict pop quizes, in this funny and spot-on novel about the dynamics of a sixth grade class. Part of our Fantasy & Magic Age 10-12 collection. Browse our childrens book of the month club gifts for ages 10 to 12.

Hex Hall by Marcus Sedgwick – With short, suspenseful chapters, this intense survival story set during the Alaska gold rush, explores the role of guns as 14-year-old Sig with a pacifist mother and gun-toting father must shape his own view and act accordingly. Part of our Favorites for Girls Age 12-14 collection. Browse our book gifts for girls and book gifts for boys ages 12 to 14.

Teen Book Recommendations

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Margarita Engle – From Newbery Honor winner Engle, this stunning historical novel-in-verse set in 1851 Cuba is written from actual diaries and tells the story of three women - Fredrika, a 19th-century Swedish suffragette; Cecilia, her teenage African slave translator; and Elena, a priviledged 12-year-old Cuban girl. Part of our Fiction for Teen Girls collection. Browse our book of the month gifts for teens.

For the Win by Louis Sachar, Newbery winner and bestselling author of Holes. – When Alton's parents insist he spend his junior year summer driving his blind, great-uncle Lester to his bridge club, Alton is completely surprised when he becomes enamored with the game and begins to bond with his crusty uncle. Part of our Fiction for Teen Boys collection. Browse our fiction book a month gifts teen.

City of Spies by Holly Black – This gripping fantasy of mobsters and dark magic launches a new series as Cassel, as straight kid from a crooked family, untangles a complex plot where dreams may be more real than memories. Part of our Graphic Novels for Teens collection. Browse our monthly book gifts of adult books for teens.

Adult Book Recommendations

The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Maggie O'Farrell – The story of two women connected by art, love, secrets and motherhood is interwoven into a spellbinding novel that make a wonderful mother's day gift. Part of our Fiction for Women collection.
Browse our book gifts for women and gifts for moms.

The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Richard Phillips – This compelling and fast-paced narrative of Captain Phillips' captivity and daring escape from Somali pirates who hijacked his ship in April 2009, is a true story of adventure and courage where, for once, the good guys win. Part of our Nonfiction for Men collection. Browse our book of the month gifts for men and book gifts for dad.

Ilustrado by Tom Rachman – This celebration of the role of newspapers charts the chaos of a newsroom based in Rome with chapters that read like exquisite short stories about the intersecting lives of the characters who produce the paper. Part of our Great New Hardcover Fiction collection. Browse our monthly book club gifts for couples.

The Lonely Polygamist by E.O. Wilson – Part novel, part creative non-fiction, this masterful work from a two time Pulitzer Prize winner follows the adventures of Raff, a modern-day Huck Finn, whose improbable love of ants transforms his own life and the lives around him. Part of our Fiction for Men collection. Browse our book of the month club gifts for fiction readers.

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Deborah Blum – With equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller this enthralling account of two forensic pioneers in early 20th-century New York unfolds with each new puzzling case highlighting a different poison and outlining the ingenious methods devised to detect them. Part of our Nonfiction for Men collection. Browse our monthly book gifts for readers.

Family Book Recommendations

The Incredible Voyage of Ulysses by Bimba Landmann – Blending a graphic-novel format with bold illustrations, this beautiful retelling of Homer's epic tale makes a wonderful read aloud the whole family can enjoy. Part of our Read Aloud Ages 8-12 collection. Browse our book of the month club gifts for families.

Girl in Translation by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson – We loved their first book, now this endlessly imaginative duo is back with ideas for race-car cupcakes, faux-food cupcakes, and ravishing jewelry cupcakes to name just a few of their fun and fabulous creations - that require no baking skills or fancy pastry equipment! Part of our Parent & Teen Hardcover Fiction collection. Browse our gift books for families to read together.

We hope you share our love of literature and passion to inspire people of all ages to read and will consider GiftLit for your next gift purchase.