Merry Christmas! And welcome back to Book Break. If you are looking for
Christmas shopping inspiration, you are in the right place, because this is our annual Christmas
gift guide. And this year we've gone a little overboard: we've created an
entire advent calendar. So that is 24 suggestions of books we think would make
perfect Christmas presents this year. Let's see what's behind the first door.
So this is a stunning one to start with, A Poem for Every Winter Day, edited by Allie Esiri. This
is a lovely gift for the whole family, something to read together maybe every day. Allie Esiri is
the editor of the gorgeous book A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the
Year, and then these little seasonal paperbacks are taken from that season's section of the
book. So this is a gorgeously festive cover for the winter one, and like I said I think it's a
really beautiful gift for the whole family. And behind the next door we have another absolutely
beautiful one: Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink. I am such a huge fan of this book. This is Cathy
Rentzenbrink's memoir of how books have brought her comfort and joy at some of the toughest times
in her life, and is just such a love letter to reading, so any book lover will adore unwrapping
this on Christmas morning. And it's also got even more book recommendations inside it, so it really
is the gift that just keeps giving. I'm now going to go through some really lovely children's books.
So let's open up door number three. Here we have Dear Santa by Rod Campbell and this is the 15th
anniversary edition of this wonderful book, so firstly let's just appreciate all of the beautiful
festive gold foiling on the cover, and this is a really interactive lift the flap picture book so
you can see what's inside each present, and it's really fun. Behind door number four we have the
130-storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. This is the tenth book in this series
and these books have been just so popular. With every book the treehouse gets taller and taller,
adding on more and more wild and wacky levels. In this one we've got a time-wasting level,
a soap bubble blaster, it's a present for the children but one that the grown-ups
will definitely enjoy as well. Then through door number five we find this gorgeous book Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland. This is a brand new edition illustrated by Chris Riddell.
150 years ago this book was first published and it is every bit as magical today. So this is a
gorgeous present for a child to introduce them to the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
for the first time, or a really lovely nostalgic gift for a grown-up who grew up loving this story.
And Chris Riddell's illustrations are so whimsical and magical. You get a mixture
of beautiful colour illustrations like this or some stunning black and white drawings as well,
so a really beautiful present. Then through door number six, these books just keep getting prettier
and prettier. This is Counting Creatures by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Sharon King-Chai,
and I really just have no words for how stunning this is. Take a look for yourself. This is a book
designed to teach children to count, so you have all these really interactive elements. They can
count how many babies each different animal has, and the illustrations in here are just
out of this world gorgeous. Look at all of the colours, look at all of the cut-out details,
this is a real treat. Behind door number seven we have Coming to England, but this is a picture book
version of Floella Benjamin's classic childhood memoir. She's now rewritten it for younger readers
and teamed up with Diane Ewen to draw these gorgeous illustrations. So this is her story
of immigrating from Trinidad to England. It's a really wonderful inspiring story but it does also
tackle some of the harder things that Floella Benjamin had to face when she came to England:
some of the racism that she encountered as well as the pain of missing her home and family,
but it's all told in a way that's a really hopeful positive reading experience for children.
Behind door number eight we've got a book that's got me feeling so nostalgic. This is Just One of
Those Days by Jill Murphy, the follow-up to Peace at Last which was one of my favourites
when I was growing up. That story was all about a family of bears trying to get a moment's sleep
and in this story they wake up late the next morning and everything goes a little bit wrong,
it's just one of those days. I mean look at them, this is going to make so many people
feel so nostalgic this Christmas or a perfect gift for a new generation of children to enjoy.
And then through door number nine, one more children's book before we move on to gifts
for grown-ups. This is Alex T. Smith's retelling of The 12 Days of Christmas,
or Grandma is Overly Generous. It's a really funny sweet retelling of this song,
featuring Grandma whose presents start off OK, a partridge in a pear tree isn't too ridiculous,
but things get a little out of hand. So this looks like a really fun book to sing along to, but you
might have to learn some new lyrics because while we start off familiar - five gold rings everyone
knows - we end up with things like ten rhinos racing, seven squirrels a-snorkelling. So you
never quite know what to expect. Okay moving on to books for grown-ups, through door number 10
we have another spin on the 12 days of Christmas. This time it's the 12 Dates of Christmas by Jenny
Bayliss. This is a festive rom-com about a woman who signs up for the 12 dates of Christmas dating
app, where she gets to go on 12 very Christmassy romantic dates with 12 different men. But as she
learns more about each man on each date, she might learn even more about herself. Through
door number 11 you will see a name very often found wrapped under the Christmas tree: Karen
Swan who is the queen of Christmas books. This one, Together by Christmas, is set in Amsterdam,
and it's about a woman working as a celebrity photographer - very cool job - raising her son.
But then one morning she finds a mysterious book with a message left in the basket of her bicycle,
and it just might lead her to someone very special. OK let's go through door number 12,
and just look at that cover! This could actually double up as a Christmas decoration
when you finish reading it. This is All That Glitters by Danielle Steel. This book is about
a woman called Coco who is the heir to a massive fortune, she's had this very privileged life,
and she moves to London where she meets and falls in love with a handsome but penniless aristocrat.
So it's set in this really glamorous world, and it's about this woman figuring out her place in
the world and who she can trust. Now through door number 13 you might see a familiar face.
We almost never include a book two gift guide years in a row, but I just couldn't resist this
year, because the paperback of Me by Elton John is now out, and this is just such a good Christmas
present. Whether they're a huge Elton John fan or a huge music fan in general, or just a massive fan
of Elton John's smash hit Step into Christmas, you can't go wrong with gifting this book.
Through door number 14 we have another one for the music fans, and another musician with an
incredible Christmas hit, this is The Meaning of Mariah by Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey is a complete
icon, at Christmas time and otherwise, and this is a never-seen-before glimpse into her life,
her childhood, her struggles. We've got pictures, it's a really really personal and unfiltered look
into the life of one of the biggest music legends. Through door number 15 we have an absolutely huge
book, both in terms of it genuinely being huge, and also in how highly anticipated this book was
this year. So this is The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett. It's the prequel to
the Kingsbridge series, which is about a cathedral and the generations of people living around it.
So if you're feeling really generous, you could get someone the entire series for Christmas,
but this is a wonderful Christmas present on its own as well. Then let's go through door number 16,
and talking of books that have been huge this year, this is Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart,
the winner of this year's Booker prize. This is the heartbreaking story of young Shuggie Bain
growing up in Glasgow with an alcoholic mother who he adores but isn't able to save. So it's a
real tearjerker, you might want to gift this one with a box of tissues as well. Through door number
17 we have a beautiful little collection here of selected non-fiction writings. So you could gift
somebody this as a whole bundle, or any one of them would make a gorgeous present on its own as
well. So the different themes we've got here: Food for Thought, a collection of classic food writing,
The Joy of Walking, a celebration of the act of putting one foot in front of the other, The Art
of Solitude, some really inspiring writings about what you can learn about yourself on your own,
and Why Friendship Matters, which would definitely be a lovely present to give to your best friend.
Through door number 18 we have another one to make people cry on Christmas morning,
this is The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku, the amazingly inspiring story
of an Auschwitz survivor, who after living through years of the most terrible suffering
made a decision to himself he was going to smile every day. He has now just turned 100,
and he considers himself the happiest man on earth, so this is a really inspiring moving book.
Through door number 19, these little MCLs always make beautiful Christmas presents, and this one,
Passing by Nella Larsen, is the classic story that this year's huge bestseller The Vanishing
Half was inspired by. This is the story of two childhood friends who reunite as adults
to find that one of them is passing as white and is married to a very racist man who has no idea
about her real heritage. And these two women rekindling their friendship puts them both in
danger. Through door number 20, another face often found beneath the Christmas tree: Joe Wicks. So
cookbooks are a classic Christmas present and Joe Wick's recipes are so delicious and so accessible
to cooks of all different levels of expertise. This is a really versatile gift. So this is
the 30 Day Kickstart Plan. It's full of recipes and also workouts especially designed to boost
energy. So with this one you are giving the gift of a very happy January. Behind door number 21,
we have a brilliant present for history lovers. This is A House Through Time by David Olusoga and
Melanie Backe-Hansen based on the really popular TV show A House Through Time, which uncovers
layers of history in ordinary people's houses. And the book also gives readers the tools to explore
their own house's history as well. Behind door 22, another book that teaches new skills,
this is How to Grow Your Own Poem by Kate Clanchy, so this is a really interactive guide to writing
your own poetry. She's got loads of tips in here to unleash your creativity, so this is
a really great present for an aspiring writer, or just someone who wants to try something new.
Behind door 23 we have a classic, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, but this time in a brand new
stunning edition. Can't resist anything with gold foil. This is a collection of 26 poetic essays
by the Lebanese artist and philosopher Khalil Gibran, and it's full of words of wisdom and
inspiration. And finally, behind the 24th door, we have a gorgeous present that I think really
anyone on your list would love. This is Journey by Paulo Coelho. This is a guided
journal of self-discovery, so on every page we have beautiful quotes from Paulo Coelho himself,
as well as prompts for self-reflection. So as well as being a really stunning present in itself,
this is a book that whoever you're giving it to can just keep coming back to and learning
more and more about themselves. And look how pretty it will look under the tree! So with that
selection of 24 books, I would say your Christmas shopping is now complete. There is something for
everyone on your list in there, so do leave us a comment letting us know which of those
are your favourite, and if you do want even more shopping inspiration, I will link here to our past
gift guides so you can go and browse those as well. Merry Christmas, and see you next time!