gifts linked to books beloved by a five-year-old I know





















































Pocket-sized dolls for re-enacting the many adventures of Chirri and Chirra.

Snowdrop bulbs holding the promise of spring, like Agnes's gift in Birdsong.

hooting call and a hooded towel for pretending to be an owl librarian kindly helping stubborn tortoises in The Midnight Library.

A game about guiding fairy folk in peril, and BB's The Little Grey Men, about English gnomes on a quest to find their lost brother.

child's knife and a cozy hat for forest adventures a la the intrepid Ronia the Robber's Daughter.

A clever mouse that can keep out of the soup or stay alive on an island.

birchbark canoe that, alas, won't float, just like Stuart Little.

Irresistible glitter gems like the too-tempting treasures in The Real Thief.

collage kit to rescue days that don't go your way, like Oge Mora's Saturday.

blanket that maps the marvelous Moominland.


A tool for pressing flowers (the favorite pastime of the misbehaving children in The Sorely Trying Day.)

Chewing gum for distracting tigers just the way Elmer Elevator does in My Father's Dragon.

Shoes for going far and never giving up, like the incredible Fauja Singh.