Gift Guide 2011 Part 5: For the Young at Age and Young at Heart

We all know that one does not have to be 12 years or younger to appreciate a good children's or young adult book. The universal themes that run across these stories -- a search for belonging, overcoming a troubled past, an awaiting adventure -- all of these are themes we feel no matter what age or time we are in our lives. For this week's gift guide, I've chosen some titles and items that anyone with a childlike heart may appreciate, anyone whose sense of wonder and thrill never left them! 

For toddlers, I've chosen Marty Mouse's Pop-up Book, and a fresh title from Shel Silverstein, Every Thing On It, to introduce the young one to the wonderful world of drawings leading up to The Giving Tree. We also have the complete set of Thomas the Engine books!

For the curious kids, we have a variety to novelty items: LED 3D puzzles of world famous buildings like London's Big Ben and Italy's the Leaning Tower of Pisal puzzles inspired by storybooks (like the Alice in Wonderland puzzle pictured above), or inspired by art (like the Musee D'Orsay 1000-piece puzzle of Degas' painting).

SES Creative products are also good gift choices for they early do-it-yourself bloomer. We also have fabric markers and window markers!

1.  SES Creative Denim Handbag Deco, P717; 2. Every Thing On It: Poems and Drawings by Shell Silverstein, P699; 3. Musee d’Orsay Museum Collection: Degas Puzzle 1000, P1300; 4. LED 3D Puzzle: World’s Great Architecture: Big Ben, P849.75; 5. SES Creative Tools + Belt, P819; 6. Sargent Art 8 Washable Window Markers, P230; 7. Stikfas Classic Alpha Male, P200; 8. Thomas and Friends: My Thomas Story Library: The Complete Collection with 65 Books, P8999; 9. Marty Mouse’s Pop-Up Book: The Big Eared Elephant, P447; 10. Alice in Wonderland Jigsaw Puzzle, P899; 11. 10 Fabric Paints,  P100.80. 

Here, we have more creative products like face paint and markers, as well as an SES Creative set for a 4-year-old's introduction to using scissors! We also have some build-it-yourself figurines like that of a pirate ship, and educational books about skeletons, words and numbers. 

Two new releases from everyone's favorite children's authors are also the highlight of this bunch: Mr. Men by Roger Hargreaves, and The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr Seuss! 

1.  Sargent Art 10 Jumbo Changing Markers, P200; 2. SES Creative Airbrush Textile Designer, P799; 3. Disney Pixar 2012 Weekly Calendar, P598; 4. Early Learning: Words and Numbers, P452; 5. Hello Kitty 2012 small calendar, P648; 6. Explore within a Pirate Ship, P1054; 7. SES Creative I Learn to Use Scissors, P415; 8. Disney Pixar’s Cars Grand Prix Garage: Storybook and Garage; 9. Sargent Art 10 Bright Fabric Markers, P240; 10. Amazing Dinosaur Discovery, P499; 11. SES Clowny Face Paint, P519; 12. The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss, P599; 13. Mr. Men 40th Anniversary Box Set by Roger Hargreaves, P1040. 

Finally, for the young at heart and young adults at age, we recommend the best books the past year had to offer. To fulfill one's longing for adventure and mystery, we have the new releases, The Scorpio Races, Liesl & Po, and The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. And to continue one's journey with already well-loved series', we have sequels The Throne of Fire, The Son of Neptune, The Power of Six, Beautiful Chaos, The Power of Six, Goliath, Theodore Boone: The Abduction. Inheritance is also a highly recommended title, though not without the rest of The Inheritance Cycle. 

For a haunted twist, Abarat: Absolute Midnight, and my personal favorite release of the year, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 

For younger readers, we have the latest from two famous book series, You Have to Stop This and Cabin Fever! 

Left side, from top to bottom: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl,  Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver, The Lorien Legacies: The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Random Riggs, You Have to Stop This by Pseudonymous Bosch, Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.  

Right side, from top to bottom: The Kane Chronicles: The Thone of Fire by Rick Riordan, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, The Death Cure by James Dashner, Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham, The Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, Abarat: Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker. 

BOOK PICK + GIVEAWAY: Some Thoughts on The Son of Neptune

I will try to write the first part of this entry without any spoilers for The Son of Neptune.

When I first read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, I read all five books in one week. It wasn’t because I was so hooked; I just felt I had to catch up with the rest of the world, especially with the release of The Lost Hero, and just recently, The Son of Neptune.

Reading a series that fast doesn’t allow a reader to become a fan right away. Don’t get me wrong, I love the series now, having read until The Son of Neptune. But upon a first reading, I looked at facts and events rather than characters and motives. It was only when I reached The Last Olympian, when the final battle and ultimate conflict was about to be faced, that I actually stopped and thought about Percy having grown up so much since first meeting him, Luke having become so desperate since my first impression of him, and Kronos having built a real physical presence around himself since his haunting shadow in The Lightning Thief. The flashbacks in that book also helped in growing emotionally close to the characters, especially to Luke, Thalia and Annabeth. I’m such a sucker for flashbacks, I really am.

It’s funny; just as in Harry Potter we find a huge chunk of the story is about Dumbledore, here we find that in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, much of the events had transpired because of Luke Castellan.

By the end of the series, I didn’t know whether or not to believe Luke was still a hero inside (though the series does angle it towards his redemption), but I was left wishing I had read a little more slowly and perhaps gotten to know him a little more.

Thankfully, with the Heroes of Olympus series, we don’t have to say good-bye to everyone we grew to love before. And to continue the story with fans of the series, I am giving away:

1. One hardbound copy of The Son of Neptune 
2. One hardbound copy of The Son of Neptune with a Rick Riordan signed Percy Jackson and the Olympians book plate
3. One hardbound copy of The Son of Neptune with a Rick Riordan signed Heroes of Olympus book plate 
   

Simply e-mail your full name, and contact number to lucyscontests@fullybookedonline.com, with the subject I CAN'T WAIT TO READ SON OF NEPTUNE! You have until 12:00 nn on Monday, October 17, 2011 to e-mail your entries, and the winners will be chosen via Random.org. Only one entry per person will be counted. :-)

This giveaway is open to Metro Manila, Philippines residents only, as all winning books and book plates will be claimed at the Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street branch. Entries with incomplete or wrong information indicated will not be qualified for the contest, and requests for pick up in other branches will not be entertained. Please be patient with me as this is one of my first giveaways in a long time, and I would like to see how it goes before opening more giveaways to other areas there are Fully Booked branches in!  Hope you guys understand!!

Now for the real reason for this entry: some thoughts on The Son of Neptune. (Spoilers after this cut, so don't read the rest if you haven't finished the book!)