READY FOR AWESOME, YOU GUYS?!

[telophase]

Right! So once again my workplace is doing the Secret Santa thing for the Alliance for Kids, which is where they deliver a bunch of cards to us, each one with a kid's name, age, clothing size, and gift wishes, and we pick one or two and buy a few gifts and hand them over. The parents/guardians wrap them and give them to the kids. (These are kids who are in the system somehow, often because they're escaping from abusive situations.)

Anyway, nobody wanted video games this year, but these are the two I picked. I'll need suggestions from you guys! (They're not related this time. I think I picked sisters last time.)

Note, these are not their real names. The AFC people assign them these names for anonymity.

MADISON. Madison is 9 years old, and her wish list is, and I quote: "Science, Legos, arts & crafts, books." SCIENCE! AWESOME! I'll have to shop around and see what I can get her that involves science. Possibly some good science-related books? Parents of science-interested 9-year-olds: what books and other toys do your kids like?

MARIA. Maria is 13, and wants "Anything Twilight" and books. Yes, yes, I know, Twilight. I will probably purchase her something Twilight-related that is small and is not the books, as I assume she's already read them. What I would like to do also is get her BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS that are BETTER THAN TWILIGHT. What would YOU recommend for a 13-year-old Twihard that doesn't have the skeevy relationship dynamics, but still might speak to her id in the same sort of way that Twilight does? Vampires & werewolves a bonus, as I have no idea if she's Team Edward or Team Jacob (or, perhaps (if only), Team Bella).

Comments

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Noted, thanks! :D

from /friendsfriends

[boosette.livejournal.com]

For Madison, http://www.sciplus.com/ American Science Surplus is a beauty and joy forever. -- check out the Adult & Kids Toys, Arts & Crafts, and Kits & Models sections. When I was 9, magnets were my kryptonite. As was basically anything from Klutz Press (http://www.klutz.com/). K'Nex or Erector set will probably entertain her longer than LEGO, and Hexbugs could be good if she's got an interest in robotics.

For Maria, I would turn to Monstrous Regiment for starter Pratchett, and I think that Meredith Anne Pierce's Darkangel Trilogy will both feed her id now and grows with her going forward. Likewise the Abhorsen trilogy: Sabriel might hit the romance buttons, Lirael and Abhorsen the I-am-so-alone-no-one-loves-me-despite-evidence-to-the-contrary-I-will-never-fit-in and found family buttons. She might also like Anne McCaffrey, although a lot of her stuff has some of the same wacky gender roles you find in Twilight, except more up-front and center. Of the Den of Shadows series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, I've only read the first book, but its heroine is a world more empowered and self-sufficient than Bella is.

Also, I can't speak for the content, but Stephenie Meyer's Host is actually supposed to be a world better than the Twilight series and might be worth investigating.

Re: from /friendsfriends

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you! (I see Klutz Press has a Lego Crazy Action Contraptions that might fit the bill!)

Re: from /friendsfriends

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my kid loved magnets at 9. She was always extra-fond of anything she could make - if she had something at the end of it, crystals or whatever, it was even better.