Little Women, Emma, A Christmas Carol, Pride & Prejudice, Peter Pan, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, The Great Gatsby, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

One of my favorite kinds of gifts to give are books. Bonus points if they also have a beautiful hardcover and are a literary classic! When I had my kids, I knew I wanted to create a special tradition surrounding their birthdays and I knew I wanted to build them their own libraries. So, I started the tradition of giving each of them a classic novel that is either special to me or that I think they would like as they get older. Some we can read now, like Anne of Green Gables and Peter Pan, and some are for when they’re a bit older like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen (though Amelia loves Pride & Prejudice already!), but they’re all wonderful and magical in their own way. To make it a little bit more meaningful, I write them each a note on the inside cover as somewhat of a memory keeper for that year.

Amelia’s shelf

Since I started this tradition, other people have caught on and have also began gifting them novels for their libraries, so much so that their little shelves for what were originally for my special books need to be upgraded to to actual bookcases! I’ve always wanted a house with a library and so this little corner of their rooms makes me really happy and it’s fun to watch it grow… and fun to see what books are important to other loved ones who are gifting them, too.

Joseph’s shelf

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