Scholastic Books Review...

2011 Holiday Gift Guide:  Fantastic Books

"Can You See What I See?: Toyland Express: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve Walter Wick
An amazing new search-and-find adventure from the creative mind of renowned photographer and author Walter Wick.
Amazing photographs accompany a search-and-find story by Walter Wick, the creator of award-winning picture books, the author and photographer of the New York Times bestselling Can You See What I See? series, and the photographer of the bestselling I Spy series.

CAN YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? TOYLAND EXPRESS, the eighth title in the bestselling search-and-find series, follows the life of a toy train from the workshop to the attic, only to be rescued at a yard sale and brought to life once again in a new home. As readers search for more than 250 hidden objects, they will also notice how the train takes on various transformations along its journey."

"In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.
In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing--and their lives--forever."

What we thought: Scholastic has a great range of books for any age.  We reviewed the picture book Toyland Express by Walter Wick and the YA fiction The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch.  Both were outstanding books and would make great gifts this holiday season.  The kiddos love search and find books and Toyland Express had some really great pictures to hunt through:)  They really had a blast searching for all the items on each page.  The Eleventh Plague was really good and hard to put down.  The writing is fantastic and the story is gripping and entertaining as well as thought-provoking.  This would be great for the YA readers on your list.  ABCD Diaries gives Scholastic books an A+!

Buy It:  Find Scholastic books at your favorite bookseller or online.

Disclosure: ABCD Diaries was given samples for review purposes only. We were in no other way compensated. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.