Surprise Books in a Box

A Surprise Box of Books may be one of our favorite things to put together for you at The Story Shop. As booksellers, we love to recommend books; there is little like the joy of putting beloved titles into reader’s hands. A Surprise Box of Books is book recommendations par excellence.

• Choose the amount you wish to spend: $50, $75, $100, or $150

• In the notes section at the check out submission page: Tell us the age range of the child(ren) who are receiving the box

• Tell us what they like to read: themes, specific titles they’ve enjoyed, genres, etc.

• We will pull and send titles similar to those you’ve listed that we are sure the recipients will love

A Surprise Box of Books is:

• a one time purchase (though you can certainly set up a subscription if you would like)

• an easy gift, we do most of the work!

• a great surprise which equals tons of fun

Below are examples of a surprise box of books based around the theme of adventure! These examples are separated by age range: picture book, middle grade, and young adult. But you may mix and match if you want to send one box to friends, siblings, or cousins who are different ages!

Books that Feel Like Spring

Whether unconsciously or intentionally, we often gravitate toward books that evoke the season that surrounds us. Spring reads are breaths of fresh air. They clear away the winter gloom and fill the reader with a sense of hope that mirrors the bright blossoms of the season. 

Picture Books

When Mae’s family moves to a new home, she wishes she could bring her garden with her. She’ll miss the apple trees, the daffodils, and chasing butterflies in the wavy grass. But there’s no room for a garden in the city. Or is there?

The colorful illustrations and feeling of starting anew that this book brings will be sure to inspire you for spring. 

This story of a girl and a duckling who share a touching year together will melt hearts old and young. In this tenderly funny book, girl and duckling grow in their understanding of what it is to care for each other, discovering that love is as much about letting go as it is about holding tight. Children and parents together will adore this fond exploration of growing up while learning about the joys of love offered and love returned.

This book is a great celebration of the excitement and joy that comes from knowing spring will return. 

From the acclaimed author/artist of Beyond the Pond and Rulers of the Playgroundcomes a breathtaking new book. Each day, the big trucks go to work. They scoop and hoist and push. But when Digger discovers something growing in the rubble, he sets in motion a series of events that will change him, and the city, forever.

Is there any season better represented by tenderness, care, and new life? This book is the perfect spring read. 

Middle Grades Books

Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger.

This historical fiction will make you want to spread out a picnic blanket in a meadow of your own.

Rafael has dreams. Every chance he gets he plays in the street games trying to build his skills, get noticed by scouts, and someday play Major League Baseball. Maya has worries. The bees are dying all over the world, and the company her father works for is responsible, making products that harm the environment. Follow Rafael and Maya in a story that shifts back and forth in time and place, from Rafael’s neighborhood in the Dominican Republic to present-day Minnesota, where Maya and her sister are following Rafael's first year in the minor leagues. In their own ways, Maya and Rafael search for hope, face difficult choices, and learn a secret the same secret that forever changes how they see the world.

Bees and baseball? Sounds like spring to me.

In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli's mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest.

Minli's hopefulness in this adventure is catching. You may just wander out into an adventure of your own.

Early Young Adult & Classics

A captivating tale, from bestselling and award-winning author, that reveals the healing power of duty and honour, love and honey.

Mirasol is a beekeeper, a honey-gatherer, with an ability to speak to the "earthlines"—the sentient parts of Willowlands, where she lives. The concerns of Master, Chalice, and Circle, who govern Willowlands, have nothing to do with her-until the current Master and Chalice die in a fire and leave no heirs to take their places. The Master's closest relative has been a priest of Fire for the past seven years; he is not quite human anymore. And then the Circle comes to Marisol and tells her that she is the new Chalice, and it will be up to her to bind the land and its people with a Master, the touch of whose hand can burn human flesh to the bone.

Bees again. Hope and life (both new and maintained) are key elements in this tale reminiscent of a fairy story. This is one that surprised me in my first reading, and I keep returning to it.

What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams? As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears. Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere. What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles. In short, it's about everything.

The Princess Bride is a book?! Inconceivable! And it's just as good as the movie.

Everyone's favorite redhead, the spunky Anne Shirley, begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. When the freckled girl realizes that the elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins to try to win them and, consequently, the reader, over.

If Anne Shirley is not the embodiment of hopefulness, then I don't know who is.

If You Liked...

Choosing what to read next can be a real task. There are so many good options! Let us help you find a new favorite or simply your next book based on one you've previously enjoyed.

In honor of the up coming release of the films based on Madeleine L'Engle's book A Wrinkle in Time and Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, we have a list of science-fiction favorites!

If you liked this book

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".

Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

Then You'll Like These Titles

The world did not end. At least not permanently. The Time Collision came from beyond the stars, a cosmic event that fractured time and space, tearing apart the earth and reshaping it into something entirely new.

This is the world Diego Ribera was born into. The past, present, and future coexisting together.

In New Chicago, Diego’s middle school hallways buzz with kids from all eras of history and from cultures all over the world. The pieces do not always fit together neatly, but this is the world he loves. There are those, however, who do not share his affection.

When his father, New Chicago’s top engineer, is taken by the Aeternum, Diego must rescue him and prevent this evil group from disrupting the fragile peace humanity has forged.

Divided Kansas, 2065. Adri has secured a slot as a Colonist—one of the lucky few handpicked to live on Mars. But weeks before launch, she discovers the journal of a girl who lived in her house over a hundred years ago, and is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding her fate.

Oklahoma, 1934. Amidst the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl, Catherine longs for the immortality promised by a professor at a traveling show called the Electric.

England, 1919. In the recovery following the First World War, Lenore struggles with her grief for her brother, a fallen British soldier.

While their stories spans thousands of miles and multiple generations, Lenore, Catherine, and Adri’s fates are entwined.

A young adult novella in three parts

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive.

If You Liked This Book

A young adult novel

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Then You'll Like These Titles

A classic early young adult novel

Set in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled mankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, children, including the novel's protagonist, Ender Wiggin, are trained from a very young age through increasingly difficult games including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed.

A young adult novel

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started 10 years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. 

Books that Feel Like Winter

Whether unconsciously or intentionally, we often gravitate toward books that evoke the season that surrounds us. Winter reads are the coziest of all seasonal reads. They are often deeper and more meaningful than those which echo other seasons, speaking to themes that we may not feel drawn toward during the brighter months, but which seem to invite us as we hunker down out of the wind and cold. 

Picture Books

An ode to serendipity & belief that is destined to be a new Christmas classic. Red and Lulu make their nest in a particularly beautiful evergreen tree. It shades them in the hot months and keeps them cozy in the cold months, and once a year the people who live nearby string lights on their tree and sing a special song. But one day, something unthinkable happens, and Red and Lulu are separated. It will take a miracle for them to find each another again. Luckily, it's just the season for miracles.

From Matt Tavares comes a heart-tugging story combining the cheer of Christmas, the magic of New York City, and the real meaning of the holiday season: how important it is to be surrounded by love.

Far to the north by the great Arctic Sea, where the winter sun barely rises above the horizon, live the People Who Fear the Winter Night. On the long winter nights the People huddle around their hearths, fearing visits from terrible Blizzard, who can destroy anything with its icy winds and snow.

Among the People lives a young girl named Teune -- the finest robemaker they have ever known. One night while Blizzard rages outside, the sparks from Teune's fire accidentally set fire to Blizzard's magnificent robe and consume it. But while the People Who Fear the Winter Night rejoice that Blizzard is no longer a threat, Teune sorrows that Blizzard's mighty robe is destroyed and sets out to make amends.

Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues, and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird.

But there is no answer.

Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling you don't need words. You don't need anything but hope. Sometimes there isn't an owl, but sometimes there is.

A beautiful story that puts you in the winter mindset, snow or no snow.

MIDDLE GRADES BOOKS

Our story begins on a frosty night…
Laylee can barely remember the happier times before her beloved mother died. Before her father, driven by grief, lost his wits (and his way). Before she was left as the sole remaining mordeshoor in the village of Whichwood, destined to spend her days washing the bodies of the dead and preparing their souls for the afterlife. It’s become easy to forget and easier still to ignore the way her hands are stiffening and turning silver, just like her hair. But soon, a pair of familiar strangers appears, and Laylee’s world is turned upside down as she rediscovers color, magic, and the healing power of friendship.

A darker tale for the upper middle grade readers, this companion to Mafi's Furthermore is perfect for winter.

Lily refuses to believe what everyone else accepts to be true: that her father has died while climbing Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Lily has grown up hiking in the Alaskan wilderness with her dad. He's an expert climber. There's no way he would let something like this happen. So instead of grieving, Lily decides to rescue him. Her plan takes her to Denali and on a journey that tests her physically and emotionally.

In this powerful debut, Hannah Moderow has written an authentic Alaskan adventure that crosses terrain both beautiful and haunting—and ultimately shows the bond of family and the wonder of wild places. (And what could be more wintery than the frozen Alaskan wilderness?)

Harry Potter lives with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But a mysterious visitor tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. Harry is taken to his new school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry finally feels like a normal kid, but even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the Boy Who Lived.

Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it

from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces darker than he could have imagined.

Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come. It may just be me, but Harry Potter always feels like Christmas.

Welcome back to the irresistible world of Greenglass House where thirteen-year-old Milo is, once again, spending the winter holidays stuck in a house full of strange guests who are not what they seem. There are fresh clues to uncover as friends old and new join in his search for a mysterious map and a famous smuggler’s lost haul.

We're back to the mysteries of the Greenglass House and it's unusual guests in the second installment in this series. It's perfect for an intriguing read during the holiday break.

EARLY YOUNG ADULT & CLASSICS

A charming and suspenseful tale based on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it's taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation:

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Christmas is a key element in this retelling, and much revolves around the snow and the cold, making it a perfect winter read.

In a house haunted by memories, the past is everywhere … As darkness falls, a man caught in a snowstorm is forced to shelter at the strange, grim house Wuthering Heights. It is a place he will never forget. There he will come to learn the story of Cathy: how she was forced to choose between her well-meaning husband and the dangerous man she had loved since she was young. How her choice led to betrayal and terrible revenge – and continues to torment those in the present. How love can transgress authority, convention, and even death.

The bleakness of this classic is perfect for the coming icy winter months. The wild dark of the moors (and a few of the characters) mirrors the dark and cold outside our windows.

Books that Feel Like Fall

Whether unconsciously or purposefully chosen, we usually gravitate toward books that feel like whatever season we're in at the time. Fall reads feel different from others. They feel cozy and nostalgic, and the adventure may be a little bit darker than a summer read, mirroring the shortening days.

Picture Books

A gold leaf appears in the forest. As soon as the animals notice it, each wants it more than anything else in the world. But in their struggle for it, the leaf is destroyed. Heartbroken, the animals wonder: Will we ever again see such a leaf?

This book is the anticipation of fall, beginning with one beautiful golden leaf.

Young Isaac Gutenberg isn't a curious boy... that is, until he meets an old shopkeeper who tells him about The Book of Gold. This special book, hidden somewhere in the world, holds all the answers to every question & turns to solid gold when opened. Isaac is determined to find the book--it will make him rich! He opens many books in his search, but quickly closes them when they don't turn to gold. That changes one day when he opens a book, looks at the page, & a question pops into his mind. From then on, he reads every word. 

When I think of fall, I think of learning new things. The search for knowledge in this book feels right at home with this season's blooming curiosity.

Walking his dog at dusk, one boy catches glimpses of the lives around him in this lovely ode to autumn evenings, exploring your neighborhood, and coming home.

This book feels like warm sweaters & crisp fall evenings, & it will make you want to go for a walk.

Middle Grades Books

Pax & Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military & makes him return the fox to the wild.

At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, & grief, to be reunited with his fox.

Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures & discoveries of his own...

This book is so obviously fall I want to say it's actually fall in the story. If not, then the tone & atmosphere carry the quintessential essence of fall, such as nostalgia and the comforts of home.

Kansas, 2065: Adri has been handpicked to live on Mars. But weeks before launch, she discovers the journal of a girl who lived in her house more than a hundred years ago and is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding her fate.

Oklahoma, 1934: Amid the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl, Catherine’s family’s situation is growing dire. She must find the courage to sacrifice everything she loves in order to save the one person she loves most.

England, 1919: In the recovery following World War I, Lenore tries to come to terms with her grief for her brother, a fallen British soldier, and plans to sail to America. But can she make it that far?

While their stories span thousands of miles and multiple generations, Lenore, Catherine, and Adri’s fates are entwined in ways both heartbreaking and hopeful. In Jodi Lynn Anderson’s signature haunting, lyrical prose, human connections spark spellbindingly to life, and a bright light shines on the small but crucial moments that determine one’s fate.

 Melancholy and haunting memory are two elements that make this a good fall read.

Early Young Adult & Classics

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

Caramel popcorn, hot cider, and evenings at the circus: these are the elements of fall in this book. The circus is all fun, games, and illusions, on the surface that is. Something a little more sinister lies underneath the bright lights and carnival treats.

Orphaned Jane Eyre grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, where she endures loneliness and cruelty, and at a charity school with a harsh regime. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane’s natural independence and spirit—which proves necessary when she takes a position as governess at Thornfield Hall. But when she finds love with her sardonic employer, Rochester, the discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a choice. Should she stay with him and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions, even if it means leaving the man she loves?

The Gothic setting of this classic is perfect for cozying up in the shortening days.

If You Liked...

Choosing what to read next can be a real task. There are so many good options! Let us help you find a new favorite or simply your next book based on one you've previously enjoyed.

With Halloween fast approaching, we thought we'd recommend books that are a little more on the spooky side. These books all have a slightly paranormal element to them, as well as elements of mystery and suspense.  

If you liked this book

“Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul.”

Then You'll Like These Titles

It's World War II, Franny and her parents, Sina and Old Tom, enjoy a quiet life on a farm on Vancouver Island. Franny writes, Sina sculpts, and Old Tom tends to their many gardens--including the ancient, mysterious night garden. Their peaceful life is interrupted when their neighbor, Crying Alice, begs Sina to watch her children while she goes to visit her husband at the military base because she suspects he's up to no good. Soon after the children move in, letters arrive from their father that suggest he's about to do something to change their lives; and appearances from a stubborn young cook, UFOs, hermits, and ghosts only make life stranger. Can the forbidden night garden that supposedly grants everyone one wish help them all out of trouble? And if so, at what cost?

A rambling old inn, a strange map, an attic packed with treasures, squabbling guests, theft, friendship, and an unusual haunting mark this smart middle grade mystery in the tradition of the Mysterious Benedict Society books and Blue Balliet's Chasing Vermeer series.

Corinne La Mer claims she isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

For our Young Adult Readers

Sierra Santiago was looking forward to a fun summer of making art, hanging out with her friends, and skating around Brooklyn. But then a weird zombie guy crashes the first party of the season. Sierra's near-comatose abuelo begins to say "Lo siento" over and over. And when the graffiti murals in Bed-Stuy start to weep.... Well, something stranger than the usual New York mayhem is going on.

Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.

Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.