There have been a number of lovely people recently, who have bought the Planning With Kids book as a gift for friends or family after having bought the book for themselves. I so enjoy reading that they found the book so helpful, they want to share it with others!

So in the festive spirit, from now until December 20, 2011 when you buy the book, you can choose to have it gift wrapped. You can leave me a note in the comments when you make your purchase to let me know you would like it gift wrapped and I will wrap it like you see in the photo above. Please include the following information in the notes instructions section provided:

• Name and address of the person to receive the book.
• Any message you would like written on the gift tag (if not included a simple Merry Christmas message will be hand written).
• I write a personal message in the inside of each book. If there is something special you would like me to include in this message, please also note that down.
• If you forget to add this and confirm purchase, simple email me directly after at nicole@planningwithkids.com and I can still arrange it.
• If you want to buy multiple copies and send them to different addresses, I can arrange that as well. Simply email me the details before or immediately after your purchase nicole@planningwithkids.com.
• If there is no note or email, I will assume the book isn’t a gift and send it out unwrapped.

I however cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas for orders made closer to the 20th December. By regular mail books have been taking a week to arrive to some West Australian and Queensland addresses.

I am happy to wrap international gifts, but at this stage I cannot guarantee they will be there by Christmas going standard mail.

Send Book To: Australia $30.00North America $45.00UK $45.00New Zealand $40.00Asia $40.00South Africa $45.00

How are you traveling with your Christmas shopping? My aim is to have all completed before December starts – I am going to be cutting it fine I think!

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All Wrapped Up is a post from: Planning With Kids

This post is a combined effort from me and my soon to be 13 year old son. He listed titles he has read over the last year that he thinks most 13 year old boys will like and gave me a brief description of each. (And in the true form of a teenager some of his descriptions are very brief!)

My son read some of these books when he was 11 or 12 and he knows some boys older 14 and 15 are still reading these books, so this list does cover interests for more than just 13 year olds.

Each listing is actually part of a book series, which could actually make great gift ideas for Christmas for teenage boys. My 13 year old loves having the whole series of books, so for family reading here is a long list of books for his up coming birthday or Christmas!

Please note: Please use discretion when choosing books from this list as some of these books do contain violence, sex and drug references. These are topics we talk openly about with our son and I am aware of what he is reading. Not all parents may feel comfortable with the references contained within some of these books.

Scarecrow Series by Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly is an Australian author. At 37, he has an amazing nine novels which are international bestsellers. Matthew seems like a pretty popular guy with over 10,000 fans on facebook and 4,500 followers on twitter. Scarecrow and The Army Of Thieves is the latest installment in the Scarecrow series.

From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Action packed, mile a minute. Contains swearing and guns. Complex plots.

Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

As an adult, the covers of the Skullduggery Pleasant have always turned me off these books! But my son loves them and there are six in the series now and with a fan base of 14,000 on facebook, they certainly have a dedicated audience.

From the publisher:

The sixth instalment in the historic, hysterical and horrific Skulduggery Pleasant series. Think you’ve seen anything yet? You haven’t. Because the Death Bringer is about to rise…

The Necromancers no longer need Valkyrie to be their Death Bringer, and that’s a Good Thing.

There’s just one catch. There’s a reason the Necromancers don’t need her any more. And that’s because they’ve found their Death Bringer already, the person who will dissolve the doors between life and death.

And that’s a very, very Bad Thing…

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Fantasy style series. About a skeleton that goes around the world solving mysteries.

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Technically my son tells me that there is two series from Riordan: The Percy Jackson Series and the Heroes of Olympus Series, which does star Percy Jackson, but is a different series.

From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Lots of battle scenes and a very complex fantasy oriented plot.

Holes Sereis by Louis Sachar

This is a book that makes me think about how we treat literature with teenagers. Holes by Louis Sachar is part of the year 7 curriculum for my son. When we were writing down books he likes for this list, he didn’t say Holes. I thought this strange as he actually read this for the first time a couple of year ago an really enjoyed it. When I suggested it, he said to me, “It was a good book, but I have read it so much for school, I don’t like it anymore.”

From the publisher:

Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said, “You may go to jail, or you may go to Camp Green Lake.” Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before.

And so, Stanley Yelnats seems set to serve an easy sentence, which is only fair because he is as innocent as you or me. But Stanley is not going where he thinks he is. Camp Green Lake is like no other camp anywhere. It is a bizarre, almost otherworldly place that has no lake and nothing that is green.

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Plot is interweaved in the story very well. Story about never giving up and always remaining hopeful.

Once, Then, Now, After by Morris Gleitzman

My son wrote about sitting in on a session with Gleitzman at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival back in 2009. The images in these books have stuck with him as they are ones he will mentions when discussions of the Holocaust comes up.

From the publisher:

Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad.

Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.

My name is Felix.

This is my story.

Everybody deserves to have something good in their life.

At least once.

You can find Gleitzman on facebook here.

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Sad story about what happened in World War II. Makes you think about family.

Cherubs by Robert Muchamore

My son has been reading the Cherub series for the last couple of years. He really does love his teen spy genre! People’s Republic is the latest in the series (book 13). Muchamore can be found on Twitter and facebook.
From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Really enjoyable series about kids my age. Contains some swearing and lots of cool gadgets.

Young Bond Series by Charlie Higson

More teen spy action! By Royal Command is the most recent in this series.

From the publisher:

Following a treacherous rescue mission high in the freezing Alps, James Bond is preparing for life back at Eton. But James is under surveillance; his every move is being watched. He alone holds the clue to a sinister plot that will bring bloodshed and carnage to his school – and his country.

SilverFin begins with James Bond arriving at Eton for the first time. He is about to continue his schooling having been educated at home by his Aunt Charmian following the deaths of his parents in a climbing accident.

As he begins to get used to the rules and traditions of Eton, he makes new friends, but he also incurs the wrath of George Hellebore and his arms-dealing father, Randolph.

From my soon to be 13 year old:
A great prequel to the real James Bond books. Shows what a teenager can do on his own. The plots are always action packed.

Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

You guessed it – teen spy! I have listened to many hours of audio books of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz and I can see why this series is so successful with boys this age. Horowitz uses language they use and shows a teenager can outsmart adults. Scorpio rising is the latest novel.

From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Easy to read series. Excellent gadgets. Story lines are set in lots of different countries.

Do you know of other series that would appeal to 13 year old boys?

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Books For 13 Year Old Boys is a post from: Planning With Kids

When my book was launched back in May, I received fantastic support from the Blogosphere to help promote it. Amongst the promotion was a competition run by Kleenex Mums. They had 25 copies of the Planning With Kids book to give away. To enter you had to answer the question “How do you control the chaos that comes with having kids?”. The response was amazing, close to 1000 entries and the tips received and they were fantastic.

So fantastic in fact that Kleenex Mums asked me would I curate an e-book with the best tips, adding articles and tips myself. 101 Tips to Control the Chaos is the result. I wish I could take credit for the gorgeous layout and super cute pictures in the e-book, but they were the work of a clever designer!

You can download the 101 Tips to Control the Chaos e-book for free here! Just some of the info it includes is:

• Cooking and menu planning: My menu planning secrets that will get you on the right track for monthly meal plans.
• Creating and setting routines: How to get the kids involved in routines. Don’t be afraid to assign some chores either!
• Finding moments for me time: It’s all about the diary – don’t forget to make some time for yourself.
• Monthly planner: To make everything that little bit easier, we’ve included a monthly planner, perfect for the fridge.
• 101 tips from real mums and more! A wealth of valuable tips and insights from other Aussie mums.

So head over to Kleenex Mums to download it for yourself!

Current Sponsors:

• Bright Star Kids' Name Labels - Super Cute & Durable Name Labels
• Byk KIds Bikes - The first ergonomically designed Kids Bikes

Free eBook: 101 tips to control the chaos is a post from: Planning With Kids