Easter Basket Tour 2014: 8-10 year-old Boy Basket

April 02, 2014

As you can tell, I picked categories according to the children I have in my own family, and I have a ten-year-old son, so I couldn't resist showing off the fiction that he's enjoyed which we carry at Chesterton Press. His favorite read was the new book by John McNichol, The King's Gambit, which features giant chess pieces, cool FBI agents, a missing dad, and a son who's determined to find him, even if it means facing down twelve-foot-tall knights from another dimension. This certainly qualifies as fun Catholic fiction, and with its short chapters and quirky cartoon illustrations, we both bet it will be a favorite with many boy readers! Click here to get a copy.

My son also loves the graphic novel Paul: Tarsus to Redemption, available here, and the intriguing adventures of the most famous priest detective ever, Father Brown, who in The Father Brown Reader catches an international jewel thief (three times!) and solves a magician's puzzle in this first installment of the series, which continues in The Father Brown Reader II, also available from Chesterton Press.

When looking for other Easter gifts for boys, don't forget the quirky candies like this carrot ring pop (we found it at Big Lots), useful novelties like the wooden duck pencil sharpener, or vintage Catholic items like this glow-in-the-dark crucifix. Though normally I'm against cheap flimsy "Christian junk" in Easter baskets (it seems to say our faith is transient and trendy, instead of priceless and permanent), I find that items from the past like this one acquire a certain dignity when they survive the decades, despite their humble origins. And tuck in a holy card to your boy's basket, such as this one of Christ the Reigning King. They also make great bookmarks for the cool books you buy from our store! ;)

What about a boyish-looking Easter bunny? Despite my preference for the homemade and home-grown instead of overseas cheapness, I confess I have a fondness for Beanie Babies, thus proving the irony that sometimes something extremely popular (like Shakespeare, cheddar cheese, or Downton Abbey) also happens to be very good. Beanie Babies 1) often look like real animals which makes them good "boy gifts", 2) are cheap (we never bother with the rare "collectibles" and purchase all ours secondhand) 3) really are "child-sized" and don't have the bulk of most stuffed animals, and 4) are suitable for travel and outdoor play, which often handmade toys are not. Anything can become a monster if collected in quantity, so we keep only a modest amount of these creatures in our home. But I've been pleased with their spring lambs, stripey cats, and amazing variety of birds, all of which fit well into an Easter basket. So look out for your son's favorite animal when shopping at the thrift store!

Shop Chesterton Press Books: The King's Gambit by John McNichol

Paul: Tarsus to Redemption The Father Brown Readers