We’re a household of bibliophiles, and every year I try to focus on some gifts for book lovers.  There are a lot of “book log” options out there for adults, and other books about reading, like The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life and Literary Listography, but it’s harder to find options for kids.  So this year I’m focusing on the Bookworm Journal: A Reading Log for Kids (and Their Parents) — and I’m tossing in a couple of reader-focused stocking stuffers while we’re on the subject.

Bookworm Journal: A Reading Log for Kids

The Bookworm Journal is pretty well thought-out.  It’s wire-bound, so it opens open flat.  After providing an opportunity for the child to write about himself, the bookworm, and his favorite reading habits/genres, the bulk of the book follows the same pattern: an activity on the left page and a standard log form on the right.

The log is pretty basic.  There’s a place to write the date, the title, and the author.  There are places for both the child and the parent to fill in “star ratings.”  There are checkboxes for whether the child read the book himself, listened to it read, or a combination of the two.  And there’s a section to write a brief bit of feedback about the book.

The activity pages vary, from drawing a favorite scene from the book, to putting the names of four favorite books on some pre-drawn book covers, to making up a story about exploring in the depths of the sea.

The bottom-right corner of each spread is perforated so you can tear it off as the bookworm “eats” each book, marking your progress through the journal.

I found this to be quite well-designed for kids, to be light and playful, without being too cluttered or fussy.

Stocking Stuffers for Readers

If you’re giving the Bookworm Journal as a gift, you might want to toss in a few extras.  Or you might just want stocking stuffers for readers.  There are a lot of options out there of fun bookmarks.  I like some of these options that look like something is peeking out the top of your book.

But I want to point out a very different type of bookmark.  These book straps wrap all the way around the book and can even be used to indicate the very line where you left off.

I bought mine through Wish.com, but Amazon has them, too.

Then there are these “thumb things.”  These are most helpful for older kids/teens/adults who read a lot of paperbacks.  You know how paperbacks have a tendency to want to close up on you while you read, so they can take two hands?  This slips over your thumb and holds the book open while you read.  It’s the blue thing in this picture:

When it isn’t being used, the flat part can be slipped inside the book as a bookmark.  These don’t work well for little kids because their thumbs aren’t nearly big enough for the holes.  (FYI: if you start browsing Wish.com for this type of thing, you may come across some little “sprout”-shaped things, which are also intended to be tucked into the gutter of a book to hold it open.  The ones I ordered, at least, were silicone, not hard plastic, so they don’t work at all.)

Silicone Finger Point Bookmarks, Pack of 5Thumb Thing Book Page Holder and Bookmark, Set of 12

Do you have favorite “book accessories”?