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Islandport Staff

Part 1 | 2024 Gift Guide

We at Islandport Press believe that there is nothing more heartwarming than the feeling of being known. When you recieve a book as a gift, the thoughtfulness of the content makes the gift personal. Whether it's a board book for the friend with a new baby, a guide book for the mom who moved to Maine, or a memoir about grief and strength after the passing of a loved one; we have a book for every occasion this holiday season.


When you gift a book, you give more than just paper. You give a helping hand. You give a fun new adventure. You give love and guidance.


You give a glimpse of Maine.


Not sure where to start? We do have a lot of options... thank goodness you have this gift guide to show you where to go!

 

Give a Maine Christmas ❄️

In times of hardship and in times of wealth, Maine and her people have always put the value of Christmas in time shared with family and friends, connections with the natural world, rich traditions, and warm wood stoves. Maine is truly the best place for Christmas cheer, and these books will bring that cheer no matter what season you're in.


All Is Calm

edited by Shannon Butler

In a collection featuring essays, stories, and poetry, All Is Calm is a look at the lives of Mainers during the holidays from the mid-1800s, to the Great Depression, to modern day. Spanning nearly 200 years, these stories show that while Christmas traditions and trends may be changing, the warmth, gratitude, and humility of the Maine spirit is evergreen.

  • Finalist, Anthology, 2020 Maine Literary Award



The Finest Christmas Tree

by John and Ann Hassett

Every year Farmer Tuttle loads his truck with Christmas trees fresh from his farm and drives down to the city to sell them. Then he picks out a special Christmas hat to bring home to Mrs. Tuttle. But one year, people stopped buying real Christmas trees. The Tuttles worried; if they couldn’t sell their trees anymore, what would they do? Just when they’re about to sell all their trees to a man from the sawmill, a mysterious letter arrives requesting Farmer Tuttle’s finest tree.


The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever

by Rebecca Rule (Illust. Jennifer Thermes)

Seven children set out on a sledding adventure that soon soars to epic proportions! Lizzie and her friends convince Grampa Bud to let them use his custom-built runner sled — an old-fashioned travis sled built for speed. But first they have to get the long sled up the iciest, diciest, scariest hill ever!

  • Kirkus Star award winner

  • Winner, Best Children’s Book, 2014 New Hampshire Literary Award

  • Finalist, 2015 Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award, North Dakota Library Association


The Scallop Christmas

by Jane Freeburg (Illust. Astrid Sheckels)

Times were tough in the small New England fishing village where Marcie lived. No one had any money, and work was hard to find. So the villagers rejoiced one glorious fall when an unexpected bounty of scallops filled their little bay. For young Marcie, a week of harvesting scallops also brought an unexpected adventure and a lesson about love that she would never forget.

  • 2010 Maine Lupine Honor Award Winner

  • Honorable Mention, Best Children’s Book, 2010 Maine Literary Award


 

Give a Glimpse of the Past ❄️

Feeling nostalgic? Or maybe just looking for the perfect coffee table decor? we have plenty of photo books to help you reminisce about the good old days. 


Take It Easy

by John Duncan

In images he shot while hanging with friends, walking the streets, or driving his taxi, Duncan emotionally and evocatively captured the innocence, mood, fun, spirit, struggle, and melancholy of Portland and its people during an iconic era. In the 1970s, moribund and neglected, Portland was walking a knife's edge toward an uncertain future as urban renewal efforts demolished aging buildings, preservationists rallied to save the city's historic character, and no one knew if any small Northeastern city could ever thrive again in a modern world.


Downtown, Up River

by Emily Stoddard Burnham

Through more than 140 images captured by photographers from the Bangor Daily News and elsewhere in the community, Downtown, Up River: Bangor in the 1970s paints a picture of a city caught in the middle. In photos of people, places and notable events, these images capture life in the tumultuous 70s in Bangor, as post-WWII sensibilities coexisted alongside a nascent counterculture, and the memories of Bangor's days as the lumber capital of the world tried to hang on amid controversial attempts to modernize the city.

  • 2024 Maine Literary Awards Winner for Excellence in Publishing 2024

  • Finalist for the Foreword INDIES


 

Give Room To Grow ❄️

Holiday vacation means more time for reading! These coming-of-age stories will be loved by any teen, and they might just teach them something along the way.


The Last Summer Before Whatever Happens Next

by Bee Burke

It’s the summer of 1980-something, and valedictorian Claire Hart has nothing to do. She can’t believe her luck when she’s swept up in the storied world of the Tooheys, heirs to a plumbing fortune and the richest, quirkiest family in Keech Harbor, Maine. As she follows the Toohey clan from one party to another, she starts to feel like she belongs. But perfection isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Claire has to decide whether she wants to live a perfect life—or one that’s perfect for her, whatever that may be.


The Space Between You and Me

by Julie True Kingsley

For Clem, summers are for Maine—but her grandmother is gone, she hasn’t talked to her mom in months, and her dad is devoted to the family business.Then she meets Rico. He’s nothing like the boys back home in LA or the boys in Maine, either. His secrets rival her own and as they grow closer, she must confront the hidden realities of places she thought she knew. In Julie True Kingsley’s debut novel, Clem and Rico’s worlds are threatening to tear them apart. Can they bridge the space between them before summer is just a memory?


Blue Summer

by Jim Nichols

In this story, author Jim Nichols writes a riveting coming-of-age novel that examines the melancholy fate of a boy torn apart by loss and domestic abuse, and the justice he eventually delivers, all the while writing a beautiful melody to counter it all, a song he calls ‘Blue Summer.’

  • Winner of the 2021 Maine Literary Award for Fiction

  • Winner of the 2022 IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction (Northeast)




What the Wind Can Tell You

by Sarah Marie A. Jette

Isabelle is fascinated by wind. And this year, she’s determined to win the middle school science fair with her wind machine. She’s just as determined to have her brother, Julian, who has a severe form of epilepsy and uses a wheelchair, serve as her assistant. But after Julian has a grand seizure, everything changes. Isabelle is suddenly granted entry into Las Brisas, a magical world where Julian’s physical limitations disappear, and one she discovers that he visits every night. The more Isabelle explores Las Brisas, the more possibilities she sees––for Julian, and for herself––and the more she finds herself at odds with her parents.

  • 2018 Lupine Honor Award Winner

  • Silver Medal, Best First Book (Chapter Book), 2018 Moonbeam Children's Book Award

  • 2018 Windows and Mirrors List (An annual list of diverse titles that demonstrate strong representation of marginalized identities as well as great literary merit), New England Children's Booksellers Advisory Committee.

  • Must-Read List, Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature, 19th Massachusetts Book Awards


 

Give the Perfect Stocking Stuffer ❄️

Our board books are the perfect size for everyone on Santas nice list!


The Little Fisherman

by Margaret Wise Brown (Illust. Dahlov Ipcar)

“Once there was a great big fisherman and a little fisherman. . . They sailed boats.” So begins the classic story by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar. The book, now condensed into a beautiful board book version, follows the two fisherman through a day in their life at sea, the big fisherman with his big boat, big fish, and big sailors, and the little fisherman with his little boat, little fish, little sailors––and a big story.


Mud, Sand, and Snow

by Charlotte Agell

“Mud makes me dance in the spring / I fly up to the sky on my swing.” So begins a celebration of the four seasons, as a young girl explores, with family and friends, the mud of spring, sand and wind in the summer, leaves and pumpkins in the fall, and the joys of snow in winter. Toddlers will enjoy listening to, and repeating, the easy rhyming text that invites them to use all their senses to experience the world changing around them.


A Snowy Owl Story

by Melissa Kim (Illust. Jada Fitch)

One winter, as food gets scarce, a snowy owl finds herself forced to look in new and unfamiliar spots in order to find food and a place to call home. Through this simple narrative, youngsters will learn about migration, adaptation, and respectful human interaction with nature.

  • Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Awards: Children's Notable Book, 2015

  • Named one of The 12 Best Bird Books of 2015, National Audubon


A Snowy Owl Story

by Melissa Kim (Illust. Jada Fitch)

A young boy learns about threats to monarch butterflies and inspires his class and community to study the butterfly’s life cycle. Through a simple narrative with beautiful illustrations, young readers will learn about the monarch butterfly, its cycle from egg to caterpillar to butterfly, threats to its survival, and respectful human interaction to help conserve this increasingly threatened species.

  • 2018 Green Earth Book Award Short List


 

Give a Trill to Chase ❄️

Mystery and suspense picks for every family detective!


The Islanders

by Lewis Robinson

Shaken by problems at home, confused by the motives of a new love, and reeling from a public meltdown, high school hockey star Walt McNamara joins an exclusive new leadership program controlled by the ultra-wealthy summer residents of Whaleback Island, a granite and spruce oasis off the coast of Maine. But this is no paradise; secrets lurk in its murky waters. In The Islanders, award-winning author Lewis Robinson has crafted his most irresistible book yet: a suspenseful reckoning of class conflict in America, with a vivid tale of friendship and family at its heart. 



Hard Line

by Gerry Boyle

After thirty years, fourteen books, and countless thrills, award-winning author Gerry Boyle writes the exciting and bittersweet final chapter for his signature character Jack McMorrow in the gritty novel, Hard Line. Filled with action ripped from current events and nods to old characters and past stories, Hard Line builds with breathtaking pace to a dramatic stand-off between the forces of violent chaos and law and order—all set amidst the quiet pines, rough towns, and gray skies of rural Maine.



Just East of Nowhere

by Scot Lehigh

Just East of Nowhere, Scot Lehigh's debut novel, is a gritty coming-of-age story that explores the often hidden pockets of Maine and features a poignant and troubled cast of characters who are caught in the undercurrents of a struggling coastal town. The powerful novel, with its characters, setting, and storyline, should resonate with anyone who also came from, as in singer Kris Kristofferson's evocative phrase, "just the other side of nowhere."




Sunrise and the Real World

by Martha Tod Dudman

When Lorraine, a recent college graduate, starts work at a residential treatment center for troubled teens, she quickly finds herself absorbed into a world very distant from the idyllic lobsters-and-lighthouses fairy tale she had always associated with Maine. Instead, she discovers a landscape of abused and angry teenagers, illicit romance, and danger. Years later, disheartened and battered by life, Lorraine is unexpectedly drawn back to that world to confront the person she was, the choices she made, and the bitter ghosts that still haunt her.



Cooper & Packrat: Mystery on Pine Lake

by Tamra Wight (Illust. Carl DiRocco)

Looking for a mystery for the family detective that's more on the young side? Trouble has come to the Wilder Family Campground and Pine Lake, where a family of loons is trying to build a nest. Someone is out to harm the loons. Is it the bully with a chip on his shoulder? The irritable camper with a shady past? Or the publicity-seeking reporter? It's up to the boys Cooper and Packrat to figure out who, why, and how to stop the culprit—before it's too late.

  • A Junior Library Guild Selection

  • 2014 Maine State Book Award Finalist

  • 2016-2017 Massachusetts Children's Book Award Finalist



 

Give a True Story ❄️

Does someone in your family just LOVE a memoir? We're all softies for a true story, especially ones about fellow Mainers. Help them see themselves reflected with these heartwarming books.


Moon in Full

by Marpheen Chann

Author Marpheen Chann’s heart-warming journey weaves through housing projects and foster homes; into houses of worship and across college campuses; and playing out in working-class Maine where he struggles to find his place. Adopted into in a majority white community, Chann must reconcile his fears and secret longings as a young gay man with the devoutly religious beliefs of his new family. Chann, a second-generation Asian American, recounts what he has learned, what he has lost, and what he has found during his evolution from a hungry refugee’s son to religious youth to advocate for acceptance and equality.


  • 2024 Read ME Pick

  • 2024 All Book Considered June Pick

  • 2023 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award Finalist

  • 2023 Maine Literary Award Finalist

  • 2023 IPPY Award Bronze Medal - LGBTQ Non-fiction


We're Going Home

by Cynthia Thayer

Bill and Cynthia had been through a lot over the previous four decades–learning to be farmers and passing on that knowledge from apprentices who came from all over the world … mourning a grandchild … seeing their barn succumb to a fire.  But this time, Cynthia doesn’t know what comes next. Cynthia tells the story of the life, the farm, and the community that she and Bill built together and what happens when she brings him home again after Bill has a mysterious accident.

  • 2024 Maine Literary Awards Finalist



The Ghosts of Walter Crockett

by W. Edward Crockett

In his new memoir, Portland-native Ed Crockett—a state representative and president of Capt'n Eli's Soda—recounts his struggle to break the cycle of alcoholism, come to grips with the embarrassing specter of his father, and overcome the shaky confidence brought on by a childhood of food stamps and welfare coats, to eventually find success on the same streets where his father once spent his days passed out and begging for money. It’s a rough upbringing, but amidst the turmoil Crockett also finds role models, the importance of neighborhood roots, the joys of Wiffle Ball, and the unconditional love of family.


Mountain Girl

by Marilyn Moss Rockefeller

From growing up in the mountains of West Virginia to running iconic Moss Tents on the coast of Maine, Marilyn Moss Rockefeller’s life has been one long adventure. Her childhood may read like a sad country song, but heartbreak and pain only fueled her determination to grab the world by the harness and ride with a dynamic combination of guts, luck, charm, and intellect. Mountain Girl is an inspiring and poignant story that shows how grit and soul can take a person from barefoot in Appalachia to the boardrooms of industry without losing that special something or selling out.



 

Are none of these picks what you're looking for? No worries, part two is coming soon!


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