Give the Gift of Reading

Local booksellers share their top recommendations

By Jillian Manning | Nov. 22, 2025

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” – Maya Angelou

We asked booksellers across the North to share their top recommendations for the holiday season. Read on below!

The Folded Leaf, Cedar

Bookseller: Rachel

For Kids
The Christmas Tree Ship by Carol Crane: This is such a great Christmas story! Based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it encompasses the warmth of family and the wonder of storytelling.

For Grown-ups
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods: The Lost Bookshop is a page turner and an inspiration all in one. It weaves a tale through time to remind us all that we’re connected and love always finds a way.

How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy: This is an amazing guide to how we can all work with nature to heal our communities and ourselves. Take a deep dive into the question of the title and find some important ways you can help change the world.

McLean & Eakin, Petoskey

Bookseller: Maris

For Kids
When You Find a Hope by Allie Millington: Such a stunningly gorgeous book with a wonderful message! We could all always use a little more hope, and I adore the sentiment of cultivating your own hope into something to be shared with others.

For Grown-ups
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai: This dazzling saga was so immersive, I did not want it to end! The poetic prose swept me into the lives of two Indian immigrants, struggling with young adulthood in America and India. With profound empathy, Desai has woven race, culture, relationships, and of course, love and loneliness into an outstanding novel.

The Gales of November by John U. Bacon: This year is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. This book covers a tragedy with national headlines, inspiring a ballad that still sends shivers up the spine even today.

Cottage Book Shop, Glen Arbor

Bookseller: Jenny

For Kids
Mama Sugar Bear: A Tale That’s a Little Bit True by Katie Bosch: When Mama Sugar Bear wakes from her long winter nap, her nose leads her straight into trouble…to a bag of sugar from a local chocolate shop! But what begins as a sticky situation turns into a heartwarming tale of friendship, discovery, and the joy of wild places.

For Grown-ups
Off the Beaten Path: A Stone’s Throw Mystery by Eloise Corvo: The first in a trilogy, Off the Beaten Path is a cozy mystery set in a small but beautiful coastal northern Michigan town.

This Magnetic North by Tim Mulherin: This book explores the impact of population growth and climate change on the Grand Traverse region of northern Michigan. Through interviews with locals, newcomers, and various community stakeholders, the book examines the tensions and challenges of balancing the area's natural beauty with increased demand and development. Straightforward and thought provoking, this is a book we keep thinking about.

Horizon Books, Traverse City & Cadillac

Booksellers: Brittany, Nicole, and Juan

For Kids
Tallulah the Mermaid and the Great Lakes Pledge by Denise Brennan-Nelson, Illustrated by Brooke O’Neill: This is an adorably illustrated adventure, as well as a love letter to the water we hold so dear. Tallulah teaches respect, admiration, and responsibility to our home with excitement and joy that kids will be eager to emulate. Grab your Petoskey stones, and take the Great Lakes Pledge!

For Grown-ups
Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear: Mother of Rome is a story that leaps off the pages in a poetic crescendo. This book is a magical retelling of the beginnings of Rome, with a focus on the eccentric background of Romulus and Remus’s mother. This is the fierce and epic tale of a legendary woman who captures how far a mother’s love will go, and shows that even with the pressures of uncontrollable forces there are no lengths she won’t go.

The Outward Path: The Wizdom of the Aztecs by Sebastian Purcell: Pre-colonial mesoamerican culture, let alone its philosophical branches, are rarely discussed and seldom studied. However, in Sebastian Purcell's The Outward Path, we get a pithy introduction to the Nahua/Aztec cosmology, their approach to community, and most importantly their view of a meaningful life. This book is a refreshing blend of history and philosophical analysis of the way of life of the original people of modern-day Mexico and their path to Neltiliztli (a well-rooted existence).

Between the Covers, Harbor Springs

Bookseller: Jess, Avarie

For Kids
Rock, Paper, Incisors by Amy Timberlake: Whimsical, quirky, and full of adventure, the third book in the Skunk and Badger series does not disappoint. Set in the home of two mammalian roommates and two recently adopted rat pups during the winter, this story is a treat for readers of all ages to enjoy while curled up by a fire as snowflakes are falling outside.

For Grown-ups
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber: This book reads like a thriller, with fantastical elements of folklore come to life that make you wonder what it might be like if all your local legends turned out to be true.

We the People by Jill Lepore: A thorough dive into constitutional history with a focus on change and, ultimately, how the purpose of the original historic document depends on it. It is pertinent, thoughtful, and democratic, providing a new way of understanding the Constitution.

Bay Books, Suttons Bay

Bookseller: Tina

For Kids
At Home in a Faraway Place by Lynne Rae Perkins: A Newbery Award winner, Perkins is renowned for her illustrations and charming story telling that always has a gentle message of love and friendship. We love how the main character in this story, Lissie, travels to a new culture and finds adventurous learning experiences from new friends. Bonus are the Spanish words and phrases that Lissie learns.

For Grown-ups
In Defense of Good Women by Marilyn Zimmerman: A female criminal defense lawyer is ordered to defend a minister’s daughter accused of infanticide. Set in southeast Michigan, the different legalities of Michigan and neighboring Canada come into play, as well as previous trauma on the part of the lawyer, and shed a harsh light on the arbitrary treatment of women accused of infanticide. Fast paced and full of thought provoking issues.

Prison: The Inside Story by Jack Myette: So well written and compelling, we couldn’t put it down. After spending 25 years working within the Michigan Department of Corrections, the author has many startling and disturbing stories to share and they are fascinating. His keen perspective is often humorous but always educational, and he manages to keep the humanity of the imprisoned in mind.