The Bold Bookmark

I’ve always loved a good auction. So when my daughter’s elementary school mentioned they host one every year, I immediately volunteered to donate a “Cozy Reader” book basket.

It was so much fun to put together — and thankfully, it ended up being a huge hit at the auction!

The basket included six middle-grade favorites for ages ~8-12:

• Keeper of the Lost Cities (Book 1), by Shannon Messenger
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Book 1), by Rick Riordan
• The Wild Robot (Book 1), by Peter Brown
• Restart, by Gordon Korman
• Impossible Creatures (Book 1), by Katherine Rundell
• The Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment (Book 1), by Anna James

I wanted to make the basket appeal to a wide range of readers, so I intentionally skewed toward upper elementary favorites — books kids could either dive into immediately or grow into over the coming years.

From my work with the Reading Hall of Fame (RHoF) giveaways, I already knew Keepers, Percy Jackson, Wild Robot, and Restart consistently flew off the tables and appealed to a wide variety of readers.

I’d recently read both Impossible Creatures and Chronicles aloud with my kids and, while they were too new to have appeared at RHoF yet, both felt like the kind of books that could become modern middle-grade classics.

In addition to the books, I added a pile of cozy reading extras:

• Digital Bookmark by Mark My Time
• Reading socks
• Bookmarks and stickers
• A “Just One More Chapter” glass cup
• A library-scented candle
• And other bookish goodies

But my favorite part was adding something a little more personal: a custom book recommendation list tailored specifically to the winning reader. Because helping kids find books they genuinely connect with is kind of my favorite thing.

Basket, Round 1

Originally, the auction was supposed to happen during the school’s Winterfest event in December. Unfortunately, major flooding hit our area and the event had to be canceled.

I had already prepared my basket by then (the original version of the basket is pictured below). Since the auction was canceled, I decided to raid my basket for items to donate to the Fall City Community Food Pantry’s stocking drive instead.

When the auction was rescheduled for January during the school’s Glow Party, I scrambled to rebuild the basket.

Honestly? The second version turned out even better! I added Impossible Creatures and The Chronicles of Whetherwhy, swapped Wonder with Restart, and included the personalized recommendation.

If you ever need an auction basket idea — or a gift for a fellow reader — I highly recommend a cozy book basket. It’s the kind of gift that feels special to create and even more special to receive.