Happy New Year, Shelf Space readers!

As we kick off 2011, I’m wondering what books were under your tree during the holiday? What did you give? What did you receive?

Every year we give our kids a Christmas book that they open on Christmas Eve and read them together before bed. This year we gave our son “The Gingerbread Pirates” by Kristin Kladstrup, and we gave our daughter “The Wild Christmas Reindeer” by Jan Brett. The tradition was especially sweet this time as our son read his book to us – a Christmas Eve first.

We gave our brother-in-law a signed copy of “Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America’s War with Militant Islam” by Mark Bowden. Bowden is best known for “Black Hawk Down,” and I was lucky enough to meet him and hear him speak at a writing conference last summer.

You’re probably asking yourself why I didn’t get a copy of “Black Hawk Down” signed. I did – for my husband.

I was delighted to unwrap two, well-worn Ramona books from my sister. Pictured above, these copies of “Ramona the Pest” and “Ramona the Brave” by Beverly Cleary were obviously well-loved. My sister picked them up at a thrift store, and they were both library books at Poth Elementary. According to the inscriptions, one was donated to the school in 1979, and one was donated in 1978. These stories still make me laugh, and my favorite feature of these specific copies are the library checkout cards still adhered to the inside covers.

To my great surprise, and as it turns out, delight, I received the Barnes and Noble Nook Color! I’m the first to admit that my husband has a tendency to spoil me, and this Christmas was no exception. I’ll do a separate post on the magical Nook tomorrow, but for now, suffice it to say – I’m loving it.

Let me know what literary surprises were under your tree.