Tracy C. Gold

Ah, graduation season! 

If you’re picking out the perfect graduation gift, consider a book.

Or give something else, then give a book instead of a card.

Here are some of my favorite books that make adorable graduation gifts. 

Yes, this is selfishly motivated, as two of my own picture books make great gifts for high school grads who are going off to college, or even college grads who are moving away from home for the first time. So I’ll start with my favorites for that age, and work down to books for any age! All links are affiliates.

Books for High School and College Grads

“Call Your Mother” and “Call Your Father”

These books are the perfect gift from a mom and dad to a new high school or college grad. Moving away? Call! (You can also scribble “or text” on the first page—I give you permission!) These books follow a baby as it grows up. The baby needs help with booboos and going potty…all the way up to leaving home to go to school far away…and then becoming a parent. At every step, the baby (then kid, then grownup) calls mom or dad for help! These are likely to make moms and dads cry and would make a sweet reminder on a college kid’s shelf. 

Looking for a Father’s Day Gift for the dad who has everything? Consider a book! 

Yes, I have some self-interest here. My book, “Call Your Father,” makes a touching Father’s Day gift, especially for new dads and grandpas. But there are so many other excellent books to choose from. (All links here are affiliate links.)

Of course, you can pick out a book that meets a dad or grandpa’s specific reading interests. However, if you do that, they might already have it! I do like to visit my local indies and see if there are signed copies of a book the dads in my life will like, though. Even if they’ve already read it, a signed copy is special.

It’s fun to be the author and not illustrator because I can call my books “absolutely gorgeous,” and I’m bragging about someone else’s work, not my own. But yeah, “Call Your Father” is beautiful, funny, and might make you cry. Just like “Call Your Mother.” So–all props to the amazing illustrator, Vivian Mineker.

Here are the details for where you can get it:

Nationally:

Amazon (Affiliate link) please please review here as well! This is THE biggest thing you can do to help an author!

Bookshop

Barnes and Noble

Target

Locally–I’d recommend calling ahead to make sure they still have copies.

The Ivy Bookshop

Park Books

Charm City Books

Snug Books–I’ll be there in person or you can choose them on Bookshop!

Beaumont Pottery–signed copies available as of 4/14/26

Manor Mill–signed copies available as of 4/14/26

Review

You can see reviews and add your own on Goodreads.

For the next couple weeks, the digital book is also available on NetGalley. It’s free to make an account!

Events

I love getting to enjoy my books with real live little kids and families! Plus, signed books make a very special gift for dads and grandpas on Father’s Day.

For folks local to the Baltimore area, here is my list of events through June 2026. I’m trying some really fun new things this year!

Want updates on events? Sign up for my newsletter!

The Baltimore, Maryland area is full of amazing independent shops. As I prepare for a spring full of events around the launch of my picture book, “Call Your Father,” I thought I’d put together a list of some of the amazing places I’m visiting (and more) where you can get a Mother’s Day Gift or Father’s Day Gift. My full list of spring events is here. This is by no means a complete list–feel free to add in the comments. Just a few of my favorite spots!

Obviously, I’m a big reader, so this leans towards book shops. I know many people who’d love to shop more at indie bookstores, but are swayed by lower prices elsewhere. If you don’t grab them a physical book, consider buying a gift card so they have a great reason to shop indie!

Charm City Books: This darling little shop has one of my favorite features: a shop dog! Stop by for pets and goodies ranging from signed books to locally made soaps to games and bookish t-shirts. Grab lunch and Italian specialties to go or for gifts at Trinacria across the street–but maybe call ahead, it’s packed!

426 West Franklin St., Baltimore, MD, 21201

443-682-9911

https://www.charmcitybooks.com/

I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon but they DO give me a cut of things ordered via my affiliate links, so here we go with some random links of things that might be useful to folks who share my interests (kids, books, horses, outdoor life).

I always try to stock up on any basics I might need moving forward while they’re on sale, so I looked through my recent Amazon orders, and here we go.

All affiliate links!

Kid stuff

Kid velvet hangers–I had a lot of baby/toddler hangers but now Ava’s clothes are falling off so I upgraded to these. And they’re on sale! I’m going to order more!

“Call Your Mother”: My book! Not technically on Prime sale but so freaking cheap. Less than $3 as I write this.

Adorable butterfly hair clips: These are beyond cute! I discovered these for flower crowns/the Ren Fest but they’re great any time.

Amazing flag pants: Ava’s top pick for July 4th or whenever.

Miscellaneous

Untested change plates–we have a home gym and my weight needs are um much lighter than my husband’s. The trainer we zoom with recommended getting some change plates on sale!

Air tags–not technically on Prime sale but so cheap which makes me mad because I just bought new ones NOT on sale!

Air tag holders: I use these on Royal’s hoof boots and they mostly stay on…and keep her air tags dry when we cross streams.

Spray bottles: For horse stuff and life, I am often needing spray bottles. These have a good continuous spray and work well when I am waterproofing horse laundry.

Laundry tub cleaner: With all my horse stuff, my machine gets gross. I use this every now and then on a tub clean cycle.

Hair drying towels: if you have long hair, wrap it up in one of these when it’s wet and it will come out nicely wavy (if it’s like mine). Plus you won’t get everything all wet. Lifesavers!

Aquaphor healing ointment: This stuff saves my lips. I take it with me everywhere. Amazon tells me I’ve purchased this 27 times lol. And it’s on sale!

Cheap ear phones: I am always losing these so I go cheap. These work and they’re cute!

Scout bags: I bought a bunch of these on last Prime Day and they are GREAT. Bags and coolers with zippers that hold up and are worth the money…if you get them on sale. Get an extra large one and thank me later. These midsize coolers are great too–I keep water bottles in them. I like how the long strap makes them easier to carry.

Phone screen protectors: I go through these. This brand is cheap and easy to put on. Make sure you get the right size.

Horse stuff

Untested hoof polish–I haven’t tried this yet but it has rave reviews and it’s on sale!

Perfect prep gold–this is show legal calming paste aka what I like to call chamomile tea for horses. (Except I think actual chamomile might not be legal? Make it make sense.) Anecdotally, I do think this helps Royal relax at shows, as she was a bit more excitable the one show this year where I forgot it. But it was also a busier environment so who knows. It is long lasting so you can give it the night before instead of waking up even earlier. It’s not technically on Prime Day sale but it does have the lowest price in 30 days.

Magic shine sponge: for your boots before you go into the show ring!

I had so much fun chatting with Maria Frazer on her “What’s for Launch” podcast all about what it was like to publish “Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby.” Take a listen if you’re curious about what it takes to publish a board book, the poetry inside picture books, and what it was like to launch a book in the middle of a pandemic.

Also, I’m super excited for Maria’s forthcoming middle grade book, “Margarita in the Spotlight,” which is an Audible Original coming out this Fall! I love audiobooks, and this one is about a family of musicians, so it sounds perfect for the format!

I am so excited that the cover for my book, “Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat” is finally live! Illustrator Nancy Leschnikoff and the team at Sourcebooks Kids did such beautiful work on this book!

Here is a little video with the cover at the end that my agent, Carrie Pestritto, helped me put together!

To read about how I got the idea for this book, and enter to win a virtual call from amazing author Tara Lazar, head over to her blog, where the cover for this Halloween book was first revealed on April 8!

I am doing a preorder campaign for this book–if you preorder it, I will send you free stickers! I have details about that here. It comes out from Sourcebooks on August 1, 2021, with plenty of time before Halloween.

Hi, Pitch Wars mentee hopefuls! You are probably reading this after you have submitted your Pitch Wars applications, while you’re waiting to hear from potential mentors. Or perhaps you’re spotting this before the official blog hop, or this post has come up a year or two down the road at another stage of the process. Either way, I’m here to share my advice as a two-time Pitch Wars mentee. I also applied a third time because I loved it so much and didn’t get in that third time (okay, alright, it was greedy to apply again!).  

Here are a few thoughts that should be helpful for you at this stage of the game.