Umm…I’m not sure if I’m missing something here…the kid is underpriviledged, right, which is why his name is part of this Angel Tree thing? And all he asked for was clothes? Shouldn’t we maybe assume that he doesn’t own a CD player? I know they aren’t THAT expensive anymore, but under the circumstances…it just seems unlikely that he’ll have one, or at least have one of his own where he can enjoy a CD without family badgering him.
A book sounds like a better idea, even if he doesn’t read much (stereotypical, but possible). Something like Hitchhikers would be a good choice - its funny, and a relatively easy read.
Depending on the clothes he asked for, can you get a sense of what kind of kid this is? Into sports, or more skater like, or more gothic, or geeky, etc? If hes sporty, maybe a team hat, or T-shirt, or a basketball or something. If he’s more of a skater, then there might be passes to a not-too-expensive skater show/event he’d like, etc.
He asked for a coat, hat, gloves and t-shirts, no specifics given except for his sizes. I did pay a little extra and got a Chicago Bulls hat…hope he’s at least a casual fan.
Hitchhikers is a possible idea. I think it’s genetically programmed into a high percentage to teenage boys to like Douglas Adams.
Er, even though age 16 may have the vocabulary to handle Hitchhiker’s, still it may be too sophisticated for him, may go right over his head. I’ve got an almost-16-year-old boy here, and even though he tests really high on reading level on those Iowa and CAT tests every year, still he hates to read, hates sitting there having to focus on a book.
The only thing he ever sits down and reads all the way through are those Japanese graphic novels with Usagi Yojimbo, the superhero rabbit.
I fear that this isn’t so much a matter of age as it is a matter of changing times.
Books are not appreciated as much as they once were, mostly due to the prominence and popularity of other media, including the internet.
If someone could convince me otherwise I would appreciate it, because as a bibliophile I would hope that more young ones enjoy reading books than I think they do.
I read a fair amount. I recently completed Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege by Beevor, am working on numerous other books (such as Boots’ Savage Wars of Peace, and the Great War Trilogy by Harry Turtledove). Two of my close friends are big Adams fans. We’re all sixteen, btw.
However, we hardly constitute a norm. Getting the kid what he asks for is obviously the most sensible, and I definitely back the gift certificate idea as a gift as well. My personal preference would be either to Best Buy, or perhaps Borders Books and Music, but to each their own. Allowing that this kid needs/wants clothing, how about somewhere like Target? They also sell music, games, and sporting equipment, so it may be a more favorable option.
Usagi Yojimbo isn’t a Japanese comic in the way that it was brought over from Japan and translated into Engrish but it’s a comic by a man of Japanese heritage that takes place in Japan where Usagi Yojimbo is a wandering samurai. Far from being a superhero.
I am a bit taken aback that people here think HHGTG would go over the head of a 16 year old. I read it when I was ~10 and enjoyed it quite a bit. Have read it many times since then.
Actually, I am, too, Rhum Runner, but I find it difficult to trust my own age-appropriate-reading-material decisions ever since one of my college professors expressed shock that one of my classmates was required to read Oliver Twist in 8th grade, because “that book is ‘too dark’ for someone that young”–I read it when I was 7 or 8.