I am always on the lookout for excellent book selections for the children. We love illustrated books and try to read several throughout the week as part of our school day. I will often find the children reading them together in the evening as well.
While I can scan the shelves or displays at our library branch easy enough, and we do tend to come home with several books that we just grab off the shelves, I love being able to login to the library website and request books to be held and picked up at a later date. And because we are rural, I use three different local library systems, so it helps to be able to go online and search for books.
I also prefer books that I’ve read some feedback on or that have been recognized in some way for their content. I regularly sit down with book lists compiled from various websites and request them from our library.
As my children are getting older, I am also looking for quality book selections that are considered middle grade or YA – I want chapter books for both our read aloud time as well as independent reading.
Thankfully there are some wonderful resources available for finding good books for children. I check these regularly when building my To Be Read list.
Here are some of my “go to” resources for children’s book recommendations.
ALA Book Awards
Various book medal awards are given each year by the Association for Library Service for Children (a division of the American Library Association) to recognize outstanding books – a list of Book and Media awards categories are available through the ALSC website. The ALA also puts together a list of Notable Children’s Books. This is an excellent source of children’s book titles to include in your weekly reading.
A few of the more notable (and most familiar) awards include:
The Caldecott medal – awarded each year for children’s picture book, and the award goes to the artist, regardless of whether they are also the author of the book.
The Newberry Medal – awarded each year to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature.
The Silbert Book Medal – awarded to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished informational book each year.
A couple of awards that are less well-known but are worth mentioning:
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award – awarded to American publishers of children’s books that are originally published in a language other than English, and have then been translated for English-speakers.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal – awarded to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. This is a relatively new award, established in 2004 and first awarded in 2006.
*award pages include a background on the award – when it was set up and established, and details regarding what it recognizes. Each page also includes links to current and past recipients of each award, as well as a PDF of all past recipients – very helpful!
While you can access books through the individual award pages (listed above) the ALSC search engine also allows you to look for books by Award as well as Award Year. This is a wondering resource!
Science Friday
Science Friday puts out wonderful podcasts filled with interesting stories that make science fun and accessible. They also publish a list of top science books for kids (this list is for 2022). As an added bonus they also host a book club so if you are looking for a science read for yourself, you should check out their SciFri Book Club and pick their current title or explore previous books they’ve read.
Goodreads
Goodreads is also another great resource for book recommendations. You can “Explore” book selections by genre, and see new releases as well as most read each week. There are also Lists – Goodreads members often put together lists of their own recommendations or contribute to larger lists that are searchable. Each book selection includes reviews and commentaries by members.
Blogs
There are wonderful websites available that put together excellent reading lists for parents. I am grateful for the effort made to provide book recommendations to others. Here are several worth checking out:
- Here Wee Read – has incredible book lists and recommendations that are centered on diverse and inclusive titles.
- Reshelving Alexandria – has an extensive book lists of classical titles
- What Do We Do All Day – lots of book lists for a range of ages
Pinterest is a great resource for book lists. A simple search for children’s literature will turn up a large selection of blogs and websites that contain children’s book recommendations. These book lists range from the top books “all children should read” to content specific titles such as “books about courage.” Check out my Children’s Books Board to see what pins I’ve saved.
Author and Book Series Websites
Another way to find books is to explore a particular author, or if they’ve only written one series so far, a website for that particular book series. Once we’ve read one book from a particular author, we usually seek out other titles. A simple Google search will usually turn up an author’s website and book list. And as an added bonus authors may offer additional content on their websites – like coloring pages or short stories to enjoy. Here are some websites of authors we love around here:
Happy reading!!
Michelle Home Scholar 