Children's Book Week 2010

Children's Book Week is May 10th-16th. Here are a few good resources for finding good books.

As a parent and a former school librarian, I really love ABookAndAHug.com by Barb Langridge. Barb has been a bookseller, children's book specialist at a public library, and has a cable television show in Baltimore for which she interviews children's and young adult authors and illustrators. Her website truly reflects her understanding of children's books and how important it is to connect the right books to the right children. Her booklists are easily browsed or searched and I especially like that she has tagged books for boys, girls, reluctant readers, and "middle reader - careful content". Middle reader - careful content are books for children ages 8-11 who read above level and aren't ready for more mature subject matter. We have all had difficulty finding books for this group! An added bonus are the links to her interviews with authors/illustrators on the Books Alive! page.

Some other great resources to check out are the seven "editorial websites" from the Book Report Network. Here are brief decriptions of what they have to offer.

• Graphic Novel Reporter - Learn about it, read reviews, see whats up and coming. Covers graphic novels for kids through adults.


• Teen Reads - Set up for teens to share information about their favorite books and authors.


• Kids Reads - Intended to share information with kids about their favorite books and authors but I personally feel that it is more appropriate for parents, teachers, and librarians.


• Book Reporter - Reviews and book suggestions for the adult reader.


• Reading Group Guides - Need a guide for your book group? Here's the perfect place to start looking. There are over 3,000 guides to choose from.


• Author Yellow Pages - A searchable directory of author websites. There's also a list of author newsletters you can sign up for.


• Faithful Reader - Need to add to your Christian fiction and non-fiction collections? This site's for you. Lots of lists and reviews.

I hope these sites are as helpful and interesting to you as they are to me. Happy Children's Book Week!