Childrens Books

How do you introduce your child to books? The easiest way to do this is reading stories with your children and you can start it as soon as possible. Reading aloud develops a special relationship between you and your child. Toronto Public Library has a guide for Parents "Introducing Your Child to Books." This list has recommendations for children of all ages and also has a list for parents who want to learn how to introduce their children to books.

Teachersfirst.com also has a list of 100 best books for children selected by the National Education Association. This list is also divided into age groups and has book and author links to any TeachersFirst resources and lesson ideas.

Another good source is Amazon.com's Children's Books category. They also have books categorized in age groups and categories. Amazon.com is a great resource, specially when you are buying books for children. You can see the best selling books, popular pre orders, award winning books in children's literature and recommendations from Amazon editors, other parents and teachers.

North West Regional Educational Laboratory offers a very informative resource on the developmental considerations in selecting books for children. At Bank Street College of Education, the Children's Book Committee annually reviews approximately three thousand books to select the six hundred or so that they believe are the best books published for children that year. In the introduction they write:

In selecting books, we give high priority to a book' s appropriateness to a child's stage of emotional, social, and cognitive development. One word of caution: individual children's development is highly variable. Our guidelines are just guidelines. Know the children you're working with, their fears, wonders, and interests, and adjust your selections accordingly.

Tags: children, books