Everyone has different definition of what makes a children’s book worth reading, for some, it is the number of copies that were sold during its initial publication, for others it is the number of years the book has been around, and for still others, it is simply remembering the book from childhood. When it comes to children’s books, my thoughts are simple: you are never too old to read children’s books, and there is nothing like recommending a good book.
Children’s books have come a long way over the past 200 years. There are classics, series, fiction, non-fiction, bestsellers, and long forgotten favorites. Children’s books come in a variety of themes as well, from mystery and detective fiction, to fantasy and historical fiction. There are countless options when it comes to choosing a book for children, and I think it is impossible to ever run out of choices, so the best place to start is with the child. Choosing the right book means knowing the audience. Asking questions can help narrow down the options and make choosing the right book easier. Some questions to start with are:
· Is this book for a specific child or a group?
· What age?
· Male or Female? (Some books work well for both boys and girls, while others are more gender oriented, like “Little Women” is better suited for girls and the “Tom Swift” series is better suited for boys.)
· Is this book for school or fun? (Books for school should be easy to write about, and interesting, with identifiable characters and themes, like “Masterpiece”.)
· Will the book be read out loud or silently, by you or the child? (Some books are better for reading out loud than others, for example, “Watership Down” has many hard to pronounce words which may make reading out loud a little more complicated.)
· How much time does the reader have? (If the book is for school, determine how much time the reader has, since longer books will only make school assignments more challenging.)
· Does the reader prefer a specific type of book? (Some readers like lots of action, while others like simple plots with lots of dialogue.)
When it comes to picking a children’s book, there are almost no wrong answers, just some answers that are better than others; so the next time you are thinking about helping a child chose a book to read, consider some of these questions, hopefully you will have helped the child or children chose a book that will both stimulate the imagination and make reading fun!
If at this point you are still having trouble thinking of some books to recommend, I have listed below some books that I consider appropriate for almost any age, for both boys and girls.
Books about animals:
· Black Beauty: Anna Sewell
· Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH: Robert C.O'Brian
· Masterpiece: Elise Broach
· Trumpet of the Swan: E.B. White
· Watership Down: Richard Adams
Books in a series:
· The Borrowers: Mary Norton
· Ramona Quimby: Beverly Cleary
· The Chronicles of Narnia: C.S.Lewis
· Little House on the Prairie: Laura Wilder
· Henry Reed: Keith Robertson
· The Great Brain: J.D.Fitzgerald
Books about boys and girls growing up:
- Chasing Redbird: Sharon Creech
- The View from Saturday: E.L. Konigsburg
- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler: E.L. Konigsburg
- Ella Enchanted: Gail Levine
- The Secret life of Ms. Finkleman: Ben Winters
For me, there are few things more exciting than helping someone chose a book to read. Reading is about more than just spending time, or getting a school assignment done, it is a means of expanding the mind, and growing as a person.
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