Finding great books for children to read is a bit of a treasure hunt. As I discussed in my last post, a talk from local literature blogger, Jill Swanson, inspired me to be more discerning about not only what I read, but what I allow my son – even at ten months old – to look at or be read from. In her talk, Swanson, who blogs about children’s books at Orange Marmalade, shared several resources for finding these “gems” in the huge world of books, most of which are being marketed for the quick sales, rather than their excellence in writing and illustrations.
Below you’ll find a list of quality authors and one of their titles to explore for several age categories from Swanson. Check out a book or two from each of these authors, and if you like what you see, search for more of the author’s work – many of them write for several age brackets.
Infant to Two Years Old:
- Eric Carle – The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Mem Fox – Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
- Kevin Henkes – My Garden
- Tana Hoban – More, Fewer, Less
- Rachel Isadora – Peekaboo Morning
- Ezra Jack Keats – The Snowy Day
- Helen Oxenbury – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
- Nancy Tafuri – Have You Seen My Duckling?
- Britta Teckentrup – Animal 1 2 3
- Audrey Wood – The Napping House
Two to Five Years Old:
- Mac Barnett – Count the Monkeys
- Quentin Blake – Mrs. Armitage on Wheels
- Matthew Cordell – hello! hello!
- Shirley Hughes – Dogger
- James Marshall – George and Martha
- Robert McCloskey – Blueberries for Sal
- Eve Rice – Sam Who Never Forgets
- Peter Spier – Rain
- Vera B. Williams – A Chair for My Mother
- Charlotte Zolotow – I Know a Lady
Five to Eight Years Old:
- Jonathan Bean – Building Our House
- Arthur Geisert – Lights Out
- David Wiesner – Flotsam
- Russell E. Erickson – A Toad for Tuesday
- Astrid Lindgren – The Children from Noisy Village
- Hilary McKay – Lulu and the Dog from the Sea
- Cynthia Rylant – Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch
- Nic Bishop – Frogs
- Steve Jenkins – Sisters and Brothers
- Ted and Betsy Lewin – Pufing Patrol
Eight to Ten Years Old:
- Betsy Byars – The Midnight Fox
- Lauren Child – Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes
- Meindert DeJong – The House of Sixty Fathersate Di Camillo — The Tale of Despereaux
- Eleanor Estes – Ginger Pye
- Robert Lawson – The Great Wheel
- William Pene du Bois – The Twenty One Balloons
- Arthur Ransome – Swallows and Amazons
- Gloria Whelan – Listening for Lions
- Brian Floca – Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
Ten to Twelve Years Old:
- Walter R. Brooks – Freddy the Detective
- Allen French – The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow
- Carl Hiaasen – Chomp
- Margi Preus – Shadow on the Mountain
- Linda Sue Park – A Single Shard
- Phillip Reeve – Larklight
- Keith Robertson – Henry Reed, Inc.
- Pam Munoz Ryan – Becoming Naomi Leon
- Gary D. Schmidt – The Wednesday Wars
- Elizabeth George Speare – The Bronze Bow
In addition to Orange Marmalade (Which is definitely a must-read!), here are several more blogs which review children’s books – great places to find quality reading for your children.
- Seven Impossible Things – Focuses specifically on book illustration
- Chicken Spaghetti – Lots of “best of” book lists for children’s books
- The Nonfiction Detectives – Two librarians posting reviews of children’s nonfiction books
- Kidlitosphere – Community of reviewers who blog about children and young adult literature
- Aslan’s Library – Discussion and reviews on faith-oriented books for children
Another good place to check for new ideas are award lists. Here are a few to check:
- Newbery – Most distinguished contribution to children’s lit in the U.S.
- Caldecott – Most distinguished picture book in U.S.
- Sibert – Most distinguished informational book in U.S
- Coretta Scott King – Outstanding books by African American authors/illustrators
Finally, we’re lucky enough to have two wonderful local independent children’s bookstores right here in the Twin Cities. Both bookstores offer story times, author visits and book clubs. Be sure to check each of them out – and bring your kiddos!
- Wild Rumpus – 2720 W 43rd St, Minneapolis, MN 55410
- The Red Balloon Bookshop – 891 Grand Ave, St Paul, MN 55105
4 comments
Laura,
Thanks for all your hard work on these two posts! They were very thorough and enjoyable.
Love,
Mary
Thanks Mary – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the list, although I think it is much more important to READ to children than stress about what title or author is better, it is nice to have a thoughtful list like this. Start them young!
Hi Lisa – You’re totally right! Reading ANYTHING is good for kids – I’ve even found myself reading the back of a cereal box to my son. All I can say in defense is I thought it was interesting and I thought it’d keep him entertained for a few more minutes.