I am the daughter of an elementary-school librarian and the sister of a middle-school librarian. My fondness for kid's books was nurtured from a very early age and continues unabated to this day. So I am thrilled to share with you that this is National Children's Book Week! Grab a book and read it to a kid. Or to yourself. Or to your spouse. Or to an unsuspecting soon-to-be-surprised stranger. If you need some suggestions for good books to start with, check out our window display. For more ideas, here are some of our bestsellers from the past year or so:
Boardbooks: Goodnight Moon (Brown), Pat the Bunny (Kunhardt), The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle), Good Dog Carl (Day), Olivia (Falconer), Jamberry (Degan), and anything by Sandra Boynton.
Picture Books: Erika-San (Say), Wabi-Sabi (Reibstein), Pete & Pickles (Breathed), Olivia (Falconer), Oh The Places You Will Go (Seuss), Madeline (Bemelman), Goodnight Moon (Brown), and anything by Maurice Sendak.
Middle Readers: Tales of Beedle the Bard (Rowling), The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster), The Penderwicks (Birdsall), The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls (Primavera ), and ALL of the Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books by Rick Riordan.
Young Adult: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie), The Book Thief (Zusak), Brisingr (Paolini), Slam (Hornby), Holes (Sachar), Gifts (Le Guin), and all of the Twilight series books by Stephenie Meyer.
Many of my personal favorites are on these lists, but I'll add just a few more that are worth checking out. In the picture book category, check out Officer Buckle and Gloria (Rathmann) and Tupelo Rides the Rails (Sweet). In the middle reader category, I'd recommend Harriet the Spy (Fitzhugh), The Mysterious Benedict Society (Stewart), and of course anything by Beverly Cleary. You might also check out the new Amelia Rules graphic novel series (Gownley), which is sort of an updated Ramona goes graphic. In the young adult area I'd add in The Hunger Games (Collins), Un Lun Dun (Mieville), and the Sally Lockhart mystery series by Philip Pullman (he of The Golden Compass series fame).
Anyone who knows me at all knows that it's hard for me to stop at just this list. There are SO MANY great books out there for kids of all ages. If you need any more suggestions, just ask! And be sure to Check out Rose's recommendations on our Recommended Shelf, because she usually offers up some great suggestions for kids. Happy Children's Book Week to all!
Don't forget the picture book, The Seven Silly Eaters and everything by Kevin Henkes, or the YA Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (for those with Twilight withdrawl), or The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, for those who like their paranormal YA on a lighter note.
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