Resources

Notable Children’s Books This is my #1 go-to book list. Each year a hard-working committee of ALSC, the Association for Library Service to Children, compiles this list of excellent books from the year for ages 0-14. Find annotated lists from the past several years at this link.

ALA Children’s Book Awards Here are the major children’s book awards from the American Library Association, most of them given by ALSC. Although you’re most likely to recognize the Caldecott Award for illustration and the Newbery for writing, you’ll find other helpful categories here including non-fiction and books for early readers.

We Need Diverse Books Writers, illustrators, publishers, editors, and others came together to create a much-needed organization called We Need Diverse Books. This link is to their excellent list of websites to find diverse books, divided into useful categories.

New York Public Library Children’s Book Recommendations Many large public library systems offer book lists and other resources. NYPL has lots of great lists including their annual “Best Books for Kids.”

Your Public Library Catalog Chances are that your on-line public library catalog includes professional reviews of children’s books. If you want to find out more about a book and read the opinions of people who actually know what they’re talking about (as opposed to most customer comments at Amazon), look for reviews from Booklist, Horn Book, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Find a Good Children’s Librarian See if you can find a friendly, knowledgeable children’s librarian near you. That person will have a good sense of what a lot of children like and, if you know books a child already likes, a good librarian can point you towards similar books.