|
Great Children's Books
|
|
Think. What activity can you encourage that will be more vital to your child's future than a love of reading?
Now, think again. How can you mess up that love of reading? Hint....
(See Dick. See Jane. See Dick read Jane a bad book. "No, Dick, no!")
|
That's right. Dismal children's books are counter-productive. They can discourage your child from reading. How terrible is that?
Children Desperately Want To Learn To Read
For young children, a mystique grows around reading. They instinctively recognize reading and writing as a huge part of what separates them from adults. When you read to them, you're letting them in on this secret world and they love you for it!
|
Now, our job as adults is to increase the reading mystique. One way is to let our children catch us reading. Often!
As your children's most important role model, make sure they see you reading books more often than they see you, say, watching TV.
Other Ways To Increase The Mystique
When my pre-reader would see me on the computer, I made sure she knew I was reading on the computer. When we were driving and she wanted to know how I know where we are, I made sure she knew it was because I was reading the signs.
And when I had to engage discreetly with another adult around my child, I spelled instead of using Pig Latin. In other words, I gave my child an incentive to learn how to read. If you do your job right, there's nothing your child will want more than to break that code!
Read To Your Child!
Of course, the most important thing is to read to your child - a lot - and to make sure the children's books you read are engaging. Of course, great children's books means different things to different people. This site means to help you find the best children's books for you AND your children.
|
I should probably confess one thing before we go further. I come to this exercise as a professional, working writer who has written children's books - though not professionally.
Instead I wrote them for the most important reader there is. My own child.
(Before we're done here, you might find me trying to get you to try writing a children's book for your own most important reader. But not right now.)
Now, I'd like to confess to a bias I've managed to overcome.
Your Imperfect Guide - Me
|
When it comes to children's books (and movies, for that matter, because that's what I write professionally), I used to feel that the quality of the story was the only important thing.
That was before I watched my own child being read to. (If you've never had this pleasure, I urge you to treat yourself ASAP!)
While the story was being read, my daughter's eyes darted about the page like a school of minnows on the run! (If a child is that engaged, you can bet that reading is having the effect you want.) Since then, I seek out picture books that are richly illustrated in addition to having a great story.
(Of course, we won't just be talking about picture books. This site aims to help you find the best chapter books as well.)
You'll find a lot of resources on this site, including the thoughts of our terrific reviewers. After all, we all have the same goal: to find books for our children that will stimulate a lifelong love of reading.
So let's get to it!
- Store
- Store
- Too Eager? Must Write And Publish Children's Books NOW!
- Are you ready to publish children's books? You're certainly eager. But how do you know if your book is publishable? Here are some things to consider...
- Self-Publishing: You CAN Succeed...Maybe
- In these days of the internet and Amazon and lower cost printing methods, the notion of self-publishing children's books isn't nearly so silly.
- How To Write A Children's Book For A VERY Specific Audience
- Writing and publishing children's books isn't easy. This page is about something that IS easy: how to write a children's book (that you can be proud of) for an audience of one...YOUR child!
- The Writer's Block Writers Forum at Best Children's Books
- Welcome to the Writer's Block Writers Forum at Best Children's Books. Post a story problem you're trying to solve. We'll brainstorm
- A Children's Book Illustrators Marketplace for Authors and Publishers
- In search of illustrator jobs: Authors, children's book illustrators advertise their wares here. See a work sample and read about the illustrator in his/her own words.
- Online Writing: Shouldn't You Write Where People Are Reading?
- You want to be writing, you want to be read, but are you putting your words where people are reading? Online writing is where it's at. The tech isn't hard at all...
- Best Children's Books Author Services - We Help Writers!
- Best Children's Books Author Services provides proofreading, editing, and critique services for children's book writers.
- Storytelling: How Stories with Morals Can Improve Behaviors
- The purpose of storytelling, throughout the ages, has been to convey messages. Tell stories to improve your child's behavior.
- Books Can Be Costly. Find Discount Children's Books.
- Kids' books are expensive, especially picture books! Discount children's books don't have to mean cheap children's books. Encourage your child's lifelong love of reading affordably!
- Work at Home Moms Don't Just Read, They Write...Sites!
- Learn how a service called Site Build It provides work at home moms the tools to succeed online.
- The BEST Children's Book Reviews...from the Best Reviewers
- Our reviewers write the best children's book reviews around. Because our reviewers are just big kids at heart, your children will love
- Children's Magazines: Build A Regular Reading Habit
- Children's magazines are the kid equivalent of a newspaper. What better way to help your child create a regular reading habit!
- Bibliotherapy - Using Children's Books To Address Children's Problems
- Bibliotherapy, broadly defined, means the use of books to address emotional or behavioral issues. Can a children's book soothe a child's psyche? Absolutely. Here's how...
- Tools and Tricks to Promote and Encourage Reading to your Child
- The Best Children's Books Reading Toolbox is intended to provide you with strategies to promote reading to your child. Make literacy appealing!
- Coloring Books: We Add Text!
- Take coloring to the next level with downloadable coloring books that include text. It's a coloring book AND a picture book.
- Children's Book By Category - Find the Best!
- Reading is key to your child's future. Find the best children's book by category. Subject matter, reading level
- Classic Children's Literature List!
- Let's define Children's Literature - books that stand the test of time because they make a difference. Now let's pay tribute to these books...
- Personalized Children's Books - Your Child Can Star In A Book!
- Personalized children's books can encourage reading by putting your child IN the book. But how do you make sure the story itself isn't a dud? Here are some tips...
- Stories With Morals: Find Stories that Teach a Lesson!
- Stories with morals are stories that teach. Many of Aesop's fables still hold lessons for today. Search fables by moral!
- A List of Fairy Tales - Online, Full Text, Popular
- Best Children's Books is growing this list of fairy tales for your free online reading pleasure. Popular fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans
- Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes: 20 Generations of Parents Can't Be Wrong!
- Here's a 'Greatest Hits' collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes for you to refamiliarize yourself with.
- Free Children's Books - You Want 'Em, We Got 'Em!
- You're looking for free children's books but you want to know your child will love them. Quite a trick, but we're pretty tricky! Start and end your search right here.
- Get Your Children Reading - Subscribe to "Raising Readers"
- "Raising Readers" is the "Get Your Children Reading" newsletter. Each issue features advice from an expert on reading success.
- The Best Children's Books Daily Blog
- The Best Children's Books Daily Blog is the place to find out what's new for parents and for authors at Best Children's Books - Find, Read or Write.
- My Name Is Steve Barancik. Here Is My Warts-And-All Writer's Bio.
- I'm Steve Barancik, and this is my writer's bio... warts and all. Because we learn more from failure than success
- Ever Wonder How a Website Makes Money? Here's How...
- How a website makes money: it's the #1 question people have for me. They see how big and popular the site is, but they wonder
- How Do I Find The Best Children's Books? How Do I Know They're The Best?
- Let us show you the best children's books, the ones that promote a lifelong love of reading. Pick from lists of prize-winning and best selling children's books.
- The Importance of Storytelling to Good Parenting
- We know READING stories to our young children is important. What some parents don't know is how important TELLING stories is as well. Here's why storytelling makes you a better parent.
- Children's Books Advertising, Online, at Best Children's Books
- Best Children's Books offers a huge audience for children's book advertising online. Market to an eager audience of parents...
- Site Map for Best Children's Books
- We've got a big site! Have a look around by checking out our Best Children's Books site map!
 |
