Kid Picks Adults Like

When I write about picture books and writing/illustration for young children, I mean pre-K through around grade 3. I think some picture books are so well done that any age, yes adults will enjoy them tremendously. For example, Swiss author/illustrator Irene Schoch has this very clever book, The Cat's Vacation. You can likely find it at your library or Amazon has a few copies. I'd love to find her German book Chiara und der Banhof.

A book I know you've seen at your library is Robert Neubecker's, WOW CITY, and WOW SCHOOL. All I can say is Wow! you'll have to see for yourself.

Here's a blog I really like, ecochildsplay.blogspot.com. The creator reviews a favorite book in Great Children's Literature and the most current title is, Fire Race. She's previously reviewed, Spiders Spin Webs. Check her archives for more recommendations.

For a more extensive list of recommended books go to Kid Picks, a library list of great books for kids of all ages. Bookmark this very handy reference guide.

Follow these tips to raise a reader.
Read out loud with your child at least once a day. Get your child a library card and visit the library often. Attend story times and other programs for children. Read! Your children will do what you do.

I would suggest that when you read to your child you go way beyond text, which is why good picture books are an asset. Do a picture walk through the story, better yet let your child tell you what is happening. Point out elements in the story and elaborate on those she is already aware of. Ask thoughtful questions related to the story and relevant to her life experiences.

As Peter Kline argues in, Why America's Children Can't Think: Creating Independent Minds for the 21st Century, "The Information Age requires that we not only comprehend what we read but can interpret and apply it to our personal experience, or we will become a nation of followers and not independent thinkers. As the Internet pervades all aspects of our lives, we will be required to exercise reading and interpretative skills at an unprecedented level, or be left behind in the new global economy. By 2010, the volume of available information will be growing at a rate 10 billion times faster than in 1950. It’s interpretation, not comprehension, that is needed." Sit with that for a while : )