Book Recommendations for Kids

I have pages of my own descriptions for each of the below categories. Some books show up here that I forgot to put into Goodreads, but these lists don’t include numeric ratings. You can probably figure out what I think of the book from the description, though.

• Chapter books (including larger books with some illustrations)
• Comics and Graphic Novels
• Books without pictures

I keep a “greatest hits” list at SFPL. It’s not organized in any way, but they’re the books that have really resonated with at least one member of our household.

I also keep Goodreads shelves with ratings of many of the books I’ve read.

• All kids books
• Chapter books (including larger books with some illustrations)
• Comics and Graphic Novels
• Books without pictures
• Books about kids and civic engagment
• Kid lit mysteries
• Books featuring world-building, either as examples or how-tos

Here are some of the sources I use for finding new books:

• The Horn Book: Something like eighty percent of books I find come from this long-respected publication (which is aimed primarily at librarians). While I have a subscription, even their newsletters and blogs are filled with reviews. They often highlight books by and about people of color.
• A Mighty Girl: This site is heavily focused on building up strong, confident girls. They often have great lists of books in some theme (fantasy, say) featuring “mighty girls.” Note that sometimes they recommend books for adults, so check age ranges to be sure!
• Geekdad’s Stack Overflow Column: Jonathan H. Liu’s reviews here especially align with my own tastes and interests, but there’s often good thought put into a wide range of books.
• Readbrightly.com: I often find gems tucked away in their many lists, most of which you can get via email. Note that the contributor list is light on people of color, and I feel like their recommendations reflect that (i.e., I don’t often see diverse books in their suggestions).
• NYT Middle Grade Bestseller List: While the NYT bestseller list has its problems (mass appeal doesn’t always intersect with quality, and books can sit there for a long time, crowding out others), this is a good source of books that your kid’s friends might be talking about. Note that there are separate lists for hardcover (updated weekly) and paperback (updated monthly).
• Various award sites. Awards often say as much about the judging panel as they do about the quality of the books, but it’s at least an indicator. Of course the most famous awards for childrens books are the Caldecotts, the Newberys, and the Coretta Scott Kings. But other awards sites have categories for kids that are worth looking at: the National Book Award, the Edgars, and the Nebulas are all sites I’ve looked at on occasion.
• Your local librarian! But if your librarians are anything like ours, be aware that asking them for recommendations is like turning on a firehose. Even without a librarian, your library probably has a wide range of resources to help you find books. By way of example, our local library has sheets of book recommendations for several reading levels, regular emails about books for different groups of readers (e.g., “middle grade” or “YA”), and access to a tool called NoveList, which lets you find “read-alikes” of books you enter.