How to Choose Good Books For Your Child
“One approach is to look for award-winning books. There are two famous awards for children’s literature made each year by the American Library Association that are good indicators of quality work: the Caldecott Medal for illustration and the Newbery Medal for writing. But these are given to only two of the approximately 2,500 new children’s books published each year,” according to Kathryn Perkinson from the United States Department of Education. Your local librarian can give your recommendations of books best suited to your child’s age and interests.
You can also go to http://www.parents.com/fun/book-gallery/ to find some of the best books for your child, organized by age. Scholastic also has many suggestions for books to read with your infant and toddler at http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/choose-books-for-your-baby-and-toddler/.
Reading a variety of books to children including alphabet, number, narrative, predictable, rhyming, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry books give children a vast experience with books.
Reading books with a plot also teaches children that stories have a beginning, middle, and end which helps with their recall and their ability to comprehend sequences of events.
For young children you want to make sure the books are durable, so choosing a cloth book for babies and a cardboard book for toddlers is a helpful so they can explore the books on their own.
Happy Reading!
