Children's Books

Selecting Books for Your Child: Finding 'Just Right' Books

By: Kathleen Rogers (2008)

How can parents help their children find books that are not "too hard" and not "too easy" but instead are "just right"? Here's some advice.

Creating a Home Library

By: Reading Rockets (2008)

A Quick Guide to Selecting Great Informational Books for Young Children

By: Kathy E. Stephens (2008)

Exposing children to a variety of informational text will stimulate development of background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. In this article, take an imaginary trip to a children's museum and learn how to choose quality, high-interest informational books for young readers.

Making Reading Relevant: Read, Learn, and Do!

By: Reading Rockets (2008)

Making Reading Relevant: Read, Learn, and Do! (Pre-K)

By: Reading Rockets (2008)

Finding the Right Book Level: PALS Equivalencies

By: Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) at the University of Virginia (2008)

Different book leveling systems each have unique ways of describing the age- and grade-level appropriateness of books. This chart provides equivalency information across six leveling systems: Basal level/PALS, Guided Reading, DRA, Rigby PM, Reading Recovery, and Lexile.

In Search of Free Books

By: Rachael Walker (2007)

Where can your school, library, or community group find free or low-cost books for kids? There are a number of national organizations and programs that can help!

Finding and Sharing Great Kids' Books

By: Reading Rockets (2007)

A Home for My Books

By: U.S. Department of Education (2005)

Creating a library of your child's books is a great way to show her how important reading is. It will also give her a special place to keep her books and will motivate her to keep pulling books from her own library to read. Here are some ideas for getting started!

What Can Harry Potter Teach Us About Children and Reading?

By: Maria Salvadore (2005)

Kids and adults alike can't wait for the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Saturday, July 16. Young readers have embraced the young wizard and his friends, and have made Hogwarts, the rivalry between its Houses, the names of the faculty, and the passion for Quidditch household terms.

The Things We Share: Themes for Black History Month

By: Maria Salvadore and Susan Hepler (2005)

Use the power of stories to explore what's different and the same, new and shared, about ourselves and our experiences. These nine new books find wonderful ways to express universal themes through African Americans, both fictional and real.

Audiobooks: Ideas for Teachers

By: Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson (2005)

Encourage students to become better listeners and readers through audiobooks.

Using Audio Books to Create Readers

(2005)

What are audiobooks? They are CDs or cassette tapes that feature a narrator who reads a book aloud. There are many great children's books on audio, such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Because of Winn-Dixie, with new ones becoming available all the time.

Using Poetry to Teach Reading

By: Mary Haga (2005)

Part of teaching reading is motivating the children to practice, practice, practice. Find out how to use children's poetry to encourage kids to read.

Choosing Books for Your Grandchildren

By: AARP (2004)

Books can be the perfect gifts for grandchildren of any age. But, with such a variety to choose from, selecting the right book can be a challenge. This article provides some hints to make the process a little easier.

Boys and Books

By: Jane McFann (2004)

The statistics are consistent: Young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. This article looks at the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why, and suggests solutions — including the need for more men to become role models for reading.

Benefits of Audiobooks for All Readers

By: Denise Johnson (2003)

Audiobooks have traditionally been used in schools by teachers of second-language learners, learning-disabled or -impaired students, and struggling readers or nonreaders. In many cases, audiobooks have proven successful in providing a way for these students to access literature and enjoy books. But they have not been widely used with average, avid, or gifted readers. This article lists the benefits of audiobooks for all students.

The Little Reading Cafe

By: Brenda Dyck (2001)

Looking for new ways to motivate students to read? This teacher borrowed ideas from bookstore cafes to create a comfortable atmosphere for reading in her classroom.

Hooking Struggling Readers: Using Books They Can and Want to Read

By: Lori Rog and Paul Kropp (2001)

One of the keys to helping struggling readers is to provide them with books that they can and want to read. Fiction for struggling readers must have its own textual integrity: realistic characters, readable and convincing text, and a sense of the readers' interests and needs. Texts such as non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines and even comic books can also hook students into reading.

A Commonsense Guide to Finding Books

By: Betsy Hearne and Deborah Stevenson (1999)

With so many choices these days, finding a book for a child can be overwhelming. Here's some encouragement and advice that will help make this process an easy one.