Things You'll Need:
- internet
- an open heart
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Step 1
Go for the Newbery and Caldecottaward winners.
The Association for Library Service to Children, of the American Library Association administers the The Newbery for children's literature and the Caldecott award goes to the artist of the best picture book for children.
For example:
The House in the Night," illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson, Houghton Mifflin Co.
Caldecott Honor Books
"A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever" by Marla Frazee, Harcourt, Inc.
"How I Learned Geography" by Uri Shulevitz, Farrar Straus Giroux
"A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams," illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. -
Step 2
Another respected source is to look at books awarded The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (Yes! after Dr, Seuss. This award, established in 2006, is given each year to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished contribution to beginning reader books.
The Geisel Award website: http://www.duluth.lib.mn.us/YouthServices/Booklists/SeussAward.html
Here are the winners since then:
2009 -Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems
(E Willems)
2008 There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems
2007 ZELDA AND IVY: THE RUNAWAYS by Laura McGee Kvasnosky
(E Kvasnosky)
2006 HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE GREAT GRANDPAS by Cynthia Rylant -
Step 3
The Horn Book Guide has been an authority on children's books for a very long time.
http://www.hbook.com/newsletter/index.html
The book is very helpful and they even have a newsletter: http://www.hbook.com/newsletter/index.html -
Step 4
Chinaberry is a delightful catalog of children's books with wonderful summaries or descriptions of the books they sell. http://www.chinaberry.com/
Chinaberry also offers the Chinaberry Guide to Children's Books, as well as resources and a blog about children's books. -
Step 5
Each state in the U.S. has either a state reading association or a state school librarians association that presents awards for the best children's books in different catagories. These lists are great recommendations to follow up on. A few examples:
Virginia ----http://www.vsra.org/VRCindex.html
Maryland ---- http://www.maslmd.org/awards_winners.php
California ---http://www.csla.net/awa/cyrm.htm
New York--- http://www.nysreading.org/Awards/charlotte/1990to2008%20History%20of%20NYSRA%20Charlotte%20Winners.pdf
Texas--- http://www.txla.org/groups/tba/index.html -
Step 6
Bookstore websites often have lists of favorite books, recent and classic. On these sites you can see reader ratings, publisher's comments, and, often, see excerpts from your chosen books of interest.
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Step 7
If you are looking for a book that does an excellent job with stories that include a disability experience, The Schneider Family Book Awards is a good way to locate the book you are looking for. Authors and artists are awarded at the young children, middle school, and teen audience levels.
"Kami and the Yaks" written by Andrea Stenn Stryer, illustrated by Bert Dodson and published by Bay Otter Press of Palo Alto, CA, wins the award for young children. Kami, a young Sherpa boy who is deaf, rescues his family’s yaks and livelihood during a violent storm. Kami's signing ability is essential to the satisfying plot in this story. Attractive, realistic watercolors provide added depth to an engaging story taking place in the Himalayan Mountains.
