Choosing and Using Kids’ Books

Author: Liang

Mar. 07, 2024

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Tags: Packaging & Printing

Accessible formats

For children with print-based reading disabilities, accessible formats provide alternate versions of print-based books that function in much the same way as a print-based textbook. Learn about the different kinds of accessible formats, including digital talking books, enlarged text, electronic publications, and more. 

Audiobooks

Audiobooks are a great way to enjoy a good story and practice listening skills. They are also ideal for sharing, even when there are kids of many ages in one group. Learn more about the benefits of audiobooks for all readers and find Ideas for Teachers to encourage students to become better listeners and readers through audiobooks.

eBooks

Digital stories for children come in several forms, including e-books, enhanced e-books and apps (opens in a new window), and provide different experiences for the reader. Learn more about how to Read an E-book with Your Child and find tips for Teaching with Interactive Picture E-Books in Grades K–6. We also recommend this article, Getting Smarter About E-Books for Children (opens in a new window), adapted from Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens by Lisa Guernsey and Michael H. Levine, as helpful for understanding the pros and cons of e-books.

Picture books

Picture books are a wonderful way to share rich language, complex images, and sophisticated ideas with both the young and old. Meet the creators of great picture books in Reading Rockets’ Video Interviews with Children’s Authors and Illustrators, learn more about how parents and teachers can share wordless picture books, and how picture books can help connect kids to people, places, and times they might not otherwise experience.

Nonfiction

Kids are interested in real people, places, and events, yet most kids read a lot more fiction than nonfiction. Introduce kids to a new world of information and help them build essential background knowledge with nonfiction books. Our resources can help you use nonfiction to help turn a reluctant reader into a motivated one!

Graphic novels

Graphic novels tell any kind of story in any genre using both words and pictures and invite readers to take time to explore the pictures together with the text for a rich reading experience. This compelling storytelling format is popular with kids, help foster critical reading skills, and gives struggling readers books they can be successful with. Browse graphic novel booklists and learn more about this unique format.

Poetry

Playing with words and exploring rhythm and rhyme help to build and strengthen kids’ reading skills and boost reading and learning fun. Help kids discover the delight of having words dance in their mouths and tickle their tongues. Visit our National Poetry Month section for poetry resources.

High/low books

High interest/low reading level books can motivate struggling readers by providing books on topics that their peers are reading, but targeted toward their reading level. High/low books can help build reading fluency, vocabulary, background knowledge and interest in reading. Find recommended high/low books as well as links to publishers who offer a wide range of titles in the section High/Low Books for Children.

What are Picture Books?

The phrase "picture book" is commonly used to describe a book, most often written for children, in which the content is conveyed through the use of words and pictures in combination or through pictures alone. A picture book differs from an illustrated book in that the pictures it contains form an essential part of the structure of the book. Due to physical factors in the bookbinding process, picture books are conventionally 32 pages long.

Picture books are a relatively new form of book, originating in the early twentieth century. Wanda Gag is widely considered to be a pioneer in the development of the picture book form. The formula for illustrated books had been to show text on the left page and pictures on the right page, without combining them. In Millions of Cats, Gag mixed up the order of pictures and text, combined pictures and text, and stretched pictures onto more than one page. Her ideas paved the way for modern authors/illustrators like Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, and Eric Carle.

Types of Picture Books

Board Books

Board books are meant for the youngest readers, from birth to 2 years old. Board books have cardboard pages to withstand wear and tear from little fingers and mouths.

Examples:

Concept Books

Concept books introduce children to a theme such as the alphabet, counting, colors or shapes. Some can be as simple as “A is for Apple.” Others are more complex like the "Miss Bindergarten" series, where each sentence uses a letter of the alphabet to tell a Kindergarten story. They are suggested for ages 2-8.

Examples:

Easy Readers

Easy Reader books, also known as Beginning Readers or Early Readers, use a limited vocabulary and are structured as chapter books. Text blocks are bigger and the included images function more as illustrations than as essential elements in the story. Some representative Easy Reader imprints are I Can Read, Ready to Read, and Easy-to-Read. They are recommended for ages 4-8 and novice readers.

Examples:

Non-Fiction

Non-fiction picture books introduce children to new subjects in a simple way and are recommended for ages 3-12 years.

Examples:

Wordless

In these types of books, the stories are told completely by the pictures. Making up stories to go with the pictures is a perfect pre-literacy activity. They are recommended for ages 2-12 years.

Examples:

How do picture books help a child read?

The experience of reading with a child creates a bond, hones a child's social skills and demonstrates the value the adult places on stories and reading. Research shows that children should be involved in the process of reading a book. Allow the child to talk about things in the book by asking her questions and helping her to describe what she sees. The website for the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has good suggestions on how to involve your children while reading with them.

Reading with a child develops a number of the crucial building blocks of literacy.

  • Phonological Awareness - The ability to hear and use the smaller sounds in words (Phonics)
  • Vocabulary - Knowing the names of things
  • Print Awareness - Knowing how to handle a book, follow text on a page and notice the words around them.
  • Narrative Skills - The ability to tell their own stories.
  • Letter Knowledge - Knowing the difference between the letters by their shape, name and sounds.

Choosing a Picture Book

Topic

A child is more likely to become a reader if he reads (or has read to him) books that address his passions and concerns. A librarian can help you find something thematically appropriate.

Reading Level

As children begin to read on their own, they use knowledge about their reading levels to help choose materials that will yield the most satisfaction. A book with more white space, larger type, and fewer words per page is more appropriate for novice readers. As readers become more skilled, they can navigate denser text blocks.

The five-finger rule is a quick way to learn your child's reading level. Follow these steps:

  1. Pick a page and have the child read the whole page.
  2. Have the child hold out a finger every time they see a word that they do not know or cannot pronounce.
    • No fingers raised - the book is probably not challenging enough but, please note: Children often get great comfort and satisfaction from being able to read an entire "easy" book by themselves.
    • If the child has 5 fingers raised – the book is probably too difficult and is likely to cause frustration.
    • Somewhere in the middle (1-4 fingers) is usually the best choice. The goal is exposure to new words.

Make sure the child can understand what she reads. "Reading" the words without comprehension is of no benefit.

Resources

Websites

Association for Library Services to Children’s (ALSC's) Notable Children’s Books: Here are the titles that ALSC considers "the best of the best."

Caldecott Award: Find the annual winners of this prestigious American Library Association award, which was first conferred in 1937 to the "artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children" published in the preceding year.

Coretta Scott King Award (Illustrator): Another American Library Association award, this one is granted annually to an outstanding African-American illustrator of a book for children which "demonstrate[s] an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values."

Picturing Books: Here you will find everything you want to know about picture books from information about specific books, authors, and illustrators to general information about artistic style and typography.

Choosing and Using Kids’ Books

Picture Book Guide

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