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A Family of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Children's and Young Adult Literature
Two of the most trusted reviewers in the field join with top authors, illustrators, and critics in a definitive guide to choosing books for children—and nurturing their love of reading.
A FAMILY OF READERS is the definitive resource for parents interested in enriching the reading lives of their children. It’s divided into four sections:
1. Reading to Them:
Choosing and sharin...more
A FAMILY OF READERS is the definitive resource for parents interested in enriching the reading lives of their children. It’s divided into four sections:
1. Reading to Them:
Choosing and sharin...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
September 28th 2010
by Candlewick Press
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This is a great book to help adults select and guide children toward books that will engage the child as a listener or reader and promote a love of books. Authors Roger Sutton and Martha V. Parravano are the editor in chief and the executive editor of The Horn Book magazine, respectively. Contributors include authors, illustrators, editors, and reviewers of children’s books. This body of the book is arranged into four parts: Reading to them, reading with them, reading on their own, and leaving t...more
I'm an avid reader and it is important to me to instill that impression on my 3-year-old son. The book is less a how to, and more a how not to, including lists of "approved" books by some of the biggest names in children's literature review. The recommended reading is broken down by age and then for older children by gender and subject (e.g., science reads, historical reads). Some of your own childhood reads may be given the boot, Berenstein bears for instance are black listed.
All in all, I foun...more
All in all, I foun...more
so i bought this book for the library and when it came in felt that i was sort of professionally obligated to at least peruse it. but, i assumed that would be all i did - skim the titles, dip into a few paragraphs, maybe read one or two of them on topics i was really interested in. but, lo and behold, it's really well put together and it ended up being my lunch/break reading for a few weeks. even topics i didn't particularly think i was interested in were dealt with in such a smart and entertain...more
A wonderful collection of essays by readers for readers and for the children and friends of readers. For the most part, all of these writers are with me on the same page regarding what makes a good book for children and what does not...I say for the most part because we do diverge a bit when it comes to teen reading and also on the the particular subject of sex education for nearly all child readers. Perhaps with teen readers I'm biased because I never read books written for teens, or the group...more
A curious thing happens when you find yourself pregnant. I don’t mean the sudden desire to devour your neighbor or the embiggening of the belly region. I’m talking books. A person could work with children’s books for the majority of their adult life, think they know them back to front, up to down, forwards to backwards. . . . and yet when it comes to YOUR OWN child, horrors! Suddenly you know nuthin’ bout nuthin’. Less than that. I mean board books? Seriously? I need to have opinions on these no...more
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Dec 29, 2010
jacky
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to jacky by:
elizabeth bird
Shelves:
baby-parenting,
books-about-books
I loved this book! This book was a perfect fit for me. As an English teacher with a child, I am more sophisticated (or maybe snobby is a better word?) in my thinking about what my child will read. This book is for that type of parent. This is not a book for someone who just reads the occasional best seller on a plane or at the beach.
That said, this book was great. I read the beginning about board books and picture books (because that is where we are with Natalie right now) and the end about YA...more
That said, this book was great. I read the beginning about board books and picture books (because that is where we are with Natalie right now) and the end about YA...more
Roger Sutton's expertise is evident throughout this book. Designed as a guide through children's literature, he gives a little bit of history, author interviews, book recommendations, and insight about what kids want to read. He introduces each section of the book and his voice is evident throughout the collection. Authors reflect on genres, their own experiences with writing and reading, and tell about their craft. It's a beautiful compilation and I recommend it for serious parents, librarians,...more
A great book! Especially if you love reading children's books, love reading about children's books or just know kids who like to read. A helpful volume for librarians, teachers and really parents who are the target audience.
The authors are from Horn Book, which has never been my favorite selection tool (SLJ hits the mark more often) but they are experts. They've broken the book down by format and genre, beginning with board books and going straight to YA. It includes many author essays and inter...more
The authors are from Horn Book, which has never been my favorite selection tool (SLJ hits the mark more often) but they are experts. They've broken the book down by format and genre, beginning with board books and going straight to YA. It includes many author essays and inter...more
Feb 05, 2011
Kristina
is currently reading it
Seeking out great children's lit is a favorite pastime. Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook first gave me permission to take the matter seriously and this guide is helping me to up the ante. It's chock full of funny and thoughtful essays from Horn Book editors and favorite authors. I've been tipped off to plenty of quality books I was hereto for unfamiliar with such as the Science Play series by Vicki Cobb. I've found helpful introductions to genres like science fiction and fantasy that I know ab...more
Loved this book, but I admit I'm biased as I consider Roger, Martha, and many of the contributors friends. Felt like I was at a version of my beloved CLNE (the now biyearly-used-to-be-every-summer amazingly wonderful Children's Literature New England conference) as so many of the names are from that group. The essays are smart --- intended for thoughtful and smart parents. Definitely opinionated, just like the Horn Book from which they all came (either reprints of articles from the venerable jou...more
After reading Jim Trelease' "The Read Aloud Handbook" and a series of other more inferior books about reading to children with book recommendations, I stopped at getting similar books since I think one inspirational/informative book is enough in this area. However, this book proved me wrong. One of the author, Roger Sutton, has been the editor of the magazine "Hornbook" for many years, and both the Hornbook and he are well known by their seriousness in picking the reviewing Children's publicatio...more
I've been savoring this book since a good friend gave it to me for Christmas last year - savoring because it's so full of information, and because it takes some time to digest it all. There are short essays about children's and teen books, often by famous authors, and presented in the order of a child's growth. It's similar in feel to the journal Horn Book, likely because Horn Book's editors also edited this. It's a great resource for parents and librarians, and of particular interest if you're...more
I loved this list. I had to start another Goodreads shelf for Brayden with the recommendations from it. Here are some of the quotes I liked:
"Mother Goose will show newcomers to this world how astonishing, beautiful, capricious, dancy, eccentric, funny, goluptious, haphazard, intertwingled, joyous, kindly, loving, melodious, naughty, outrageous, pomsidillious, querimonious, romantic, silly, tremendous, unexpected, vertiginous, wonderful, x-citing, yo-heave-ho-ish, and zany it is."
-Iona Opie
"When...more
"Mother Goose will show newcomers to this world how astonishing, beautiful, capricious, dancy, eccentric, funny, goluptious, haphazard, intertwingled, joyous, kindly, loving, melodious, naughty, outrageous, pomsidillious, querimonious, romantic, silly, tremendous, unexpected, vertiginous, wonderful, x-citing, yo-heave-ho-ish, and zany it is."
-Iona Opie
"When...more
I really enjoyed this book as the opinions are by a wide variety of authors, illustrators and reviewers who all have had a life-time reading habit. They cite many books that I know and love, but also have added to what I know and am sure will love. I also like that rather than say a child must read this, the child's opinion is valued. Letting your child make decisions, even at an early age, as their opinions should be valued and you end up with a reader!
although this is allegedly written for parents, to aid them in all the stages of their children's reading development from baby to teen,it's also a great professional resource for educators and librarians alike. even if you think you already know it all, this is an inspired look at all the different qualities that make children's and young adult books great. brought to you by the fine editors of horn book, with several entries and interviews from many an author and illustrator (and of course lis...more
This was one of the more interesting "book about children's books" that I've picked up, and there have been a lot of those. I skipped over some parts (What Makes a Good Science Nonfiction Book?) but other chapters were very insightful and there were some fascinating interviews with authors and a great little chapter on poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. Did not agree with everything, but I tend to gravitate toward writers who write about children's books in the same way I think about them, so it was go...more
Read as part of my applied project research. Lots of familiar information, but a really strong overview of what's out there for young people of all ages in recent years, with lots of good information about the field at large. It was also helpful for me to get a sense of some of the areas I know less about, like board books, for example, or alphabet books (which, the authors explain, are only as strong as their "X" page).
This was like an extra special issue of The Horn Book Magazine full of familiar names (both books and contributors), and clear and articulate opinions in thought-provoking essays. I plan to buy plenty of copies to give to families of readers near and dear. And since I read the arc almost as soon as I got it, I look forward to getting a hardbound copy of my own.
I didn't think that I would read this cover-to-cover. I thought I would just skim the sections about genres that I'm unfamiliar with and skip over everything else - but I couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed the collection of voices and the insight into a wide variety of reading material. Some of the information was very familiar (girl books, for example) and other sections were very informative (board books and preschool science books - who knew?). Perhaps my favorite little passage was the i...more
This book was a collection of essays about children's literature, from Horn Magazine. I enjoyed some of the essays about reading with young children, and I compiled a list of recommended read-alouds, but I did not appreciate the essays about what teens "should" read. They don't "need" to read junk with immorality, bad language, and LGBT lifestyles. That is not MY definition of good literature.
This book about books is so much greatness. The chapter on the value of reading fantasy alone was enough to make me highly recommend it, but that's just the beginning of the amazing insights. Anyone who thinks that YA reading is 'on the way out' needs to read the last chapter.
I have a book nerd happy.
I have a book nerd happy.
filled with commentary on a variety of genres of children's lit. i browsed through this one in an effort to add to my list of titles i'd like to read to my children, and found a number of good recommendations. also included some suggestions on ways to read to your children at different ages.
I enjoyed the essays but I wasn't a fan of the children's and YA literature they listed later on just because they are ones that are, (in my opinion), the more obvious choices other than a select few. The title might have been more accurate if the book was called "...The Classic Lover's Guide..."
A wonderful resource for parents, librarians and teachers that supports them in their efforts to help children love reading. It lays out various aspects of book choices quite clearly, from what to look for in board books to how to get teens to choose their own reading materials.
One of the best books about kids books! It's all the little bits and pieces from Hornbook, put together in sections that trace kid lit birth to YA. Good resource with old favorites as well as newly published 2010 titles too.
Sep 24, 2011
Zia
added it
Fabulous book from the people of "the Horn Book." Really great articles from illustrators and authors, on all types of books from preschool up to teen! Also, lists of "more great books" at the end of each chapter.
I love books about books...
This one focuses on children's and young adult literature broken down by age group and then by genre.
The book nerd in me just happy danced across the room.
Excellent collection of essays related to reading from the Read to Me stage, through the Read With Me stage and beyond through the Watch Me Read stage. Well organized and very insightful.
This is a useful reference and an insightful collection of essays about children and young adult literature. I enjoyed it, and I think anyone who loves to read and wants his or her children to love reading would appreciate this book. In short, the title is apt. :)
Roger Sutton brings all his best contributors in this family-friendly, practitioners' embrace of family reading. Worth reading if you have kids -- or grandkids!
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“That life can be a rich place, comprised of the highbrow and the lowdown, the casual and the ambitious, private reading and public sharing. As a parent in that landscape, you'll need to be sometimes traveling companion, sometimes guides, sometimes off in your own part of the forest. A relationship between readers is complicated and cannot be reduced to such "strategies" as mandatory reading aloud, a commendable family activity whose pleasure has been codified into virtue, transforming the nightly bedtime story into a harbinger of everybody's favorite thing: homework.”
—
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