Giving Books Kids Will Love

A book makes a terrific gift. However, when confronted with thousands of book titles, it's hard to know which ones will fit the children on your gift list. What to do?

"The first stop is your librarian," says Lisa Von Drasek, the children's librarian at Bank Street College of Education. She points out that these professionals can combine their knowledge of books and their experience with kids to make recommendations. When she's advising parents, she usually begins by asking, "What was the most recent book your child loved?" She considers interest more vital than a book's reading level. Kids get pleasure from discovering a favorite theme in an easy-to-read picture book and will stretch to follow a hard-to-read story that they find fascinating.

Looking for a classic?

Von Drasek recommends these favorites:

  • The Secret Garden, Treasure Island and the Sherlock Holmes series
  • Pippi Longstocking (a new edition puts a different face on this spunky heroine)
  • For younger kids, Mother Goose, A Child's Garden of Verses and A Child's Book of Poems, all illustrated by Gyo Fujikama

Want to share your gift?

Here are some ways to share books with your kids.

Read aloud.
Even good readers enjoy being read to. You can share books you treasured, read books your kids have discovered, or explore new territory together. "Take cues from your child," says Von Drasek. "If you sense your listener is losing interest or falling asleep, stop."

Listen to books on tape or CD.
These can be enjoyed at home or in the car. Von Drasek suggests adventure and science-fiction stories for co-listening. With adolescents, it's probably best to not share "coming-of-age" stories. Your teenagers will want to read those stories on their own.

Start a family book club.
If your kids are older, consider getting two copies of the same book and reading independently. Then discuss it when you've both finished, or along the way. You could also invite a group of friends to join in an intergenerational book group.

Need more help?

You'll find it in The Best Children's Books of the Year, compiled by the Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College. This group of child-development experts reads and reviews every newly published book, then chooses 600 titles, fiction and nonfiction, with input from reviewers ages 2 to 18. Selections are organized by genre as well as age group. You can find their "best of the best" at www.bankstreet.edu. You may also want to visit www.bankstreetbooks.com, where you'll find a wide assortment of books for all those children on your holiday list.