Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children Paperback - 1998

From the publisher

Your Sure-Handed Guide Through A World Of Books For Children

Books and reading are an essential part of every child's development. But how can parents, educators and librarians choose the best books among the many thousands that compete for their attention? Here's how--with a comprehensive, charming, common-sense guide from two leading experts on children and reading.

With wit, candor and boundless enthusiasm, Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M. Mayes select more than two thousand wonderful books fro children from birth to age 14: from stories that babies can literally chew on, to the very best choices for bridging the critical gap between listening and reading, to the right books to tempt an adamant non-reader, and much more. Here is the most useful, candid, and convenient guide to children's literature ever published, featuring in-depth reviews, concise ratings, handy cross-references by theme and interest, a family reading journal, and mountains of essential hints and advice to help you pass along the gift of reading to the next generation: Matching the child to the bookUsing moments besides bedtime to incorporate readingAccepting books they will love to read and facing up to books they will hateJudging children's ability to distinguish between fantasy and realityDeveloping a child's attention span with booksAnd much, much, more.Here is one book that deserves to be on the shelf of every parent, or anyone else who chooses books for children: a friendly but expert analysis of more thantwo thousand books for children from birth to age 13. Written by two nationally known and respected authorities, this amazing volume helps overwhelmed parents and caregivers make sense of the sea ofchildren's literature and instill a love of reading as an essential component of everyday life. Supported by educated opinions and judgments--not based on just reviews or awards--Valerie and Walter make specific recommendations, show how to find other books on favorite subjects, and provide a world of sound advice that parents will consult again and again.