Children

Want to get young kids excited about reading? Give them a board book with lots of beautiful illustrations, courtesy of Linda Bleck. One of the best ways to help kids become readers is to repeatedly share nursery rhymes together, and this book makes a favorite staple in any home (including my own).

I’ve been in enough airports this past month that I had to include this selection, as a family travels through an airport on a quest to find their missing sock monkey. Funny travelogue with nice illustrations.

Okay! I’m obsessed a little bit with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, so it’s no surprise I would include a beautifully illustrated children’s book to introduce young tykes to the infamous duel between a sitting Vice President and our nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.

Beautiful watercolor illustrations by Kenard Pak complement this brilliant poetic work about nature helping nature. Truly a treasure!

All kids love Pete the Cat lift-the-flap books, and I am just intrigued by the married couple of authors/illustrators who left corporate America to pursue their passion for art. Kimberly and James Dean are my heroes!

Poor Duncan has to figure out a way to appease his crayons so they will let him color, as some colors are not even talking to one another in this very funny book with great illustrations by Oliver Jeffers.

An introduction to “The Time-Tripping Faradays” series, this book follows the adventures of a family of 25th-century time travelers. This edition takes our protagonists to 17th century Prague and does an excellent job of hooking upper elementary school students on the joys of science fiction.

Among the many controversies that surround America’s most beloved sport, concussions are a part of the gamethat have finally attracted significant scrutiny in recent years. Killough McClafferty is one of my favorite authors because she manages to educate in an engaging and thought-provoking way, and her subjects always lend themselves to terrific classroom discussions.

There are very few counting books that will prompt little ones to anxiously turn the pages. Barnett, however, has created a counting book that even made me curious on every page – and laughing out loud at the end. A wonderful book for parents to read aloud to their preschoolers.

From the author of Sarah, Plain and Tall comes a beautiful story of a baby left on a doorstep in a basket and loved by an amazing family. Have they made a movie about this yet? They should!

Clever tale of a cave boy so addicted to his technology that he never comes out of his cave.

Beautifully written and illustrated story celebrating “the wonder of reading.”

With terrific illustrations by Lauren Castillo, this book will ring true with any parent frustrated with what seems to be a nightly ritual in my household – how long children can stay up past their bedtimes.

Ever feel slow? Tad, the Turtle, thinks his shell is slowing him down, so he sets out on a quest to become fast in this great story for children.

Like casting a movie with a couple of Academy Award winners, this great winter book matches the writing talents of Newbery-Award winner Rylant and the illustrations of Caldecott honoree Christian Robinson for a perfect read-aloud under the covers on a cold night.