Choosing Childrens' Books - PKTR 19

If you've listened to our past shows, you already know how much we love Apple. I've even been told that I should've called one of our shows the "I Want to Marry Steve Jobs" show. I love that comment. It really does capture how passionately I feel about the company (with no stake in it, either!).


If you've listened to our show about Amazon's Kindle, then you also know about my obsession with books.

So when I heard that Mr. Jobs actually said, "Nobody reads anymore." oh, it still feels like a punch in the gut when I hear that...NNNOOOOO!!!

It was hard to hear.

When it settled in a little bit, I began to feel inspired to do something. But what? Well, at the very least I could help people find books for their kids more easily. Does any parent believe that it doesn't matter if the extent of their children's reading is limited to what they read online or in magazines?

Oy.

Good books will always be good for your kids and we're here to help.

Today's show provides great tips on how to choose good children's books for your kids, including a couple of websites that will check the appropriateness of the book. So, if you have kids who are ready to read young adult books, you can find out whether a book is filled with racy scenes and bad language or is just a great adventure or well written mystery.

Here are some of the links mentioned in the show (and a few we didn't have time to discuss):

PKTR's Three Top Picks - Best Websites to Help You Find Great Books:

Book Adventure - a great site to help you find books according to your child's interests, grade level, and reading level.

Having trouble finding something for boys? Check out Guys Read. Great source for all ages of males.

Guys Read screen shot

Kathi Mitchell - Handy summer reading reference full of links to libraries and other resources.

Other great resources:

Houghton Mifflin (Education Place)
New York Times Children's Bestseller Lists
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Capitol Choices
I Love Libraries
Kids' Reads
Scholastic Book Talks (and Discussion Guides)
Harper Collins Teacher Resources
International Reading Association
Newberry Awards

And to check the appropriateness of the content, try either one of these sites:

Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media screen shot

Kid Confidence

Kid Confidence screen shot

Thanks for listening! Join us again next week at 2:00 (ET) on Parents and Kids Talk Radio!