Selecting Children's Literature (continued)

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Another source of information is the internet. A number of book sellers are on-line, and finding books is quite simple. Searches may be conducted by title, author, and topic, or in a variety of other ways, including award winners and recent best-sellers. Often, considerable information is provided on-line. Along with information such as publisher, date of publication, and cost of a book, you might find reviews of the book. Some reviews are written by authorities in children's literature, and some are written by members of the public who have read the book and wish to comment on it. If your child has been particularly interested in a book, search for others by the same author. If your child has had an experience you wish to address with books, conduct a topic search. You and your child may wish to browse on-line bookstores together!

Of course, another source of quality literature is this book. We have listed more than 400 works of excellent children's literature. Our selections should keep you busy for quite some time!

Whatever your source, you should consider the following questions when selecting books for your child:

Does the author avoid stereotyping based on gender, race, culture, and profession?

Do the illustrations complement the text?

If fiction, does the story have universal or personal appeal?

If nonfiction, is the information accurate and current?

Finally, in selecting books for your child, consider what you have learned in this book about reading development.

Choose books that support and extend your child's experiences with and knowledge of the world

Select books that draw on familiar concepts or experiences. These will allow your child to make meaningful connections with the book. If you have recently visited a zoo, consider a book about zoos. If you have been stargazing, choose a book about the night sky. Children's personal experiences—their relevant background knowledge—will enhance their understanding of the books you read to them.

Conversely, look for books that will broaden your children's knowledge of the world. Your children cannot possibly experience everything there is to experience, but you can expand their background knowledge by sharing books about the unfamiliar. The child who has been read Animals under Cover by Stephen Savage and How to Hide a Meadow Frog by Ruth Heller has built concepts about how life forms protect themselves from predators. Children who have perused a book on animal skeletons will bring more to the experience when they read about the animal kingdom in later years.

Share multicultural books. Listening to the customs, experiences, hopes, and dreams of people from diverse cultures not only will broaden your child's understanding of the world—building a knowledge base that he or she can access when reading books later—but also will increase your child's sensitivity to and appreciation for people of other cultural groups. It will help him or her appreciate the universality of the human experience .