More Great Books

Now that I have actually been writing about the books I've read, I'm getting more visitors to my blog. Yahoo! I've also had many friends asking me to recommend titles for their kids. Now, this is not as easy as it sounds since most everyone has different aged kids and I'm not sure what exactly their interests are. I also didn't receive any money in my budget this year to purchase new library books so I haven't exactly been shopping around.

But...I do know how to find some great lists...so that's what I did. I put together a great list of of book lists for different interests and ages. You will find this over there on the left of the blog under "Other Great Places to Find a Great Book". I have found great book lists for every reader, preschool through young adult. As time goes on, I'm sure I will be adding more, but I wanted to get started with a few good resources.

Also, one of the best resources you can find is the Children's section at your local library. This is a much better place than to take the kids than the bookstore. Why? Because it's free!! And it has something for every age, preschool through young adult. Most libraries even have a separate section for teens. They also usually have sections for new books, audio books, picture books, board books, readers, chapter books and non-fiction.

I highly recommend taking your kids to Story Time whenever possible. It's a great place to learn about reading. Put the library on your calendar each week and watch your children's love of reading grow and grow. The Orange County Public Library allows each cardholder to check out up to 50 times at one time. And yes, people do! Especially if you have kids who love to read. You can even get a library card for each of your children so they can check out their own books. How fun is that? The kids love it :) If you want to buy a book, visit the Friends of the Library Bookstore. Just about every library has one. You can get books for a dollar or less. Last week I bought 2 Disney VHS movies for 50cents each. Love it.

And finally, to appease those who have asked, here are some of my favorite authors and books...
(in no particular order) keep in mind that these are the ones I see everyday in my school library and I'm sure there are more that what I have listed below.

Cynthia Rylant--Henry & Mudge, Poppleton, Mr. Putter & Tabby
Margaret Rey--Curious George
Maurice Bemmelmen?--Madeleine
Jamie Lee Curtis
Laura Numeroff--If You Give a...series
Syd Hoff
Lilian Hobart--Frances & Arthur series
Henry Allard
Patricia MacCormick?--Sold
Laura Ingalls Wilder
E.B. White
Sobel--Encyclopedia Brown
John Scieska--Time Warp Trio
Barbara Park--Junie B. Jones
Louis Sachar
Marc Brown
Brian Selznick--The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Shel Silverstein
Jack Prelutsky
Carl Hiaasen
Jack Bruel
Rick Riorden