The John Newbery medal

Today I wrap up my series on how to choose children’s books by pointing to a number of book lists and other resources that can help adults find some of the best children’s books. Relying on the opinions of those who put such lists and resources together is of course not a fool-proof way to find the best children’s books, but it can be a very quick way to zero in on some that are probably good.  Such lists and resources should not replace your own judgment about children’s books—which I hope has been refined a bit over the course of this series (mine has!)—but they can be a helpful supplement.  Before launching into the resources, I should probably also state the obvious: the children’s librarian at your local library is also a fantastic source of recommendations and information on children’s books.  Don’t forget him or her.

If you would like to read this article series from the beginning, click here for “How to Choose Children’s Books”.  For the previous article in the series, “Disney Princess Books: Commercialism in Children’s Literature,” click here.

Lists of the Best Children’s Books

The first kind of resource that can help you find great children’s books quickly is a book list.  There are many great book lists out there, but here are some of my favorites:

List of Newbery Award Winners.  Newbery winners are children’s novels (not picture books) aimed at children of “middle-grade” age, i.e., roughly 8 to 12 years old.  Although readers’ tastes may sometimes diverge from the judgments of the Newbery panel, books on this list are generally pretty high-quality and interesting to read.  The official description of the Newbery Medal is as follows: “The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” ALA Newbery Medal website

List of Caldecott Award Winners. The Caldecott Medal is awarded to picture books generally aimed at younger children (i.e., in the 3-to-8-year-old category).  Technically, the Caldecott Medal is awarded for the artwork in the picture book, not the story or the book as a whole.  However, a book must be of a pretty high quality as a whole (i.e., story included) in order to win the Caldecott, so you don