Library Development Services Booklists

Text Size: A+ A- A • Text Only

Translate
- Spanish
- Chinese
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Thai
- More Languages »

Find

Library Development Services

Booklists


General Resources

How to Select Books Download and print this one-page handout that provides general tips for selecting books for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. This is particularly helpful when you don't have a specific title or author in mind, but want to find developmentally appropriates book for young children. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books A professional journal on children's and young adult literature often used by school and public librarians for book selection. While full access to The Bulletin is limited to paid subscribers, many booklists and resources are available for free online. Check out their Guidebook to Gift Books and Blue Ribbons to learn which new titles they recommended over the past year. The Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature Over 7,000 records from 82 literary awards across 6 English speaking countries. There are multiple search functions, including: age (babies/toddlers and preschool), setting, multicultural, gender of protagonist, ethnicity/nationality of protagonist, and much more. There are explanations of each award and their countries. Remember, award winners are not necessary great read-alouds or appropriate for your audience. The Horn Book A professional journal on children’s and young adult literature that has been in publication since 1924. Some features on this site are only for subscribers, but you can access a lot of great booklists for free! Check out Fanfare, their annual list of the best books of the year. If you scroll down to the bottom of the current Fanfare list you'll find links to past Fanfare booklists going back to the 1930s.


Books by Early Literacy Skill

Baby and Toddler Readers Third Books publishes books for families to read together. Each spread has a bold, simple illustration with text to be read aloud to the child on the left page and photos of families reading together with text providing early literacy information for the adult on the right page. These books make excellent giveaways for families with babies and toddlers. Early Literacy Connections This is a wiki created and maintained by Multnomah County Library youth librarians. They have created booklists by early literacy skill. Being a wiki, this list may be updated frequently so be sure to keep checking back for new titles. ELSIE: Early Literacy Storytime Idea Exchange "Find books that help children develop the skills needed for learning success. Tips for sharing emphasizes these skills in a fun, interactive story sharing. Search ELSIE by keyword and/or by Six Skills. Newest titles appear first." Created and managed by Hennepin County Library, MN. RFHF Shelfari booklist All RFHF participants were provided books to giveaway to the families they provided with early literacy education. All the board book, lift-the-flap, pop-up, cloth, and picture books RFHF used throughout the three years of the project are included on this booklist. These books were selected based on recommendations from children's librarians around the state in 2008-2010. Each title on this list is tagged by the early literacy skill(s) they best address so you can more easily identify titles when planning early literacy education sessions, activities, and story times that focus on a particular skill.


Children with Disabilities

Book on Disabilities List is organized by disability and includes books for older children too so be sure to check the age range. Books for Children Concerning Diseases, Disorders, and Learning Differences Booklist from Monroe County Public Library. Search by disease, disorder, disability, or learning difference at the top. Include books for older children, but picture books are listed first. People with Disabilities Fiction and nonfiction titles organized by disability/special need by Dayton Metro Library. Extraordinary Kids Booklist from Hennepin County Library.


Multicultural Books

Children’s Book Press: Multicultural Literature for Children A nonprofit publisher of multicultural and bilingual literature founded in 1975. Cooperative Children’s Book Center Over 20 multicultural booklists for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Many booklists also include titles for older children, some are organized by age and others alphabetically. Multicultural Picture Books A booklist from Hennepin County Library.


Nontraditional Gender Roles

Children's Books that Break Gender Role Stereotypes A booklist by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Nontraditional Gender Roles A booklist from Allen County Library. This list includes books for young children and school-age children so be sure to review carefully. A Truck for Jane, a Doll for John: Books Depicting Non-Traditional Gender Roles A booklist from Buffalo and Erie County Library. This list also include books for older children, but picture books are listed at the top making it easier to find what you're looking for.


Oregon Librarians Recommend

Prior to Year Two, one of the RFHF program manager solicited book recommendations from children's librarians statewide. The recommendations were compiled, and the titles recommended most frequently were purchased to give away to parents receiving early literacy education from RFHF participants. Not all the books librarians recommended were used in RFHF, however they are excellent books that other may find helpful when selecting books for storytimes, one-on-one book sharing, giveaway books, or collection development. Click on the librarian's name to view their booklist. Becky Pearson, McMinnville Public Library Debra Bogart and Hadley Brown, Eugene Public Library Diana Anderson, McMinnville Public Library Heather McNeil, Deschutes Public Library Josephine Caisse, Deschutes Public Library Lucy Iraola, Washington County Cooperative Library Services (Spanish/Bilingual) Rosa Olivares, Newberg Public Library (Spanish/Bilingual) Steven Englefried, Multnomah County Library RFHF thanks these librarians for their contribution to the project. Developing booklists is a time-consuming task that requires knowledge of children's literature, early literacy, and child development. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us!


Sexual Orientation

A Rainbow Celebration: Lesbians and Gays in Books for Children Booklist from the San Francisco Public Library Rainbow Reading Gay and lesbian characters and themes in children’s books. The Rainbow List Compiled annually by the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table. The first list was published in 2008.


Make a Recommendation

If you would like to recommend a booklist please email the title of the list, brief description, and either a link to the booklist online or an attached Word document to Katie Anderson. All recommendations will be reviewed carefully by the Oregon State Library and Oregon Commission on Children and Families. The purpose of this website is to provide a few carefully selected resources to help busy librarians and Healthy Start family support workers plan storytimes or one-on-one books sharing sessions.


RFHF Home Page

Click here to return to the RFHF Home Page.

PDF File Accessibility

Adobe Reader, or equivalent, is required to view PDF files. Click the "Get Adobe Reader" image to get a free download of the reader from Adobe.