Great Books About
Things Kids Love
Book Review by Anna Stewart
If you’ve ever wandered the library looking for good kids books, come
home with a stack, have your kids look at it and cry, "There’s nothing
good here," don’t cut up your card yet. The distinguished children’s
librarian, Kathleen Odean has come to the rescue. Her third guide, Great Books
About Things Kids Love: More than 750 Recommended Books for Children 3 to 14
has just arrived for a summer of good reading.
Odean, bestselling author of Great Books for Girls and Great Books for Boys
divides this guide into 55 categories, organized by reading level (preschoolers
to early teens). Between Animals and Sports, she has listings that include Cowboys,
Cowgirls, and the Wild West, Brain Teasers and Riddles, Ghosts, Aliens, and
UFO’s, Pirates and Buried Treasure, Disasters, and Cooking. Just like adults
who have paperback novels, reference tomes and compelling autobiographies on
their nightstands, kids need a variety of books. Books are meant to inspire,
not tire.
If your kid’s eyes glaze over when you pull out the classics (Charlotte’s
Web isn’t listed) but they can hardly wait to dig into Loads of Codes and
Secret Ciphers by Paul B. Janeczko, Odean says, let them have it. She encourages
parents to direct their kids to books that support their interests, even if
the parent doesn’t share them. "Most children choose a book because
it is about something they love," she writes. Like most parents, Odean
wants to instill a love of reading in our kids and to make sure that books mean
more to them than just a school assignment to get through. She includes several
short chapters on "Encouraging Your Child to Read" with suggestions
that include field trips, audio books, book clubs and creating their own stories.
While Odean believes kids should choose their own topics, they still need guidance-
not only to age-appropriate material but also to new topics. While the Harry
Potter series has spurred many kids into reading, other good fantasy books such
as Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy or Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted
Forest Chronicles offer more magic. From there, guide kids to non-fiction titles
such as Douglas Hill’s Witches and Magic-Makers.
Great Books About Things Kids Love has over 750 titles but that only skims the surface of what’s in print. Use Odeans’s guides to explore new topics or revisit old favorites, then head to the library or the bookstore and try again to bring home a stack the kids will love.Anna Stewart, offers movement and creative arts based classes for pregnant and post-partum women through Mother Hands Services as well as consultations for creating Blessing-Ways. Her book, "New Blessing Ways: A Guide to Creating Meaningful Ceremonies" is in progress.
She can be reached at 303.499.7681 or anna@motherhands.com