Literature for children

Literature for children consists of the huge and varied body of literature aimed at audiences from the very young through young adults. Many adults also enjoy the best in literature for children. Every year, publishers bring out thousands of new children’s books, adding to the thousands of titles already available. These works include picture books, novels, poetry, collections of traditional literature, biographies, and books that provide information on the arts and sciences.

Children’s books may take readers to imaginary lands and on unusual adventures. Or, they may describe places and events that are familiar. Some works, particularly those aimed at older children and adolescents, deal with the difficult situations often faced by individuals and society. Some children’s books address readers’ curiosity about life in other countries or in distant times. Biographies for children portray the lives and accomplishments of notable men and women. For hundreds of years, superb poetry has been written just for children. Children’s literature may also introduce readers to the wonders of science and nature or to the beauty of art.

Illustrations are a distinctive feature of many children’s books. Some “wordless” books tell their stories entirely with pictures. Others blend text and illustration. The increasing popularity of illustrated books reflects a trend toward more visually exciting works.

Scholars believe the history of children’s literature in English begins with instructional books produced for monastery schools as early as the late A.D. 600’s. For hundreds of years, children’s literature grew slowly. Few authors before the 1800’s wrote books intended for children. Almost none of the authors attempted to entertain their young readers. Instead, they wrote to explain to children what to believe and how to behave, or to teach such subjects as reading, history, and science.

In the 1800’s, talented authors and illustrators began creating children’s books intended to entertain rather than just instruct. Since then, the number of books without a specific instructional purpose has grown steadily. Literature for children has changed from a small part of book production into a major industry.

Kinds of children’s literature

Literature for children can be divided into six broad categories: (1) picture books, (2) poetry, (3) traditional literature, (4) fiction, (5) biography and autobiography, and (6) information books. Much traditional literature, including ballads and epics, is written in verse but is discussed under Traditional literature, rather than Poetry.

Picture books

combine pictures (also called illustrations) and words (also called text). Some books have no text. The illustrations tell the story. Picture books can be loosely grouped into four categories: (1) infant and toddler books, (2) picture storybooks, (3) pop-up and other novelty books, and (4) beginning readers.

Infant and toddler books

are intended for very young children to use alone or with an older person. Modern trends in education and parenting increasingly emphasize exposing even very young children to books. Publishers have responded to this demand by expanding their production of books for this age group.

Many infant and toddler books are board books, consisting of about a dozen cardboard pages. The books typically are small so children can easily hold them. Usually, the corners are rounded for safety and the pages coated so they can be wiped clean. Some covers are made from washable fabrics. The inks used in printing the books must pass consumer safety tests.

Most books for very young children feature bold, uncluttered illustrations with no or few words of text. Many portray young children, animals, and objects readers may find in their environment. Other books explore a basic idea, such as colors, counting, the alphabet, or identifying objects. Still other books focus on telling a simple yet vivid story.

Picture storybooks

have illustrations that are as essential as the text, or even more important than the text. Illustrations often provide the key to understanding the story, because pictures provide a way of visually interpreting events that is within the understanding of most youngsters.

Pop-up and novelty books

have become a growing category of picture books since the late 1900’s. Pop-up books feature parts that transform when the book is opened. Many have folded illustrations that spring into three-dimensional images when a page is turned. Others may include elements that move, tiny devices called sound chips that produce music or sound effects, or disguised flaps for the reader to discover and open. For younger children, novelty books may have cut-out designs or three-dimensional surfaces.

Publishers began producing pop-up books and books with moving parts in the 1800’s. Modern technology has led to the production of pop-up and novelty books that are still reasonably priced.

Beginning readers

(also called easy readers) tell stories with a carefully limited vocabulary. These books are easy to read and intended to serve as a bridge between picture books and novels for young readers. However, these first books are not merely aids in learning how to read. Many provide rich, meaningful stories and striking illustrations. They offer young readers a taste of the experience to come in longer works of literature.

Poetry.

Nursery rhymes, lullabies, and activity songs provide many children with their first contact with literature. These short, simple poems are among the oldest forms of children’s literature. For hundreds of years, adults have entertained children, and children have entertained themselves, by reciting these rhymes.

Some nursery rhymes, including “Itisket, Itasket,” were created long ago as parts of children’s games. Others, including “Old King Cole” and “Jack and Jill,” may have been based on real people and events. Details about the development of some nursery rhymes appear in the World Book articles on Mother Goose and nursery rhymes. Most children today know little about the original meanings of nursery rhymes, but this does not make the poems less enjoyable. The rhymes are filled with humor, action, entertaining incidents, and—perhaps most importantly for very young children—musical language. Some nursery rhymes can also help children learn such practical information as the days of the week, the alphabet, or how to count. Many of the older rhymes were originally meant for adults and thus may contain stereotypes and prejudices of the times in which they were created. Parents may wish to select these rhymes with care and attention to contemporary values.

Much children’s verse is humorous. One type of comical children’s poetry, called nonsense verse, appeals to children because it deals with illogical and silly characters and situations. Two English authors of the 1800’s, Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, were masters of nonsense verse. The American poets Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein carried on this tradition. Their many collections of poems blend the foolish and the serious. Douglas Florian, also of the United States, wrote many delightful nonsense poems collected in Poem Depot: Aisles of Smiles (2014).

Some of the best humorous poetry deals with animals. A. A. Milne of the United Kingdom included several such poems in his classic collections of verse, When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927). The American children’s author and illustrator Sandra Boynton has charmed young audiences with lively, entertaining animals in such books as Moo, Baa, La La La! (1982) and Your Nose! A Wild Little Love Song (2020).

More serious children’s poetry describes the feelings of children and how they see the world around them. For example, Robert Louis Stevenson of Scotland created A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885), a classic collection of poems. The poems captured the sometimes exuberant, at times quiet, feelings of children of the late 1800’s. Gwendolyn Brooks of the United States took the reader inside the world of African American children in the 1950’s in Bronzeville Boys and Girls (1956). Karen Hesse pioneered the use of related poems to tell a story in her award-winning Out of the Dust (1997) about a family’s hardships during the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The American poet Naomi Shihab Nye focused on the Middle East and the Arab American experience in 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (2002).

Traditional literature

includes fairy tales, folk tales, myths, epics, ballads, and fables. Traditional literature (sometimes called folk literature) has been a crucial part of cultures since prehistoric times. Early peoples handed down their stories orally, from generation to generation. They often retold the stories with varying details, depending on the imagination of the storyteller. People began to write down literature from the oral tradition when writing appeared. In Europe, the development of printing with movable type in the mid-1400’s made available to a wide audience such folk literature as Aesop’s fables. Among the later collections of tales were those of the French author Charles Perrault and the German brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm.

Most traditional literature was not created specially for children. However, much of this kind of literature—fairy tales and folk tales in particular—is presented in a direct, uncomplicated style that appeals to the young. Children enjoy the action, colorful characters, and humor that are typical of traditional literature. Yet there is more to these works. They can inform as well as entertain. A traditional tale often communicates to its audience the ethical and moral values of the people who produced it. Many of the values expressed in ancient tales, such as being honest and working hard, remain relevant. Traditional tales also enable modern children to learn how a people from a distant time accounted for natural occurrences, such as floods and thunder, long before there were scientific explanations.

Fairy tales and folk tales

are part of a large group of nonreligious stories that belong to every culture’s story traditions. All fairy tales are folk tales, but not all folk tales are fairy tales, even though both kinds of stories may share common themes.

Fairy tales often tell of imaginary beings, such as fairies, elves, or giants. Problems are often solved magically. In general, fairy tales end happily, with justice restored and the good characters rewarded. Folk tales include a wide range of stories, including fairy tales, that portray a society’s legends, customs, superstitions, and beliefs. Not all folk tales end happily. Some folk tales are about celebrated figures, such as Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, and Pecos Bill. Joel Chandler Harris heard folk tales of African Americans while living on a Southern plantation in the mid-1800’s. Harris adapted a number of these tales in his well-known Uncle Remus stories. Other folk tales express the deepest concerns of a people, as reflected in The People Could Fly (1985), a book of African American folk tales collected by Virginia Hamilton.

Volumes of folk and fairy tales represent most major cultures around the world. For example, the Arabian Nights, which includes the adventures of Aladdin and Sinbad the Sailor, is a collection of ancient fairy and folk tales from cultures in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. In recent years, collections of tales from cultures around the world have multiplied.

Some famous writers have been inspired by folk and fairy tale themes to create original stories based on them. The best-known of these writers is Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author of the 1800’s. From the folk tales he heard while growing up, Andersen created classics of children’s literature, including “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (1837) and “The Ugly Duckling” (1843).

Myths

are stories that a culture creates to express its beliefs about matters that affect the lives of its people. Every society produces a body of such stories that are meant to explain basic ideas or answer common questions about the world. For example, cultures that lacked scientific knowledge created stories about the powers of gods who controlled natural forces, such as thunder and lightning. Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths (1962) by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire has become a classic work for children. More recently, the American writer Rick Riordan has adapted mythological material in his ”Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series (2005-2009). It tells the story of a modern 12-year-old boy who discovers he is the son of an ancient Greek god.

Epics

are long stories about legendary heroes. Most epics are in verse, but versions of epics for children are often adapted into prose. The best-known epics in European literature, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are credited to an ancient Greek poet named Homer. The Iliad focuses on the last weeks of the Trojan War between Greece and Troy. The Odyssey describes the wanderings of the Greek king Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) as he attempts to return home after the war.

The many epics about the English heroes King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table also have a lasting appeal for children. These epics include stories about King Arthur and his magic sword Excalibur, Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot, and Merlin the magician.

Since the late 1900’s, there has been a revival of interest in epics. This revival has led to adaptations of such early works as the Epic of Gilgamesh from the ancient Middle East and the epic poem Beowulf, probably written in England in the A.D. 700’s.

Ballads

tell a dramatic story in verse. Like many epics, they are often adapted into prose. Wandering minstrels sang or recited early ballads. The minstrels followed basic outlines from generation to generation, adding the popular heroes of the day to the traditional formulas.

Perhaps the most celebrated ballad hero is Robin Hood, an outlaw who lived in Sherwood Forest in England with his followers. According to legend, Robin Hood befriended poor people. The character of Robin Hood first appeared in English ballads in the 1300’s.

American folklore has provided many ballad heroes for children. They include the fearless railroad engineer Casey Jones and the “steel-driving man” John Henry. Holidays traditionally are occasions for ballads, such as “An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas” (1823), credited to the American scholar Clement Clarke Moore. Such ballads as “Paul Revere’s Ride” (1861) by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow celebrate patriotism.

Fables

are brief stories that illustrate a moral lesson. Fables originally belonged to the oral folk tradition. The characters of some of the most familiar fables are animals or objects that talk and behave like human beings. Fables may use animal characters, but they are intended to observe human behavior. The animal characters symbolize such human traits as carelessness or wisdom.

A fable often delivers a moral or ethical message, such as “Slow and steady wins the race.” Although many fables are for adults, some have become children’s favorites, such as Aesop’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” because of their simple, clear lessons.

Most cultures have a body of fables. These short teaching stories appear in such works as the Bible and the Jataka tales of India (about 300 B.C.), which tell about Buddha’s life. In the 1600’s, the French author Jean de La Fontaine wrote delightful fables, often adapting them from earlier works. French schoolchildren have memorized La Fontaine’s fables for generations. More recently, fables and other teaching stories have become popular again. For example, the author and illustrator Jon J. Muth drew on these traditional forms in his The Three Questions (2002) and Zen Shorts (2005).

Fiction

makes up one of the largest and most diverse categories of children’s literature. Children’s fiction includes the following general, and sometimes overlapping, categories: (1) fantasies, (2) adventure and survival stories, (3) stories about animals, (4) stories that describe how people live in other countries, (5) historical fiction, (6) mystery and detective stories, (7) fantasy and science fiction, and (8) realistic fiction. In most stories, the heroes are young people with whom the reader can identify.

Fantasies

are stories that involve beings who could not exist or events that could not take place in real life. These works may begin in a fantastic setting, or they may begin realistically but soon turn into stories that could never really happen.

Perhaps the most popular fantasy novel by an American author is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum. This book follows the adventures of a girl carried by a tornado from Kansas to a magic land. E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (1952) blends the tale of a girl who saves a piglet from slaughter with the story of that pig as he grows up and is befriended by a wise spider.

Adventure and survival stories

are action-packed tales about daring heroes and cunning villains in life-and-death situations. Modern adventure and survival novels include Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the Wolves (1972), Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet (1987), and Linda Sue Park’s A Single Shard (2001).

Animal stories.

Some of the best animal stories stress the affection between animals and humans. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s novel The Yearling (1938) tells about a boy who rescues and raises a deer. Shiloh (1991) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor portrays a mountain boy’s love for a dog he hides from its cruel owner. Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie (2000) describes how a stray dog draws together the lonely residents of a town.

Stories of other countries

appeal to children’s interest in how people in other lands live. These stories can provide children with valuable points of comparison and new views of other cultures. Nancy Farmer’s A Girl Named Disaster (1996) tells the story of 11-year-old Nhamo, who flees from Mozambique to Zimbabwe to escape an arranged marriage. A Long Walk to Water (2010) by Linda Sue Park is based on a true story of how a boy from war-torn Sudan struggles to reach safety in Kenya. Park’s Nya’s Long Walk (2019) is a picture book for younger children about some of the same characters.

Historical fiction

can choose its subject from any period. The best historical novels combine interesting stories with vivid descriptions of the past. For example, Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice (1995) is set in medieval England. Louise Erdrich’s The Game of Silence (2005) brings to life an Ojibwa (Chippewa) Native American girl and her family in 1850. Lauren Wolk’s historical novels include Wolf Hollow (2016), a story about the devastating effects of bullying set in the 1940’s, and Echo Mountain (2020), about a family’s struggle and healing during the Great Depression in the 1930’s.

Mystery and detective stories

—among the most popular forms of fiction with adult readers—are also enormously popular with young readers. In many such stories, young people are the chief characters. For example, in The House of Dies Drear (1968) by Virginia Hamilton, a 13-year-old boy finds a buried treasure near a mysterious old house. In Chasing Vermeer (2004) by Blue Balliett, two 12-year-olds rescue a painting stolen from a museum and expose the thief. Alan Bradley evokes the quirky tradition of English country detective stories in his Flavia de Luce novels about a girl who solves mysteries based on her knowledge of chemistry, including The Golden Tresses of the Dead (2019).

Fantasy and science fiction

first gained great popularity among young readers during the mid-1900’s. This imaginative form of literature may set its adventures in both fantastic and probable settings. J. K. Rowling’s popular seven-volume “Harry Potter” series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published in the United Kingdom in 1997 and then published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1998. The stories deal with a boy who discovers he has a wizard’s powers. Philip Pullman’s popular “His Dark Materials” (1995-2000) is a trilogy of fantasy novels about young people who discover and move between alternative worlds. The House of Scorpion (2004), a science fiction novel by Nancy Farmer, explores chilling consequences of cloning. Rick Yancey’s The Fifth Wave (2013) takes place in the aftermath of an alien invasion.

Realistic fiction.

Modern children’s fiction deals with serious problems and situations with a realism seldom attempted before the 1960’s. Judy Blume’s novels helped break new ground in realistic children’s fiction, beginning with Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970). Virginia Euwer Wolff’s remarkable verse novel, Make Lemonade (1993), explores the difficult struggle of an impoverished 17-year-old single mother with two children. Thirteen Reasons Why (2007) by Jay Asher describes the motives that led to a girl’s suicide. In The Impossible Knife of Memory (2014), Laurie Halse Anderson tells about a high school senior struggling to care for her father, a troubled veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Biographies

introduce young readers to the lives of important people. Through biographies, children can learn about men and women who have made great discoveries, changed the course of history, made contributions to the arts, or accomplished unusual deeds of courage. A skillful writer can make the life of a real person as exciting as the life of a fictional hero or heroine. Since the late 1900’s, biographies of people in the arts have become increasingly popular. Examples include Chris Raschka’s The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra: The Sound of Joy Is Enlightening (2014), about the life of jazz musician Sun Ra, and Javaka Steptoe’s Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (2016).

Biographers base their books on fact, but they may treat their subjects in many different ways. For example, Jean Fritz included humor along with accurate detail in a series of biographies for young readers set during the American Revolution (1775-1783). The series was published from the 1970’s to the early 2000’s. Biographers sometimes merge fact with fiction. Geronimo (2006), Abenaki writer Joseph Bruchac’s book about the Apache leader, resembles a novel. Biography for young people has moved into the realm of autobiography with Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), in which she recounts her personal journey as a poet.

Information books

are nonfiction works that introduce children to the world of learning. The wonders of science, the beauty of art, and the fascination of history unfold in the pages of information books written specially for children. These books explore varied subjects, such as how Americans elect their presidents, why some animals hibernate, and how religions developed. David Macaulay’s books—such as Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction (1973), The Way Things Work (1988), and The Way Things Work Now (2016)—are classics in the field.

Since the mid-1900’s, many information books have dealt with modern problems. For example, Judith Berck’s No Place to Be: Voices of Homeless Children (1992) describes the troubles of homeless children in the United States. Gail Stewart’s Terrorism (2002) uses the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States as a starting point to discuss terrorism. The Bite of the Mango (2008) by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland, the biography of a girl from Sierra Leone, describes the effects of war on children. The picture book Keeping the City Going (2021) by Brian Floca pays tribute to the efforts of essential workers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic (worldwide epidemic).

Many information books focus on ethnic, racial, and other minority groups. Under Our Skin: Kids Talk About Race (1997) by Debbie Holsclaw Birdseye and Tom Birdseye profiles six young people who discuss their ethnic backgrounds and experiences. Nontraditional families are the subject of Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Families (1999) edited by Peggy Gillespie with photos by Gigi Kaeser. Mexican American life is described in Celebrating a Quinceañera: A Latina’s 15th Birthday Celebration (2002) by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith with photos by Lawrence Migdale. In Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain (2013), Russell Freedman describes the experiences of Asian immigrants to the United States from 1892 to 1940 as they passed through the port of entry at Angel Island, California. In Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (2020), Jason Reynolds discusses how racist assumptions from the past may still influence modern thinking, and how people can try to identify and change such attitudes in their own lives. Reynolds adapted the book from Stamped from the Beginning (2016), a book for adults by Ibram X. Kendi.

History

Early children’s literature.

According to some scholars, the first children’s books were textbooks. One of the first known books of this type was composed by Saint Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, England, in the late A.D. 600’s. He wrote it in Latin verse in question-and-answer form. For almost 1,000 years, instruction books in English commonly used the question-and-answer form. Some authors also wrote books called courtesy books to teach manners. Many were written for the children of the nobility. Perhaps the most important date in the early history of children’s literature is 1484, when the English printer William Caxton published a volume of Aesop’s fables.

John Amos Comenius, a Czech educator, was one of the first authors who believed that children’s books should entertain as well as teach. His textbook Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The Visible World in Pictures, 1658) was the first children’s book in which illustrations played a major part. Comenius stated that he wanted to attract the reader’s attention “with pictures that amusingly teach the chief things of this world.”

From the 1500’s to the early 1800’s, peddlers known as chapmen sold cheap little books called chapbooks in England and America. The books included shortened, simple adaptations of ancient and medieval legends, folk and fairy tales, and ballads, illustrated with crude pictures. Educated adults considered these books trash, but children loved them.

The Puritans

were English Protestants who became a powerful force in England and colonial New England in the 1500’s and 1600’s. Puritan authors wrote children’s books that reflected the ideals of their religion. In New England, the Puritan minister John Cotton wrote Milk for Babes, first published in London in 1646. This catechism was memorized by generations of children. The 1656 edition, printed in Massachusetts with the title Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes, may be the earliest children’s book published in the English colonies in America. Another popular Puritan children’s book in the colonies was The New England Primer (about 1690), originally compiled by Benjamin Harris, a Boston publisher. The book featured the alphabet, illustrated rhymes for learning the letters, and bits of moral instruction.

John Bunyan, an English Puritan, produced The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678, 1684). It is an allegory (story with more than one meaning) about a man’s struggle to get to heaven. Adaptations of the story for children emphasize the action-filled travels of Christian, the main character.

Mother Goose.

The first classic of children’s literature was Stories or Tales of Past Times, with Morals, which became best known by its alternate title, Tales of Mother Goose. Published in France in 1697, the book consisted of eight fairy tales collected by Charles Perrault. The tales included “Cinderella,’’ “Little Red Riding Hood,’’ and “The Sleeping Beauty.’’ Beginning in the mid-1700’s, other works intended for children included nursery rhymes as well as songs and other material. The rhymes became very popular, and somehow the term Mother Goose became a general name for nearly all nursery rhymes.

The 1700’s.

During the 1700’s in England, children’s literature showed signs of developing as a separate branch of literature. Two masterpieces that became popular with both children and adults appeared in England in the early part of the century. They were Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe and Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift. Robinson Crusoe describes the adventures of a man shipwrecked on an island. The original story includes many philosophical reflections by the author. Children’s editions omit these portions of the story and emphasize the hero’s battle for survival.

Gulliver’s Travels was the first great fantasy in children’s literature. It describes four voyages to imaginary lands made by Lemuel Gulliver, a ship’s doctor. Swift intended the book as a satire on the many follies he saw in human behavior. But children enjoy the book—usually in adapted form—for its humor and imagination.

During the 1700’s, John Newbery of England made major contributions to the development of children’s literature. Newbery was one of the first successful English publishers of children’s books. In 1744, he published A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, “intended for the instruction and amusement” of boys and girls. The book included fables, games, rhymes, and songs. It was one of the first books in English that attempted exclusively to entertain rather than educate young readers. Newbery also published The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765), considered the first novel written for children. The novel is credited to the Irish-born author Oliver Goldsmith.

The 1800’s

marked the emergence of children’s literature as a branch of literature. This century is often called the golden age of children’s literature. A number of illustrators of children’s books produced their most important art during the 1800’s. For the first time, American authors contributed important books for young people.

Collections of tales.

For many scholars, the golden age begins with the publication of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Children’s and Household Tales (2 volumes, 1812 and 1815). For their books, the Grimms wrote down fairy and folk tales told by German storytellers. The brothers were not the first editors of fairy tale collections. However, their work had great influence through the famous tales they collected, including “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel.” It preserved oral folk literature that was rapidly disappearing. The Grimm collections are also known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Many notable editors and collectors later in the 1800’s followed the Grimms. The Norwegian folklorists Peter Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe collected Norwegian tales, including “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” in their Norwegian Folk Tales (1841-1844). In the United Kingdom, Joseph Jacobs preserved English and Irish folk tales, including “The Story of the Three Little Pigs” and “Jack the Giant Killer” in English Fairy Tales (1890) and More English Fairy Tales (1893). Andrew Lang, a Scottish scholar, compiled 12 books of fairy and folk tales from around the world, beginning with The Blue Fairy Book (1889).

Masterpieces of fiction.

Many of the classic novels in children’s literature appeared from 1865 to 1900. Lewis Carroll wrote perhaps the most popular novel in all of children’s literature—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). This masterpiece describes the adventures of a girl named Alice, who reaches a magic land after she follows a white rabbit down a hole in the ground. Carroll continued Alice’s adventures in Through the Looking-Glass (1872).

Mary Mapes Dodge’s Hans Brinker, or, the Silver Skates (1865) was the first important children’s novel by an American that described how people lived in another country. The hero is Hans Brinker, a Dutch boy. Dodge wrote the story primarily to introduce readers to the history and customs of the Netherlands.

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868-1869) was, in many ways, the first major realistic children’s novel about the life of an American family. The story takes place in a small New England community in the mid-1800’s. It follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—from childhood to maturity.

Anna Sewell, an English author, wrote Black Beauty (1877), one of the first popular novels about animals. The book describes the cruel treatment a horse receives from its masters. The author intended the book partly as a plea for decent treatment of animals.

During the 1800’s, Robert Louis Stevenson and the French author Jules Verne produced some of the finest adventure novels in children’s literature. Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883) gave literature two memorable characters, the boy hero Jim Hawkins and the pirate Long John Silver. Verne was the first important author of science fiction. Young people and adults both enjoy the imaginative plots and exciting action of such Verne classics as A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).

Mark Twain wrote two classic novels for young readers, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Both rank among the masterpieces of American literature. However, both novels remain controversial, largely because of Twain’s treatment of racial issues.

Masterpieces of poetry.

The first important book of nonreligious children’s verse in the 1800’s was Original Poems for Infant Minds (1804). The authors were two English sisters, Ann and Jane Taylor. The collection is best known for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Edward Lear composed and illustrated many books of delightful nonsense verse, beginning with A Book of Nonsense (1846). Lear’s best-known nonsense poem is “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” (1871). He is also known for popularizing the limerick, a humorous five-line poem in which the first two lines rhyme with the fifth. Lewis Carroll also wrote nonsense verse, much of which he included in his “Alice” books, such as “Jabberwocky.”

“Casey at the Bat” (1888), a ballad by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, has become part of the folk literature of baseball. The ballad describes how “Mighty Casey” struck out in the last inning, thus failing to win a baseball game for his Mudville team. The American journalist and poet Eugene Field wrote some of the most popular American children’s poems, including “Little Boy Blue” and “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.”

The rise of illustration.

During the 1800’s, illustrations grew in importance in children’s books. For the first time, many books used illustrations to help young readers visualize characters and action. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass feature wood engravings by Sir John Tenniel that are among the most famous in all of children’s literature. The illustrations do much to heighten the humor and absurd situations in Carroll’s works.

By the mid-1800’s, color illustrations began to appear widely in children’s books. The advance was made possible by the innovations of such individuals as Edmund Evans, an English engraver, printer, and publisher. Evans found new ways to print and market the works of the three major English children’s artists of the 1800’s— Randolph Caldecott, Walter Crane, and Kate Greenaway. These English artists established children’s book illustrations as a distinct art form.

Caldecott is best known for his interpretations of scenes of humorous action, especially from nursery rhymes. Perhaps his most famous illustrations were published in an 1878 edition of “The Diverting History of John Gilpin” (1782), a ballad by the English poet William Cowper. The ballad describes how elderly John Gilpin tries to stay on a runaway horse. Caldecott’s illustrations perfectly capture the ballad’s frantic, hilarious action.

Walter Crane made dramatic use of rich colors and page design in his many popular books. He created perhaps his best illustrations for very young children, notably his books of nursery rhymes including Baby’s Opera (1877) and Baby’s Bouquet (1878). Crane’s art is noted for its attention to details of clothing and objects.

Kate Greenaway illustrated her own children’s poems, including the collection Under the Window (1878). Her illustrations portray charming, graceful scenes of happy children and peaceful landscapes.

American artists also made important contributions to children’s books in the late 1800’s. Howard Pyle was one of the most influential children’s illustrators in the United States during the 1800’s. Pyle is best known for his books about such legendary figures as King Arthur and Robin Hood. Arthur Frost gained fame for his clever and comic pen-and-ink illustrations for Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892).

The early 1900’s.

Authors continued to produce outstanding fiction internationally. They also created new types of children’s literature, including picture books and children’s nonfiction. The early 1900’s also saw growth in children’s magazines.

In the United Kingdom, Rudyard Kipling produced his famous animal tales, Just So Stories (1902). Kenneth Grahame wrote The Wind in the Willows (1908). The novel follows the often hilarious adventures of four animal friends who live along a river in the English countryside. Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote The Secret Garden (1911), a classic novel about children, nature, and healing. J. M. Barrie created Peter Pan and Wendy (1911), a fantasy about a boy who refuses to grow up. In the 1920’s, A. A. Milne wrote the children’s classics Winnie- the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). The stories describe the adventures of a boy and his animal friends.

Also in Europe, the Austrian writer Felix Salten wrote the popular animal story Bambi (1923). The German writer Erich Kästner wrote Emil and the Detectives (1929), a story about a boy whose money is stolen while he sleeps on a train. Astrid Lindgren, a Swedish writer, gave the world a vital new heroine with the title character of the Swedish children’s novel Pippi Longstocking (1945). Pippi is a high-spirited girl who lives with a horse and a monkey—but without parents—at the edge of a Swedish village.

Picture books

were among the most notable developments in children’s literature in the 1900’s. One of the first modern picture books was The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) by the English author and artist Beatrix Potter. For the 1902 edition, Potter illustrated her story with beautiful, delicate water colors. In the United States, Wanda Gág pioneered an innovative blend of images and text, writing and illustrating Millions of Cats (1928). Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings (1941) is a picture book about a family of ducks who walk through Boston’s streets to the Public Garden. The book continued the inventiveness in picture books that had begun earlier in the 1900’s.

Children’s nonfiction.

From the 1800’s to the 1920’s, most of the important children’s books were works of fiction or poetry. In 1921, the American historian Hendrik Van Loon wrote The Story of Mankind, the first significant modern information book for young people. The work traces world history from prehistoric times to the early 1900’s. This book set the standard for the interesting, accurate presentation of knowledge that characterizes the best information books to the present time.

Children’s magazines

had first appeared in the mid-1700’s, but they gained new importance in the early 1900’s. Perhaps the most influential early children’s magazines in the United States were The Youth’s Companion, published from 1827 to 1929, and St. Nicholas magazine, published from 1873 to 1943. Under the editorship of Mary Mapes Dodge from 1873 to 1905, St. Nicholas magazine set high editorial guidelines that directly affected the quality of children’s literature. Contributors included many leading children’s authors and illustrators of the period, as well as such public figures as United States President Theodore Roosevelt.

The middle and late 1900’s

brought the publication of more children’s books than ever before. There were several reasons for this growth. Influential thinkers in education and psychology stressed the importance of books and encouraged parents to help young children learn to read. Improved printing techniques enabled publishers to produce books that were carefully designed, printed, and illustrated. The increase in children attending school starting in the 1930’s stimulated publishing. Also, the number of school libraries and public libraries with departments serving children grew. The expansion of publishing, in turn, led more authors and artists to concentrate primarily on children’s literature.

Fantasy and science-fiction literature

continued to flourish in the 1900’s, especially in the work of three British authors. Mary Norton’s The Borrowers (1952) was the first novel of a series about a race of small fairy people who live in old houses. C. S. Lewis wrote a suspenseful seven-novel series called “The Chronicles of Narnia” (1950-1956). The English language scholar J. R. R. Tolkien created a complex fantasy world in the novel The Hobbit (1937) and the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955).

Two authors stand out among American science-fiction writers. Robert Heinlein’s Rocket Ship Galileo (1947) tells about three teenagers and a scientist who develop their own rocket and fly to the moon. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (1962) was the first book in a series about the Murry family’s travels through time and their involvement in the struggle between good and evil. The American Isaac Asimov and the British-born Arthur C. Clarke both wrote science-fiction works that attracted older children and adolescents in addition to adults.

Books for beginning readers

became another important element in children’s literature in the mid-1900’s. One of the earliest authors to work in this area was Margaret Wise Brown. Her bedtime story Goodnight Moon (1947), illustrated by Clement Hurd, became one of the best-selling children’s books in history.

Writing under the name of Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel was a master of the picture book form as well as one of its most popular writers and illustrators. His The Cat in the Hat (1957) and Green Eggs and Ham (1960) are examples of his work in this form. Other important authors and illustrators of picture books in the late 1900’s and early 2000’s include Frank Asch, Eric Carle, Denise Fleming, Tana Hoban, and Helen Oxenbury.

One of the first picture books to have chapters was the beginning reader Little Bear (1957), written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Similar series include the “Frog and Toad” series by Arnold Lobel, the ”George and Martha” series about two hippopotamuses by James Marshall, the series about Frances the badger by Russell and Lillian Hoban, and the series about Paddington Bear by Michael Bond. Teachers used many of these books in addition to, or in place of, basic readers to help children learn to read.

In the late 1900’s, board books developed into a popular area of publishing. Among the earliest board books was a series of books begun in 1979 by Rosemary Wells about a rabbit named Max and his sister, Ruby.

New frankness

increasingly appeared in children’s books, especially after 1950. Earlier children’s books portrayed adults, especially parents, in an idealized manner. In the middle and late 1900’s, many books showed adults as imperfect. One of the first examples was Louise Fitzhugh’s novel Harriet the Spy (1964). The child heroine comments on other characters, both young and adult, with biting frankness. Other books, especially those of Judy Blume, discuss such topics as alcoholism, divorce, race relations, sexuality, and suicide. These topics had rarely been mentioned in earlier children’s books.

Fractured folklore

was a new type of fantasy literature that grew out of traditional literature and became prominent in the late 1900’s. Fractured folklore is a take-off on favorite folk tales and folk themes. The famous adult collection of retellings in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber (1979) helped set the stage for a wholesale reimagining of the traditional tales. In children’s literature, perhaps the best known example is The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf (1989) by Jon Scieszka, with illustrations by Lane Smith. This popular picture book retells the well-known story from the wolf’s point of view. There have been many retellings of the traditional tales since then, in every possible form, from board books to young adult novels.

Realistic young adult novels

emerged in the 1960’s. The Outsiders (1967) by S. E. Hinton is widely recognized as the first modern young adult novel. It deals with teenagers and the gangs that often serve as their families. Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War (1974) is about a teenager who dares to “disturb the universe” of his school and pays a terrible price for his independence. Today, realistic novels are more common than ever. For the young adult audience, no subjects are taboo, from sexual awakenings to the experiences of war, homelessness, gang violence, and racial discrimination.

New children’s magazines

extended children’s literature into millions of classrooms and homes throughout the 1900’s. Dozens of magazines provided young people with fiction, nonfiction, news about current events, games, and puzzles. In 1916, the New South Wales Department of Education began publishing The School Magazine, an Australian magazine featuring poems and stories for children. Today, the publication is available under different titles for varying age levels: Countdown is for 7- to 9-year-olds; Blast Off, for 9- to 10-year-olds; Orbit, for 10- to 11-year-olds; and Touchdown, for those 11 years old or older. Other notable children’s magazines included Highlights for Children, first published in 1946, and Humpty Dumpty’s Magazine (now Humpty Dumpty Magazine), founded in 1952.

In 1967, the National Wildlife Federation began publishing Ranger Rick, a nature magazine. Cricket, founded in 1973, is published by Cricket Media, which publishes several magazines for readers from toddlers through young adults. Stone Soup, started in 1973, publishes stories, poems, reviews, and art works created by young people through the age of 13. In 1975, the National Geographic Society first published National Geographic World (now National Geographic Kids), a child’s version of its adult magazine. OWL, a Canadian magazine, appeared in 1976. It includes science and news articles, puzzles, and games. Many children’s periodicals now are available online or may offer supplemental online materials.

The early 2000’s.

Today, children’s books continue to discuss subjects once considered too mature for children, despite pressure from groups who want to ban such subjects in children’s literature. Many works of fiction and nonfiction concern situations that today’s children face, such as AIDS, terrorism, sexual and emotional abuse, and violence. For example, Jason Reynolds describes an elevator ride during which 15-year-old Will decides whether to avenge his murdered brother in Long Way Down (2017, and as a graphic novel in 2020).

One of the new turns in children’s books is toward dystopian fiction—that is, fiction that describes imaginary societies much worse than the real world. M. T. Anderson’s Feed (2002) follows a group of teens for whom the internet has been integrated into their central nervous systems. While the environment is collapsing all around them, they are bombarded by advertising.

Fantasy continues to be an extremely popular genre. J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007), the final work in the seven-book “Harry Potter” series, became the fastest-selling book in publishing history. Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” (1999-2006) was also a best-selling series. It deals with the adventures of the three Baudelaire children.

More recently, a cross-over phenomenon has occurred, with works for children and young adults becoming quite popular with adult audiences as well. In addition to the “Harry Potter” series, such works include the Snicket books, the “Hunger Games” trilogy (2008-2010) by Suzanne Collins, and the “Legacy of Orïsha” books by Tomi Adeyemi.

Graphic novels became increasingly popular during the early 2000’s. A graphic novel is a book-length story that combines pictures and text. It resembles a comic book but is much longer. Some graphic novels appeal to adult readers, but others are directed at readers as young as elementary school age. Those for young or intermediate readers include Jeff Smith’s ”Bone” series (1992-2004 as comics, also collected in a series of books); Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese (2006) and Dragon Hoops (2020); and Jerry Craft’s New Kid (2019) and Class Act (2020).

For older readers, Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (2 volumes, 1986 and 1991), about the ordeal of Spiegelman’s father in a Nazi concentration camp, and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2 volumes, 2003 and 2004), about her childhood in Iran, have become classics of the genre. The number and kinds of graphic novels have increased every year. They include such reimaginings of classic works for young people as Fred Fordham’s version of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (2018), and such fan favorites as Eion Colfer’s Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano (2007).

A growing number of biographies use lively detail, imaginative dialogue, and rich illustrations. For example, Andrea Pinkney’s Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters (2000) describes the challenges and triumphs of 10 courageous women. Marilyn Nelson’s Carver: A Life in Poems (2001) relates the life of the African American scientist George Washington Carver. Confucius: The Golden Rule (2002) by Russell Freedman is about the ancient Chinese philosopher. Biographies have also become a growing subject area in picture books for younger children. Biographies by important authors who both wrote and illustrated their works include The Tree of Life (2003) by Peter Sís, about Charles Darwin, and Hildegard of Bingen: Scientist, Composer, Healer, and Saint (2019) by Demi.

Children’s literature has experienced a surge of books by such celebrity authors as actors, athletes, political figures, pop singers, royalty, and television and other media personalities. Some books also have commercial tie-ins to popular motion pictures, television shows, and even video games. Many of these works are uneven in quality, but some have considerable merit.

Children’s books increasingly reflect the fads of modern culture, such as the interest in vampires and zombies and other supernatural creatures from fantasy, folklore, and mythology. For example, Rick Riordan’s “The Kane Chronicles” (2010- ) is a fantasy series based on ancient Egyptian mythology.

Fantasies for older readers explore the tensions between children and brutal or unsympathetic cultures in which they live, as in Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone (2018), the first book in her “Legacy of Orïsha” series. Drawing on West African myth and folklore, the novels concern the struggle of children who are seeking to gain power and thus transform their corrupted world.

Board books have been revolutionized for very young children. The “Max and Ruby” books by Rosemary Wells have set a new standard for portraying the small dramas that occur in the lives of young children. Other modern board books bring liberating humor and word play to the form.

Many novels for older readers explore the lives of young people who find themselves outside the mainstream of their society. In John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars (2012), two teenagers suffering from severe illnesses establish ties that go beyond the health conditions that isolate them from normal life. Laurie Halse Anderson writes about dark secrets that can keep a person voiceless in her groundbreaking novel about sexual abuse, Speak, first published in 1999 and published again as a graphic novel in 2018. Tommy Orange’s There There (2018) tells the story of several generations of Native Americans whose lives intersect during a powwow in Oakland, California.

The role of librarians

Librarians play important roles in promoting children’s literature. They discuss children’s books with authorities, and write and read reviews in professional periodicals. Librarians read many books and listen to the reactions of children who have also read them. As a result, adults and children can use a librarian’s experience and knowledge to help them select suitable books.

Children’s librarians.

In the late 1800’s, public libraries began to realize the importance of having a separate room for children. In the early 1900’s, the Carnegie Library School in Pittsburgh offered the first training course for children’s librarians. Other library schools quickly recognized the value of such training and offered similar courses. Trained children’s librarians were better equipped to understand the development of literature for children and had well-defined standards for judging books. They also had training in storytelling.

Children’s librarians tell stories. They also read aloud—often in intimate, informal groups. They work with discussion groups and with children who have hobbies or other special interests. Through such activities, children’s librarians provide an important stimulus to enjoyment and learning through reading.

Young adult librarians.

Public library services directed toward teenagers grew rapidly during the middle and late 1900’s. Today, many librarians recognize that readers in middle school and high school often consider themselves too old for the children’s department, but they also may not feel at home in the adult section. Young adult librarians help such readers bridge these boundaries.

Many libraries today have created separate spaces for children and young adults. Often the areas are equipped with computers and monitors that young people may use to access the internet and conduct research for their classes. Thus, it has become the responsibility of the librarians to monitor the activities of the young people who use this technology.

Trained young adult librarians help readers choose books that will both satisfy their present interests and stimulate new ones. These librarians may organize activities to encourage more and better reading. They may also cooperate with schools and local organizations to carry out programs involving reading.

Increasingly, the public library has become much more than a place for a child to do homework. Rather, it has become a place of culturally enriching, often socially engaging experiences that may lead from books and reading to other activities. The public library today has come to be regarded as a kind of community “living room,” a place that encourages inter-generational interactions that can take the form of musical and dramatic performances, lectures, celebrations, and festivals.

Selecting children’s books

Important considerations in selecting children’s books include the recommended age or grade level and the quality of the text and pictures. Awards and book reviews can serve as guides in selecting books.

Age and grade levels.

A person selecting a book for a child should be sure the book generally matches the child’s developmental level, which usually corresponds to age. Most experts in children’s literature believe the developmental level best reflects a child’s interests and emotional and social development. Other experts prefer to rate books for children according to grade. They believe that there is a more uniform level of reading achievement among children of a certain grade.

Several elements contribute to determining the age or grade level of a book. The most important include sentence length, difficulty of vocabulary, difficulty of ideas, amount of repetition, and subject matter.

Most book reviews and bibliographies include some recommendation on age or grade level. Ratings should be considered only as a guide, not as a limitation on the use of the book. Children often enjoy the challenge of reading a more difficult book. At other times, they find comfort in returning to easier books they have already mastered. The key to selecting books for children is to use common sense, based on looking at the work first, and then deciding whether the book is appropriate, in terms of subject and language, for a particular child.

Awards

provide recognition for outstanding achievements in children’s literature and thus provide a guide to the finest literature for children.

ALA awards.

The American Library Association (ALA) administers some of the most respected awards for children’s literature in the United States. Frederic G. Melcher, an American publisher, established the two best-known such awards—the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal. The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) of the ALA administers both. The Newbery Medal, established in 1921, is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature in the previous year. The Caldecott Medal, established in 1937, goes to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children in the previous year.

The ALSC administers several other awards. The Children’s Literature Legacy Award (formerly called the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award), first presented in 1954, is given annually to an author or illustrator for a body of work. The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal was established in 2001. The ALSC presents it annually to the author of the most distinguished informational book published in English in the previous year. The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award was first presented in 2006. It goes annually to the authors and illustrators of the most distinguished contribution to the body of beginning reader books.

The ALA’s Coretta Scott King Awards were established in 1969. They are presented annually to African American authors and illustrators for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions.

In 1996, the ALA established the Pura Belpré Awards. The annual awards honor Latino and Latina authors and illustrators for outstanding works of literature that portray or celebrate the Latino cultural experience.

In 1999, the Young Adult Library Services Association of the ALA established the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

Other awards

come from a number of sources, including organizations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Since 1959, the Catholic Library Association in the United States has awarded the Regina Medal to honor an individual for a lifetime contribution to children’s literature. In 1977, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) founded its poetry award, the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. In 1990, the organization established the Orbis Pictus Award for outstanding nonfiction. In 2014, it established the Charlotte Huck Award for outstanding fiction for children. In 1982, the American author Scott O’Dell established the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

The National Book Award for Children’s Books was awarded from 1969 to 1983. The National Book Foundation resumed the award in 1996 as the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The eligible writings include all types of literature written for children and young adults by U.S. writers.

Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Literary Awards first included a category for children’s literature in 1949. Today, they include two categories for young people’s literature, Young People’s Literature—Text and Young People’s Literature—Illustrated Books.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia presents the Children’s Book of the Year awards annually to authors and illustrators who have made an outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature. The council was established in 1945 and presented its first award in 1946. It presents awards for books for older readers, books for younger readers, early childhood books, picture books, nonfiction books, and new illustrators.

In the United Kingdom, the two most important annual children’s literary prizes are the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal. Both are awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. It was established in 1936 and named for the Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, established in 1955, is awarded annually for outstanding illustration of a children’s book. It was named for Greenaway, a popular English children’s illustrator of the 1800’s.

Other countries award prizes, some open to authors and illustrators from any country. The International Board on Books for Young People, in Basel, Switzerland, administers the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. The awards, established in 1956, are presented every two years to an author and an illustrator for a lifetime of work in children’s literature. The Swedish Arts Council administers the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s and young adult literature. The annual award is given to one or more authors, illustrators, oral storytellers, or reading promoters from throughout the world. The Swedish government established the award in 2002.

Book reviews

of children’s literature appear in general magazines and newspapers and in library periodicals. Library periodicals that regularly review children’s books include Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, The Horn Book Magazine, School Library Journal, and Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA). The ALA publishes Booklist. The University of Illinois sponsors the Bulletin. Private publishers issue The Horn Book, School Library Journal, and VOYA. Many libraries provide online access to book review publications. Some also provide links to reviews within their online catalogs.

Booklists.

The internet has made it easy to find information about children’s books. The ALA and other groups post their “best books” lists, as do many individuals who blog (publish articles online) about children’s literature. These sites can range from the basic to the academic, and they are free and readily available. See the section Resources about children’s literature at the end of this article for a list of websites and books that parents can consult to find recommended books.

Books to read

This section provides bibliographies of recommended children’s books. The first bibliography, Picture books/infant and toddler books, lists works best suited to be read to children up to 3 years of age. The next, Picture books/picture storybooks, is for children, typically of preschool and kindergarten age, who are ready for longer stories. Picture books/beginning readers lists books with simple vocabulary, large type, and generous illustrations. These books, also called easy reader books, are for children who are developing their reading skills. Most of these beginning readers are in kindergarten through third grade. The last bibliography, Resources about children’s literature, provides suggested reading for adults interested in finding recommended books or learning more about children’s literature.

The other bibliographies cover various kinds of children’s books. Books are rated in one of three reading level categories: young readers, suitable for readers in grades 1 through 3; intermediate readers, suitable for grades 4 through 6; and older readers, suitable for grade 7 and up. A few books are rated all ages because they appeal to all grade levels. The bibliography Fiction/realistic young adult fiction lists books that explore serious topics in a frank manner for older readers.

Grade level ratings in the bibliographies are intended merely as general guides. The ratings should not be considered as a limitation on who should read a book.

The date given for each book is the year in which that particular edition was published. Many older classics have been published in numerous editions. Several abbreviations appear often in the bibliographies. They are ad. for adapter, comp. for compiler or compiled, ed. for edition or editor, illus. for illustrated, rev. for revised, and trans. for translated or translator.

Picture books/infant and toddler books

Boynton, Sandra. Moo, Baa, La La La. Little Simon, 1995. Light-hearted illustrations accompany a simple poem about animal noises, Your Nose! A Wild Little Love Song. Workman, 2020. The book illustrates a little song about a fox child and parent and an admiration for noses. These are two of many board books written and illustrated by the author.

Brown, Margaret Wise. The Runaway Bunny. Harper, 1942. A story about a mother rabbit who expresses her love for her young bunny. Goodnight Moon. Harper, 1947. A classic bedtime story. Both books illus. by Clement Hurd.

Hoban, Tana. Black and White. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow, 2007. Simple objects are shown in white-on-black and black-on-white panels in this accordion fold-out book that can stand on its own.

McBratney, Sam. Guess How Much I Love You. Illus. by Anita Jeram. Candlewick Press, 1994. A popular bedtime story in which Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare try to measure how much they love each other.

Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Illus. by Felicia Bond. Harper, 1985. A circular story about a mouse who wants one thing after another.

Oxenbury, Helen. All Fall Down. Illus. by the author. Aladdin, 1987. One of many board books by this author that use pictures of active babies and toddlers to illustrate simple text.

Rinker, Sherri D. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld. Chronicle, 2011. As the sun begins to set at a construction site, hardworking trucks and machinery end the day by saying goodnight.

Waddell, Martin. Owl Babies. Illus. by Patrick Benson. Candlewick, 1992. Three baby owls who discover that their mother has gone out at night anxiously await her return and rejoice when she comes home.

Wells, Rosemary. Max’s Bedtime. Illus. by the author. Dial, 1998. One of a series of board books about a young rabbit named Max and his older sister, Ruby.

Wood, Audrey. The Napping House. Illus. by Don Wood. 1984. Reprint. Harcourt, 2004. A story about a series of napping characters is illustrated with paintings. Silly Sally. Illus. by the author. Harcourt, 1992. Light-hearted pictures and simple rhymes describe Silly Sally’s journey to town.

Picture books/ picture storybooks

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno’s Counting Book. Illus. by the author. Crowell, 1977. An imaginative book introduces numbers.

Becker, Aaron. Journey. Illus. by the author. Candlewick, 2013. In this wordless picture book, a young girl uses a red marker to draw a doorway that opens to a magical world.

Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline. Illus. by the author. Viking, 1939. A bright, independent girl attends a boarding school in Paris.

Caldecott, Randolph. R. Caldecott’s Picture Book No. 1. Illus. by the author. Warne, 1906. This is the first of four collections of poems illustrated by the famous English children’s artist.

Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Illus. by the author. Philomel, 1969. Holes cut in the vivid illustrations of this story help show the eating progress of a hungry caterpillar.

Crews, Donald. Freight Train. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow, 1978. A portrayal of the parts and journey of a freight train.

De la Peña, Matt. Milo Imagines the World. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Putnam, 2021. On his way to a detention center to visit his mother, Milo imagines the different lives of the strangers on the subway, only to discover that some of them have more in common with him than he thought.

Falconer, Ian. Olivia. Atheneum, 2000. A high-spirited pig is good at many things, especially at tiring out others. Olivia Forms a Band. Atheneum, 2006. When Olivia learns there will be no band to accompany the fireworks, she forms her own. These and other Olivia books are illus. by the author.

Floca, Brian. Locomotive. Illus. by the author. Atheneum, 2013. Beautiful illustrations and poetic text document a family’s 1869 journey from Omaha to Sacramento on the transcontinental railroad.

Gág, Wanda. Millions of Cats. Illus. by the author. Coward, 1928. An old man and an old woman want only one cat but end up with millions of cats. A classic.

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook Press, 2003. A description of a tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1974.

Henkes, Kevin. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Greenwillow, 1996. A young mouse named Lilly and her teacher learn to communicate. One of several books about Lilly and other young mice. Kitten’s First Full Moon. Greenwillow, 2004. Black-and-white illustrations accompany the story of a kitten who thinks the full moon is a bowl of milk. All books illus. by the author.

Johnson, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon. Illus. by the author. Harper, 1955. A little boy goes for a walk through images he creates with his fantastic crayon.

Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day. Illus. by the author. Viking, 1962. An African American boy named Peter plays in the first snowfall of the season in the first book of a series.

Klassen, Jon. I Want My Hat Back. Candlewick, 2011. Humorous illustrations accompany this story about a slow-witted bear who loses and then finds his hat. This Is Not My Hat. 2012. We Found a Hat. 2016. In a second hat story, a little fish steals a big fish’s hat, and in the third book, two turtles find a hat together. The Rock from the Sky. Candlewick, 2021. A very large rock makes a deep impact on the lives of a turtle, an armadillo, and a snake. All illus. by the author.

Lê, Minh. Drawn Together. Illus. by Dan Santat. Disney-Hyperion, 2018. An English-speaking boy and his Thai-speaking grandfather discover they can communicate through a shared love of drawing and stories.

Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand. Illus. by Robert Lawson. Viking, 1936. A famous story portrays a bull who would rather smell fragrant flowers than fight.

Lehman, Barbara. The Red Book. Illus. by the author. Houghton, 2004. In a tale told without words, a magical book connects children who live far away from one another.

Marshall, James. George and Martha. Houghton, 1972. One in a series of books about two good friends who are hippopotamuses. Red Riding Hood. Dial, 1987. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Dial, 1988. Light-hearted paintings and text retell familiar tales. All books illus. by the author.

Maillard, Kevin. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. Illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal. Roaring Brook, 2019. As a Native American family makes fry bread, Maillard lyrically describes the many things that fry bread is—from flavor to smell to history—among today’s diverse Native American peoples.

McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings. Illus. by the author. Viking, 1941. An amusing tale relates the adventures of a family of mallard ducks searching for a home in Boston.

Mora, Oge. Thank you, Omu! Illus. by the author. Little, Brown, 2018. Generosity abounds as the wonderful smell of Omu’s stew draws neighbors, one by one, to her door.

Pinkney, Gloria Jean. Back Home. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Dial, 1992. A city girl visits her relatives on a farm in North Carolina.

Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Illus. by the author. Warne, 1902. One of the best known of this author’s many classic picture books describes the adventures of a mischievous rabbit.

Rathmann, Peggy. Officer Buckle and Gloria. Illus. by the author. Putnam, 1995. Schoolchildren ignore an officer’s safety tips until he teams up with a clever police dog.

Reynolds, Peter H. The Dot. Candlewick, 2003. Ish. Candlewick, 2005. Sky Color. Candlewick, 2012. All books illus. by the author. Three stories about children who discover, to their surprise, that they can create art.

Rohmann, Eric. My Friend Rabbit. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook, 2002. A mouse values his friendship with Rabbit, even though Rabbit always seems to cause trouble.

Santat, Dan. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown, 2014. Beekle waits and waits for a child to imagine him and finally goes searching in the real world for a child whose imaginary friend he can become.

Say, Allen. Grandfather’s Journey. Illus. by the author. Houghton, 1993. A grandfather who missed Japan when he moved to the United States remembers America with affection when he returns to his homeland.

Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf. Viking, 1989. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. Viking, 1992. Both books illus. by Lane Smith. Humorous retellings of traditional tales.

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. Illus. by the author. Harper, 1963. A boy—sent to his room for being too wild—imagines he is on an island where wild creatures crown him king.

Shulevitz, Uri. Dawn. Farrar, 1974. Illustrations capture the beauty of night turning to dawn as a boy and his grandfather sleep and awaken near a lake. Snow. Farrar, 1998. A boy rejoices as snow covers his city. Both books illus. by the author.

Stead, Philip C. A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Illus. by Erin E. Stead. Roaring Brook, 2010. When the friendly zookeeper Amos McGee falls ill and stays home from work, his animal friends pay him a visit.

Steig, William. Doctor De Soto. Illus. by the author. Farrar, 1982. A dentist mouse and his helpful wife cleverly stay out of danger as they pull the aching tooth of a fox.

Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji. Houghton, 1981. Two children find and play a jungle game that comes to life in their home. The Polar Express. Houghton, 1985. Paintings illustrate a Christmas fantasy. Zathura: A Space Adventure. Houghton, 2002. In a sequel to Jumanji, two brothers find themselves in peril when their board game about space becomes real. All books illus. by the author.

Wahl, Phoebe. The Blue House. Illus. by the author. Knopf, 2020. Leo and his father feel angry and sad when the landlord says their old blue house is being torn down. Later, they find ways to make a new place into a home.

Wiesner, David. Tuesday. Clarion, 1991. Frogs fly through the air on lily pads in a fantastic journey that ends at daybreak. The Three Pigs. Clarion, 2001. The three pigs turn the tables on the wolf in this adaptation of the famous folk tale. Flotsam. Clarion, 2006. A boy finds an old camera washed up on the beach and is treated to pictures of an extraordinary undersea world. All books illus. by the author.

Willems, Mo. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Hyperion, 2003. A pigeon, wheedling just like a child, tries to persuade others to let it drive the bus. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. Hyperion, 2004. Whimsical cartoons combine with photographs to illustrate a tale of a toddler who loses her favorite stuffed animal. Both books illus. by the author.

Woodson, Jacqueline. The Day You Begin. Illus. by Rafael López. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018. Schoolchildren feel different and alone for a variety of reasons, until they begin to tell their stories and discover common ground with others.

Yorinks, Arthur. Hey, Al. Illus. by Richard Egielski. Farrar, 1986. A risky trip to a fantastic island makes a man and his dog appreciate their tiny home.

Picture books/ beginning readers

Bond, Michael. A Bear Named Paddington. Illus. by Peggy Fortnum. Collins, 1958. The first in a series of stories about a small brown bear from Peru who is adopted by the Browns, an English couple. The Browns found him sitting on his suitcase in the Paddington railroad station in London.

DiCamillo, Kate. Mercy Watson to the Rescue. Illus. by Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick, 2005. One of a series of books about the adventures of a pig who loves toast and the couple who love her.

Hoban, Russell. Bread and Jam for Frances. Illus. by Lillian Hoban. Harper, 1964. A story about a picky eater is one of six books about a young badger and her humanlike family and friends.

Howe, James. Houndsley and Catina. Illus. by Marie-Louise Gay. Candlewick, 2006. A dog and cat discover that friendship and doing what they enjoy are better than being famous. One of a series of tales about Houndsley, Catina, and their friends.

Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Are Friends. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins, 1970. Two good friends help and encourage each other in the first of four collections of stories.

Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. Illus. by Denise Brunkus. Random Hse., 1992. The first of many books about an exuberant girl and her adventures in kindergarten and first grade.

Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge and the Tumbling Trip. Illus. by Carolyn Bracken in the style of Suçie Stevenson. Simon & Schuster, 2005. Henry and his dog, Mudge, go on a Western vacation. A book in the long “Henry and Mudge” series about the adventures of a boy and his dog.

Seuss, Dr. The Cat in the Hat. Illus. by the author. Random Hse., 1957. A fantastic cat visits two children while their mother is out of the house. One of many books by the master of a controlled vocabulary.

Willems, Mo. There Is a Bird on Your Head. Hyperion, 2007. I’m a Frog. Hyperion, 2013. Both illus. by the author. Two books in a series of simply told stories about Gerald the Elephant and his good friend, Piggie.

Yang, James. Stop! Bot! Illus. by the author. Viking, 2019. When a child loses control of his flying remote-controlled “bot,” the people living on different floors of a tall apartment building try to help him catch it.

Pop-up books and novelty books

Bataille, Marion. ABC3D. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook, 2008. This pop-up book features 3-D versions of the letters of the alphabet. All ages.

Carter, David A. 600 Black Spots. Little Simon, 2007. Yellow Square. Little Simon, 2008. In these two pop-up books of a series, readers can search for specific colored shapes hidden in paper sculptures. Five Cars Stuck and One Big Truck: A Pop-Up Road Trip. Simon & Schuster, 2017. Five cars get stuck in the muck. Can the tow truck pull them out? All books illus. by the author. All ages.

Crowther, Robert. Pop-Up House of Inventions: Hundreds of Fabulous Facts About Your Home. Rev. ed. Illus. by the author. Candlewick, 2009. Fun facts and information about objects in a house are presented on individual pop-up spreads of specific rooms. Young and intermediate readers.

Emmett, Jonathan. Alphabet Street. Illus. by Ingela P. Arrhenius. Candlewick, 2019. The book unfolds to form a street of buildings that feature flaps hiding alphabet rhymes. Young readers.

Kunhardt, Dorothy. Pat the Bunny. Illus. by the author. Golden Books, 1940. Inserts in the pages of this classic favorite allow children to feel, smell, and see the same things as the characters in the book. Young readers.

Idle, Molly Schaar. Flora and the Flamingo. Chronicle, 2013. Flora and the Penguin. Chronicle, 2014. Both illus. by the author. A little girl learns to dance from a flamingo and to skate from a penguin. Young readers.

Sabuda, Robert. America the Beautiful. Paper engineering by the author. Little Simon, 2004. Pop-ups illustrate the lyrics to Katharine Lee Bates’s American anthem. The Little Mermaid. Little Simon, 2013. A pop-up adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Young and intermediate readers.

Sendak, Maurice, Arthur Yorinks, and Matthew Reinhart. Mommy? Illus. by Maurice Sendak. Story by Arthur Yorinks. Paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart. Scholastic, 2006. A baby encounters monsters and a mummy as he looks for his mother in this pop-up book. Young readers.

Tullet, Hervé. Press Here. Trans. from French by Christopher Franceschelli. Illus. by the author. Chronicle, 2011. Children are instructed to press, rub, tilt, and blow on a series of colorful dots, which then magically grow or change color with each turn of the page. Young readers.

Zelinsky, Paul O., ad. The Wheels on the Bus. Illus. by the ad. Paper engineering by Rodger Smith. Dutton, 1990. Illustrations with movable parts help bring the words to a familiar children’s song to life. Young readers.

Poetry

Ada, Alma Flor, and Isabel F. Campoy, comp. Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes. English ad. by Alice Schertle. Illus. by Vivi Escrivá. HarperCollins, 2003. A collection of nursery rhymes from Spain and Latin America is accompanied by English adaptations and pictures that illustrate themes and games. Young readers.

Alexander, Kwame. The Undefeated. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. A poetry picture book that pays tribute to the lives and history of African Americans. All ages.

Alexander, Kwame, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. Illus. by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick, 2017. The authors present a collection of 20 poems that honor poets from around the world who have inspired wonder. Intermediate readers.

Brooks, Gwendolyn. Bronzeville Boys and Girls. Illus. by Ronni Solbert. Harper, 1956. Simple poems describe the experiences and feelings of African American children in big cities. Intermediate readers.

Fleischman, Paul. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. Illus. by Eric Beddows. Harper, 1988. Poems about insects that are meant to be read aloud by two people. Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices. Illus. by Beppe Giacobbe. Candlewick, 2000. Three poems with intertwining parts for four readers to recite. Both books for intermediate and older readers.

Florian, Douglas. Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings. Harcourt, 1998. Poems and paintings depict a variety of insects. Mammalabilia: Poems and Paintings. Harcourt, 2000. The poet creates playful word pictures and paintings of 21 animals. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings. Harcourt, 2007. A light-hearted view of space accompanied by a useful glossary. Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings. Atheneum, 2009. An illustrated collection of poems about dinosaurs. All books illus. by the author. All books for young and intermediate readers.

Hall, Donald, ed. The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children’s Poems. Oxford, 1999. The wide-ranging selections include both fresh and familiar poems, many accompanied by period artwork. All ages.

Hughes, Langston. The Dream Keeper and Other Poems: Including Seven Additional Poems. Illus. by Brian Pinkney. Knopf, 1994. Scratchboard illustrations add movement to these poems first published in 1932. Intermediate and older readers.

Kennedy, Caroline, comp. Poems to Learn by Heart. Illus. by Jon J. Muth. Hyperion, 2013. A collection of 100 poems that lend themselves to memorization. Intermediate readers.

Lear, Edward. The Complete Nonsense Book. Illus. by the author. Penguin, 2002. Limericks, nonsense poems, and humorous story poems sparkle in this book by a famous English comic poet and artist of the 1800’s. Intermediate readers.

Milne, A. A. When We Were Very Young. Dutton, 1952. Now We Are Six. Dutton, 1955. Both illus. by Ernest H. Shepard. These two classic, widely known collections of verse portray children and their world. Young readers.

Myers, Walter Dean. Blues Journey. Holiday Hse., 2003. Illus. by Christopher Myers. Blues lyrics presented in poetry form are complemented by stirring illustrations. Intermediate and older readers. Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices. Illus. with photographs from the author’s collection. Holiday Hse., 2004. Poems written from the point of view of more than 50 people give a view of life in the Harlem section of New York City. Intermediate and older readers. Jazz. Illus. by Christopher Myers. Holiday Hse., 2006. Poems and illustrations evoke various forms of jazz music. Young and intermediate readers.

Opie, Iona, ed. My Very First Mother Goose. Candlewick, 1996. Here Comes Mother Goose. Candlewick, 1999. Both illus. by Rosemary Wells. Water-color and ink pictures make these traditional nursery rhymes right for young children. Young readers.

Prelutsky, Jack, comp. The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury. Illus. by Meilo So. Knopf, 1999. A collection of more than 200 poems by modern poets is grouped by related topics with illustrations. Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, and Other Poems. Illus. by Carin Berger. Greenwillow, 2006. A collection of amusing poems is accompanied by light-hearted illustrations. Both books for all ages.

Sidman, Joyce. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Illus. by Pamela Zagarenski. Houghton, 2009. Whimsical illustrations complement unrhymed poems that celebrate the seasons and their changing colors. Young readers.

Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein. Harper, 1974. A Light in the Attic. Harper, 1981. Falling Up: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein. HarperCollins, 1996. Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook. HarperCollins, 2005. Every Thing On It. HarperCollins, 2011. Line drawings illustrate five collections of jolly verse. All books illus. by the author. Intermediate and older readers.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child’s Garden of Verses. Illus. by Diane Goode. Morrow, 1998. A classic collection of short poems about the everyday world. Verses originally published in 1885. Young readers.

Traditional literature/fairy tales, folk tales, and myths

Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. Illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon. Dial, 1975. A West African folk tale explains why mosquitoes make noise. Young readers.

Andersen, Hans Christian. Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories. Trans. from the Danish by Erik Christian Haugaard. Illus. Doubleday, 1974. A modern translation retells stories written by Andersen in the 1800’s. All ages.

Bennett, Martin, ad. Tales from West Africa. Illus. by Rosamund Fowler. Oxford, 2000. Told in the voice of an oral storyteller, these tales feature such tricksters as the monkey, spider, and tortoise. Intermediate readers.

Brown, Marcia. Stone Soup. Illus. by the author. Aladdin, 1986. Originally published in 1947, this folk tale tells about soldiers who trick villagers into making a soup fit for a king. Young readers.

Chase, Richard, ed. The Jack Tales. Houghton, 1943. Grandfather Tales. Houghton, 1948. Both illus. by Berkeley Williams, Jr. Two collections gather folk tales from rural North Carolina and Virginia. Both books for intermediate readers.

D’Aulaire, Ingri, and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire. Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths. Doubleday, 1962. D’Aulaires’ Norse Gods and Giants. Both illus. by the authors. Doubleday, 1967. Stories describe Greek and Norse gods and figures and retell myths in two classic volumes. Both for intermediate readers.

Dembicki, Matt, ed. Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection. Fulcrum, 2010. A collection of 21 Native American folk tales told in graphic novel format. Intermediate and older readers.

Grimm, Jakob, and Wilhelm Grimm. The Complete Fairy Tales. Illus. by Josef Scharl. Pantheon, 1972. A reissue of a standard edition gathers well-known fairy tales, first collected by the brothers in the 1800’s. The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak, comp. Illus. by Maurice Sendak. Rev. ed. Farrar, 2003. Includes many less-familiar tales. Young and intermediate readers.

Hamilton, Virginia, ad. The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. Illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf, 1985. Pictures complement a major writer’s retelling of traditional tales. Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales. Illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon. Blue Sky Pr., 1995. The adapter retells 19 tales from African American folklore. Both books for intermediate and older readers.

Harris, Joel Chandler. Jump! The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. Illus. by Barry Moser. Ad. by Van Dyke Parks and Malcolm Jones. Harcourt, 1986. The first of several collections of Harris’s Brer Rabbit stories retold by Parks and Jones, and illustrated with striking paintings. Intermediate readers.

Jacobs, Joseph, ed. English Folk and Fairy Tales. David Nutt, 1890. More English Folk and Fairy Tales. David Nutt, 1893. Both illus. by John D. Batten. Jacobs, a noted folklore scholar, assembled these two famous collections of tales from England, Scotland, and Wales. Intermediate readers.

Kellogg, Steven, ad. Paul Bunyan. Morrow, 1984. Pecos Bill. Morrow, 1986. Johnny Appleseed. Morrow, 1988. Mike Fink. Morrow, 1992. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett: A Tall Tale. Morrow, 1995. All illus. by the author. Large-scale, animated illustrations accompany a retelling of these tales of larger-than-life American figures. Young readers.

Lang, Andrew, ed. The Blue Fairy Book. Illus. by Ben Kutcher. McKay, 1948. Lang, a noted Scottish folklore scholar, edited this collection in the late 1800’s. It was the first of several books he compiled containing fairy tales from around the world. Intermediate readers.

Lester, Julius, ad. The Last Tales of Uncle Remus: As Told by Julius Lester. Dial, 1994. Lester retells many of Joel Chandler Harris’s stories about Brer Rabbit. John Henry. Dial, 1994. A retelling of the life of the famous African American steel-driving folk hero who is immortalized in song. Both illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Intermediate readers.

Morris, Jackie. East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Illus. by the author. Frances Lincoln, 2013. A classic Norwegian fairy tale is reimagined for the 2000’s. Intermediate and older readers.

Napoli, Donna Jo. Treasury of Norse Mythology: Stories of Intrigue, Trickery, Love, and Revenge. Illus. by Christina Balit. National Geographic, 2015. Napoli dramatizes the classic stories of Norse mythology. Intermediate readers.

Normandin, Christine, ed. Echoes of the Elders: The Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska. Illus. by Chief Lelooska. DK Ink, 1997. Spirit of the Cedar People: More Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska. Illus. by Chief Lelooska. DK Ink, 1998. A master storyteller presents two important collections of traditional Northwest Coast Indian folk tales. Both books for intermediate and older readers.

Oberman, Sheldon. Solomon and the Ant and Other Jewish Folktales. Retold by Sheldon Oberman. Commentary by Peninnah Schram. Boyds Mills, 2006. Forty-three Jewish folk tales, compiled and retold by an oral storyteller, are each accompanied by a commentary and source notes. Intermediate and older readers.

Oh, Ellen, and Elsie Chapman, eds. A Thousand Beginnings and Endings: 15 Retellings of Asian Myths and Legends. Greenwillow, 2018. Fifteen authors of young adult fiction imaginatively retell myths and legends from East and South Asia. Older readers.

Osborne, Mary Pope, ad. Favorite Medieval Tales. Illus. by Troy Howell. Scholastic, 1998. A collection presents nine well-known European tales, including “Beowulf” and “The Song of Roland.” Intermediate and older readers.

Perrault, Charles. Complete Fairy Tales. Trans. from the French by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski. Illus. by Sally Holmes. Clarion, 1993. The translation relates the stories in their original form as told by Perrault in the 1600’s with clever wit, but not necessarily with their familiar happy endings. Older readers

Philip, Neil, ad. The Arabian Nights. Illus. by Sheila Moxley. Orchard Bks., 1994. Fifteen classic stories are retold with many jewel-toned, full-page illustrations. Intermediate and older readers.

Singer, Isaac Bashevis. When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw & Other Stories. Trans. by the author and Elizabeth Shub. Illus. by Margot Zemach. Farrar, 1968. A master storyteller presents eight tales, some based on traditional Yiddish stories he heard in his youth. Intermediate readers.

Steptoe, John, ad. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. Illus. by the adapter. Lothrop, 1987. Despite an ill-tempered sister’s ambitions, her sweet, kind sister becomes queen. Young and intermediate readers.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes. Illus. by the author. Abrams, 2016. Tonatiuh retells a Mexican legend about the origins of two large volcanoes that overlook Mexico City. Intermediate readers.

Yep, Laurence. The Rainbow People. Illus. by David Wiesner. Harper, 1989. A retelling of 20 Chinese folk tales is adapted from a 1930’s oral narrative project in the Oakland (California) Chinatown. Intermediate and older readers.

Young, Ed, trans. Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China. Illus. by the translator. Philomel, 1989. A Chinese variation retells a familiar folk tale with water-color and pastel illustrations. Seven Blind Mice. Illus. by the adapter. Philomel, 1992. Cut-paper figures illustrate this retelling of a tale from India in which blind mice encounter an elephant. Young readers.

Traditional literature/epics, ballads, and fables

Dharma, Krishna. Pancha Tantra: Five Wise Lessons, A Vivid Retelling of India’s Most Famous Collection of Fables. Torchlight, 2004. Instructive stories are retold in prose and verse. Intermediate and older readers.

Green, Roger Lancelyn. King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. Illus. by Lotte Reiniger. Puffin, 2008. A new edition of a 1953 classic retelling of the Arthurian tales. Intermediate readers.

La Fontaine, Jean de. Fables. Trans. by Marianne Moore. Viking, 1954. All 241 fables written by the French author La Fontaine in the 1600’s appear in this acclaimed translation by a noted American poet. All ages.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere’s Ride. Illus. by Ted Rand. Dutton, 1990. Memorable verse re-creates the drama of the famous night ride. Poem first published in 1861. Intermediate readers.

McKinley, Robin. The Outlaws of Sherwood. Greenwillow, 1988. A fresh look at the Robin Hood stories gives new interpretations of the major characters. Older readers.

Nunes, Shiho S. Chinese Fables: “The Dragon Slayer” and Other Timeless Tales of Wisdom. Illus. by Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard. Tuttle, 2013. An illustrated retelling of 19 tales from China. Young and intermediate readers.

Pinkney, Jerry, ad. Aesop’s Fables. Illus. by the adapter. SeaStar Bks., 2000. Expressive illustrations complement Aesop’s wry observations about human nature. Intermediate readers.

Sutcliff, Rosemary, ad. Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad. Delacorte, 1993. The memorable figures of the epic conflict between Greece and Troy are portrayed. The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey. Delacorte, 1996. A fresh retelling describes the adventures Odysseus experienced on his voyage home from the Trojan War. Both illus. by Alan Lee. Older readers.

Thayer, Ernest Lawrence. Ernest L. Thayer’s Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888. Illus. by Christopher Bing. Handprint Bks., 2000. An illustrated version retells the story of the famous strikeout, with text and drawings presented as newspaper clippings. Young and intermediate readers.

Fiction/general fiction for children

Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Illus. by Jessie Wilcox Smith. Little, Brown, 1968. A centennial edition of the classic novel, first published in 1868-1869, about four sisters growing up in New England during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Intermediate and older readers.

Alexander, Kwame. Crossover. Houghton Mifflin, 2014. A verse novel about the rivalries and close family ties between twin brothers, both basketball stars. Intermediate and older readers.

Bloor, Edward. Tangerine. Harcourt, 1997. An unappreciated middle-school boy comes into his own when he earns a place on a rival school’s soccer team. Intermediate and older readers.

Blume, Judy. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Dutton, 1972. Nine-year-old Peter must deal with the actions of and attention given to his younger brother. Intermediate readers.

Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. Illus. by Tasha Tudor. Lippincott, 1962. The tale of an orphaned girl who blossoms as she tends an abandoned garden on her uncle’s estate. This was the first edition of the 1911 classic to be enhanced by the artwork of Tasha Tudor. Intermediate readers.

Burnford, Sheila. The Incredible Journey. Little, Brown, 1961. Two dogs and a cat struggle through the Canadian wilderness to reach their beloved owners. Older readers.

Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and Her Father. Morrow, 1977. Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Morrow, 1981. Both books illus. by Alan Tiegreen. These two books form part of a warm and humorous series about a young girl. Young readers.

DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. Candlewick, 2000. A lonely 10-year-old girl adopts an ugly stray dog who helps her find friendship and happiness. Intermediate readers.

Estes, Eleanor. The Moffats. Illus. by Louis Slobodkin. Harcourt, 1941. The everyday adventures of the Moffat children are affectionately told. Intermediate readers.

Farley, Walter. The Black Stallion. Random Hse., 1941. The first in a series of popular stories about a famous horse. Intermediate readers.

Farmer, Nancy. A Girl Named Disaster. Orchard Bks., 1996. While fleeing from Mozambique to Zimbabwe to escape an arranged marriage, a girl struggles to overcome starvation as she is tormented and guided by spirits in her world. Intermediate and older readers.

Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy. Illus. by the author. Harper, 1964. An 11-year-old girl asks questions about life after she is shunned by her friends for her bitter comments. Intermediate readers.

George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. Illus. by John Schoenherr. HarperCollins, 1972. Julie. Illus. by Wendell Minor. HarperCollins, 1994. Julie’s Wolf Pack. Illus. by Wendell Minor. HarperCollins, 1997. Three books tell the story of an Inuk girl and the wolf pack that accepts her as one of its own on the Alaskan tundra. Older readers.

Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows. Illus. by Ernest H. Shepard. Methuen, 1908. A classic adventure story that features the lovable characters Rat, Toad, Mole, and Badger. Intermediate readers.

Grimes, Nikki. Garvey’s Choice. WordSong, 2016. A boy’s father wants him to pursue sports, but the young man finds his true voice through music. A novel in verse. Intermediate and older readers.

Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. Greenwillow, 2003. The death of a classmate prompts 12-year-old Martha to explore her feelings about her own life. Intermediate and older readers.

Howe, James. The Misfits. Atheneum, 2001. Four middle-school friends defend their right to be different when they campaign against name-calling in their school. Intermediate readers.

Hunt, Irene. Up a Road Slowly. Follett, 1966. Julie painfully matures over a 10-year period while living with her unsympathetic aunt. Older readers.

Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello, Universe. Greenwillow, 2017. When a bully’s prank strands shy sixth-grader Virgil in a well, unlikely friends band together to rescue him. Intermediate readers.

Lawson, Robert. Rabbit Hill. Viking, 1944. Tough Winter. Viking, 1954. Both illus. by the author. Two stories tell about a family of rabbits living in the Connecticut countryside. Intermediate readers.

Lenski, Lois. Strawberry Girl. Illus. by the author. Lippincott, 1945. A realistic novel with regional flavor portrays strawberry farmers in Florida in the early 1900’s. Intermediate readers.

Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. Bantam, 1998. The first of a series of eight novels about the life of orphan Anne Shirley, from her arrival on a Prince Edward Island farm at age 11 to adulthood and motherhood. Originally published in 1908. Intermediate and older readers.

Myers, Walter Dean. Somewhere in the Darkness. Scholastic, 1992. A father escapes from jail and insists that his teenage son accompany him on a journey so he can prove his innocence and love. Older readers.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Shiloh. Atheneum, 1991. The first of four books about a boy, his dog, and a man who once owned the animal. Intermediate readers.

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. Illus. by Donna Diamond. Crowell, 1977. A story about a friendship between a boy and girl who create an imaginary kingdom in the woods near their homes. Intermediate and older readers.

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. Bradbury, 1987. Thirteen-year-old Brian survives 54 days in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Followed by four companion books. All books for intermediate and older readers.

Rylant, Cynthia. Missing May. Orchard Bks., 1992. A 12-year-old girl finds hope and courage despite her grief after the death of the woman who has raised her. Intermediate readers.

Sachar, Louis. Holes. Farrar, 1998. A boy’s bad luck lands him in a correctional camp in the Texas desert. Small Steps. Delacorte, 2006. A sequel to Holes about an African American boy from the camp now on his own. Both books for intermediate and older readers.

Snicket, Lemony. The Bad Beginning. Illus. by Brett Helquist. HarperCollins, 1999. The first book in “A Series of Unfortunate Events” that follows the misadventures of the three Baudelaire orphans. Intermediate and older readers.

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Little, Brown, 1990. An orphaned boy tries to find a home and heal a town divided by racism. Intermediate readers.

Spyri, Johanna. Heidi. Trans. from the German by Eileen Hall. Illus. by Cecil Leslie. Puffin, 1956. A Swiss girl’s love and wholesomeness bring happiness to those around her. Original story in 2 volumes (1880-1881). Intermediate readers.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. Illus. by N. C. Wyeth. Scribner, 1911. A classic illustrated edition of the adventure novel. Young Jim Hawkins and his friends battle the villainous Long John Silver for possession of a buried treasure. Story first published in 1883. Older readers.

Timberlake, Amy. Skunk and Badger. Illus. by Jon Klassen. Algonquin, 2020. Badger has a settled life until Skunk moves in and upsets everything. Intermediate readers.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Illus. by True Williams. American Publishing Co., 1876. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Illus. by W. E. Kemble. Charles L. Webster, 1885. Classic books of American fiction follow the adventures of two mischievous boys living near the Mississippi River in Missouri during the mid-1800’s. Both books for older readers.

White, E. B. Stuart Little. Illus. by Garth Williams. Harper, 1945. A fantasy describes a mouse born to human parents. Charlotte’s Web. Illus. by Garth Williams. Harper, 1952. A classic story of friendship between a clever spider and a young pig. The Trumpet of the Swan. Illus. by Edward Frascino. Harper, 1970. A Canadian swan born without a voice learns to communicate by playing the trumpet. All books for intermediate readers.

Fiction/historical fiction

Anderson, M. T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Vol. I: The Pox Party. Candlewick, 2006. A young enslaved boy is caught up in a strange experiment at the dawn of the American Revolution (1775-1783). Vol. II: The Kingdom on the Waves. Candlewick, 2008. The promise of freedom draws a young enslaved man and his acquaintances to the British ranks during the Revolution. Both books for older readers.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963. Delacorte, 1995. A middle-class African American family visits Grandma in Alabama in the summer of the church bombing. Bud, Not Buddy. Delacorte, 1999. A 10-year-old African American boy searches for his father after his mother’s death during the Great Depression. Elijah of Buxton. Scholastic, 2007. A fragile boy, the first freeborn resident of a Canadian settlement for people who have escaped enslavement, tries to help a family make it to freedom. All three books for intermediate and older readers.

Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy. Clarion, 1994. The 14-year-old daughter of an English country knight records her experiences in a journal. The Midwife’s Apprentice. Clarion, 1995. In medieval England, a homeless girl finds her place in the world. Rodzina. Clarion, 2003. When her loving family dies, a 12-year-old Polish girl from Chicago is sent by train with other orphans to find a new home in the West. All books for intermediate and older readers.

Doerr, Anthony. All the Light We Cannot See. Scribner, 2014. The lives of two teenagers—a blind French girl and a German boy—intersect in occupied France during World War II (1939-1945). Older readers.

Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. Hyperion, 1999. The story of the trials and joys of Omakayas, a young Ojibwa girl who lives on a Lake Superior island in the mid-1800’s. The first book in Erdrich’s “Birchbark House” series. Intermediate readers.

Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Illus. by Lynd K. Ward. Houghton, 1943. A boy participates in events in Boston that lead to the outbreak of the American Revolution (1775-1783). Older readers.

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer. Illus. by Eros Keith. Bradbury, 1973. A boy witnesses the horrors of the slave trade while serving on a ship transporting enslaved people in 1840. Older readers.

Gantos, Jack. Dead End in Norvelt. Farrar, 2011. When a 12-year-old boy is grounded for the summer, an elderly neighbor with strange stories to tell about the town’s founders becomes the only bright spot in his days. Intermediate readers.

Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. Scholastic, 1997. Writing in sparse free verse, a teenage girl describes her life in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Intermediate and older readers.

Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Henry Holt, 2009. A novel set in rural Texas in 1899 and 1900 tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who develops a passionate interest in learning about the natural world. Intermediate readers.

Lai, Thanhha. Butterfly Yellow. Harper, 2019. A Vietnamese girl, separated from her little brother during the final days of the Vietnamese War, searches for him in Texas six years later. Older readers.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Houghton, 1989. A historically accurate story of friendship shows how the people of Denmark saved Danish Jews from the Nazis. Intermediate readers.

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. Harper, 1985. Two children learn to love the mail-order stepmother who comes to their lonely frontier home. Intermediate readers.

O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Houghton, 1960. A Native American girl is stranded for 18 years on a rocky island off the coast of California in the early 1800’s. Intermediate and older readers.

Park, Linda Sue. A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story. Clarion Books, 2010. Twin stories of a boy escaping from the 1985 civil war in Sudan and the life of a Sudanese girl in 2008. Intermediate and older readers.

Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved. Crowell, 1980. Teenage Louise searches for her identity and fights her jealousy of her beautiful twin sister on a Chesapeake Bay island in the 1940’s. Older readers. Lyddie. Lodestar, 1991. A teenage girl goes to work in the mills in the 1840’s to help pay the debts on her family’s farm. Intermediate and older readers.

Peck, Richard. The River Between Us. Dial Books, 2003. Two mysterious young ladies from New Orleans enter the lives of a family in southern Illinois near the start of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Intermediate and older readers.

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic, 2000. A privileged Mexican girl struggles to adjust to life as a farmworker after she and her mother come to the United States during the Great Depression. Intermediate and older readers.

Schmidt, Gary D. The Wednesday Wars. Clarion, 2007. A teacher helps a suburban seventh-grade boy navigate the everyday difficulties of his world in the late 1960’s. Okay for Now. Clarion, 2011. When a 13-year-old boy visits a library and discovers the wordless images of an original volume of John James Audubon’s Birds of America, he finds a new way to survive at home and at school. Both books for intermediate and older readers.

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Houghton, 1958. A girl visiting Puritan Connecticut in the late 1600’s becomes involved in witchcraft trials. Intermediate readers. The Sign of the Beaver. Houghton, 1983. This novel depicts an interracial friendship in the colonial period. Older readers.

Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Dial, 1976. An African American family endures the Great Depression of the 1930’s. First book in Taylor’s “Logan Family” saga. Intermediate readers.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation. Scribner, 1971. A Japanese American girl and her family are sent to the War Relocation Center in Utah during World War II (1939-1945). Journey Home. McElderry, 1978. The family struggles to return to normal life after being released from the Relocation Center. Intermediate and older readers.

Vanderpool, Clare. Moon Over Manifest. Delacorte, 2010. In a novel set during the Great Depression, a 12-year-old girl searches for clues to her father’s past. Intermediate readers.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. Amistad, 2010. Three sisters travel from Brooklyn to Oakland in the summer of 1968 to visit their mother, a poet and activist affiliated with the Black Panther Party. The sequels, P.S. Be Eleven. and Gone Crazy in Alabama (Amistad, 2013 and 2015), continue the sisters’ story. All three books for intermediate readers.

Wolk, Lauren. Echo Mountain. Dutton, 2020. The Great Depression forces twelve-year-old Ellie’s family to move from the city to Echo Mountain, Maine. They face life-or-death challenges, and she learns about nature and healing. Intermediate to older readers.

Yep, Laurence. Dragon’s Gate. HarperCollins, 1993. A 14-year-old boy comes from China to the United States in 1867 to work on the railroad and becomes involved in a strike. The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island. HarperCollins, 2008. The story of a boy and his father who move from China to America in the 1920’s. Based on Yep’s own family history, with research assistance by historian Kathleen Yep. Older readers.

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Illus. by Trudy White. Knopf, 2006. An unusual narrator, Death, describes the struggles of a girl whose foster family hides a Jewish man in their home in Nazi Germany. Older readers.

Fiction/mystery and detective stories

Balliett, Blue. Chasing Vermeer. Illus. by Brett Helquist. Scholastic, 2004. The Wright 3. Scholastic, 2006. The Calder Game. Scholastic, 2008. These three books make up a trilogy of art-themed mysteries. Out of the Wild Night. Scholastic, 2018. In Nantucket, modern-day children and centuries-old ghosts try to stop a developer from destroying the island’s old homes. Intermediate readers.

Bradley, Alan. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Delacorte, 2009. When 11-year-old Flavia’s father is accused of murder, the English girl investigates the crime. The first book in a series. Intermediate and older readers.

Buckley, Michael. The Sisters Grimm, Book One: The Fairy-Tale Detectives. Illus. by Peter Ferguson. Amulet, 2005. In the first book of a nine-volume series, two sisters discover that they are members of a family responsible for preventing evil fairy-tale characters from taking over the real world. Intermediate readers.

Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Doubleday, 2003. The story of an autistic boy who investigates the death of a dog provides an absorbing and insightful view into the condition of autism. Older readers.

Hamilton, Virginia. The House of Dies Drear. Macmillan, 1968. An African American boy helps uncover a treasure hidden by an abolitionist near an old house in the 1800’s. The Mystery of Drear House. Greenwillow, 1987. The tale of hidden treasure reaches a conclusion. Both books for intermediate readers.

Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot. Knopf, 2002. A humorous environmental mystery involving a quirky barefoot boy who loves owls. Flush. Knopf, 2005. A brother and sister gather proof to help their father shut down a polluting casino boat. Both books for older readers.

Milford, Kate. Greenglass House. Clarion, 2014. As the old inn run by Milo’s parents fills up with odd strangers, Milo and the cook’s daughter, Maddie, try to uncover the secrets of the house and its visitors. Intermediate readers.

Pullman, Philip. The Ruby in the Smoke. Knopf, 1987 (first published in 1985). Shadow in the North. Knopf, 1988 (first published as The Shadow in the Plate in 1986). The Tiger in the Well. Knopf, 1990. Suspenseful and adventurous novels set in Victorian England tell the story of Sally Lockhart, orphaned at age 16, who, with her friend Jim, solves a series of mysteries. Older readers.

Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. Dutton, 1978. A wealthy man leaves intricate clues for his potential heirs. Intermediate readers.

Sobol, Donald J. Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander. Illus. by Warren Chang. Delacorte, 1999. A boy detective solves a number of mysteries in one of a long series. Young and intermediate readers.

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb Bks., 2009. A 12-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes she receives. Liar & Spy. Wendy Lamb Bks., 2012. A seventh-grade boy and his friend track the activities of Mr. X, a secretive neighbor who lives in their apartment building. Both books for intermediate readers.

Wright, Betty Ren. The Dollhouse Murders. Scholastic, 1983. When Amy visits her aunt to escape the pressures of caring for a sister with special needs, a strange dollhouse in the attic leads her to information about the murder of her grandparents. Intermediate readers.

Fiction/modern fantasy and science fiction

Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone. Henry Holt, 2018. The first book of the “Legacy of Orïsha” series about a teenage maji who sets out to restore magic to the West African fantasy land of Orïsha. Older readers.

Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three. Henry Holt, 1964. A fantasy depicting an imaginary land called Prydain. The first book in a series. Intermediate readers.

Applegate, Katherine. The One and Only Ivan. HarperCollins, 2012. A gorilla named Ivan attempts to free himself and a baby elephant from the captivity of a circus-themed mall. The One and Only Bob. HarperCollins, 2020. A sequel about Ivan’s friend, a dog named Bob. Intermediate readers.

Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. Farrar, 1975. A 10-year-old girl meets an immortal family and is offered the chance to live forever. Intermediate readers.

Barrie, J. M. Peter Pan. Ed. by Josette Frank from the author’s Peter Pan and Wendy (1911). Illus. by Marjorie Torrey. Random Hse., 1957. A classic fantasy describes three children who fly to Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up. Intermediate readers.

Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Illus. by W. W. Denslow. G. M. Hill, 1900. In this famous fantasy, a cyclone carries Dorothy from a Kansas farm to a magical land. There, she meets the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Wizard of Oz. Intermediate readers.

Boston, Lucy M. The Children of Green Knowe. Harcourt, 1954. The Treasure of Green Knowe. Harcourt, 1958. Both illus. by Peter Boston. The first books in a series of fantasies about Green Knowe—an old English house—where children of today play with children of the past. All books for intermediate readers.

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game. Tor Bks., 1985. Ender’s Shadow. Tor Bks., 1999. Two books about brilliant children being trained to fight wars in space tell the same story from different points of view. Older readers.

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Illus. by Sir John Tenniel. Macmillan, 1865, 1872. Two classic fantasies tell about the adventures of Alice, who, in an imaginary land, meets such unforgettable characters as the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. Intermediate readers.

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl. Hyperion, 2001. Brilliant young villain Artemis Fowl and elf fairy police captain Holly Short square off in the first book of a series that has magical characters, humor, and adventure. Intermediate and older readers.

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic, 2008. Catching Fire. Scholastic, 2008. Mockingjay. Scholastic, 2010. A trilogy about a teenage girl who must survive gruesome contests held by the leaders of a futuristic society. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Scholastic, 2020. A prequel to the trilogy. Older readers.

Cooper, Susan. Over Sea, Under Stone. Illus. by Margery Gill. Harcourt, 1966. The Grey King. Illus. by Michael Heslop. Atheneum, 1975. A group of British children become involved in a struggle between Light and Dark in two of a series of five fantasies. The Boggart. McElderry, 1993. A brother and sister cope with the boggart, a feisty Scottish spirit who, trapped in a piece of furniture, has been shipped to their Canadian home. The Boggart and the Monster. McElderry, 1997. The children and the boggart attempt to help the boggart’s cousin in Loch Ness. All books for intermediate readers.

Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Illus. by Joseph Schindelman. Knopf, 1964. A boy and his grandfather are among the few lucky people to visit an amazing chocolate factory. Intermediate readers.

DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. Candlewick, 2003. An unusual mouse falls in love with a princess and must overcome many obstacles to save her life. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. Candlewick, 2013. Illus. by K. G. Campbell. A humorous tale about a young girl whose life is changed when she befriends a squirrel with superpowers. Intermediate and older readers.

DiTerlizzi, Tony, and Holly Black. The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1: The Field Guide. Illus. by Tony DiTerlizzi. Simon & Schuster, 2003. When three children move into an old house, they find a book that helps them discover the fairy world around them. First of a popular series. Intermediate readers.

Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart. Chicken House, 2003. Inkspell. Chicken House, 2005. Inkdeath. Chicken House, 2008. All three books trans. from the German by Anthea Bell. A father and daughter have magical reading powers that transport characters out of and into books. Intermediate and older readers.

Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. HarperCollins, 2002. When Coraline’s family moves into an old house, she finds herself drawn into an evil alternative reality and must fight to save her parents and return home. The Graveyard Book. HarperCollins, 2008. A boy escapes an attack on his family and is taken in by the ghostly inhabitants of a graveyard. Both books illus. by Dave McKean. Both books for intermediate and older readers.

Jacques, Brian. Redwall. Philomel, 1986. Animal characters encounter adventure and battles in the first of many novels of the Redwall saga. Intermediate and older readers.

Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth. Random House, 1961. Illus. by Jules Feiffer. A young boy drives his toy car through a mysterious tollbooth and enters a fantastic world in which he learns about the importance of words and numbers. Intermediate readers.

Keller, Tae. When You Trap a Tiger. Random, 2020. A girl tries to restore her grandmother’s health by making a deal with a magical tiger in a modern story interwoven with Korean folk lore. Intermediate readers.

Le Guin, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea. Parnassus, 1968. The book, about the adventures of a wizard named Ged, is the first in a series of books set in the imaginary land of Earthsea. The final Earthsea book is The Other Wind. Harcourt, 2001. All books for older readers. Catwings. Orchard Bks., 1988. Catwings Return. Orchard Bks., 1989. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings. Orchard Bks., 1994. Jane on Her Own: A Catwings Tale. Orchard Bks., 1999. All four books illus. by S. D. Schindler. Delicate illustrations enhance four stories about flying kittens. Young and intermediate readers.

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. Farrar, 1962. In this first book in a series, Meg and her brother and friend are taken to another part of the universe by three friendly witches and find Meg’s father being held prisoner. Older readers.

Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia. Illus. by Pauline Baynes. Macmillan, 1950-1956. Seven fantasies describe the adventures of four children in the magic land of Narnia. All for intermediate and older readers.

Lindgren, Astrid. Pippi Longstocking. Trans. by Florence Lamborn. Illus. by Louis S. Glanzman. Viking, 1950. The adventures, first published in Sweden in 1945, of a strong, red-haired, 9-year-old girl who lives happily on her own in a small Swedish town. Intermediate readers.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Houghton, 1993. Gathering Blue. Houghton, 2000. Messenger. Houghton, 2004. Son. Houghton, 2012. In four related stories, young people who have special gifts use their talents to help rescue their societies. Older readers.

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. Little, Brown, 2005. In the first book of a series, a high school romance becomes filled with danger when 17-year-old Bella falls in love with a vampire. Older readers.

Milne, A. A. Winnie-the-Pooh. Metheun, 1926. The House at Pooh Corner. Metheun, 1928. Both illus. by Ernest H. Shepard. Two amusing books portray Christopher Robin—the author’s son—and the boy’s adventures with his toy animals, who come to life. Both books for intermediate readers.

Oppel, Kenneth. Silverwing. Simon & Schuster, 1997. Sunwing. Simon & Schuster, 2000. Firewing. Simon & Schuster, 2003. These three books make up a trilogy about the adventures of bats from a colony in a fantasy world. Darkwing. Eos, 2007. This fourth book in the “Silverwing” series deals with events before the trilogy. Older readers.

Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. Knopf, 2002. Eldest. Knopf, 2005. Two books in a fantasy about 15-year-old Eragon, who believes he is merely a poor farm boy until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Intermediate and older readers.

Paver, Michelle. Chronicles of Ancient Darkness: Wolf Brother. Illus. by Geoff Taylor. HarperCollins, 2004. A boy discovers that he and his wolf companion are destined to save the clans from a demonic bear. Book One of a popular series. Intermediate and older readers.

Pearce, Philippa. Tom’s Midnight Garden. Illus. by Susan Einzig. Lippincott, 1958. A boy wandering through a relative’s home finds a Victorian garden and a playmate from an earlier era. Intermediate and older readers.

Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. Knopf, 1996 (first published as Northern Lights in 1995). The Subtle Knife. Knopf, 1997. The Amber Spyglass. Knopf, 2000. An epic fantasy trilogy called “His Dark Materials” unfolds across parallel worlds. Older readers.

Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief. Hyperion, 2005. Twelve-year-old Percy learns that he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and that his fate is to undertake an important quest. Book One of a series. Intermediate and older readers.

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. Katherine Tegen Bks., 2011. Insurgent. Katherine Tegen Bks., 2012. Allegiant. Katherine Tegen Bks., 2013. A trilogy about a teenage girl who lives in a future society that has divided its citizens into factions based on character traits. Older readers.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Bloomsbury, 1997. (Published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Scholastic, 1998.) The first book in an English fantasy series about a boy who discovers he has wizard powers. Intermediate and older readers.

Stephens, John. Emerald Atlas. Knopf, 2011. The Fire Chronicles. Knopf, 2013. The Black Reckoning. Knopf, 2015. A series about three children who discover a magical book that takes them on an exciting time-traveling adventure. Intermediate readers.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit. Illus. by the author. Houghton, 1937. In this fantasy, a creature called a hobbit seeks a treasure guarded by a dragon. Intermediate and older readers.

Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins. Illus. by Mary Shepard. G. Howe, 1934. The first of several fantasies about an English nanny with magical powers and her adventures with the Banks children. Intermediate readers.

Turner, Megan Whalen. The Thief. Greenwillow, 1996. The first of a popular series of fantasy novels set in an imaginary medieval world. Intermediate and older readers.

Yancey, Rick. The Fifth Wave. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013. Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, seeks to rescue her younger brother. She receives help from a stranger who may or may not be one of the invaders. Older readers.

Fiction/realistic young adult fiction

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. Farrar, 1999. A gripping novel about a high school freshman who is raped at a party by a popular senior boy at her school. Older readers.

Avi. Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel. Orchard Bks., 1991. When a boy refuses to sing the national anthem in high school, he and others are caught up in the unintended consequences of his actions. Intermediate and older readers.

Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Delacorte, 2001. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood. Delacorte, 2003. Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood. Delacorte, 2005. A series about four best girlfriends who share a magical pair of jeans. Older readers.

Callender, Kacen. King and the Dragonflies. Scholastic, 2020. A twelve-year-old African American boy struggles with grief following his older brother’s death, as he also tries to understand his own identity and protect a friend from domestic abuse. Older readers.

Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War: A Novel. Pantheon, 1974. In this classic story, one high school student chooses to go against school tradition and pays a high price. Older readers.

Green, John. Looking For Alaska: A Novel. Dutton, 2005. Miles Halter is in his first year of boarding school when a girl he loves mysteriously dies in a car accident. An Abundance of Katherines. Dutton, 2006. A teenage math prodigy goes on a road trip with his best friend to find a new direction in life. Paper Towns. Dutton, 2008. A 17-year-old boy tries to find the girl he loves, who has mysteriously disappeared. The Fault in Our Stars. Dutton, 2012. A sensitive and realistic love story about two teenagers who have cancer. All books for older readers.

Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. Viking, 1967. A classic young adult novel describes two gangs in Oklahoma. Older readers.

Kadohata, Cynthia. Kira-Kira. Atheneum, 2004. A young Japanese American girl matures as her family endures her beloved sister’s illness and her parents’ terrible working conditions. The Thing About Luck. Atheneum, 2013. A Japanese American girl and her younger brother accompany their grandparents as they travel throughout the American West harvesting wheat. Older readers.

Mori, Kyoko. Shizuko’s Daughter. Henry Holt, 1993. A Japanese girl finds herself after her mother’s suicide. Older readers.

Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels. Scholastic, 1988. A powerful story deals with the horror of killing and the fear of being killed in the Vietnam War (1957-1975). Monster. Illus. by Christopher Myers. HarperCollins, 2000. A teenage boy records his experiences and emotions in the form of a movie script as he stands trial for murder. Older readers.

Na, An. A Step from Heaven. Front Street, 2001. A Korean girl with an abusive father searches for her identity as she experiences the stresses of her family’s immigration. Older readers.

Orange, Tommy. There There. Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. The lives of twelve people at a powwow in California intertwine in this powerful depiction of modern urban Native Americans. Older readers.

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. Knopf, 2012. An inspiring novel about a 10-year-old boy who was born with severe facial differences. Intermediate and older readers.

Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. Atheneum, 2017. On a short elevator ride, ghosts from the past arrive to comment on fifteen-year-old Will’s determination to avenge his brother’s murder. Also, Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel. Illus. by Danica Novgorodoff. Atheneum, 2020. Older readers.

Rosoff, Meg. How I Live Now. Wendy Lamb Bks., 2004. A teenage girl with an eating disorder learns about the will to survive when war breaks out after she is sent to live with cousins in England. Older readers.

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013. Two teenage outsiders living in Omaha in the 1980’s bond over comic books and music and fall in love. Older readers.

Stratton, Allan. Chanda’s Secrets. Annick Press, 2004. A 16-year-old African girl faces down fear and rejection as she helps friends and family members dying of AIDS. Older readers.

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. HarperCollins, 2017. The carefully balanced life of Starr, an African American teen, turns upside down when she witnesses the police shooting of her unarmed friend. She must decide whether to speak up and how to deal with the impact of her words on herself, her family, and her friends. Concrete Rose. HarperCollins, 2021. This book is a prequel about the challenges and choices faced by Starr’s father when he was young. Older readers.

Whelan, Gloria. Homeless Bird. HarperCollins, 2000. A 13-year-old girl is married, widowed, and later abandoned in a city of widows in India, where she discovers a gift that helps her. Older readers.

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac and D Foster. Putnam’s, 2008. Three African American teenage girls share a strong friendship and empathize with the lyrics of the rap artist Tupac Shakur. Intermediate readers.

Graphic novels and other visual narratives

Brosgol, Vera. Anya’s Ghost. Illus. by the author. First Second, 2011. An eerie tale about a teenage girl who falls down an abandoned well and befriends a ghost. Older readers.

Craft, Jerry. New Kid. Illus. by the author. Harper, 2019. Jordan Banks is an African American seventh-grader who wants to attend an art school, but his parents send him to a mostly white prep school instead. Jordan relates his experiences and feelings, in part through the drawings in his notebook, with both frankness and humor. Class Act. HarperCollins, 2020. This sequel follows Jordan and his friends into eighth grade. Intermediate readers.

Hinds, Gareth, ad. Beowulf. Candlewick, 2007. The famous story of a warrior and the battles he fought is retold through eloquent text and vivid battle scenes. The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel. Candlewick, 2010. Homer’s epic poem of battle and adventure in ancient times is presented in comic-book form. Both illus. by the adapter. Both books for older readers.

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Kid. Illus. by the author. Amulet, 2007. The misadventures of an unpopular middle-school boy and his best friend appear as text and drawings in a journal. First of a series. Intermediate readers.

Larsen, Reif. The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet. Illus. by the author. Penguin, 2009. An extraordinary 12-year-old mapmaker from Montana wins a fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution. His experiences as he travels east help him locate what is important in his life. Older readers.

Larson, Hope, ad. A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel. Illus. by the ad. Farrar, 2012. A comic-book style adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s famous novel. Older readers.

Lewis, John, and Andrew Aydin. March: Book One. Illus. by Nate Powell. Top Shelf Productions, 2013. This graphic novel is the first book of a trilogy tracing former Congressman John Lewis’s participation in the civil rights movement. Older readers.

Phi, Bao. A Different Pond. Illus. by Thi Bui. Picture Window Bks., 2017. A Vietnamese American boy and his father go fishing, and the father shares memories of fishing during his own childhood in Vietnam. Young readers.

Pomplun, Tom, ed. Graphic Classics: Edgar Allan Poe. 3rd ed. Eureka, 2006. Several of Poe’s works are adapted and illustrated in comic-book format. First in a series that includes illustrated adaptations of the works of Mark Twain, H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, and other famous authors. Intermediate and older readers.

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Trans. by Mattias Ripa and Blake Ferris. Illus. by the author. Pantheon, 2003. Bold black-and-white comic strips illustrate the true story of the author’s experiences growing up in revolutionary Iran during the 1980’s. Older readers.

Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures. Illus. by the author. Scholastic, 2007. An orphaned boy tries to live on his own in a Parisian train station as he continues his father’s work on a mysterious machine. Intermediate readers. Intermediate readers.

Siku. The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Revelation. Concept and art by Siku. Script by Akindele Akinsiku. Doubleday, 2007. A comic-book style retelling of the Bible presents stories from the Old and New Testaments and includes verse references for further reading. Based on the International Bible Society’s 2004 The Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version. Older readers.

Spiegelman, Art. Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History. Pantheon, 1986. Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began. Pantheon, 1991. Both books illus. by the author. In two comic-book style volumes, the author portrays Jews as mice and Nazis as malicious cats in telling the story of his parents’ struggles to survive in wartime Poland. Both books for older readers.

Telgemeier, Raina. Smile. Graphix, 2010. A graphic memoir describes the trials experienced by the author as a young girl when two of her front teeth were accidentally knocked out. Sisters. Graphix, 2014. Guts. Graphix, 2019. Sequels based on Telgemeier’s experiences as a young girl and a teen. Drama. Graphix, 2012. When Callie becomes the head set designer for her middle school’s spring musical, drama unfolds on and off the stage. All books illus. by the author. Intermediate and older readers.

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Illus. by the author. Color by Lark Pien. First Second, 2006. Three stories intertwine to combine a traditional Chinese tale of a Monkey King with a modern Chinese American boy’s struggle to find his identity. Boxers. First Second, 2013. Saints. First Second, 2013. Both books illus. by the author and colored by Lark Pien. These two graphic novels tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion. All books for intermediate and older readers.

Biographies and autobiographies

Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln. Illus. by John and Alexandra Wallner. Holiday Hse., 1989. A Picture Book of Rosa Parks. Illus. by Robert Casilla. Holiday Hse., 1993. A Picture Book of Sacagawea. Illus. by Dan Brown. Holiday Hse., 2000. A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez. Written with Michael S. Adler. Illus. by Marie Olofsdotter. Holiday Hse., 2010. Four books in a series of biographies. Young readers.

Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Farrar, 2007. A memoir describes how the author was forced to become a soldier in Sierra Leone’s civil war and how he eventually made his way out of the country. Older readers.

Berne, Jennifer. On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein. Illus. by Vladimir Radunsky. Chronicle, 2013. A tribute to Einstein’s lifelong curiosity. Intermediate readers.

Brown, Don. Bright Path: Young Jim Thorpe. Roaring Brook, 2006. Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt. Houghton, 2009. Both books illus. by the author. Illustrations and informative author’s notes accompany the stories of how boys followed their own paths to achievement and fame. Young and intermediate readers.

Bruchac, Joseph. A Boy Called Slow: The True Story of Sitting Bull. Illus. by Rocco Baviera. Philomel, 1994. The story of how a famous Lakota Sioux warrior earned his name. Young and intermediate readers.

Byrd, Robert. Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. Illus. by the author. Dial, 2012. Detailed illustrations accompany this portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Young and intermediate readers.

Demi. The Dalai Lama: A Biography of the Tibetan Spiritual and Political Leader. Holt, 1998. Gandhi. McElderry, 2001. Mother Teresa. McElderry, 2005. Marco Polo. Marshall Cavendish, 2008. All books illus. by the author. The many biographies by this famous author and illustrator present life stories through illustrations and informative text. Young and intermediate readers.

Engle, Margarita. Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings. Atheneum, 2015. A memoir in verse about Engle’s childhood as a Cuban American growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Older readers.

Fleming, Candace. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Schwartz & Wade Bks., 2011. In alternating chapters, the author tells the story of Amelia Earhart’s life and describes the search for her missing plane. Intermediate and older readers.

Fradin, Judith Bloom, and Dennis Brindell. Jane Addams: Champion of Democracy. Clarion, 2006. A comprehensive presentation of Jane Addams’s life, settlement house work, and efforts to promote peace is illustrated with numerous photographs. Intermediate and older readers.

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. Trans. from the Dutch by B. M. Mooyaart. Doubleday, 1967. A Jewish girl’s autobiographical account tells of suffering and heroism during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II (1939-1945). Older readers.

Freedman, Russell. Lincoln: A Photobiography. Clarion, 1987. The story of Abraham Lincoln and his times is told through text, photographs, and prints. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery. Clarion, 1993. A biography of the famous first lady presents a warm and dignified look at her life. The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson. Clarion, 2004. Illus. with photos. The life and achievements of a famous African American singer whose talent and performances helped break racial barriers. All books for intermediate and older readers.

Fritz, Jean. Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? Illus. by Trina Schart Hyman. Putnam, 1976. You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? Illus. by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan. Putnam, 1995. Two of many books by a leading biographer for children. All books for intermediate readers.

Gantos, Jack. Hole in My Life. Farrar, 2002. An award-winning children’s book author describes the struggles and choices that led him to prison and the luck and resolve that helped him change his life. Older readers.

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan. Action Jackson. Illus. by Robert Andrew Parker. Roaring Brook Pr., 2002. An introduction to the American artist Jackson Pollock. Young and intermediate readers.

Krull, Kathleen. Charles Darwin. Illus. by Boris Kulikov. Viking, 2010. Traces the life and work of the famous British biologist. Intermediate and older readers.

Levy, Debbie. I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. Illus. by Elizabeth Baddeley. Simon & Schuster, 2016. A biography of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Young and intermediate readers.

Lobel, Anita. No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War. Greenwillow, 1998. A children’s book artist describes her experiences as a Polish Jewish child during World War II (1939-1945). Older readers.

McDonnell, Patrick. Me … Jane. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown, 2011. A picture book biography of the famous English zoologist Jane Goodall. Younger readers.

Maclear, Kyo. It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way. Illus. by Julie Morstad. Harper, 2019. A picture book biography about the Japanese American children’s book writer and illustrator Gyo Fujikawa and her groundbreaking work. Younger and intermediate readers.

Myers, Walter Dean. Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary. Scholastic, 1993. A portrayal of the life of the famous and controversial African American activist and leader. Intermediate and older readers. Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History. Illus. by Floyd Cooper. Harper, 2017. A biography of Douglass, born into slavery and later a leader of the abolitionist movement in the mid-1800’s. Intermediate readers.

Nelson, Kadir. Nelson Mandela. Illus. by the author. Katherine Tegen Bks., 2013. A picture book biography of South Africa’s first president. Younger readers.

Partridge, Elizabeth. This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life & Songs of Woody Guthrie. Viking, 2002. The American folk singer comes to life through his writings and many period photographs. John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth. Viking, 2005. A comprehensive biography of the English musician is accompanied by numerous photographs. Both for older readers.

St. George, Judith. So You Want to Be President? Philomel, 2000. So You Want to Be an Inventor? Philomel, 2002. Both illus. by David Small. These books provide brief introductions to the American presidents and to selected inventors. Intermediate readers.

Snyder, Laurel. Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova. Illus. by Julie Morstad. Chronicle, 2015. Ballet great Anna Pavlova’s artistry and dedication to hard work are emphasized in the book’s impressionistic text and delicate drawings. Young and intermediate readers.

Sís, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. Farrar, 2007. Drawings, photographs, journal entries, and text describe the author’s experiences growing up under Soviet rule. Nicky and Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued. Norton, 2021. The stories of a British businessman who helped Jewish children escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938, and of one of the children. Both books illus. by the author. Intermediate and older readers.

Stanley, Diane. Leonardo da Vinci. Morrow, 1996. Michelangelo. HarperCollins, 2000. Both books illus. by the author. Stanley’s series of picture book biographies examines complex lives using text and detailed illustrations. Intermediate readers.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Bks., 2014. An autobiography in poetry about Woodson’s childhood and her discovery of her voice through poetry. Older readers.

Information books/science and technology

Alexander, Lori. All in a Drop: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World. Illus. by Vivien Mildenberger. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. A biography of the father of microbiology. Intermediate readers.

Animal Encyclopedia: 2,500 Animals with Photos, Maps and More. Illus. with photographs. National Geographic, 2012. Encyclopedic entries introduce more than 2,500 species of animals. Intermediate readers.

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno’s Magic Seeds. Illus. by the author. Philomel, 1995. Colorful illustrations and an imaginative story introduce mathematical concepts. Intermediate readers.

Bang, Molly, and Penny Chisholm. Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life. Illus. by Molly Bang. Blue Sky Pr., 2009. Explanations of photosynthesis and respiration are accompanied by colorful illustrations. Intermediate readers.

Burns, Loree Griffin. Life on Surtsey: Iceland’s Upstart Island. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Scientists track the arrival of plants and animals and other changes on the new island of Surtsey, which emerged from the sea as a result of volcanic eruptions that began in 1963. Intermediate readers.

Cate, Annette. Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard. Candlewick, 2013. With lively help from talkative cartoon birds, Cate explains how to identify birds you may spot in your own backyard. Young and intermediate readers.

Chin, Jason. Grand Canyon. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook Pr., 2017. On a daylong hike in the Grand Canyon, a father and daughter discover the canyon’s geologic history in its layers of rock. Intermediate readers.

Cole, Joanna. How You Were Born. Photos by Margaret Miller. Rev. ed. Morrow, 1993. Clear descriptions of conception, fetal development, and birth are accompanied by diagrams and by photographs of families. Young readers.

Curlee, Lynn. Liberty. Atheneum, 2000. Brooklyn Bridge. Atheneum, 2001. Capital. Atheneum, 2003. Skyscrapers. Atheneum, 2007. Trains. Atheneum, 2009. All books illus. by the author. Illustrated books about the history and building of famous structures. All ages.

French, Jess. What a Waste. DK Publishing, 2019. The book presents interesting facts about both harmful and helpful ways that people’s actions can impact the environment. Intermediate readers.

Harris, Robie H. It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health. 4th ed. Illus. by Michael Emberley. Candlewick, 2014. Humorous cartoons and candid text describe the changes that occur during puberty and their implications. Older readers.

Hawking, Lucy, Stephen Hawking, and Christophe Galfard. George’s Secret Key to the Universe. Illus. by Garry Parsons. Simon & Schuster, 2007. The fictional tale of a boy’s adventures with a space-traveling scientist is accompanied by information about the solar system, black holes, and the universe. Intermediate readers.

Kelsey, Elin. You Are Stardust. Owlkids Bks., 2012. You Are Never Alone. Owlkids Bks., 2019. Both books illus. by Soyeon Kim. Colorful illustrations and poetic text help children understand how closely connected they are to the natural world around them. Young readers.

Lippincott, Kristen. Astronomy. Rev. ed. DK Pub., 2013. An overview of the history and concepts of astronomy includes spreads devoted to the planets in the solar system. Intermediate and older readers.

Macaulay, David, and Neil Ardley. The Way Things Work Now. Illus. by David Macaulay. Rev. ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. Clear and often humorous explanations tell how hundreds of machines work. Intermediate and older readers.

Macaulay, David, and Richard Walker. The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body. Illus. by David Macaulay. Houghton, 2008. Detailed, often amusing drawings and a clear text explain the workings of the human body. Intermediate and older readers.

Markle, Sandra. The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs: A Scientific Mystery. Illus. with photos. Millbrook, 2012. Scientists investigate why huge numbers of Panamanian golden frogs began to disappear in the mid-1990’s. Intermediate readers.

Nandi, Ishani, ed. First Space Encyclopedia. Rev. ed. DK Publishing, 2016. This heavily illustrated book is a good introduction to the topic of space. Young and intermediate readers.

Norman, David. Dinosaur. DK Pub., 2008. An illustrated overview of different kinds of dinosaurs and how they lived. Young and intermediate readers.

Parr, Todd. The EARTH Book. Little, Brown, 2010. The book offers ideas about simple things children can do in their everyday lives to help the environment. Young readers.

Portis, Antoinette. Hey, Water! Illus. by the author. Holiday House, 2019. A little girl discovers water in many places, from lakes to snowmen and even in her own body. Young readers.

Rocco, John. How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure. Illus. by the author. Crown, 2020. An illustrated guide to the people and technologies involved in accomplishing the moon landing. Intermediate and older readers.

Schwartz, David M. How Much Is a Million? Illus. by Steven Kellogg. Lothrop, 1985. A book to help children understand the concept of large numbers. Young readers.

Sidman, Joyce. The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. A biography of a female naturalist and artist who lived in Germany in the 1600’s. Illustrations include Sidman’s nature photographs and Merian’s artwork. Intermediate readers.

Sís, Peter. The Tree of Life: A Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin, Naturalist, Geologist & Thinker. Illus. by the author. Farrar, 2003. A detailed view of Darwin’s life and work based largely on the naturalist’s own writings. Intermediate and older readers.

Information books/geography

Beginner’s United States Atlas. 3rd ed. National Geographic, 2020. The atlas includes geographic, political, and environmental details on easy-to-read maps. Intermediate readers.

Greenwood, Barbara. The Kids Book of Canada. Illus. by Jock MacRae. Kids Can Press, 2007. Numerous maps, illustrations, and facts describe each of Canada’s provinces and territories in this geography book. Young and intermediate readers.

Hirst, Robin, and Sally Hirst. My Place in Space. Illus. by Roland Harvey with Joe Levine. Orchard, 1988. When Henry and Rosie give a bus driver their address, they start with their street number and move out to eventually locate their home in the universe. Young readers.

Morton, Christopher. The Big Book of Canada. Illus. by Bill Slavin. Rev. ed. Tundra Bks., 2017. The book presents geography, history, and other interesting facts about Canadian provinces and territories. Intermediate and older readers.

My First Atlas of the World. National Geographic Kids, 2018. Colorful maps and pictures present simple information about each continent. Young readers.

National Geographic Student World Atlas. 5th ed. National Geographic, 2019. A good resource for geographic, political, and environmental information on easy-to-read maps. Intermediate readers.

Shulevitz, Uri. How I Learned Geography. Illus. by the author. Farrar, 2008. When the author’s father brings home a map to his hungry family, the author learns that knowledge and imagination can also nourish. Young readers.

Thermes, Jennifer. Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island. Illus. by the author. Abrams, 2019. Maps trace the interconnections between nature and people, from the island’s formation to the modern city. Intermediate readers.

Woodward, John. Geography: A Visual Encyclopedia. DK Pub., 2013. Maps, illustrations, and facts describe the physical and cultural geography of the world. Intermediate readers.

Information books/history

Aliki. William Shakespeare & the Globe. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins, 1999. Aliki provides an introduction to Shakespeare, the Globe Theatre, and the world in which they thrived. Intermediate readers.

Armstrong, Jennifer, ad. The Century for Young People. Random 1999. This overview of the 1900’s with many photos and eyewitness accounts is adapted from The Century by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster. Intermediate and older readers.

Chrisp, Peter, Joe Fullman, and Susan Kennedy. History Year by Year. DK Pub, 2013. A profusely illustrated timeline. Intermediate and older readers.

Dillon, Patrick. The Story of Buildings: From the Pyramids to the Sydney Opera House and Beyond. Illus. by Stephen Biesty. Candlewick, 2014. Intricate drawings of select famous buildings highlight a brief history of architecture. Intermediate to older readers.

Edwards, Laurie J., ed. UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. 5 vols. 3rd. ed. Gale, 2012. The books describe the histories and cultures of many Native American peoples of Canada and the United States. Intermediate and older readers.

Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression. Clarion, 2005. Vietnam: A History of the War. Holiday Hse., 2016. Two of Freedman’s many outstanding books on American history. Intermediate and older readers.

Fullman, Joe. Ancient Civilizations. DK Pub., 2013. The book introduces many early civilizations, including the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Chinese, Phoenicians, Greeks, Maya, and Romans. Intermediate and older readers.

Lawrence, Jacob. The Great Migration: An American Story. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins, 1993. Sixty paintings created in 1940 and 1941 by this renowned African American artist illustrate his story of the northward migration of Black Americans in search of a better life. Intermediate readers.

McPherson, James M. Fields of Fury: The American Civil War. Atheneum, 2002. Paintings, photographs, and maps illustrate this account of the American Civil War (1861-1865) written by a renowned historian. Intermediate readers.

Nelson, Kadir. Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. Illus. by the author. Balzer + Bray, 2011. An introduction to the history of African Americans, from the colonial era to the election of President Barack Obama. Intermediate and older readers.

Roberts, Cokie. Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies. HarperCollins, 2014. Ladies of Liberty: Women Who Shaped Our Nations. HarperCollins, 2016 . Both illus. by Diane Goode. Brief biographies by pioneering female journalist Roberts highlight the accomplishments of women in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Intermediate readers. Intermediate and older readers.

Schlitz, Laura Amy. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. Illus. by Robert Byrd. Candlewick, 2007. A series of short plays about children’s lives in medieval England teach readers about the time period. Intermediate and older readers.

Information books/government, politics, and social issues

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Kids on Strike! Houghton, 1999. A historical treatment explains the role children played in working toward labor reform and developing child labor laws. Intermediate readers.

Blumenthal, Karen. Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America. Atheneum, 2005. A history of the fight for, and the societal effects of, Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, which banned sex discrimination in education and required that school sports programs be available for girls as well as boys. Older readers.

Freedman, Russell. Give Me Liberty: The Story of the Declaration of Independence. Holiday Hse., 2000. A historian provides a fresh look at the events leading up to, and the creation of, the Declaration. Intermediate and older readers.

Fritz, Jean. Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution. Illus. by Tomie dePaola. Putnam, 1987. A detailed description portrays the conflict among delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Intermediate readers.

Gay, Kathlyn. Volunteering. Scarecrow, 2004. Provides numerous examples of teen volunteerism and suggests how teens can help out in such areas as building, protecting the environment, helping sick and elderly people, and fighting racism. Older readers.

Jacobs, Thomas J. What Are My Rights? Q&A About Teens and the Law. Rev. ed. Free Spirit, 2019. A discussion of teenagers’ rights at home, school, and work also includes information about the legal procedures involved if a law is broken. Older readers.

Krull, Kathleen. A Kids’ Guide to America’s Bill of Rights. Illus. by Anna DiVito. Rev. ed. HarperCollins, 2015. In clear, approachable text, Krull describes each of the first 10 amendments in depth and touches upon later amendments and constitutional controversies. Intermediate readers.

Levine, Ellen. Freedom’s Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories. Illus. with photographs. Putnam, 1993. African American Southerners who were involved in the civil rights struggles of the 1950’s and 1960’s describe their feelings and experiences. Intermediate and older readers.

Miller, Marilyn. Words That Built a Nation: Voices of Democracy that Have Shaped America’s History. Rev. ed. Rodale, 2018. A chronological presentation of historic documents, including famous speeches, letters, books, lyrics, and dialogue, is accompanied by facsimiles and photos from archives. Intermediate and older readers.

O’Brien, Anne Sibley, and Perry Edmond O’Brien. After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance. Illus. by Anne Sibley O’Brien. Rev. ed. Charlesbridge, 2018. An introduction to Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance is followed by stories of people who have used nonviolence to fight injustices. Intermediate and older readers.

Robinson, Mary. Every Human Has Rights: A Photographic Declaration for Kids Based on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. National Geographic, 2009. Photos and writings by children illustrate each of the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations National Assembly in 1948. Intermediate and older readers.

Rodger, Ellen. How Does the Canadian Government Work? Crabtree, 2013. The book introduces the parliamentary system of government. Intermediate readers.

Stewart, Gail B. Terrorism. KidHaven Press, 2002. Using the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States as a starting point, the author discusses examples and effects of terrorism and the steps that governments can take to end it. Intermediate readers.

Ware, Susan. Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote. Belknap Pr., 2019. Ware offers 19 biographies of well-known and little-known Americans who worked for passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the vote in the United States. Older readers.

Information books/religion

Ammon, Richard. An Amish Year. Illus. by Pamela Patrick. Atheneum, 2000. A picture book with realistic illustrations describes Amish life. Young readers.

Aslan, Reza. No God but God: The Origins and Evolution of Islam. Ember, 2012. An abridgment of the author’s adult book describes the history and evolution of Islam. Older readers.

Bryan, Ashley. All Things Bright and Beautiful. Atheneum, 2010. Bryan illuminates the lyrics of Cecil Frances Alexander’s famous hymn celebrating creation. Young and intermediate readers.

Cooper, Ilene. Jewish Holidays All Year Round: A Family Treasury. Illus. by Elivia Savadier in association with the Jewish Museum, New York. Abrams, 2002. Illustrated stories and observances of the holidays are accompanied by instructions for craft projects and recipes. Young and intermediate readers.

Demi. Buddha. Holt, 1996. Muhammad. McElderry, 2003. Jesus: Based on the King James Version of the Holy Bible. McElderry, 2005. Rumi: Whirling Dervish. Marshall Cavendish, 2009. The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna. Wisdom Tales, 2013. All books illus. by the author. Picture books introduce readers to important religious leaders. Young and intermediate readers.

Langley, Myrtle. Religion. Rev. ed. DK Pub., 2012. An introduction to the history, philosophies, and rituals of the world’s major religions is illustrated with numerous photos. Intermediate and older readers.

McKissack, Patricia, and Fredrick McKissack. Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color to His Daughter, Charlotte, in Charleston, South Carolina, 1806-16. Illus. by James E. Ransome. Atheneum, 1998. Stories from the Bible are told and related to the experiences of African Americans through the voices of a fictionalized father and daughter living in the 1800’s. Intermediate readers.

Muth, John J. Zen Shorts. Scholastic, 2005. Zen Happiness. Scholastic, 2019. A giant panda named Stillwater relates tales and sayings that illustrate aspects of Buddhist thought. Intermediate readers.

Paterson, Katherine. The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children. Illus. by François Roca. Scholastic, 2008. Award-winning author Paterson tells the story of the life of Jesus, with glowing illustrations painted by the French artist Roca. Young and intermediate readers.

Podwal, Mark. Jerusalem Sky: Stars, Crosses, and Crescents. Illus. by the author. Doubleday, 2005. Paintings illustrate a telling of three religions’ ties to Jerusalem. Young and intermediate readers.

Information books/ethnic, racial, and gender groups

Aronson, Marc. Race: A History Beyond Black and White. Atheneum, 2007. A discussion of the roots and reality of race and prejudice. Older readers.

Blohm, Judith M., and Terri Lapinsky. Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience. Intercultural Pr., 2006. The stories of 26 child immigrants are supplemented with suggested activities designed to help readers better understand themselves and their immigrant neighbors. Older readers.

Cha, Dia. Dia’s Story Cloth: The Hmong People’s Journey to Freedom. Illus. stitched by Chue and Nhia Thao Cha. Lee & Low with the Denver Museum of Natural History, 1996. A story cloth stitched by the author’s aunt and uncle tells the family’s history, including settlement in Laos, war, escape, and arrival in the United States. Intermediate and older readers.

Charleyboy, Lisa , and Mary Beth Leatherdale, eds. Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices. Annick, 2014. #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women. Annick, 2017. These anthologies of art, poetry, and other writings express aspects of the lives of modern-day Native American peoples of Canada and the United States. Older readers.

Evans, Shane. Underground. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook, 2011. A picture book about a family’s escape from enslavement by way of the underground railroad is accompanied by dramatic illustrations. Young readers.

Gillespie, Peggy. Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Families. Photos by Gigi Kaeser. Univ. of Mass. Pr., 1999. A collection of over 40 interviews with LGBT parents and their children, accompanied by photographs of each family. Intermediate and older readers.

Josephy, Alvin M., Jr. 500 Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians. Knopf, 1994. This volume combines a clearly written, comprehensive history with paintings, drawings, and photographs. Intermediate and older readers.

Littlechild, George. This Land Is My Land. Illus. by the author. Children’s Book Pr., 1993. A member of the Plains Cree Nation recounts his own experiences and his ancestral history. Intermediate readers.

Meltzer, Milton. Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust. Harper, 1976. A documentary study recounts Jewish suffering under the Nazis. Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust. Harper, 1988. True stories tell how individual acts of heroism saved Jews from almost certain death. Both books for older readers.

Morales, Yuyi. Dreamers. Illus. by the author. Holiday Hse., 2018. Morales relates her story of immigrating to the United States from Mexico in the 1990’s and making a new life in a new country. Young readers.

Reynolds, Jason. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. Little, Brown, 2020. Reynolds’s book shows ways in which past ideas and practices have embedded assumptions about race into modern thinking and how people can identify racist thinking in their own lives in order to change it. Adapted from historian Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning (2016). Older readers.

Ruurs, Margriet. School Days Around the World. 2015. Birthdays Around the World. KidsCan Pr., 2017. Both illus. by Ashley Barron. The books describe activities common to childhood in various lands. Young and intermediate readers.

Sanna, Ellyn. Mexican Americans’ Role in the United States: A History of Pride, A Future of Hope. Mason Crest, 2005. Vignettes of modern-day Mexican Americans accompany a history of Native Mexican peoples, their conquest by Spanish conquistadors, and the birth of Mexico. Intermediate and older readers.

Wittenstein, Barry. A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Holiday House, 2019. A beautifully illustrated account of the preparation, collaboration, and inspiration behind King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Intermediate readers.

Yep, Laurence, ed. American Dragons: Twenty-Five Asian American Voices. HarperCollins, 1993. A collection of stories, poems, and play excerpts about growing up in the United States is accompanied by background notes about the authors. Older readers.

Information books/the arts

Bertholf, Bret. The Long Gone Lonesome History of Country Music. Little, Brown, 2007. A folksy history of country music since its early days. Intermediate and older readers.

D’Harcourt, Claire. Art Up Close: From Ancient to Modern. Trans. by Shoshanna Kirk-Jegousse. Chronicle, 2003. An unusual survey of art history invites readers to find specific details in photographs of great works of art. The book discusses the types of artwork each masterpiece represents and provides information about the artists. All ages.

Giovanni, Nikki, ed. Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat. Illus. by Kristen Balouch, Michele Noiset, Jeremy Tugeau, Alicia Vergel de Dios, and Damian Ward. Sourcebooks, 2008. A compilation of more than 50 rhythmic poems from a variety of contributors is accompanied by an audio CD. Intermediate and older readers.

Golio, Gary. Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix. Illus. by Javaka Steptoe. Clarion, 2010. A picture book biography of the legendary American rock music guitarist includes stunning illustrations. Young readers.

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Jabberwalking. Candlewick, 2018. With a nod to Lewis Carroll, former United States Poet Laureate Herrera shows young writers how inspiration becomes poetry. Intermediate and older readers.

Hockney, David, and Martin Gayford. A History of Pictures for Children: From Cave Paintings to Computer Drawings. Illus. by Rose Blake. Abrams, 2018. Artist Hockney and art critic Gayford team up for an enthusiastic exploration of art history and techniques. Intermediate and older readers.

Hughes, Langston. The First Book of Jazz. Photos by Cliff Roberts. Watts, 1955. An introduction to jazz analyzes what jazz is and traces the history of the music from its origins to the mid-1900’s. Older readers.

Janeczko, Paul B. How to Write Poetry. Scholastic, 1999. A user-friendly handbook provides practical advice. Intermediate and older readers.

Johnson, James Weldon. Lift Every Voice and Sing. Illus. by Elizabeth Catlett. Walker, 1993. A classic song of African American history is combined with linocut pictures. Intermediate and older readers.

Krull, Kathleen, comp. Gonna Sing My Head Off! American Folk Songs for Children. Illus. by Allen Garns. Knopf, 1992. Useful background notes and simple piano and guitar arrangements are provided for more than 60 songs. All ages.

Macaulay, David. Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction. Houghton, 1973. Pyramid. Houghton, 1975. Castle. Houghton, 1977. Mosque. Houghton, 2003. All illus. by the author. Four books describe the planning and building of a cathedral, pyramid, castle, and mosque. Intermediate and older readers.

Mark, Jan. The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections. Illus. by Richard Holland. Candlewick, 2007. Explains how and why museums developed. Intermediate readers.

Raschka, Chris. Charlie Parker Played Be Bop. Illus. by the author. Orchard, 1992. A simple, rhythmic text introduces readers to a jazz legend. One of a number of books about influential jazz musicians. Young readers.

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Wideness and Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O’Keefe. Chronicle, 2010. A biography of the famous American artist is illustrated with family photos; photographs by O’Keefe’s husband, Alfred Stieglitz; and reproductions of the artist’s paintings. Intermediate and older readers.

Schumacher, Thomas, and Jeff Kurtti. How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater. 3rd ed. Disney, 2019. Numerous photographs and anecdotes enliven this discussion of the physical parts of a theater building and the many jobs necessary to put on a show. Intermediate and older readers.

Steptoe, Javaka. Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Little, Brown, 2016. Steptoe’s award-winning book employs his own illustrations to introduce Basquiat’s life and legacy as an artist who did not “color within the lines.” Young and intermediate readers.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. Illus. by the author. Abrams, 2011. An introduction to Rivera’s life and career is accompanied by illustrations that mimic the famous Mexican painter’s style. Young readers.

Information books/sports and activities

America’s Test Kitchen. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018. Tasty recipes, bright photos, and tips on cooking tools and techniques for aspiring chefs. Intermediate and older readers.

Brennan, Georgeann. Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Dr. Seuss! Illus. by Frankie Frankeny. Random Hse., 2006. A cookbook for those who want to try such delicacies as Blueberry bumplings (scones) or Schlopp with a cherry on top. Intermediate readers.

Bryant, Howard. Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Basketball. Philomel, 2017. This book is part of a series of books on different games. Intermediate readers.

Cole, Joanna, and Stephanie Calmenson. Crazy Eights and Other Card Games. Illus. by Alan Tiegreen. Morrow, 1994. Explains the basic concepts of playing cards and rules for popular card games. Intermediate readers.

Doeden, Matt. Coming Up Clutch: The Greatest Upsets, Comebacks, and Finishes in Sports History. Millbrook, 2019. An account of famous last minute saves and fumbles in sports history. Intermediate to older readers.

Gifford, Clive. The Kingfisher Soccer Encyclopedia. Rev. ed. Kingfisher, 2018. History and basics of the game for young players. Intermediate readers.

Gutman, Bill. Sports. llus. by Jim Paillot. Harper, 2016. Fun facts and trivia about sports. Intermediate readers.

Hansen, Dustin. Game On! Video Game History from Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft, and More. Feiwel and Friends, 2016. Hansen describes the history and influence of some of the most popular video games. Intermediate and older readers.

Howell, Brian. Golf. ABDO, 2012. The writer discusses the history of golf, key players, courses, and game elements. Intermediate and older readers.

Ignotofsky, Rachel. Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win. Ten Speed Pr., 2017. Illus. by the author. A history of women who broke barriers and records in the world of sports. Intermediate and older readers .

King, Daniel. Chess: From First Moves to Checkmate. Rev. ed. Kingfisher, 2010. An overview of the game of chess covers rules and strategies and introduces readers to the history of the game. Intermediate readers.

Larsen, Elizabeth Foy, and Joshua Glenn, comp. Unbored: The Ultimate Field Guide to Serious Fun. Bloomsbury, 2012. This heavily illustrated book contains inspirational articles and excerpts from literature as well as step-by-step instructions for fun activities and games. Intermediate and older readers.

Macy, Sue. Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women’s Hoops on the Map. Illus. by Matt Collins. Holiday Hse., 2011. This picture book recounts the first ever women’s intercollegiate basketball game through the eyes of a participant. Intermediate readers.

Madden, John, and Bill Gutman. John Madden’s Heroes of Football: The Story of America’s Game. Dutton, 2006. Former television football analyst John Madden outlines the history of professional football and introduces readers to some of the sport’s major stars. Intermediate readers.

Nelson, Kadir. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. Illus. by the author. Hyperion, 2008. A history of Negro League baseball is told through the voice of a reminiscing player and illustrated with paintings that capture the spirit of the game and the historical times. Intermediate and older readers.

Ritter, Lawrence S. The Story of Baseball. 3rd ed. Morrow, 1999. A history of the sport also provides overviews of such facets of the game as batting, pitching, fielding, and base running. Older readers.

Rosen, Michael J. Balls! Illus. by John Margeson. Darby Creek, 2006. A light-hearted book filled with facts and trivia about different kinds of balls and the sports in which they are used. Intermediate and older readers.

Stewart, Mark, and Mike Kennedy. Score! The Action and Artistry of Hockey’s Magnificent Moment. Millbrook, 2011. An overview outlines the history of hockey and the rules and techniques for scoring goals. Intermediate and older readers.

Wilson, Mark. Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic. Rev. ed. Running Pr., 2003. An acclaimed magician presents step-by-step instructions and illustrations for hundreds of magic tricks. Intermediate and older readers.

Wise, Debra. Great Big Book of Children’s Games: Over 450 Indoor and Outdoor Games for Kids. Illus. by Sandy Forrest. McGraw, 2003. The rules for hundreds of games for children aged 3 to 14 are clearly described in a well-organized and indexed volume. Intermediate and older readers.

Information books/general nonfiction

Goldstone, Bruce. I See a Pattern Here. Henry Holt, 2015. Explains types of patterns and how to make them with blocks, stamps, and other materials. Young and intermediate readers.

Kennedy-Moore, Eileen. Growing Friendships: A Kid’s Guide to Making and Keeping Friends. Aladdin, 2017. Advice for the young on making friends. Young readers.

Scieszka, Jon. Math Curse. Viking, 1995. Science Verse. Viking, 2004. Both illus. by Lane Smith. Fun treatments of math and science. All ages.

Sotomayor, Sonia. Just Ask! Be Different Be Brave, Be You. Illus. by Rafael López. Philomel, 2019. Sotomayor uses her own experience as a child with juvenile diabetes as inspiration for a story about differences. As children bring different plants to make a garden, they talk about abilities, disabilities, and how each of them has powers they can share with others. Young and intermediate readers.

Wick, Walter. Walter Wick’s Optical Tricks. Photographs by the author. Scholastic, 1998. A presentation of optical illusions is accompanied by explanations. All ages.

Resources about children’s literature

American Library Association, Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). The ALSC website at http://www.ala.org/alsc offers many useful lists, including lists of books that won Newbery and Caldecott medals.

American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The YALSA website at http://www.ala.org/yalsa is an excellent resource that includes a list of books that won the Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature.

Cart, Michael, and Christine A. Jenkins. The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004. Scarecrow, 2006. In a discussion organized by decades, the authors describe in detail young adult fiction books that include gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning teenagers.

Children’s Book Council (CBC). A website about children’s book publishers at https://www.cbcbooks.org also lists children’s favorites from the International Reading Association, best social studies books, and outstanding science books.

Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). The council’s website at https://cbca.org.au features Reading Time, a selection of book reviews, author interviews, and articles and blog posts on topics related to children’s literature.

East, Kathy, and Rebecca L. Thomas. Across Cultures: A Guide to Multicultural Literature for Children. Lib. Unlimited, 2007. More than 460 multicultural or diverse experience titles for children ranging from preschool through sixth grade are grouped by such topics as self-image and traditions and presented with annotations that include cultural designation and age level.

Jones, Raymond E., and Jon C. Stott. Canadian Children’s Books: A Critical Guide to Authors and Illustrators. 2nd ed. Oxford Univ. Pr., 2000. Entries on more than 130 representative Canadian authors and illustrators demonstrate the depth and breadth of the country’s children’s literature.

McCollough, Carol J., and Adelaide Poniatowski Philips, eds. The Coretta Scott King Awards: 50th Anniversary. ALA Editions, 2019. In addition to a history of the awards, the book includes lists of author and illustrator winners and honorees and excerpts from some of their works.

Paul, Pamela. How to Raise a Reader. Workman Publishing, 2019. The authors suggest books and ideas about fostering reading for ages from babies to teens.

Rand, Donna, and others. Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children’s Books. Wiley, 1998. Black Books Galore! Guide to More Great African American Children’s Books. Wiley, 2001. The authors offer annotated lists of titles for and about African American children.

Schon, Isabel. Recommended Books in Spanish for Children and Young Adults: 2004-2008. Scarecrow Pr., 2009. More than 1,200 recommended books for Spanish-speaking children, with titles translated and annotations presented in English. Previous editions list recommended books back to 1991.

Silvey, Anita. 100 Best Books for Children. Houghton Mifflin, 2004. The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators. Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 500 Great Books for Teens. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. All three books provide guides to classic children’s books.

Stan, Susan. Global Voices: Picture Books from Around the World. American Library Association, 2014. This book provides bibliographies of picture books from many nations.

Zipes, Jack, ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. 4 vols. Oxford, 2006. The books provide an authoritative guide to children’s books and authors from all eras.