By Guest Contributor Tom Matthews, InTheBook.com The simple act of reading out loud to a child has been proven to develop much more than knowledge of the topic of the book: it builds confidence with words. Together you are cultivating their social skills, inspiring them to use their imagination and forming the foundations of their…

Children's Books for Diversity Black Lives Matter. This list includes some of the transformative and inspiring African-American stories reviewed on Litkidz that celebrate Black Lives and diversity in many forms.

The Book Lover's Guide to Children's and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton and Martha Parravano, editors of the Horn Book Magazine Published 2010. What a great contribution to librarians and parents this book is. I wished I had read it when I started the LitKidz blog. It puts into words what I only intuited…

Immigration Makes US Great: Here are some wonderful children's books to create more multicultural understanding about immigration and diversity in America. Most are historical fiction, and beautifully written. Let us celebrate all the value that open immigration has brought to the United States.

A children's book as a holiday gift can change a young person's life. Watch and listen to this moving testimony about books and libraries by Maya Angelou, called "A Library is a Rainbow in the Clouds" She talks about the dark times of life, and how in the darkest of times, a book can light the…

From time to time, we are lucky enough to have a review from the intended audience, in this case a young boy, Bram, age 10. I personally have not read the series, "How to Train your Dragon." But based on Bram's enthusiastic letter to the author, and his wonderful pictures, I'm inclined to read it…

Recently, as the school year ended, I thought of two 9-year-old boys I work with. They are both bright, articulate, and just catching up with their reading. I created a summer reading list that might match their interests and skills. Happy to share it with you. Note that these are all on the easier-to-read scale.…

As the school year ended, the parents of the students going from 4th grade to 5th grade asked for some summer book recommendations. In our Waldorf school, the fourth graders generally turned 10 during the year, and in fifth grade, they will be 11. Here’s a short list of my favorite children's books for this age,…

Thanks to the librarian at my school, I recently found out about the California Young Readers Medal. It's a fabulous way to get kids excited about the children's books they read. At my school, each class was invited to vote for their favorite children's book from a list of nominees. The rules are tough: the kids must read…

This has got to be the best way to make the experience of reading special: kids reading books to cats in shelters! The article and accompanying photos say it all. As one of the boys said in the article, the cats aren't judging how well he reads. Perhaps we can all learn to do that…