Recommended Reading

For Children | For Young Adults/Teens | For Adults | Reference Books (for children, teens, and adults) | Reading List Articles, Columns | Reading Events, Programs, and Tips

News Spotlight Lists

RUSA Notable Books Council releases 2008 list

American Library Association announces literary award winners (Jan 2008)

Booklist announces prestigious 2007 Top of the List selections - Top of the List: The Best of Editors' Choice (Jan 2008)

YALSA releases companion titles for The Kite Runner (Dec 2007)

"New Moon" rises in YALSA's 2007 Teens' Top Ten (Oct 2007)

Books to Make You LOL @ your library® (YALSA Teen Read Week 2007)

YALSA offers resources, read-alikes to keep teens reading after final Harry Potter book (July 2007)

New bibliographies boast Best in Children's Literature (June 2007)

Booklist Announces Prestigious 2006 Top of the List selections (Jan 2007)

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of ALA) recommends books for young adults who enjoy "Gossip Girl" series (Apr 2006)

YALSA creates list of "Chronicles of Narnia" read-a-likes (Dec 2005)

YALSA offers recommended reading for teens in light of recent disaster (Sept 2005)

Resources for Children and Their Parents and Educators Dealing with the Hurricane Katrina Tragedy (Sept 2005)

Harry-a-like Books -- Library association recommends fantasy books for Harry Potter fans (June 2005)

Top Ten Most Re-Read Books List (July 2004)

For Children

• Notable Children's Books

• 2008 American Indian Youth Literature Award (see the Picture Book and Middle School winners) - 2006 Picture Book and Middle School winners

• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - See Children Literature

• Batchelder Award - list of previous Batchelder winners

• Belpré Award - list of previous Belpré winners

• Amelia Bloomer Project: Picture Books - Fiction and Nonfiction and Middle Grades - Fiction and Nonfiction

• Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth (scroll down to the center of the page for the Middle Readers and The Young sections)

• Caldecott Medal - list of previous Caldecott winners

• Geisel Award - list of previous Geisel winners

• Coretta Scott King Book Award - list of previous Coretta Scott King winners

• Newbery Medal - list of previous Newbery winners

• Schneider Family Books Award - first two books listed are the current winners for the birth through grade school and middle school categories - see the 2004-2007 winners list

• Sibert Informational Book Medal - list of previous Sibert winners

• Wilder Medal - list of previous Wilder winners

Recommended Book Lists from ALSC, the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of ALA) in chronological order (newest list first)

• New bibliographies boast Best in Children's Literature (June 2007) - Building A Home Library Bibliographies (all four!)

• Children's librarians recommend books for the holidays (Oct/Dec 2006)

• Growing Up Around the World - (all lists below are Adobe Reader PDF files)

Growing Up in Africa
Growing Up in the Americas
Growing Up in Asia and the Middle East
Growing Up in Australia and New Zealand
Growing Up in Europe

• Books Dealing with Diversity

• Positive Portrayals of the Aging and Elderly (Microsoft Word document)

• Great Middle School Reads

• Growing Up Latino in the USA

• Books to Grow On

• The American Experience: Strength from Diversity

• Bilingual Books for Children

• Sharing Cultures: Asian American Children’s Authors: A Selected Bibliography

• Suggested Books for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America List

• Suggested Books for RIF (Reading is Fundamental) List

For Young Adults/Teens

• Alex Awards

• 2008 American Indian Youth Literature Award (see for the Young Adult winner) - 2006 Young Adult winner

• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - See Youth/Young Adult Literature 

• Best Books for Young Adults

• Amelia Bloomer Project: Young Adult - Fiction and Nonfiction

• Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults

• Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth (at the top of the list is the Older Readers section)

• Margaret A. Edwards Award

• Great Graphic Novels for Teens

• Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners

• Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

Sex is...

What Makes A Family?

Magic in the Real World

Anyone Can Play

• Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

• Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

• Schneider Family Books Award - third book listed is the current winner for the teen category - see the 2004-2007 winners list

• Teens' Top Ten Books

For Adults

• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - See Adult Fiction Literature 

• Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Awards- list of previous winners

• Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books

• Sophie Brody Medal (outstanding achievement in Jewish literature, both fiction and non-fiction)

• Notable Books

• The Reading List Council: Honoring the Best Adult Genre Fiction
  Established in 2007 by CODES (Collection Development and Evaluation Section) of ALA's RUSA (Reference and User Services Association, a division of ALA), The Reading List Council seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merits special attention by general adult readers and the librarians who work with them. The Council, which consists of ten librarians who are experts in readers’ advisory and collection development, select books in eight different categories: adrenaline titles which include suspense, thrillers, and action adventure; Fantasy; Historical Fiction; Horror; Mystery; Romance; Science Fiction; and Women’s Fiction. This inaugural juried list features established voices and debut novelists and suggests titles that will thrill avid fans and entice new readers.

• Stonewall Book Awards (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table) - list of previous winners

Reference Books (for children, teens, and adults)

• Booklist Atlas & Dictionary Update: 2007

• Booklist Children's Atlas Roundup (grades K-12)

• Booklist Children's Dictionary Roundup (grades K-12)

• Booklist Editors' Choice: Reference Sources

• Booklist Encyclopedia Update: 2007

• Booklist Nonfiction Series Roundup (searchable online database, preschool through high school books)

• Booklist Twenty Best Bets for Student Researchers (elementary through high school levels): 2007

• Outstanding Reference Sources (2008)

• University Press Books Selected for Public and Secondary School Libraries

Reading List Articles, Columns

Archive of Online Articles from ALA's Book Links: Connecting Books, Libraries, and Classrooms magazine

Thought Bubbles series of columns on graphic novels (2002-2005) by Philip Crawford from ALA's Knowledge Quest magazine

Reading Events, Programs, and Tips

ALA Professional Tips Wiki - Selection (online and print resources for selecting books)

Banned Books Week - September 27-October 4, 2008

Born to Read: How to Raise A Reader

Boys will be...The Unique Reading and Development Needs of Boys in Libraries (Internet Archive version; page currently removed from ALA site)

National Library Week 2008 - April 13-19, 2008

Teen Read Week - October 12-18, 2008

Summer Reading and Learning for Children

Products to Promote Reading from ALA Graphics at the ALA Online Store

February 2008