Guiding early and eager readers to excellent books

CHICAGO— For children, reading level and experience level are not always the same. Eager readers are often interested in ideas and topics that seem advanced, but situations and subjects that sixth graders can handle with aplomb may be emotionally confusing for a younger child. Early and eager readers deserve stories they can get into, information that’s challenging and up to date, and ideas that are new and stimulating, all while remaining age appropriate. In “Excellent Books for Early and Eager Readers,” published by ALA Editions, children’s lit expert Kathleen T. Isaacs offers 300 book recommendations for early able readers ages 4–10, honing in on writing that will challenge but not frustrate young readers. Assisting librarians, teachers, and caregivers, this resource

• provides recommended titles both old and new in a multitude of genres, including short stories, mystery, fantasy, adventure, picture books, poetry, historical fiction, classics, biography, folklore, mythology, fairy tales, animal fantasy, and nonfiction;
• offers guidance on steering kids towards the best books for their age;
• points to resources for finding quality books; and
• includes an extensive index for locating titles, authors, and themes quickly

A longtime teacher and occasional librarian, Isaacs has worked with young people of all ages at schools and colleges in Maryland, Washington, D.C., British Hong Kong, and China as well as the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. Primarily a middle-school humanities teacher, she also taught children’s and young adult literature at Towson University and geography to highly able elementary-school students for the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. She has served on or chaired numerous ALA book award committees, including the Newbery, Batchelder, Best Books for Young Adults, the ALSC Notable Children’s Books, and ALSC Sibert Awards. She writes and reviews books for Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and other professional journals. She is also the author of “Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children” and “Bugs, Bogs, Bats, and Books.”

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. ALA Editions publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5052 or editionsmarketing@ala.org.