Product Description

BOOKS THAT TURN CHILDREN INTO LIFE-LONG READERS!

Most children want to read a book because it's about something they love or are curious about--dinosaurs, magic tricks, ballerinas, sports, secret codes, and a host of other topics. Now with this unique book, Kathleen Odean, current chair of the Newberry Award committee and author of Great Books for Girls and Great Books for Boys, makes it easy for parents and teachers to satisfy a child's individual cravings for good reading on any subject. Inside you'll discover

 ¸  More than 750 books divided into 55 categories, from Airplanes to Zoos
 ¸  Professional appraisals that are balanced, intelligent, and fun to read
 ¸  Stimulating book-related activities and helpful tips for parents

Whether the format is picture book, poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, here are wonderful selections like Why Does the Cat Do That? and Exploring the Titanic . . . tried and true characters, from the beloved aardvarks Arthur and D.W. to the hilarious Junie B. Jones and the courageous Harry Potter . . . new heroes and heroines to cheer for such as Katherine Paterson's Princess Miranda from The Wide-Awake Princess and the exciting Jack Black from Jack Black and the Ship of Thieves by Carol Hughes.

Great Books About Things Kids Love creates a book-rich environment in which the habit of reading can take hold and flourish for a lifetime.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #670184 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Released on: 2001-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

From School Library Journal
This is a wonderful book to give to parents who want to extend their child's reading beyond the school day as the information about guiding a child's reading is written with them in mind. It will also be useful for public and school librarians in developing subject bibliographies. There are tips on topics ranging from reading aloud to using books to enhance field trips and travel. The arrangement falls under eight broad categories: animals; arts and crafts; folklore and fantasy; history and adventure; games, puzzles, hobbies, and holidays; science, math, and technology; sports; and transportation and engineering. Books were chosen because librarians and teachers have found them to be great read-alouds or big hits with independent readers. Most of the titles are standard, recommended books, and bibliographic information includes everything except the ISBN. The arrangement within the broad categories is by age level. This requires use of the index to determine if a title has been included. Fortunately, there are separate indexes for author, title, and subject.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A child's interest in a particular subject can be a great motivation for reading, and Great Books makes it easy to find age-appropriate titles on subjects from magic to black history to explorers. Odean (Great Books for Girls, LJ 1/15/97, Great Books for Boys, LJ 9/15/98), a Newbery Award committee member, organized the book into eight broad subjects with subcategories. Entries include bibliographic information, age range, and annotations (ISBNs not included). Within subject areas, items follow an age-level order. Librarians will find the arrangement useful for recommending books and for collection development. Titles selected are currently in print and reflect the author's concern for balancing diverse cultures, girl and boy main characters, and, in the case of picture books, artistic style. The book offers resources and tips for parents on topics such as book theme parties, reading aloud, fiction in series, and much more. Librarians needing subject information may rely on the Dewey arrangement of Juliette Yaakov's Children's Catalog (H.W. Wilson, 1996 and supplements) or the subject index in Eden Ross Lipson's newly revised The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children (Three Rivers, 2000). In view of Great Books's useful format, lively style, and affordable price, libraries will want reference and circulating copies. Recommended for public libraries. Katie Sasser, Bowdoin Coll. Lib., Brunswick, ME
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The author of the popular Great Books for Girls (1997) and Great Books for Boys (1998) continues her subject approach with another excellent bibliography of children's books. The 55 subjects, organized in eight broad categories, include everything from cats and horses to baseball, robots, dinosaurs, knights, wizards, cars, trucks, and trains. The annotations in big clear type are more like reviews, relaxed in style, both enthusiastic and informative. The primary audience is parents, and Odean, a children's librarian, frames the bibliography with hands-on chapters about reading aloud, encouraging your child to read, book clubs, television tie-ins, and other resources. Always her focus is on reading for pleasure, even as she makes the point that children may not know what's out there and often need an adult to give them books they will never forget. Like Betsy Hearne's Choosing Books for Children (1999) and Eden Ross Lipson's New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children (2000), this is a strong parent's resource that also belongs on the professional shelf. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

An Awesome Resource
This is another great guide of recommended books by Kathleen Odean. In this book, there are over 750 books about the things kids love, and many, many different subjects. Whether you like cats, kings and queens, basketball, math, or magic tricks, there's sure to be a book in here that is right for you. The book is divided into subject categories with categories about the subject. (e.g.: sports, than one of the categories is football.) The back of the book includes a basic reference shelf for home, book-related parties, tips for reading out loud, lists of books in series, and much, much more. This is an invaluable resource and a perfect gift for all kids.

A great gift and resource for parents.
Kathleen Odean's books are a gift for parents and grandparents. With so many books to chose from for kids, we all need help picking the perfect one for our kids or our friend's kids or our grandkids. Odean has expertly organized the best of the best and given us a great guide. I would recommend this to everyone and plan to give it to all my friends who are parents or grandparents.