From a new baby registry to holiday presents to visit presents to school required reading at all ages, books connect us with our grandchildren and we want our grandchildren to connect us with books. We have reached to era where we grandparents tend to read books on our electronic devices, so we have to tell our grandchildren we are reading to be role models and encouragement for them to read! However, giving grandchildren books they can hold and keep is still important to this Grandma. Holding and cuddling with grandchildren and books binds us together and makes positive experiences to create memories for grandchildren of us grandparents. Reading the books our grandchildren have as required school reading enables us to enhance their learning experience and their connection to us when we read the book too and discuss it with them.
What we grandparents want to do is build a grandchildren’s book library, and try to mix classics with new books, books in our grandchildren’s interest areas and books to expand their horizons. For a few dollars per visit present, we can create a hobby that has such an important impact on our grandchildren’s lives. Maneuvering each of the best websites can be made easier, and, with the holidays and visits with grandchildren upon us, here are some specific links and tips, with leaving the one best website for finding the best books for our grandchild for the last. See if you can guess what it is.
TIME MAGAZINE LIST OF THE 100 BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF ALL TIME
There are several lists of best children’s books of all times. See Common Sense Media and Amazon below. Time Magazine gives us their opinion and a list of 100 books to choose from. Click here.
BARNES AND NOBLE’S LINKS TO AWARD WINNING CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Toy portfolio which lists the best of the best Oppenheimer Awards has been redesigned to concentrate on toys, rather than books, so do not try to navigate the website for books anymore, but make it your first stop for Platinum Toy Award winning toys. As a matter of fact, the concentration of their best choice children’s book reviews seems to be 2009 to 2013. The fastest and easiest link to reach their past awards lists for Oppenheimer Awards best children’s books is on Barnes and Noble. Click here.
Also, Barnes and Noble makes it easy to search award books by category, such as Newberry or Caldecott award books on one link. You are shown the most recent winners, but right under the title of the award is a link to the category to “see all.”
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The award is given to the author of “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The Caldecott award is given for illustrations. These are just two of many award categories for children’s books each year, but two important categories to search.
NEW YORK TIMES CHILDREN’S BOOKS BEST SELLER LIST ISSUED WEEKLY
Award winning children’s books and best-selling children’s books are not the same, although when award categories are announced annually, there is usually a bump in sales for an award winner. The New York Times best-selling books each week for children are in several categories: picture books, children’s series, middle grade hard cover, and young adult hard cover. Just put in google “New York Times children’s best sellers” and the category to reach the week’s list and descriptions. Here is a link to December 17, 2023, best sellers for picture books.
COMMON SENSE MEDIA BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS BY CATEGORY
Common Sense Media book reviews start at age 2 and go to age 18. They actually have a direct link to Amazon and New York Times best sellers. But, most of all, if you are researching books by category, this is an easy website to maneuver. They even have their own list of books your grandchildren should read by age 12, lists of books for reluctant readers, lists of best superheroes books, books about diversity, and more categories than you can imagine. Click here.
AMAZON FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS SELECTION
Amazon now makes choosing a children’s book by category the easiest shopping for grandparents. Who would expect less! I can understand why it seems forty cents of every shopping dollar is spent on Amazon. Here are the Amazon links for children’s books:
Shop by Category
Baby-2 Years Old
Ages 3-5 Years Old
Ages 6-8 Years Old
Ages 9-12 Years Old
Teen & Young Adult
K-12 Teachers
Featured in Children’s Books
Best Children’s Books of 2023
100 Children’s Books to Read in a Lifetime
Award Winning Books
Best Books of the Month
Best Sellers
Personalized Books
Kindle Children’s Books
Seeing my younger daughter’s baby registry for baby number three made me realize that my book research has had an impact. On the registry were the black and white books recommended for newborns that I found many years ago, that newborns see shadows and black and white and we can read such board books to infants. I tested Amazon’s search feature for infants’ black and white board books. Leaving out infants in the search, the list of the black and white board books (newborns see outlines of black and white), came up at this link.
So, although Amazon is clearly easiest to navigate, and this Grandma’s choice for best “one stop shop” website for children’s books for grandchildren of all ages, sometimes it is better to have options and comparison reference websites too.
Happy Reading With and To Grandchildren During the Holidays and Year Round!
Joy,
Mema
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