Finding good books for your kids to read can be challenging. Over the years I've often referred to a number of book lists to help me find new reading material. Here are two of my favorites.
- 1000 Good Books List, by Classical Christian Education. This list is separated by general reading level.
- Ambleside Online Booklists. These lists are separated by year (grade level).
Sometimes kids have a favorite author, book series, or genre, and they are resistant to trying new books. When that happens, one way to encourage them to try something new is to find other books that are similar to their favorite book or author.
Here are three online database that can help you find similar books and authors for your children.
This site by Scholastic helps you find children's books by reading level, topic, genre, or similarity to other books. (Click the image below to enlarge.)
This excellent database allows you to find books based on reading level. You're also able to find out which libraries in your area have the book in their collection. When you visit the site, you might wonder what a Lexile measure is. In a nutshell, it's a measure of a student's reading level or the difficulty of a text. (Click the image below to enlarge.)
This is a subscription-based database. However, most public libraries will have a subscription, so as a patron you will likely be able to access the database through your library's website. NoveList is another excellent way to find similar books to ones that your child already enjoys. Check with your library to see if you have access to this wonderful resource. (Click the image below to enlarge.)
How do you find reading books for your children?