Customer Reviews

Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a children's librarian I am constantly seeking out adults who like books for kids as much as I do--Valerie and Walter fit the bill. This is filled with books that kids will actually like and want to read--I wish I could give a copy to every school teacher who makes up a summer reading list full of books that were published 50 years ago and then wonders why no one read any of them over the summer. A wonderful resource for parents who care about what their kids read, as well. Bravo.

Best Books for Children, 2nd Ed is a book to be valued. It's comprehensive and crossed-referenced. A 560-page reference guide featuring best books for children--fiction and nonfiction-though age eleven. Book information includes: title, author, illustrator, format, publisher, themes and sometimes comments from Valerie and Walter. The themes are single word descriptions. Parents will know exactly what is in the book. The book is divided into parts according to a book's listening or interest level. Also, instead of using reading ages, they use general ranges, such as "all, baby, preschoolers, early elementary, middle elementary, and pre-adolescents."

The books listed range from the old familiars to the most recent, such as Harry Potter. This is a reference book written with parents and professionals in mind. Wouldn't it be nice to know that your local school or library used Valerie and Walter's Best Books for Children regularly? Why not recommend it?

Compared to other similar books, this book is difficult to navigate and difficult to use.

I don't like the way books are sorted - by both a reading level and a listening/interest level simultaneously. So to find books for a 5th grader, I have to go through several different groupings, within which is fiction, science/fantasy, etc.. all intermingled. Very disjointed and unsatisfying.

In addition, listings don't have basic information such as the year of publication, number of pages, awards received, etc..

The comments themselves were of interest, but no more so than the other books' contents.

Maybe it's improved since this edition - I hope so!

If you're looking for clear, fun, expert advice about the books children truly enjoy look no further. Every parent, grandparent and teacher should have this on their shelf. This is THE best book to buy for a baby shower gift.

Having attended one of Walter's workshops on book selection, I look forward to his updated books. He is, as he says, opinionated, but he backs up his opinions with solid expertise. Unlike other "guide" books, his is a lot of fun to read, which in this over-information age, is an important consideration when choosing reference books.