Best 100 children's books

In case you've missed the book list being posted by every news network, I want to point you to it. I love books. I love the library. In my few missions-related trips to other countries, I realized that most of the world raises kids without libraries. I can't even imagine. When my daughter has a problem, we read a book. When she has a new interest be it hair styles or monkeys, we find a book. When I just know of a fabulous stories with great lessons, I check them out. The librarians all know my name and automatically get out my large pile of books on hold when I enter the door. We love stories!

And Scholastic just completed a dream list for this book lover. They created a list of top 100 children's books for Parent and Child Magazine. I don't know that I could actually rank these books, but I still love the list. And this list created by Scholastic includes almost all of my favorites. Need a book for you kid? Check out this list. (But still, even if the book makes the list, check the content before giving the book to your kid).

The only think I dislike about the list is that it doesn't differentiate by age. A Wrinkle in Time is right next to The Snowy Day. But if you have a fourth grader, these stories are so well crafted that if she can get over the fact that it is a board book (have her read to her baby cousin), she will still love even the simplest of these stories. And then when I went to Scholastic's site (as opposed to reading on news readers) I could click on an age group (at the top) and it would highlight only the books in a certain age group or I could sort the books by genre. Awesome. Happy reading.

Image collage from USA today

Scholastic's Top 100 Children's Books

Learning about beauty, in a healthy way

I noticed my tone yesterday was combative. Fight the culture. Resist the portrayals of beauty. But I left out a huge part of how women are made. They love to be beautiful. And while true beauty comes from within, knowing how to care for and enjoy the beautiful traits God has given you is necessary. Teaching our daughters to nurture their beauty is one of the jobs of a mom. So if we can't begin by following the advice of all-too-present media and marketers, where do we go? And what if, like me, you are woefully inept at taking care of your own beauty?

Time for some resources. I recommend reading these books with your daughter(s), engaging them in conversations and then helping them apply the things they are ready and excited to try. Don't make your 8-year-old use acne control products or deodorant unless she is really developing early and needs them. But if she loves nail polish, give her the tools and knowledge to take care of her nails well.

Start with the topics that interest your girl (nails, braids, etc.). Establish a routine. To make reading together extra special, make a quick treat you don't normally have and sit in a cozy spot where no one can interrupt.  At my house, mommy/daughter reading time happens when dad and sister are at soccer. We get root beer and cheese puffs ( an unhealthy adoration we both share but I rarely buy). Sometimes eating the cheese puffs makes us giggle when we read the sections about healthy eating but we eat extra produce at dinner that day and giggle more.

My favorite so far in the beauty department is by one of my favorite tween authors, Nancy Rue. The Beauty Book and is a nonfiction companion to one favorite fiction series for 9-year-old girls, the Lily series. The Beauty Book is not about puberty. It's about our own beauty and how to take care of it. It covers everything from God's perspective and gives practical advice about how to care for hair, nails, hands, feet, and skin. It was a motivator for my Bird to wash her hair with less grumbling and to try to stop her nail biting habit ( I gave up nagging on her long ago, realizing she would have to choose when to stop).

Another fun book is Ann Akers Johnson's Hair: A Book of Braiding and Styles. So this is an old fashioned book of braids. It doesn't have modren hairstyles, just classic braids. But my girls were anxious to learn how to braid in different styles and this mom only knew how to french braid. This book helped.

And here is the book that is next on our list to read: American Girl's Spa Fun. American Girl has numerous titles that could be highlighted in this post. I've never been disappointed with an American Girl book, but I haven't read most of their beauty-related books so I can't recommend them here. Spa Fun has recipes for facial, hair treatment and lip gloss. Things to keep and things to give away. I think it will create great mother/daughter moments.

Sometimes I struggle with how much to talk to my 9-year-old about beauty. Would it be better to ignore the issue?  I don't know the best answer but I do believe that I want to talk with her about beauty before marketers or peers beat me to it.

Finding Books Kids Love

Maybe I should be a librarian. I would love to be paid to follow the book industry for kids. I would love to sit behind a desk and help a kid, who has never liked to read, find a book he loves. I have my own lists of books I love at each stage of development, but today, I will point you to the professionals, the ones who get paid to do one of my dream jobs.

As a parent, your job should not end with the enforcement of the required reading time for homework. If you don't help your kid find fabulous stories, you will be limiting her knowledge, her vocab and her imagination. Most kids will find one author, series or type of book and read it for months. Expand her world. If the only books she will read are Judy Moody or Captain Underpants, make a deal with her. If she will read Shiloh or Ella Enchanted or Where the Sidewalk Ends, then she can buy another Judy Moody book. If she wants to read a book that you know is wonderful but the reading level is too high, offer to read it to her. Or if your kid loves the computer, check out this list of best author websites. Many of them have games, stories and other interactive features to teach kids about the author and his/her characters/plots/time periods.

Image from ncbla blog , June 21,2011

And before I share these inspiring lists and you start reserving a pile too big to carry from your library, remember that these lists come from people you don't know, who have values you don't know. Just because a book has won awards and pint-sized readers are lining up to meet the author, doesn't mean the book will support your values. I urge you to read many of the books yourself. And when time doesn't permit, at least find a summary or two online.  Know what your daughter is reading and address important issues with her.

Here are the reading lists,  but I do have to put in a plug for a great list maker...the children's librarian at your local library. Tell her about your kid and what she loves and you just might get a personalized list.  Just skimming these makes me wish for a snow day, hot tea and a good book.

Oprah's Reading List for kids: These lists are grouped by age starting with babies and ending with 12 and up. You can further divide the lists by categories like fantasy, classics, boys, girls, illustration, growing up, etc.

Reading Rockets summer book list: I know summer is over but I love this list. It is broken into age groups and has really unusual books, mostly new publications. After reading this list, I will be checking out I Feel Better If There is a Frog in My Throats: History's Strangest Cures and Seabird Forest (scientists just solved the mystery of why the Marbled Murrelet seabird goes far inland into a forest to nest), both are picture books for ages 6-9. Reading Rockets may be the first place to go if you are a parent with a struggling reader and want tips on how to help them learn to decode.

James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead site is structured much like Oprah's. There are reading level-appropriate lists and categories like holiday specific lists, summer reading, best books of the decade, graphic novels and more.

And while I think mostly about girls, because that is what God gave me, I have many friends with boys. And boys typically are more reluctant readers than girls. Check out this great site for boys called guysread. I love the categories like Space, without aliens; Space, with Aliens; At least one Explosion, Realistic Kids in Realistic situations, Classics that actually hold up,  etc.  There are also great tips for parents with boys who do not want to read.

RIF book lists. Reading is Fundamental has compiled age appropriate favorites as well as lists based on ethnic themes, grossness, spookiness and holidays.

AR What kids are reading report: Maybe this isn't really inspiring but to a book loving mom like me it is fascinating, you can download the 2011 report of What Kids Are Reading, from the Accelerated Reader program, an organization uniquely equipped to gather such information.

There. Now you have a place to start finding books for your princesses. Of course, there are more traditional sites for book lists too. Just search for  "ALA reading lists" (American Library Association). Happy reading.