New-to-Me Blog: Kids Books Worth Reading

I've been wanting to share some links to Kids Books Worth Reading in my last couple of Links I'm Loving Lately round-ups, but thought they really deserved their own post. I found this new-to-me blog via Everyday Reading's How to Make Using the Library Less Stressful series. For that series, Janssen tackled common library challenges with the help of a bunch of other book-loving parents, librarians, bloggers, and podcasters. Kids Books Worth Reading was on the list of contributors and piqued my interest because it's run by Janssen's mom!

From her blog description:

"Are you looking for Children and Young Adult books that are worth reading? You’ve come to the right place! I have a master list of over 700 titles to share. My purpose with this blog is to share book titles that most parents today have either forgotten about or never heard of in the first place."

Carole is a mom and grandma who homeschooled for 15 years and has a degree in English Literature. She has said her posts are recommendations rather than "reviews" and typically includes a description of the book and some thoughts on why she recommends it. She also lists reading level, number of pages, publication year, and any relevant awards. Posts tend to be short and I just love that! I like both the blog and Instagram account, but they do share roughly the same information, depending on where you might prefer to follow along.

There is a definite focus on older books and that might not be for everyone. I do not feel there is an intention to make any kind of judgement against newer books or books not featured on this site -- she's just sharing under-the-radar books from her extensive reading experience with her family she hopes others will love too. (And there are some newer titles, they just aren't as prevalent). I particularly love learning about older Newbery titles I haven't seen before as well as reading recommendations for books I own but haven't read yet -- seeing another vote in their favor gives those titles a little boost on the old TBR stack! This site has been a great addition to my children's book resources.

To give a feel for the site, I thought I'd share some links to a sampling of posts I've enjoyed:

Books I Bought After Seeing Them Featured:

*The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney (2005)

*Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy (1955)

*Fog Magic by Julia L. Sauer (1943)

*Mary on Horseback: Three Mountain Stories by Rosemary Wells (1998)

Books I Already Own (and really should read)

*The Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth by Lloyd Alexander (1963)

*Tales from Dimwood Forest series by Avi (1995 – 2009)

*Shakespeare Stories & Shakespeare Stories II by Leon Garfield (1985 & 1994) 

*Redwall Series (22 volumes!!) by Brian Jacques (1986 – 2011)

Books Added to My Wishlist

*The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill (2000)

*The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer (1951)

Check out more:

Kids Books Worth Reading

@childrensbooksworthreading on Instagram

And, of course, I love Everyday Reading too!