Books, reading and self-directed learning are things that I am passionate about. Book reviews and book recommendations are included in this section. While I am still partial to paper books, I realize that eBooks and many other online reading materials are important sources, too, so reviews and recommendations of those are also included.
Recommendations are grouped into the following categories:
- Children’s Books
- Baby through Kindergarten (0 to 5 years)
- Elementary/Primary (5 to 10 years)
- Middle and High School/Secondary (10-16 years)
- Adult Books
A Note about Age-Appropriateness for Children’s Books: I completely disagree with many of the “recommended” reading ages for Children’s books because I think those unnecessarily limit material for growing minds. Every child is different, but most have this in common: the more you read to them and with them, the greater attention span and understanding they acquire. Who cares if they know what all the words mean? Hearing you read is how they learn! So read anything and everything to them. You will figure out what they like by their requests: which books do they ask to read over and over again?
Libraries vs. Buying: I believe that parents and caregivers are obligated to introduce their children to libraries. Libraries and librarians provide a wealth of resources for learning! They are also great tools to help any person (child or adult) figure out which books they like the most. On of my favorite techniques is to check out stacks and stacks of books for our daughter, then see which ones she requests again and again. The ones that we renew for our maximum time allowable, the ones that we check out again and again, the ones that she asks for over and over again, these are the ones that we buy.
I try to use this same trick for myself, although buying books is probably my biggest weakness. Once my house and basement began to overflow with books, I realized I had to reign in my book-buying addiction. Checking out books from the library first is also a great way to explore new subjects and genres. Learn to love your library!
General Thoughts on Reading: You can find some of my thoughts about why reading is so important in many of the posts in the Reading category, along with photo documentation of my child’s progression as a reader. These posts below are a good place to start:
Always Under Construction: As with any blog and, in particular, the resources section of this blog, these pages are “living documents” and are constantly being updated. If you have favorite books, suggested reading, and even if you disagree with me, please share in the comments section at the bottom of most pages. Or drop me an email at stephanie at OneMooreInTheOven dot com.
One Moore In The Oven 