The master list of where to find book recommendations for your kids

You don't have to figure this out alone

What books should my kid read?

In this the year of our lord twenty twenty five, the problem in kid lit is no longer one of scarcity. It was an issue before the dawn of the kid lit enlightenment brought about by people like Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary (All hail the queens.)

Now there are truly incredible books for kids—picture books up through middle grade—published every month. Now the issue is how to sort through all of it. How to keep your finger on the pulse of books your kids might like as the fresh wordy waves rush by. How to answer questions like, my kid has read every fantasy on the NYT list…what next? What can I give my kid after he’s devoured Diary of a Wimpy Kid AND Dog Man?¹

Fortunately, there are people who can help. Experts and folks who sort through kid lit on a professional level.

The goal of this here post is to be like that telephone pole with all the flyers on it, only instead of finding a dog-walker, you can come here to find the next read for your kiddo. It will all be compiled here.

This will be a growing list. I will keep it as fleshed out and complete as possible, but inevitably I will miss folks who are doing great work. So tell me about them in comments and I’ll possibly add them to the list! (One note: I am going to try to keep this list to bloggers/substackers and Instagrammers. I think that will keep things manageable.)

So bookmark, save, and come back later when your kid needs a book.

And now, in the words of my new favorite TV star, “Do it, lady.”

Newsletters and Substacks

• Can We Read by

  Sarah Miller
  .

• Books For Kids by

  Julie, Books for Kids

• The Kid Lit Mama by

  Elizabeth | The Kid Lit Mama

• Sharp Read by

  Colby Sharp

• Readable Moments by

  Sri Juneja

• The Magic Book House by

  Katie Wickliff

• Moonbow by

  Taylor Sterling

• Young At Heart by

  Nicole Bennett

• Mittens and Boots by

  Julie Turner

• Chrissie Writes Newsletter by

  Chrissie Wright

• Storied Ink by

  Joyce P. Uglow

Blogs

• Reading Middle Grade by

  Afoma Umesi

• Spooky Middle Grade for your horror readers!

• From The Mixed-Up Files

• Lit Hub

• Mrs. Readerpants

• Kids Book Review

• The Children’s Book Review

• Mr. Schu Reads

Instagram

• Library Mom Books

• The Book Mommy

• The Next Gen Librarian

• Imagination Soup

• Good Book Mom

Podcast

• Middle Grade Matters by

  Shannon Balloon

And hey…one of these might be a good place for your middle grade reader to start… ;)

Where do you find your best kid lit recommendations?

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9 Side Dishes Worth Sharing

1. Ok, this list from

   Brittany Viklund
   of soothing content for both kids and adults was absolutely delightful.

2. Also this insider behind-the-senes of how an early reader chapter book is made was really fun and super interesting. Thanks for sharing,

   Greg Pizzoli
   .

3. I already recommended

   Melissa Taylor
   above but her grade-level summer reading lists are top notch. Check out this one for fifth graders.

4. Who knew an interview with R.L. Stein could be so uplifting and delightful. I mean…okay, yeah, of course it is.

5. This awesome video of writing advice came my way courtesy of

   Austin Kleon

6. Not every writer is super great at explaining what they do, but

   Jon Klassen
   is.
   Chrissie Wright
   recommended these two podcast episodes and I devoured them. Listen to Jon on The Reading Culture podcast and The Island of Brilliant podcast.

7. Sometimes listening to marketing and social media advice makes me want to stab my eyeballs, but occasionally it’s delightful and creative. This interview with social media manager

   Grayson Kelly
   (manager of the Columbus Library social media) and
   Rachel Karten
   is both a delightful read, and inspiring to any of us creatives wondering how not to lose our souls as we try and use social media in fun and innovative ways.

8. You all know that

   Dave Barry
   is on Substack, right? RIGHT???

9. Why Children’s Books? from The London Review of Books, via

   Andrew Campbell

Share your own favorite sides in the comments!

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Teacher’s Table

Some goodies especially for the teachers:

• 13 signs you used Chat GPT to write that, by

  Thrive by Sean Kernan

• Everything needed to get your young writers started is here in Tools Not Rules: A Writing Guide for Young Creatives.

• Various and free activity sheets up on my Teachers Pay Teachers store! More added all the time, so check back regularly.

  

• I am so, so excited and honored to now be on the roster at the Macmillan Speakers Bureau! For school and other events, you can find my speaker page here!

You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for reading!

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Thanks for coming along everyone! 1) Subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

1. The answer to this is

Mac Barnett

+

Shawn Harris

, Arianne Costner, and Rob Harrell.