Sunday, December 9, 2018

A season for celebrating! 10 years of Great Kid Books

Ten years ago, I started this website as a place to share book recommendations with parents. I wanted to tell parents not only about books I loved, but also ones I saw children responding to.

I was struck by how often I felt overwhelmed as a young parent, looking for books for my children. They were drawn to familiar series and characters, often those they recognized from TV. I recognized classics. But how could I sort through the hundreds of new books for children, and know what they would enjoy?

Over the past ten years, I have written over 1,000 posts sharing books for children ages 4 to 14. This has brought me great joy and has broadened my own world immensely. I am so grateful to the authors and illustrators who create wonderful books for children. I also appreciate the kidlit community of librarians and bloggers that I have found both online and in person.

To celebrate, I will be sharing ten lists this season, each with ten terrific titles both new and old. I will also be randomly giving away books to share -- so please leave comments about what books you are excited to share with young readers in your life. I'll link here as the posts go live.

  1. Ten terrific fantasy books 
  2. Ten winning sports books
  3. Ten top books for speaking your truth
  4. Ten outstanding audiobooks
  5. Ten terrific chapter books for growing readers
  6. Ten favorite picture books
  7. Ten funny books to get you laughing
  8. Ten graphic novels to read again & again
  9. Ten swoon-worthy first romances
  10. Ten inspiring biographies & memoirs

Thank you, dear readers, for your patience this fall. I've started a new job as the librarian at Albany High School, just north of Berkeley, CA. It's exciting to be in a new school, and it's taken a huge amount of energy to step into this new role. I have had to write less here, as I spend more time teaching, planning and grading at the high school.

Above all else, thank you my readers for encouraging me, for recognizing the importance of sharing books with young readers.

©2018 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

8 comments:

  1. Happy blog birthday, Mary Ann! I'm so glad you are still here and posting! Here's to many more.

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    1. Thank you so much, Jen -- I truly appreciate your support!

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  2. Ten years! That is amazing! Congratulations, Mary Ann. Your website holds true to its name and I have found wonderful titles here in the last ten years. Wishing you many more!

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    1. Thank you so much, Armin -- I treasure our friendship!

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  3. Congratulations on 10 years of blogging, Mary Ann! You are definitely one of my go-tos when I need great books.

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    1. Thank you, Terry -- I truly appreciate your encouragement.

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  4. Thanks for your sharing. I always check out your recommended books for my daughter.

    Happy 10th Anniversary and Merry Christmas!

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  5. Thank you! I'm so glad you're finding books that she likes.

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