Early Childhood Education
Dig into a wealth of resources collected here to help teachers, parents, guardians, and caregivers of young people from birth through early elementary grades inspire our kids to become life-long readers.
For an easy-to-print guide to advocating for family literacy, download the NCBLA’s “Early Educator’s Guide to Family Literacy for Early Childhood Educators and Parents of Young Children.” Also, be sure to check out our companion Power Point presentation available in two parts: “Why Do Kids Need Books?” and “Create a Language-Enriched Environment at Home.”
Click on a category or scroll down to discover all the resources we have gathered for Early Childhood educators and parents.
• Resources from the NCBLA
• Book Recommendations
• Website Recommendations
Resources from the NCBLA
Throughout this website, we provide tools—ideas, information, and resources—to help the adults who live and work with young people get and keep kids reading and writing. Following are direct links to NCBLA resources of special interest to early childhood educators.
- Teacher Handbook
The Teacher Handbook includes practical articles on reading and writing, such as: - Education Resources
Included in the wealth of resources on the Education menu are:- Interviews with such literacy advocates and experts as Jon Scieszka, Maria Salvadore, and Robin Smith.
- Lists of new and classic nonfiction and fiction book recommendations organized by academic subject and grade level in In Search of Wonder: Common Core & More. Categories include: “Humans and Animals,” “Math,” “World History,” “Visual Arts,” and more!
- Parent and Guardian Handbook
This handbook provides resources you can share with parents, such as:- “Why Do Kids Need Books?“
- “Parent and Guardian Literacy Basics“
- “Kids See, Kids Do! Become a Literacy Role Model”
- “How to Bridge the Cultural Experience Gap”
- “Family Date Night at the Library: An Affordable Night Out“
- “Helping Your First Grader Learn to Read”
- “Use Technology to Read to Your Child, Even When You’re Far From Home”
- “Creating a Home Library for Your Family on a Limited Budget”
- “Cooking with Cookbooks: Teaching Your Child Basic Cooking and Kitchen Safety“
- “Growing a Spring Garden: Cultivating Plants and Your Child’s Literacy Skills”
- Literacy Resources
In this section you can find statistics regarding the state of literacy and aliteracy in America, as well as links to the websites of other excellent organizations that promote literacy and literature.
Book Recommendations
Following are books about Children’s Literature and children’s book creators for teachers and parents:
100 Best Books for Children by Anita Silvey. From board books to titles for older readers, Silvey narrows the field to 100 “best books,” organizing them by age and providing essays on plot summary, along with fascinating insights into the story behind the story that only an insider would know.
American Picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to the Beast Within by Barbara Bader. A full-scale survey of children’s picture books of the 20th century, examining and evaluating numerous notable books.
Drawn to Enchant: Original Children’s Book Art in the Betsy Beinecke Shirley Collection by Timothy Young. A fascinating historical collection of children’s book art from the Beinecke Library at Yale University.
The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators, edited by Anita Silvey. Entries by nearly 200 experts inform and guide readers about every aspect of children’s literature.
Golden Legacy: The Story of Golden Books by Leonard Marcus. The story of the creation, marketing, and worldwide impact of Little Golden Books.
The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children by Katherine Paterson. A collection of renowned author Katherine Paterson’s essays and speeches on children’s literature.
Myth, Magic, and Mystery: One Hundred Years of American Children’s Book Illustration by Michael Patrick Hearns, Trinkett Clark, and Nichols B. Clark. The finest work of every prominent children’s book illustrator of the 20th century.
Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children by Kathleen T. Isaacs. A survey of the best nonfiction/informational titles for ages 3 through 10.
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Classic teacher and parent guide to great books to read aloud to children of all ages.
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox. Filled with practical advice, activities, and inspiring true read-aloud miracles, this book is a turn-to classic for educators and parents.
Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change by Maxine Greene.
Show Me a Story! Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World’s Most Celebrated Illustrators by Leonard Marcus. Twenty-one top authors and illustrators reveal their inside stories on the art of creating picture books.
Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book by Leonard S. Marcus. Delves into the creative process, the nature of childhood, and picture bookmaking in the culture of our times.
Writing With Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books by Uri Shulevitz. If you are interested in creating your own picture book, or want to know more about the process, this is an excellent resource.
Website Recommendations
Locating the information you need among the vast resources available on the Internet can be a daunting task. Here we recommend informative websites and group them into the following categories. Websites marked with an asterisk are highly recommended.
• About Picture Books
• Children’s Literature
• Diversity in Children’s Books
• Early Literacy Research and Practices
• Literacy Information, Ideas, Activities, and Advocacy for Teachers and Parents
About Picture Books
36 Pages
36pages.com
Illustrator and graphic designer Craig Frazier celebrates the art and design of picture books.
Art of the Picture Book
ArtofThePictureBook.com
Blog exploring the art and design of picture books with author illustrator articles and interviews.
Calling Caldecott
hbook.com/category/blogs/calling-caldecott
The Horn Book Magazine blog that explores current picture books of quality.
Design of the Picture Book
DesignofThePictureBook.com
Blog written by a librarian celebrating great design in current and past picture books.
Eric Carle Museum
PictureBookArt.org
Website of the Eric Carle Museum (located in Amherst, Massachusetts), which collects, preserves, presents, and celebrates picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world.
Mazza Museum
MazzaMuseum.org
Website of the Mazza Museum (located at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio), a museum about picture book art.
National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature
nccil.org
Website for the NCCIL spotlighting picture book art.
Three Books a Night
ThreeBooksaNight.com
Picture book review blog.
Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves
VintageChildrensBooksMyKidLoves.com
A website celebrating classic picture books that continue to engage children.
Children’s Literature
American Library Association Young People’s Book Awards
ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia
The most esteemed awards for children’s books, including current and past award-winners.
American Library Association Notable Children’s Book Recommendations
ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists
Recommendations for exemplary books, videos, recordings, and computer software for children.
Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac
ChildrensBookAlmanac.com
Children’s literature expert Anita Silvey suggests great books to share with kids.
Children’s Book Council
cbcbooks.org
Official website for children’s publishers featuring information about current fiction and nonfiction books for children and teens.
*Cooperative Children’s Book Center
ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Excellent site at the University of Wisconsin-Madison containing information about picture books, authors, illustrators, multicultural books, and so much more!
Educating Alice
Medinger.wordpress.com
Educator Monica Edinger’s blog about teaching and children’s literature.
Fuse # 8 Production
blogs.slj.com/afuse8production
School Library Journal’s popular children’s literature blog by librarian Elizabeth Bird.
Guys Read
GuysRead.com
Website created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers.
The Horn Book
HBook.com
Great site to help you keep abreast of what is new and good in children’s books.
Jim Trelease Read-Aloud Handbook
Trelease-on-Reading.com
Companion website to legendary book.
Planet Esme
PlanetEsme.blogspot.com
Great site to help you keep abreast of what is new and good in children’s books.
*Reading Rockets
ReadingRockets.org
Excellent website for teachers that provides information on great books for kids as well as information about reading readiness and teaching reading.
School Library Journal
slj.com
Children’s book reviews and articles.
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Blaine.org/SevenImpossibleThings
Excellent blog sharing information about children’s books with authors and illustrator interviews.
Diversity in Children’s Books
American Indian Library Association American Indian Youth Literature Awards
ailanet.org/activities/american-indian-youth-literature-award
The award honors the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians.
American Indians in Children’s Literature Blog
AamericanIndiansInChildrensLiterature.blogspot.com
American Library Association Batchelder Awards
ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/batchelderaward
Best books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English.
American Library Association Coretta Scott King Awards
ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards
Best African-American books for children. Be sure to check out TeachingBooks.net, the free Curriculum Resource Center for Coretta Scott King Book Awards.
American Library Association Pura Belpre Book Awards
ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal
The best Hispanic-American books for children.
Arab American National Museum’s Library & Resources Center’s Arab American Book Awards
ArabAmericanMuseum.org/bookaward
A literary program created to honor books written by and about Arab Americana, including fiction and nonfiction books for children.
Asian Pacific American Librarian Association’s Asian Pacific American Award for Literature
apalaweb.org/awards/literature-awards
These awards honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.
Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Awards
JewishLibraries.org
Given to encourage the publication of outstanding books of positive Jewish content for children.
The Brown Bookshelf
TheBrownBookshelf.com
Designed to push awareness of the myriad of African-American voices writing for young readers.
Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature
csmcl.org
A leading educational research center in the field of multicultural literature whose mission is to preserve the richness of the many cultures in the field of children’s and young adult literature.
Children’s Book Council Diversity Book Suggestions
cbcdiversity.com
Multiculturalism Rocks!
Multiculturalism.Rocks
This blog by Nathalie Mvondo celebrates cultural diversity in children’s literature and the people who make it happen.
We Need Diverse Books
WeNeedDiverseBooks.org
Organization that promotes literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people by putting more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children.
Worlds of Words
wowlit.org
Worlds of Words builds bridges across global cultures through children’s and adolescent literature—great book recommendations.
Early Literacy Research and Practices
National Association for the Education of Young Children
naeyc.org
Reading Rockets
ReadingRockets.org/research/topic/earlyliteracy
Scholastic
Teacher.Scholastic.com
Literacy Information, Ideas, Activities, and Advocacy for Teachers and Parents
Get Ready to Read
GetReadyToRead.org
Everything from literacy screening tools to skill building activities to family literacy outreach.
Grow Up Reading
GrowUpReading.org
Terrific site developed by the West Bloomfield Township Public Library in West Bloomfield, Michigan, offers parents, early care providers, and others a quick and easy guide to brain development and emergent literacy for children from birth through second grade.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
naeyc.org
Essential handout covering early childhood literacy.
National Institute for Literacy Early Childhood Literacy Knowledge and Instruction
nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/documents/NELPEarlyBeginnings09.pdf
Reading Rockets
ReadingRockets.org
Exceptional website. Information includes but is not limited to: basic information and research; bilingual parent tip sheets; learning disability information; early literacy videos; and pre-writing skills.
Reading Rockets: Rationale for Early Literacy Curriculum Advocacy in States and Communities
ReadingRockets.org/article/early-literacy-policy-and-practice-preschool-years