how to buy a children's book #1

You come to me, with hope in your hearts and a mounting amount of holiday pressure between your ears. You have come to buy a book for a child in your life and you want my help. I am a bookseller who specializes in children's books. Some of you know the book you need or, at the very least, the series they are reading now. But some of you have never met the child to be gifted and have 15 minutes to get to their house. Those in the first group may happily read this and feel a little smug. But for the rest of you, here is a short lesson in how to buy a children's book.

The first thing to understand is that there is no average child and there isn't anything that THEY are all reading. Some kids don't like to read, some only want real life stories and don't like fantasy and some are still learning to read. But do not despair, you like to read and your memory can conjure a truly wonderful gift, all you have to do is remember. Since many great picture books, like Caps For Sale, have been published as board books, go with an old friend. (Just don't buy Goodnight Moon, everyone has 7 copies of that.)

If the kid is in early reading, don't try to keep up with their reading level, it will make you crazy. This is the time for collections of stories. A different story every night keeps the poor, beleaguered parents from reaching for the bottle. Don't feel constrained by the paucity of big collections and remember your old favorites. Homer Price and My Father's Dragon work very well for this. Mr. H. Potter does not work because you don't want to condemn your friends to reading a Quiddich match out loud. But for anyone from 5 on up to say, 100, the collection of creation myths by Rudyard Kipling called Just So Stories is deeply wonderful.

Please ask for suggestions, that's why this blog is here.