Editor’s Note: This article was updated on April 15, 2024 to reflect my updated recommendations regarding Junior Library Guild and to update some information and links that were out-of-date.
As a grown-up you want the kids in your life to read. A common challenge can be finding books they will love. To help you solve that problem I’d like to introduce you to the Junior Library Guild.
About the Junior Library Guild
In a nutshell, Junior Library Guild “follows editorial board member Eleanor Roosevelt’s mantra to put the right book in the hands of every reader–fostering the love of reading and learning as a path to lifelong success.”
JLG provides a subscription service for schools and libraries. The goal is to help school and library staff choose the best books available for kids to add to their collections.
If you’re not a school or library you can’t subscribe to their monthly box, but JLG still offers resources on their websites that can help you build a home collection of books the kids in your life will read.
Here Are Three Ways JLG Can Help You Find Great Books:
1. Use the Categories section of their website
When you review the Categories section of the JLG website you’ll learn about the books they are selecting. It’s a good source for book ideas. You’ll also discover more about the children’s literature industry so that you can pick books for your kids with greater confidence. A great example is a piece they ran recently about the categories that exist in children’s literature. I’m a big fan of graphic novels for reluctant readers. I find many grownups are not familiar with the graphic novel explosion in kid lit – and that’s an example of ideas you will get from their website content.
2. Watch JLG Webcasts
One strategy I use to help connect children with reading books is to use other media to create context for them. An example of what I mean would be to watch the movie version of a story and then read the book. Different brains work different ways – some children (and adults) really benefit from seeing a movie version first. You can use the JLG Webcasts in the same way.
3. Follow their Content
Read their blog. Follow their social media. My experience from 2000 to 2015 was that nearly all the books JLG recommended for children were winners in terms of quality of content and writing, and the reception of the book by children. Among all types of readers. I would often go to the library and do nothing but grab a stack of books bearing the JLG sticker, bringing those books home for the kids to read. Even when I do nothing to introduce the books I find that the kids are rooting through the bag, pulling out these books and reading them.
As I update this article in 2024 I find I must qualify my previous recommendations. Children’s publishing has changed a lot since 2015. All publishing changes; it’s the nature of things. But we are currently seeing trends in children’s literature that will not be welcomed by many families. Parents, be careful with all the books your children read. Read those books first. You might be surprised by what you find, even in books for children as young as preschool. Some issues are very overt and easy to spot. There are also troubling trends that are sneaky, and can catch you off-guard. Because JLG books are newly published, these particular trends could be more prevalent in JLG books. Thus, please exercise caution. Only you know your own family and what you wish for your home.
How to Buy
My favorite way to purchase JLG Books is to first visit the shop on their website. Select “Shop” and browse the categories. You can choose the age range you are shopping for, from Elementary to High School. Make a list of books that catch your eye and then hop over to Bookshop, Thriftbooks, or your favorite place to buy books and add the titles to your cart. Remember, only schools and libraries can purchase directly from JLG.
How Do I know if a Book is a Good Book?
Junior Library Guild makes it their mission to follow their “editorial board member Eleanor Roosevelt’s mantra to put the right book in the hands of every reader, fostering the love of reading and learning as a path to lifelong success”.
Does this mean the books on their list will be loved by your kids? As I mentioned earlier, much of the time yes, kids will love the books they recommend. Every kid is unique! So sometimes they may not like a book. Thankfully there are thousands of books for parents and children to choose from.
Which leads me to the number one question that parents ask me ALL the time: “How do I know if a book is a good book?”
My answer to that question is always to follow this rule: “If your child wants to read a book, then you can consider it to be a good book.” Provided of course that the content of the book is suitable for your child and your family.
Four Books to Get You Started
The feature image shown at the top of this article included four of my favorite JLG books. These books are all graphic novels (although Little Robot doubles as a picture book as well). More details about each of them can be found below.
While I picked graphic novels to share with you in this article, know that JLG selects books from every category available in children’s literature, from picture books, to non-fiction, to early readers, middle-grade novels and beyond!
Little Robot
LITTLE ROBOT is a mostly wordless picture book written and illustrated by Ben Hatke. Ideal for emerging readers – children in grades K to 3rd and ages 5 to 9 years old. Published by First Second in 2015. LITTLE ROBOT is also considered a graphic novel. I recommend caution with graphic novels. Some are very, very good; others are pretty weak. Ben Hatke, in my humble opinion, creates some of the finest stories in graphic novel form, and I highly recommend all his books.
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
NARWHAL is an introductory graphic novel written and illustrated by Ben Clanton. It’s a good choice for early emerging readers – children in grades K to 1st and ages 5 to 7 years old. Published by Tundra Books in 2016. NARWHAL is quite popular, due in part to its inclusion at Scholastic Book Fairs. The first book spawned multiple sequels. I really enjoyed this first title and I recommend it.
The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship
THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN BLAKE is a science fiction, time travel, graphic novel mystery written by Philip Pullman and illustrated by Fred Fordham. First published in the United Kingdom by David Fickling Books in 2017. This book is for your older children. I might consider it for middle graders (4th to 6th grade). Generally I recommend this title for fluent readers in 8th grade, age 14 or older. Parents, please review the book first prior to handing it off to your children to read. Philip Pullman is an enormously talented writer. He is the author of THE GOLDEN COMPASS and the many subsequent books and movies for that story line. Be aware that he may include content in his books that does not sit well with your family. I read his books as an adult. I share some of his books with children where I feel it is appropriate. The dedication to this book reads “To the spirit of the Phoenix” – P.P. (read the copyright page for a glimmer into the meaning of this dedication).
Bolivar
BOLIVAR is a delightful graphic novel that both kids and adults will enjoy. Written and illustrated by Sean Rubin. Published in 2017 by Archaia. I’ll clue you in that it’s about dinosaurs, a topic that is often a hit with children. Very nice read for emerging readers, ages 5 to 8 in grades K to 3rd. Highly recommend this book!
Publishing Notes for This Article
This article was first published in March of 2020. It was revised, updated, and republished on April 15, 2024.
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