The Children’s Literature ­Selection Handbook, K8

Kaaland offers a guide to keeping kids engaged in reading by providing them with what they really want to read. Bypassing the traditional review of children’s ­classics, ­Kaaland focuses on current literature, ­offering a concise overview of the literature selection ­process. The book is divided into 12 genre chapters, along with an index, bibliography, and an appendix of children’s and young adult ­literature awards. Genres include fiction, nonfiction, biography, and picture books, as well as ­poetry and graphic novels. Kaaland clearly states that if she mentions a title, she likes it, and the more description a title receives, the higher the overall rating. She also states that she does not have a separate diversity chapter because she does not want to isolate a particular group. Instead, she advocates for the broadest possible readership when selecting books across all youth audiences and reading levels. Throughout, she touches on the roles of lateral reading and text format/structure, discussing their effects on reading choices. She also notes that librarians must be careful not to allow personal biases to intrude into collection development. Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and beyond, along with a bibliography.