Beautiful! 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up
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Both a list of recommended books and an interactive journal, 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up: The Must-Read Book List for Kids by Bianca Schulze, is a beautiful tribute to children’s literature, designed to encourage readers to read and expand their worlds. Beautiful because it’s about children’s literature and beautiful in it’s playful presentation as well.
101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up
If you’re wondering how the author choose the books, Bianca Schulze writes, “The 101 awesome books contained in these pages have one collective message: Be kind, be brave, and make good choices. Remember the struggles of those that came before you and those who will come after you. Be true to yourself, and with every page you turn, live your life like an epic adventure.”
I like that! How about you?
The author, Bianca Schulze, writes The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother, and children’s book lover. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s bookseller, Bianca’s goal is very similar to my own here at Imagination Soup, to share her passion to help grow readers.
Organized by age groups, the book starts with a list for ages 4 and up and continues with books until 11 and up. You’ll see familiar favorites such as The Hundred Dresses and The Little Prince and discover books you’ve yet to love –maybe A Long Walk to Water or George, for example.
The pages of 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up pop with bright colors and playful illustrations by Shaw Nielsen. Each page gives the age recommendation, genre, publisher, publication date, and page count. More than that, you can read more about the book– a synopsis as well as some of the lessons you might find within it’s pages.
The book’s pages also have a “what to read next” section plus an interesting factoid about the author.
I think the interactive part at the end of each page is such a great addition to 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up. Check if you’ve read the book, how many stars (out of five) you rate it, your favorite character, and any notes.
My 11-year old daughter just finished Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli so she could fill in this page next. (As an aside, she blogs about her book recommendations on Ninja Kitty Cupcake so if you have a child who might enjoy reading a blog of poems, stories, crafts, and books from a kid’s perspective, I highly recommend it!)
The book finishes with a section dividing the book titles into genres and a pull out illustrated poster of all the book illustrations.
Fabulous. I love it!
What do you think?
