K is for Kid Lit #AtoZChallenge

by Donna Huber

For the A to Z Challenge, I'm discussing different book genres/categories. Each day, I will give a few details about the genre/category and an example or two. I would love to know your thoughts on the genre/category and if you have any reading suggestions. Be sure to check out all of my A to Z posts.

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Kid Lit is just what it sounds - books for kids. Technically, it is children's literature but I didn't have anything else for K, and with the advent of hashtags #KidLit was more Twitter-friendly. 

Kid Lit covers everything from picture books to easy readers to chapter books. These books are often colorful and sometimes involve other senses such as touch. They cover all kinds of topics and introduce children to the written word. The target audience is kids from birth to 10 or 11 years old. 

Picture Books

Picture books are what they seem - full of images and few or no words. They may have tactile properties - wrinkle pages, rubber corners (for tasting!), fuzzy sheep, mirror paper. etc. - that engages a child who is curious about the world around them and wants to use all their senses to learn about that world. I don't remember too many picture books from my childhood, but I participate in the Kindle Challenges and I usually go for the short books which often means kid books. Last December I discovered a beautiful picture book:

Every Little Kindness by Marta Bartolj

Follow the trail of good deeds in this beautiful wordless picture book to learn how small acts of kindness can make all the difference! When one act of kindness sparks another, anything is possible! As a girl searches for her lost dog, a simple act of generosity ripples into a wave of good deeds. In the course of a single day, each considerate action weaves lives together and transforms a neighborhood for the better. This wordless story, told in beautiful illustrations, demonstrates how every little kindness, shared from person to person, can turn a collection of strangers into a community, and—even though we might not always see it—make the world a more vibrant and compassionate place to be.

Buy Every Little Kindness at Amazon

Easy Reader Books

Easy reader books are for kids who are just learning to read. They often have a few lines of text on each page but are still fully illustrated. Back in 2011 while sorting through some boxes at my parents' house I came across some of my favorite children's books. You can check out my childhood book memory post. I mentioned in that post the first book I "read", read is in quotes because really I just memorized the story and pretended to read it aloud. We've gone through a lot of boxes of books since then but I still haven't found the book. I wish I could remember the title it was something like I'm Not Scared of the Dark. I remember there was a blue horse (I remember it because sometimes it "disappeared" from the story - the pages stuck together and you didn't realize it. It is how Mom figured out that I just had the story memorized - I "read" the lines on the blue horse page but had skipped the page). 

Dr. Seuss's books are probably the easy reader books that every generation is familiar with. My nephew loved the Fly Guy series.

Hi! Fly Guy by Ted Arnold

Boy and fly meet and so begins a beautiful friendship. Er, and so begins a very funny friendship. Using hyperbole, puns, slapstick, and silly drawings, bestselling author/illustrator Tedd Arnold creates an easy reader that is full of fun.

Buy Hi! Fly Guy at Amazon

Chapter Books

Chapter books start resembling novels. There are more words and less pictures, but they are still on the short side and are meant to encourage the development of reading skills. These are usually books that parents and children read together - often having the child read to the parent. Several months ago, I reviewed a really fun children's chapter book. I listened to the audiobook but I wish I had read the book.

The One Great Gnome by Jeff Dinardo

Welcome to the hidden magical--and mysterious--world of gnomes, elves, and trolls.

Eleven-year-old Sarah moves with her family from New York City to rural Hadley, Connecticut. She's eager to explore her new home and meet new friends, but she never expected to befriend an old garden gnome. Readers join Sarah as she is drawn into a secret world under our feet. Sarah uses her instincts to calm old rivalries and help the underworld elves, gnomes, and more join her in the upperworld.

Buy The One Great Gnome at Amazon

Read my review.

Do you have a favorite Kid Lit book? What is a memory you have of either you as a child reading books or reading books with your kids?

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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