Build a High-Quality Library for Your Children at Home with Our Recommendations!

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) – Children’s Book Council (CBC) Joint Committee, with cooperation from the Association for Library Service to Children’s Quicklists Consulting Committee, has created four Building a Home Library bibliographies. These downloadable lists are intended to provide guidance to parents, grandparents and others interested in assembling a high-quality library for their children at home.

The four 2014 Building a Home Library lists are available for children ages 0 to 3; 4 to 7; 8 to 11; and 12 to 14. All lists can be downloaded from the ALSC website at: http://www.ala.org/alsc/building-home-library-2014-update.  Librarians, educators and others who work with families are encouraged to download and print these brochures and share them with parents, grandparents, and caregivers in their community.

“The Building a Home Library bibliographies are great resources for caregivers who wish to surround their child with high quality books in their home,” said ALSC President Starr LaTronica. “We hope these lists will encourage families to bring more books into their homes so they can nurture a love of reading together.”

“There is no better way to decorate a home than by building a home library and no more effective way to instill a lifelong love of reading in children than to surround them with books and reading,” said CBC Executive Director Robin Adelson. “The CBC is proud to partner with the ALA on this program, which offers well-rounded lists of new books and classics as a suggested starting point for parents and caregivers looking to build libraries for children in their own homes.”

The ALA-CBC Joint Committee, with cooperation from the ALSC Quicklists Consulting Committee, updates the Building a Home Library bibliographies every two years. When creating these lists committee members looked to include tried-and-true classics, under-the-radar gems, multicultural books, and new, yet notable, reads for all ages.

About ALSC
ALSC, a division of the ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC visit www.ala.org/alsc.

About the CBC
The Children’s Book Council is the national nonprofit trade association for children’s book publishers. The CBC offers children’s publishers the opportunity to work together on issues of importance to the industry at large, including educational programming, literacy advocacy, and collaborations with other national organizations. Our members span the spectrum from large international houses to smaller independent presses. Membership in the CBC is open to U.S. publishers of children’s trade books, as well as in some cases to industry-affiliated companies. The CBC is proud to partner with other national organizations on co-sponsored reading lists, educational programming, and literacy initiatives. Please visit www.cbcbooks.org for more information.