Author’s Note: Originally posted January 16, 2021 and reposted Summer 2023 due to continued relevance Recently we have all been exposed to some disturbing images of the U.S. Capitol being invaded and looted, of an angry mob storming the building in an attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election. It was an insurrection, incited by the president and his political allies. Shots were fired and five people died. Bombs were found and members of Congress threatened. The House and Senate chambers, as well as representatives’ offices, were forcefully entered. A police officer was bludge ..read more

The “Don’t Say Gay” law is set to go into effect here in Florida on July 1st. This is a “grave abuse of power,” as NPR puts it, an abuse of power that will hurt kids in Florida — most especially kids who are already vulnerable — but in reality all Florida kids. It will hurt Florida teachers — who I think we can all agree have enough on their plates right now and instead of this, deserve more independence and respect. And it will hurt Floridians, who trust our leaders to uphold our democracy. A democratic state should not be in the business of censorship or book banning — that is what auth ..read more

Best Kids’ Books — a new website launched to promote quality children’s books — seeks several teachers or librarians to partner with the founder in the next stages of development of the site. We are seeking partners who share our progressive values and love of high quality children’s books, as well as our belief that books can make a difference in children’s lives. We have designed a visually striking website and curated close to 1,000 books that are featured on the site. Now, our plan is to promote this content in order to build a substantial online audience. We hope to secure partnershi ..read more

This is a repost of our piece appearing in Mother.ly, by permission. The coronavirus pandemic has turned our worlds upside down, kids included. Kids are coping the best they know how with sheltering at home and staying put way more than usual, and let’s be honest, they’re starting to reach their threshold. They are missing their friends and possibly their beloved grandparents and caregivers. They are dealing with difficult transitions to virtual learning or homeschooling. It’s a lot to deal with as a child. Our kids also feel the stress at home as parents deal with the uncertainty, juggle work ..read more

Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to snuggle with your kids and read some books about love! Our team of teachers and librarians at Best Kids’ Books selected a group of picture books about the bonds of love, compassion, kindness and friendship. We hope you enjoy them! Kids’ Books on Love, Kindness and Compassion And Tango Makes Three This book, published in 2005, was one of the very first children’s books to depict same-sex parents. Based on the true story of pengins Roy and Silo at a zoo in New York, it tells an adorable tale of partners and parenting. Male pengins are the ones to si ..read more

I had the inspiration for this site as far back as 2012 or 2013. I had been immersed in children’s literature since 2001, when my first child was born. I had read literally thousands of children’s books by then, and had spent many hundreds of hours in the children’s section of the library — a number of libraries — opening books and reading the first four or five pages, to either continue or put the book back on the shelf. I was a curator long before I knew it. And my interest in education had not begun with having children. I had a master’s degree in education from Harvard University, and I ha ..read more

Although the event that inspired the search for these books was something very specific — a shooting we heard about in the news — I realized what we actually needed were books that helped children connect with adult caregivers in a safe way after a trauma, any kind of trauma. When this curation was started, it came from a specific request from Katherine: “See if you can find any picture books about gun violence.” We had just heard some alarming and disturbing news of yet another mass shooting in our country. Equally alarming and disturbing was the statistic of how many of these violent events ..read more