Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children 2nd Ed
A Lively, Opinionated Guide
By Walter M. Mayes, Valerie Lewis

“…books were not “special.” They were a basic point of our life. We didn’t think much about reading. It was always there.” – Valerie V. Lewis (introduction)

    One of the things I enjoy about reading is the free and easy chat that comes with it. Whether it’s positive or negative, I enjoy sharing and listening to book-related opinions. And I still take pleasure in hearing my daughter, who is now in college, read aloud an excerpt or a poem that affects her. She’s done it all her life. Like Valerie, books weren’t special and she didn’t think much about reading. It was always there, through her parents, grandparents, teachers and friends.

   Best Books for Children, 2nd Ed is a book to be valued. It’s comprehensive and crossed-referenced. A 560-page reference guide featuring best books for children--fiction and nonfiction—though age eleven. Book information includes: title, author, illustrator, format, publisher, themes and sometimes comments from Valerie and Walter. The themes are single word descriptions. Parents will know exactly what is in the book. The book is divided into parts according to a book’s listening or interest level. Also, instead of using reading ages, they use general ranges, such as “all, baby, preschoolers, early elementary, middle elementary, and pre-adolescents.”

    The books listed range from the old familiars to the most recent, such as Harry Potter. This is a reference book written with parents and professionals in mind. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that your local school or library used Valerie and Walter’s Best Books for Children regularly? Why not recommend it?

   Walter M. Mayes is a man seriously inspired by reading. He created Walter the Giant Storyteller and travels to schools, libraries, and bookstores and conferences to speak. He is also the librarian of a Girl’s Middle School. Valerie V. Lewis writes a column for Creative Classroom magazine and co-owns a children’s bookstore.