Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade 6 (review)

Updated from the 2001 seventh edition (and 2003 supplement), this new version of the classic supplies short annotated entries for over 25,000 titles arranged alphabetically by author, within nearly fifty thematic categories from Artists to Zoos. Author/Illustrator and Book Title indices add alternative routes to particular titles while the Subject/Grade Level index helps users quickly target grade-appropriate materials. In addition to bibliographic information and citations, individual entries direct users to professional reviews and note Caldecott and Newbery winners (perhaps the next edition will expand the awards to include multicultural honors such as the Pura Belpré and Coretta Scott King awards). Out-of-print titles and books considered "no longer timely or suitable" were weeded to make space for 5,000 new entries covering items "published and reviewed from 1985 through July 2005." The authors stick rather conservatively to the Grade 6 cutoff, noting that books for advanced sixth grade readers are more likely found in Best Books for Middle School and Junior High Readers. Barr and Gillespie also opt not to include dictionaries, encyclopedias, resources directed at professionals, and "mass-market series [such] as the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books." This is a standard reference for a reason, and this edition continues the tradition of providing an abundance of information in an easily navigated form.