We read, sort and recommend modern children's books by age and theme. Few titles, clear reasons, and always an answer to one question: who is this book for?
No bestseller lists. No licensed merchandise. No filler.
Every book here has been read or read aloud by us. Whatever does not survive the tenth bedtime reading gets cut.
Shop links are affiliate links and we say so. Publishers cannot buy their way onto this shelf.
Not "the 50 best books ever", but: 2+, 4+, 6+. For anger, courage, falling asleep and new siblings.
Our collections grow slowly and get maintained instead of inflated. The first ones launch in the coming weeks; the selection already exists.
Anger, fear, sadness and the courage to roar anyway. The collection for every phase when things get emotional in the nursery.
The Lion Inside · The Color Monster · The Rabbit Listened
Get notified when it goes liveBooks where diversity is a matter of course, not a lesson plan. Families in all shapes, children in all colors.
Julián Is a Mermaid · Last Stop on Market Street
Get notified when it goes liveBoard books that take short attention spans seriously. First stories, first rituals.
Press Here · The Going to Bed Book
Coming soonLonger stories, more wit, the first big questions. The golden read-aloud years.
The Day the Crayons Quit · The Gruffalo
Coming soonBedtime books that wind things down instead of up. Tested on real evenings.
The Going to Bed Book · more to follow
Coming soonA small mouse learns to roar. Rhymed without the rhymes squeaking, with pictures you would happily frame. The courage book we slip into school-start and preschool gifts more than any other.
Who is it for? Quiet kids who need a running start, and their parents.
View on Amazon*Duncan's crayons go on strike, each with a letter of complaint. One of the rare books where the adult laughs as hard as the child, and the humor survives the twentieth reading without wearing thin.
Who is it for? Households that like wordplay, and anyone gifting a four-year-old.
View on Amazon*A boy sees three mermaids on the subway and wants to be one. His abuela's reaction is the quietest, warmest "I see you" in modern picture books. Barely any text, pictures that carry everything.
Who is it for? Families who want openness shown rather than preached.
View on Amazon** Affiliate link: if you buy through it, we earn a small commission. The price does not change for you, and it does not influence the selection.
Modern does not mean "published this year". A book from 2016 can be more modern than a new release with a sticker on it. Four things have to be true:
Classics are not banned. But they have to read aloud today without anyone at the table quietly wincing.
Short, honest pieces on how to judge children's books yourself, no degree in literature required.
You do not need reviews to judge a picture book. You need two pages, read aloud, and 90 seconds.
Read the piece
How to spot a bad children's book in the shop within 30 seconds, before it spends two years on your shelf.
Read the piece
Repetition feels boring to adults and is heavy lifting for a small brain. Why you should give in, almost always.
Read the pieceFour questions decide: Does it read aloud well? Does it talk to children at eye level instead of lecturing? Are its role models and families contemporary? And does it survive being read for the twentieth time? Only books that pass all four make it onto the site.
Yes, transparently: links to shops are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission and the price does not change for you. It does not influence the selection, because we only recommend books we have actually read or read aloud.
Bestseller lists show what sells, not what fits your child. Licensed merchandise always sells. We do the opposite: few titles, sorted by age and theme, each with a reason and an answer to the question of who it is for.
Earlier than most people think. Even babies benefit from voice and ritual, sturdy board books work from around age one, and short stories from age two. More important than the perfect starting age is regularity. A few minutes a day are enough.
Usually from the publishers. Where our experience differs, we say so. Age bands are orientation, not law: some two-year-olds sit through "4+" books, some four-year-olds do not yet.
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