Question for Parents: Deciding what books to buy kids?

[Scott]

Hi, Friends,

I have a question for parents: How do you decide what books to buy for your children?

In your answer, if you can specify the rough age range of your kids, that would be very helpful too.

Thank you!

[lqueen75]

Well, I buy books for my grandchildren. Things sure have changed. But I review everything before I buy for them. Make sure that it is age appropriate and a story line that will keep them interested. They are 6,8, and 11. I also buy books! I like for them to read books. They read too much on their tablets. Hope this helps.

[Vermont Reviews]

I often use the book of the day for purchase of books for the grandkids.
Vermont Reviews

[gali]

I chose by the context and the style of writing. I also review the book and make sure it is age appropriate. I only buy books that I want to have at home. The rest we borrow from the library.

My youngest son is ten years old and mostly chooses his own books with my supervision. I still advise him on some books, but let him decide whether to read them or not. He is old enough to decide and developed his own taste. He only reads paper books, as I think it is better as this age to read conventional books.

[jaliper]

I still buy classics! Until they get to choose their own, I'll continue to buy it to them, for them.

[khaliel]

I see to it that they will love and enjoy reading it, with a colorful pictures and fantastic story. Because my children are too young as my youngest is 1year old.

[heatherk94]

I have a 2 year old son, I try to buy books based of off things he's already interested in, like trucks and dinosaurs at the moment lol. I also try to find books that will help him prepare for new experiences, like using the potty, and recently before he took his first airplane trip, we got him a book about that to introduce him a little to what to expect.

[Mallory Whitaker]

My son is only one so he's super easy to buy for. All the classics like, "Pat the Bunny" and "Goodnight Moon". He's only recently gotten into reading though. We also read a small chunk from the illustrated Harry Potter books each day, but that's more for me than him. Given how politicized books are now, I know I will be checking for content as he gets older and we steer away from books I know.

[Chitopogi]

When I was a young parent, there were no smartphone and tablets then. And it was easier for me to review the physical books they were reading. Me and my wife used to buy their books for them. Mostly sci-fi and young detectives.

[Mailis]

I look at the content, reviews, blurbs and if it's written about things my kids usually love reading about. My ten year old loves fantasy and magic and wizards and of course books like the Tom Gates series.
My three year old boy likes mostly interactive books with windows that you can open and lots of nice illustrations.

[SparklesonPages]

Hi, Friends,

I have a question for parents: How do you decide what books to buy for your children?

In your answer, if you can specify the rough age range of your kids, that would be very helpful too.

Thank you!

My kids are 14 and 10 and read at a level quite a bit over their age. The result is that I spend a great deal of time vetting books to ensure that the content is appropriate.
I try to get as many classics as possible and the newer books are picked based on content, language and age appropriate plot.

[Helen_Combe]

I’m not a parent, but I would buy the books I loved as a child.
Narnia, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington

[Facennagoss]

I’m not a parent yet but I am an English teacher and if you want to foster a love of reading, buy them books on a subject they are interested in. Buying them something you think they should read could turn them off reading altogether.

[ObsessedBookNerd]

I’m not a parent but I have a big family with a lot of children so I choose based on the book, if I can’t enjoy it at all then I won’t buy it. The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordian is a great series for kids & adults to read so that’s what I would recommend.

[AngelOfLight]

This is just a long-shot, but how cool would it be to have someone write a personalized book for your kids with your immediate family and friends as characters in the story? You could even include real pictures within the book, which can then be edited to fit the story. Of course, all this will probably cost a bit more than a standard off-the-counter book but I'm guessing it's something that your kids would hang onto even after they have kids of their own.