Books to Build On: A Grade-By-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers

I've been on a children's book and/or education kick, which has meant discovering for the first time the world of book guides for children. My intention is to only *buy* books of lasting home-library value; everything else, and there must be so much, can come from the public library. This book has exceeded all others in advising on what references, storybooks and educational resources belong in the home of a child who loves learning. I recommend the NYTimes Books for Children and the The Read-Aloud Handbook book as well, but it's the Hirsch book, specifically the "Core Collection" recommendations, that has led me to the most interesting learning materials! I also love that he's not afraid to refer to or at least mention quality out-of-print materials. What good is the Internet's vast book culture if not to find out-of-print materials that are wasting away on a back shelf in some store across the country? For example, he mentions a history series by Olive Beaupre Miller. I found a woman in Texas who was selling her set, they came yesterday, and man am I ever jealous! How come I didn't get to read those when *I* was younger? Another example of why I think OOP book should not be ignored in these kind of guides is a treasure I stumbled upon in a used bookstore the other day. "A Classical Storybook" by Morris Bishop is a treasure trove of Greek and Roman stories from the histories and poetry of the era. Enchanting! I went online, and as it turns out Morris Bishop was BFF with Vladmir Nabokov, was a hugely important Romantic literature scholar and apparently an altogether lovely man. Suffice it to say, I have ordered the medieval, Renaissance and Romantic storybooks for my children as well. If more reader guides mentioned these treasures of the past, I believe the spike in demand by interested parents would lead many of them to be reprinted. God love the profit motive! Anyway, back to Hirsch: I'm relatively comfortable when it comes to identifying quality resources in the humanities, social sciences and liberal arts, but I'm a little foggier when it comes to most kinds of science and mathematics. I was thrilled to see that Hirsch gives those subjects their due as well, and I've already been thrilled to discover through him H.A. "Curious George" Rey's amazing books about constellations, astronomy and the night sky (The Stars: A New Way to See Them, Find the Constellations). What a treat! I've been scribbling all over this book, taking notes, starring items and dog-earring pages. I can't say that's the case for most of the booklist books I've read, although expositionalish :) introduction to the Read-Aloud* guide will definitely been getting multiple reads from me. Anyway, this book is highly admirable, and I hope it, itself, has many printings, revisions, expansions and future editions to come. Invaluable.

This book is a must-have for teachers, librarians, and parents who want a culturally literate child. As a teacher, I like the Core Knowledge Series by the same author. This book is a comprehensive listing of resources for every age and every subject. As parents, we can't rely on any school to teach our child all they need to know and we are ultimately responsible for their education. Schools are sometimes overly focused on politically correct topics at the expense of the many great lessons in history. This could be used to find appropriate books for home schooling or to help parents supplement their child's education. You may want to get the "What your K/1st/2nd...6th grader Needs to Know" books, too. You will be amazed at how much these books enrich your child's education, and ultimately their life.

As an elementary school librarian, there are a handful of review sources I turn to first when a teacher asks me to recommend a book, or when I'm looking to add quality titles to our collection. I just picked up a copy of "Books to Build On," to assist me in selecting some classic titles for our library, as well as to suggest for our school district core literature list.I can tell you that I'm impressed with the selections recommended in "Books to Build On," based on the titles I'm already familiar with. And based on Hirsch's reputation in the field of cultural literacy, I can place a great deal of confidence in the titles that I'm currently unfamiliar with.This will sit on my personal shelf for quick reference, right beside my other favorites: "The Read-Aloud Handbook," by Jim Trelease, "The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children," "Eyeopeners II," by Beverly Kobrin (a great guide for nonfiction books) and "Books That Build Character," by William Kilpatrick and Gregory and Suzanne M. Wolfe.

This book presents a bibliography of classical children's books, catalogued by subject and grade. It gives information about the content of each book, where to obtain the book, and how the book might be used.I love this collection. It is so inspiring I want to go out and by the books described. I do know of other books that I think are wonderful and that would fit the categories that are not listed, so I'm not sure I would say this is comprehensive, but it is helpful and inspiring in leading a parent or teacher to some wonderful books for our children.

As a Reading Teacher, Books to Build On is an excellent resource to assist in finding and assessing quality books. It is broken into curriculum areas including Visual Arts and Mathematics whichare oftentime overlooked in bok reviews. It includes a wealth of information about books for children from grades Kindergarten to the sixth grade. It is also crosses the genres and genders by providing a variety of fiction, nonfiction, collections,series, multi-cultural and multidisciplined books. I have shared the information in this books with colleagues and parents. It was also instrumental in selecting materials for my own students and children.