This feature reviews books, articles, websites, or other resources that discuss beginning readers.

Taking a pause from my reviews of the recommended Geisel Award reading to put a spotlight on a recent article in Children & Libraries — the journal of the Association for Library Service to Children.

The Best for Beginning Readers: Geisel Award Celebrates Tenth Anniversary

Carole D. Fiore and Carla Morris. Children & Libraries. Vol. 13, Number 1, Spring 2015.

The article provides first a brief summary of the Geisel Award thus far. It it a wonderful resource to have small snippets about each winner and a list of the honors, as well as quotes from many of the Geisel committee chairs and even some of the authors!

My absolute favorite part of the article broke down the statistics of the Geisel Award: how many picture books or early chapter books were honored versus the traditional beginning readers. Did you know that the Geisel Award has even honored non-fiction books and graphic novels? To see the full break-down of statistics (including what seems to capture the interest of beginning readers: animal stories, friendship stories, etc.), check out the article!

The last main portion of the article talks about the impact on both authors and committee members. Here’s the part of the article that you may need a tissue for if you’re anything like me. I love reading about the experiences and impacts of an award committee.

The article’s final conclusion talks about the future of the Geisel Award.

What an amazing article to have! This is the ultimate primer about what the Geisel Award is all about without reading the award committee manual. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for this one — it’s for everyone!