The online catalog of books owned by Pequot, Fairfield Main, and Fairfield Woods Libraries includes a special way to search for Children’s Books: the Visual Search tool. To get started, click on the FIND A BOOK button on any page of this website. Click on “Children’s Library” toward the top. Then click on any of the small pictures to find books on the topic it represents. For instance, check out “Spooky Things,” shown here as a jack-o-lantern, or “Animals,” shown as a wolf.

Connecticut Library Consortium (CLC) has lists compiled by Connecticut librarians for holiday giftgiving and to support the statewide Summer Reading themes. Scroll down to see the book lists. 

Read Aloud America, an organization which promotes family literacy, has many recommended lists of great books by age category.

Mid-Continent Public Library in Missouri maintains a terrific Readers’ Advisory service, including an extensive list of kids’ series under the heading of “Juvenile Series and Sequels.”

The Flashlight Worthy Books website offers handpicked book recommendations on hundreds of topics.

Kidsreads is an awesome place for kids to find information about their favorite books, series, and authors. It specializes in reviews of the newest titles, interviews with the coolest authors, and special features on great books.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) of the American Library Association (ALA) provides a page with great websites for kids.

BOOK AWARDS

Caldecott Award  Awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

Newbery Award  Awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Children’s Notable Awards  The Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) includes links to many major awards.

Nutmeg Book Award  This Connecticut children’s book award encourages children in grades 4-8 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. The “Intermediate List” offers books for kids in grades 4-6 and the “Teen List” has books for kids in grades 7-8.

RECOMMENDED PICTURE BOOK LISTS BY TOPIC

ALPHABET BOOKS
ABC Kids by Simon Basher
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
L is for Library by Sonya Terry
Do Your ABC’s Little Brown Bear by Jonathan London
A Apple Pie by Gennadii Spirin
The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca
Twenty-six Princesses by Dave Horowitz
The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra

BEDTIME
Sleepy Boy by Polly Kanevsky 
When Mama Comes Home Tonight by Eileen Spinelli
Rabbit Pie by Penny Ives
Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep by Joyce Dunbar
When the World is Ready for Bed by Gillian Shields
My Big Boy Bed by Eve Bunting
Time for Bed by Mem Fox

BEING NAUGHTY
17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill
No, David! by David Shannon
Two Badd Babies by Jeffie Ross Gordon
Naughty Parents by Joy Gosney
I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
Irving & Muktuk: Two Bad Bears by Daniel Pinkwater
The Day Leo Said I Hate You by Robie Harris

GOOD HUMOR
Where Did Daddy’s Hair Go? by Joe O’Connor
The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane Auch
What Do Parents Do When You’re Not Home? by Jeanie Franz Ransom
No Such Thing by Jackie French Koller
The Retired Kid by Jon Agee
Company’s Coming by Arthur Yorinks
I  Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff
Twelve Terrible Things by Marty Kelley
Once upon a time, the End (asleep in 60 seconds) by Geoffrey Kloske and Barry Blitt
Oscar and the Very Hungry Dragon by Ute Krause

SOME OF MISS SUSAN’S FAVORITE PICTURE BOOKS
If You Lived Here: Houses of the World by Giles Laroche
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Dot by Patricia Intriago
Why Do I Have to Make My Bed? by Bradford
Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb
The Crown on Your Head by Nancy Tillman
Little Dog Lost by Monica Carnesi
Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian
Sea of Dreams by Dennis Nolan
Me--Jane by Patrick McDonnell
Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich
Square Cat by Elizabeth Schoonmaker
What Do You Want? by Lars Klinting
City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Birds by Kevin Henkes
Yes Day! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant
The Gum-chewing Rattler by Joe Hayes
Clever Cat by Peter Collington
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson
The Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Connor
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
The End by David LaRochelle
Wagons Ho! by Hallowell

More categories to come!

BOOKS THAT DON'T MAKE YOU BLUSH

ALA (American Library Association) List for young, high-level readers who are not ready for young adult content.

The Bridesmaid by Hailey Abbott
Backwater by Joan Bauer
The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac
All-American Girl by Meg Cabot
Cheating Lessons by Nan Willard Cappo
Love Among the Walnuts by Jean Ferris
A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner
Leaving Protection by Will Hobbs
The Boxer by Kathleen Karr
Dunk by David Lubar
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
The Rose Queen by M.E. Rabb
All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School by Janette Rallison
An Order of Amelie, Hold the Fries by Nina Schindler (translator, Rob Barrett)
Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon
Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo by Greg Leitich Smith
Fruits Basket: Volume 1 by Natsuki Takaya
Sister to the Wolf by Maxine Trottier
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Runaways 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan
Memory Boy by Will Weaver
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Links We Like

The following are links to a selected list of organizations or individuals that have collaborated with Pequot Library’s Children’s Department to present exciting and educational programs for children and families. Also included are links from our Green Initiative programs which are specifically related to environmental, conservation, organic, and sustainability issues. The posting of information is not an endorsement by the Library.

Program Links:

Center for Contemporary Printmaking  Leaders of an Art Show Printmaking Workshop for kids

The Children’s Museum  Home of the STARLAB, a portable traveling planetarium

Chuck E. Costa A 2009 Summer Reading Song-Writing Workshop

College and More, Inc.  College prep and application advice from Dr. Gay Stebbins Pepper, Ed.D.

Connecticut Humanities Council  A resource for exploring great literature and Connecticut’s cultural life

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo  Connecticut’s only zoo and home of the Zoomobile!

Cooking Teens  “The Place for Teens Who Love to Love to Cook & Eat”

Dan Butterworth Marionettes  The puppeteer behind the “Gifts of Joy” performance

Easter Egg Roll at the White House  The official White House event that inspired Pequot Library’s own Easter Egg Roll

Fairfield Arts Council  Dedicated to promoting local arts and artists

Farmer Minor and Daisy  A pig who loves to read!

Geoff Kaufman  A 2006 Summer Reading Event

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by David Selznick  The 2009 One Book, One Town selection

Kahana Hula  A 2010 Summer Reading hula-dance program

The Museum of Connecticut History  A 2009 Summer Reading “Connecticut Invents” Program

Music for Youth  Our popular series of free musical concerts for children

Purple Rock Productions  The puppet company behind the “Snow Maiden” Performance

The Sasquanaug Association for Southport Improvement  Pequot Library’s partner for our Halloween events

Shakespeare on the Sound  Performances of William Shakespeare’s masterpieces in Rowayton and Greenwich

Siberian Husky Club & Rescue of Southern New England  Promotes the Siberian Husky breed and sporting activities for Huskies

Westport Outfitters  Owner Eric Johnson has led Family Fly-Fishing Workshops

Green Initiative Links:

Back Yard Beekeepers Association  A club for hobbyist beekeepers

Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum in Fairfield  Learn about natural history and backyard birdfeeding

Fairfield Green Food Guide  A source for “fresh, local, sustainable food” founded by Analiese Paik

The Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm  A working farm and organic educational center in Fairfield

Green Cleaning  Promotes environmentally-friendly products and methods for household cleaning

Nick Mancini  “The Soil Guy” helped the Children’s Deptartment create a garden for Belle and a compost bin

Wildlife in Crisis, Inc.  Rescues injured and orphaned wildlife and seeks to protect threatened ecosystems

Wolf Conservation Center  Home of Atka, the Arctic wolf