Children’s Book Committee
The Children’s Book Committee (CBC) was founded more than 100 years ago to help parents, teachers, and librarians choose the books that children will find captivating and transforming. Every year it produces comprehensive annotated book lists for children aged infant through 18.
Our Mission
The CBC reviews over 6000 titles each year for accuracy and literary quality and considers their emotional impact on children. It chooses the best 600 books, both fiction and nonfiction, which it lists with annotations according to age and category.
The Children’s Book Committee strives to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents, and other interested adults to the best books for children published each year. The list includes more than 600 titles chosen by reviewers for literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.
Children's Book Committee March Pick
The March Children’s Book Committee’s Young Reviewer Post is from 15 year-old, Nikhil, from Englewood, NJ who rated The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen from Knopf Books for Young Readers as Excellent! Read more about his review on our website.
Our Young Reviewer Says:
“With a startling start and a heartwarming finish, The Peach Rebellion provides a personal look into the conditions of so called “Okies” post Dust Bowl and Great Depression. The two main characters, Ginny Rose and Peggy, share the stage beautifully as they face individual conflicts that mirror each other in order for them to grow together. While Ginny Rose lives in a small house on the outskirts of town, Peggy lives on an immense peach farm. Later on, we meet Peggy’s friend, Lisette, who is even higher on the socioeconomic ladder, being the daughter of a banker. In spite of the combination of family disapproval and status keeping these three apart, their friendship blossoms. All three characters surprise both themselves and the reader with their actions. Surprisingly, despite the serious undertones, the book is witty and funny.” Read more…
–Nikhil, age 15, Englewood, NJ.