2. A Good Children’s Book Has Meaningful Illustrations

Illustrations are an important aspect of what makes a good children’s book – especially for young readers. Illustrations help to draw a child in and capture their attention. In addition to helping engage young readers, illustrations can also support the development of reading comprehension.

Look for books that include illustrations that are detailed, colorful, and connect to the story. You might ask yourself, do the illustrations tell the story? If the answer is yes, the book will help your young reader improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Some great examples of children’s books with beautiful and meaningful illustrations include:

3. Interesting and Varied Language is Used Throughout

A good children’s book uses rich and interesting vocabulary. Providing your child with books that offer varied language is essential because these books help to capture their attention. Exposure to new, increasingly sophisticated words and grammatical structures is also beneficial, as it provides an opportunity for valuable learning.

What makes a good children’s book in terms of language and vocabulary? Most importantly, the language in a book should support the flow of the story. In other words, the language should make the storyline easy to follow. It is also important that the language is relatable for your child, but with an element of challenge.

Looking for books for your child that use interesting and varied language? Check out these books written by Ellliot Kreloff:

4. The Story Includes Relatable Characters

Good children’s books have relatable characters. When a child reads a book with relatable characters, they become more invested and engaged. This leads to greater enjoyment and promotes a love of reading. In addition, relatable characters promote feelings of empowerment and encourage children to create change in the world around them.

When assessing a book for your child, look for characters who encounter real world problems and emotions. For example, loss, failure, success, sadness, fear, joy, and anger.

Here are some examples of great children’s books that include relatable characters:

5. A Good Children’s Book is Developmentally Appropriate

Developmentally appropriate books are important because they allow your child to succeed when reading. These feelings of success will further motivate them to read, creating a positive learning cycle. Therefore, like knowing what makes a good children’s book, it is important to understand what makes a book a “good fit” for your child.

So, what makes a book developmentally appropriate? To find a suitable book, there are several elements to consider.

First, evaluate the story’s content. That is, what is the story about and what message is the author portraying? As mentioned earlier, children are drawn to books that they can relate to and that provide a window into the world around them.

Second, consider the difficulty of the language and vocabulary used in the book. It is important that your child can read most of the words in the story so that they can experience feelings of accomplishment. That said, some challenging language is also important to support your child’s continued development as a reader.

Finally, you want to ensure that your child is comprehending what they are reading. Evaluate comprehension by checking in with your child and asking them questions about the story as they (or you) are reading it.

Discover thousands of developmentally appropriate children’s books on the Booka app, including:

6. Important and Teachable Lessons Are Presented

Books provide an opportunity for children to learn and expand their understanding of the world around them. Through books, parents can expose children to life lessons that help them engage with other people, develop ideas, and build new skills. Best of all, presenting these lessons through fun and engaging stories has a much more significant impact than discussing them directly.

What makes a good children’s book lesson? Here are some common and essential lessons to look for.

• Social Emotional Learning such as kindness, teamwork, problem-solving, acceptance, inclusion, and friendship.
• Exploring one’s identity, including interests, talents, passions, and family.
• Exploring academic topics such as mathematics, literacy, art, music, history, and other subjects.

Looking for stories that include important and teachable lessons? Check out these top children’s books:

7. The Plot is Captivating

Like any great book, a good children’s book should have a captivating plot that grabs the reader’s attention. An engaging plot will increase a young reader’s interest in the story. As a result, they will be more likely to learn a lesson from the book and develop their skills as a reader.

Not sure how to identify a captivating plot? Look for books that will make your child laugh or have them on the edge of their seat. For example, stories with comical situations, unexpected problems that must be solved, and/or surprising reactions from characters.

Ick and Crud is one of the very best children’s book series that includes captivating and engaging plots. Check out the Ick and Crud series on Booka.

8. The Story Has a Beginning, Middle, and End

Books that are structured with a clear beginning, middle, and end allow children to follow and engage with a story more easily. This type of structure also helps children develop the ability to retell stories and build on their reading comprehension skills.

Typically, a good children’s book begins with an introduction to the characters and setting. Then, in the middle, a problem develops that the characters must solve. Finally, the end shares how the characters overcame the problem they were facing.

By exposing children to this easy-to-follow structure, parents can also provide an example of how they can be authors too!

Check out the Problem Solved! series on the Booka app for great stories with clear, easy-to-follow structures.

9. The Setting is Intriguing

A story’s setting, or where it takes place, is an important part of what makes a good children’s book. Using descriptive language, an author can bring young readers into the world of the characters. A story that provides a detailed description of the setting, through both pictures and words, helps a child visualize the story as it takes place. This is an important skill and will help your child develop an understanding of what they are reading.

When selecting a book for or with your child, look for a familiar setting. Alternatively, look for books that use descriptive language to provide a window into the setting with the help of a little imagination!

Looking for books with a captivating setting? Check out these favorites:

10. Adults Can Enjoy a Good Children’s Book Too!

Reading and exploring books with your child is an extremely valuable and important part of literacy and language development. Finding a book that you enjoy will allow you to be more engaged and to find satisfaction in sharing and experiencing the story with your child.

When choosing a book, ensure that the story captures your attention. Look for beautiful illustrations, lessons that support your morals and beliefs, and characters that you can relate to.

If you’re looking for a book that you will enjoy just as much as your child, check out the “How It Works” section of the Booka app. Here you’ll find fascinating stories about how things work – from technology and weather to the human body and more!

Now that you know what makes a good children’s book, the question is – where can you find great books for kids? Luckily, Booka makes this easy.