Introduction

Our family loves to read books. Even those who are not readers by nature have been known to hide away with a good book. Our love for books has grown to a collection of several thousand books. There are books and book cases in every room, okay, almost every room. Our basement has been transformed into a library. Most of the books I pick up at books sales, thrift stores, or rummage sales. I also buy new books as gifts for the children. In addition to all the books we own, we love to visit the library. Not only do I pick out books from the local library, I also select books through the inter-library loan system.

Where do I find all the good books? Sometimes I just browse the stacks and pick out what appeals to me. Often, I do searches on the county catalog or amazon. I follow rabbit trails. "If you like this book, you will this book" or I do a word or subject search. I also scour through anthologies and I look up books others recommend on blogs, or in conversations or articles. I am always on the look out for a good book.

Since I collect so many books, people often ask me, "What's a good book?" In response to that question, here is Cool Books 4 Kids 2 read.