BBAW Guest: Jen Robinson

(I really wanted someone to blog about kidlit bloggers/blogging, especially since I don't have anything else geared towards this very important area of book blogging. I was really excited when Jen, who tied for Best Kidlit blog!, agreed to write something for me.)

Three Excellent Reasons for Blogging about Children's Books - Jen Robinson

Although there are other perks, there are three primary reasons why I blog about children's books. First of all, I LOVE children's and young adult books. I was a bookworm as a child, and simply never stopped reading children's books as I got older (though I also read adult titles, especially mysteries). I've found children's books to be a portal to imaginary worlds, a pathway across multiple genres, and a time machine to visit my youthful self. More importantly, I think that some of the best literature being published today is being published for children and young adults. Even if I didn't have a blog, these are books that I would choose to read because they are brilliant and insightful. Having a blog gives me a place to share my thoughts about the books, and gives me the chance to learn about a much broader range of titles.

The second reason that I blog about children's books is that having a children's book blog allows me to be part of a community of fabulous people who share my interest in children's books and literacy. Discovering this Kidlitosphere (a name coined by author and blogger Melissa Wiley - http://melissawiley.com/blog/) has given me validation (yes, there are lots of adults who read children's books) and helped me to find kindred spirits. Children's and YA book bloggers share book recommendations and reading ideas, and celebrate each other's success. We've even started holding an annual conference, so that we can continue our discussions in person. I'm also involved with a series of children's book awards given by bloggers. The Cybils awards, in their third year, are given in nine different categories (from picture books to young adult titles). The Cybils were founded by Anne Boles Levy and Kelly Herold, in a quest to help promote books that are well-written, but also engaging to kids. Anyone can nominate titles (one per category), whether you have a blog or not, starting October 1st. Then the books will be judged by committees of children's and young adult book bloggers. I would love to see more nominations this year from the broader community of book bloggers.

The third reason that I blog about children's books is that I believe, passionately, that all children should have the opportunity to grow up loving books. Children who enjoy reading do better in school, and have more opportunities in life. They also learn to amuse and comfort themselves, and they have their minds expanded by literature. There was a recent study that found that people who have better literacy skills are happier than those with poor literacy skills. But it's hard to become a book-lover as an adult (not impossible, but harder). The best time, the time when people can most easily fall head-over-heels in love with books, is when they're young. So, what I try to do with my blog is help parents, teachers and librarians to raise kids who love books, by providing book recommendations and literacy-related links. I also provide this content in an email newsletter format, to try to reach more people.

So there you have it. Children's book blogging offers the chance to read great books, be part of an amazing community of like-minded people, and make a positive difference in the lives of children. Who could ask for anything more?