I have great memories of books that I read as a child. The Pokey Little Puppy, along with a number of other Golden Books, graced my shelves. These books could be purchased at the local Five and Dime Store, and the cover price was certainly within my weekly allowance of 25 cents. When I started to school I began reading series books like the Childhood of America biography series, and of course Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins. In junior high school, I found very few young adult books in the library, and even fewer in bookstores, so I began reading the same books my dad was reading. We all have favorite books and special memories of the people who shared our love of books. Perhaps this is why we have chosen a profession that allows us to communicate our passion for reading to children and young adults.

Today, I look forward to the new books that are published for young readers, and I often wonder while I’m reading them if I’m reliving my childhood, searching for that sense of story in real life experiences that wasn’t in the books that I read. How I would have loved books like Patricia Reilly Giff’s Lilly’s Crossing, A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt by C. Coco DeYoung, and The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto. There is no doubt that my attitude toward history class would have been different had I had books like They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler, North by Night by Katherine Ayers and Freedom Beyond the Sea by Waldtraut Levin. Children and young adults can now explore other worlds, other cultures, and other times through the pages of excellent novels and picture storybooks. They simply need our guidance in getting them to these books.

We all know that libraries are changing, and that children and young adults are the recipients and sometimes the victims of too much information through the internet. My experience tells me that the young still desire quiet moments to enjoy good stories, and that more than ever, they need the exposure to good writing and well-research fiction and non-fiction.

Identifying the books that will excite young readers, and developing the skills to lead them toward good books is our task. The shear numbers of books that are available too often overwhelm young readers and their parents. While it is good that there are so many excellent book choices for the young, it means that reader guidance must remain an important element in school and public library programming. It is through such guidance that our young patrons can be guaranteed a childhood filled with memories of good books.

Next month I will address techniques for developing a good reader guidance program. I welcome your comments and questions. You may email me at pscales@scgsah.state.sc.us.