Announcing The First ALA-CBA 'Reading Beyond' Book Lists

NEW YORK, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ The Children's Book Council (CBC) has announced the first-ever "READING BEYOND" book lists, created to provide guidance to parents, caregivers, teachers, librarians, and others interested in discovering books for children who read at an advanced level and are seeking more challenging, but still age-appropriate, books.

Envisioned and created by the ALA-CBC Joint Committee, the "READING BEYOND" book lists are comprised of 25 titles in each of three categories: Kindergarten -1 st graders reading at a 3 rd grade level; 2 nd- 3 rd graders reading at a 5 th grade level; and 4 th- 5 th graders reading at a 7 th grade level.

These 75 books were chosen from over 600 submitted by publishers and librarians, initially evaluated by the ALA member librarians of the committee and then finalized by the full committee. The books were evaluated for their content as well as the challenge they would present to advanced readers, along with the consideration of a variety of genres and formats.

Susan Polos and Janet Wong, co-chairs of the ALA-CBC Joint Committee, stated: "The READING BEYOND list celebrates the power of books to lift and expand children's minds, providing reading experiences beyond levels and limits."

The fully annotated 2017 "READING BEYOND" list is now available for download at CBCbooks.org.

The ALA-CBC Joint Committee fosters communication and collaboration on mutual opportunities, concerns, and issues regarding the content, format, distribution, and promotion of materials for children and young adults as they relate to both the library and publishing communities. The committee creates bibliographies to provide guidance to parents, grandparents, and others interested in high-quality literature for children, including Building a Home Library, which provides recommendations for assembling a library for children at home, and Books to Grow On , classic books for children up to age 3.

The Children's Book Council is the nonprofit trade association for children's book publishers in North America. The CBC offers children's publishers the opportunity to work together on issues of importance to the industry at large, including educational programming, literacy advocacy, and diversity in publishing. The CBC is proud to partner with other national organizations on co-sponsored reading lists, educational programming, and literacy initiatives.

Media Contact: Shifa Kapadwala, Publicity Manager, Children's Book Council, Shifa.kapadwala@cbcbooks.org, 212.966.1990

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