How To Use abookandahug.com

Find A Book

In the top right hand corner of the site is a good place to start. When you click on that box, you'll see that you can choose:

• a category: fantasy, action/adventure, etc.
• a reading level: independent reader, older reader, etc.
• keywords: boy, girls reluctant reader, horse, spies, etc.

Click here to see all of the keywords displayed and choose what you're looking for along with your category and your reading level. I want you to be able to customize your search to match your child.

Books For Boys

If you need a book for a boy, I hope you'll take a minute to explore the four categories of "reading personalities" I've developed to help boys figure out what kind of books they prefer.

Books Alive

includes twenty author/illustrator interviews. More are waiting to be loaded and should be up in the next few months. There has been much buzz lately about the Books Alive interviews. I hope you are enjoying them.

Middle Reader-Careful Content

is intended to help you find books for 8-11 year olds who can read above their grade level but still need some boundaries around the content of their books. If you have one of these advanced readers but you are concerned they may pick up books that deal with mature subject matter, you can use this keyword in your searching. It's the first keyword in the list.

Feedback

Please feel free to use the Contact tab at the bottom of the site. That comes straight to me and I'd love to hear from you.

I created abookandahug.com to help you find a book for your child. It's important to match children up with books they want to read. It can make all the difference in the world if you can figure out his or her "reading personality." So, just who is your child and what does your child look for in a book? A Books For Boys page is coming soon to help you define your boy in book terms. A Books For Girls page will follow on its heels.

I would like to heartily thank the many people who contributed their work for display on this site. I begin with the fabulous Jane Dyer who so generously gave me permission to use her Children's Book Week 2001 Poster for the homepage of this website. Then there are the generous and ever so talented authors and illustrators who shared their illustrations for the different book categories: T.A. Barron, Nic Bishop, Betsy and Ted Lewin, David Macaulay, William Low, Wendell Minor, Kevin O'Malley, Charles R. Smith Jr., Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummell and Paul Zelinsky.

The team that helped create the website deserves my deep thanks as well: Abby, Joanne, Mary, Matt, Penny, Theresa and the wonderful Lynda who kept it all organized for me!

We have miles to go with this but we are on our way!