As a librarian, I’m constantly recommending books.

I clearly remember my first day working in the library (I’d been a 5th grade classroom teacher for 7 years at SAS, and a High School and Middle School English teacher in Australia for a decade before that). All of a sudden, it was expected that I had read EVERYTHING that ever existed, because, hey, I was a librarian! In the early days I admit lying a little, the odd fib here and there “Yes, I’ve read it” “Oh, I know which book you mean” “Mmmmm, I loved that series” because otherwise I felt so ignorant; I had NOT read all the books people were asking about because hey, I’m only human!

A couple of years into my new role, I have read many more books, and have not read many, many, many others. I have several ‘go-to’ sites that I couldn’t live without… sites where others have painstakingly gone through blog after blog, and compiled list after list of great books. I feel grateful towards these sites every single day. They help me help the students walk away with books just right for them. Thank You Bloggers.

Mia Wenjen is a PragmaticMom you need to keep an eye on if you want to be up to date on the best of the best that is out there… whether she’s compiling book-lists about responsibility, a collection of authors on a theme or books for advanced readers, there is something for everyone.

I love Travis Jonker’s 100 scope notes where you can find all manner of information, I especially love reading this blog around ALA award time. Linked are some of the great lists I follow with this blog during the year.

Melissa Taylor’s Imagination Soup is another great blog that both Amy Hossack and I turn to for all sorts of tech and library ideas. I ordered books based on one of her chapter book lists just today.

The Horn Book is another tried and true location for finding books, based on all manner of topics such as St. Patrick’s Day and the Olympics; I do love reading their reviews.

I’ve only just discovered this gem through a friend on twitter, From the Mixed up Files of Middle-Grade Authors is a goldmine for the avid reader. I must have been living under a rock to not know about this blog…