who we are
Our Team
We are a group of teachers, librarians and mothers who love children’s books. Our mission is to expand access to great books to kids everywhere.
Why Did We Create This Site?
There are about 275,000 children’s books in print on the American market at the moment, making the task of finding great books a daunting one. But there is no lack of expertise in the field — there are more Top 100 lists and book reviews by wonderful sources than is possible to count.
We hope to add to existing expertise by providing an online tool that makes it simple for parents and others who care about children to buy the best. We started our collection with picture books and will expand from there to early readers, chapter books and more.
How Do We Plan to Fulfill Our Mission?
We believe that the work of great writers, or the work of great illustrators, should not be buried under other work that is promoted as the most popular, brought to the top of the heap time and again in a continual feedback loop.
We aim to add curation by experts — teachers, librarians and parents — more seamlessly into the modern purchase process.
Best Kids’ Books’ promise is to unearth the best and the brightest in children’s literature and use modern tools to make them shine.
our expertise
About Us
Our founder, Katherine Hubbard, has a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and a career working for universities, schools and non-profit organizations.
She spent years immersed in children’s literature as the mother of two children, now ages 20 and 16. She is the founder of a non-profit organization focused on children in need and consults on the launch and development of socially-minded businesses, KHubbardConsulting.com.
Katherine’s LinkedIn Profile
Our lead curator, D’Anne Dougherty Sarao, was a teacher of young children for many years and is the mother of two girls, ages 14 and 10. She has also worked in the field of conscious parenting, focused on connection and healthy relationships, helping children develop positive self images and be compassionate free thinkers.
Our team is composed of librarians, teachers and mothers who believe in the power of reading to serve as a positive influence in children’s lives.
One of our team members works at an education foundation focused on maximizing success for the most vulnerable students. Another is the head librarian at an elementary school. Another is a stay-at-home mother with a background in marketing and PR.
Our team is unified by a passion for children’s literature and an enduring belief in the power of education to change lives.
How Do We Select Books?
The books we select never condescend to children, as Maurice Sendak warned us that children’s book should never do.
They respect children’s intelligence and treat children as if they are “in on the joke.”
Our books are poignant and engaging — they elicit emotion of one kind or another. They make the reader think and consider.
We aim to provide a collection of books that represents the diversity of children in the U.S. and around the world.
And our books appeal to adults as well as children, as often adults are doing the reading or listening to the book being read by a child.
The bottom line: They are high quality literature, regardless of the fact that they were written for young people.
We are happy for parents to reference this site as they select books to check out of the library or obtain through other sources.
And we are happy for teachers or librarians to use this site as a way to generate ideas for story times or lessons.
Anyone who can benefit is welcome to make use of our work. Our mission is to encourage the reading of high quality children’s literature.
“Words can be used to entertain, to make us laugh, to make us cry. They can be used to explain something difficult to understand, or to convey our values. Words can also be used as weapons.
In this age of words as weapons, there exists a need to shift the focus to words as vehicles for kindness, empathy and understanding. Best Kids’ Books hopes to contribute to this effort.”
— Katherine Hubbard, Founder, Best Kids’ Books
We donate 5% of our proceeds to children’s charities and literacy initiatives. We appreciate your support!
Share an Idea
Suggest a Book
Feel free to reach out with a book suggestion. We welcome your input!
Want to check out Our Blog?
our commitment to diversity and gender balance
We choose books with a foundation intention of portraying a diversity of characters -- to reflect the human experience in the U.S. and around the world -- and a gender balance, so girls and women are represented half or more of the time. We have been methodical in our selection process in order to create a collection that reflects our world.
Our Favorites
Resources We Love
Some of the sites that inspire us -- incredible labors of love offered by librarians, book reviewers, teachers, moms and advocates of children’s rights & humane education. We are ever so grateful for their efforts.
11.12.2019
/
Books on social & environmental justice, animal rights
11.12.2019
/
Nonprofit promoting multicultural children's books and working to get them into classrooms and libraries
11.12.2019
/
Popular Bookstagrammer giving platform to amazing hidden gems
11.12.2019
/
Extensive selection of multicultural and social justice books
11.12.2019
/
nonprofit working to disrupt racism though education, research and advocacy
11.12.2019
/
Non-profit advocating for the publishing industry to produce diverse books
Authors and illustrators we love…
How Are We Supported?
Available on Amazon
This site is supported by the Amazon Associates program, and we earn from qualifying purchases. Your purchases help provide this content to the public. Thank you!
