Thanks to my now 8-year-old daughter, I have a renewed love for children's books. When she was about two, we would visit the library and explore the children's section together. I'd pick a few (okay a pile), and she would pick some.

We'd rush home, sit down to start enjoying our collection, and invariably we'd hit a clunker. Two or three pages in, she would grab the book, close it, and say "No more, Mama." Drat! I started letting her pick more of her books thinking okay, if she picks it then it must be something she likes. Double drat! Even those books weren't safe from "No more, Mama."

Her relationship with books was like most toddlers' relationship with food: she knows what she likes and isn't going to try what she doesn't.  Admittedly, she would try new books, but she obviously had an idea of what would "work" for her and what wouldn't. Picky! Picky! Picky!

My daughter is not unique. Kids are notoriously finicky audiences, which is why it can be daunting to try to buy books for them.  Sometimes a book that didn't click the first time becomes the cant-live-without pick for the next month.  The book about their favorite thing - princesses, trucks, Elmo, Dora, you name it - falls flat.   Books that your coworker L-O-V-E-D didn't connect with your child; the one they said was "eh" left them laughing for days.  That's when it helps to get a second opinion.

Recommendations from friends and relatives are a great start when you're trying to find books.  When they offer a title, be sure to find out if they read the book for themselves (yes, some of us do that) or whether they read it with kids. Ask them what the kids liked about the book. Ask them to tell you a little bit about the child: do they sit still for long stories? did you have to read it more than once before they liked it? This is information you can use to help you decide if the book is a good fit for the child you are buying a book for.

Along the same lines, visit the library. Children's librarians are a wonderful resource. Most libraries host programs for young children, so with a little bit of information about your child, they can offer suggestions on the books their audiences like. If you're buying for your own child, talk to your school librarian. What kinds of books does your child pick out when they visit the library?

Six years ago, I started the Reading Tub. What is now a public charity started out six years ago as a hobby website: a place for me and a couple friends to share  reviews of books we were reading with our kids. Now, we have volunteer reviewers all over the country. All of the profiles  - currently at 1,650 - include details about the kid's reactions.  Our database (we call it the book bag) lets you search by author, title, or keyword ... and it return the results sorted by audience (o-2, 2-4, 5--8, 6-9, 10 and up). Each audience list is printable, too.

You won't find books that get lots of press - what could we possibly add to the conversation about Harry Potter that hasn't already been said? You won't find many books tied to television programs or movies. These characters are known commodities.  Instead, you can search for books that interest your audience: by subject, from aardvark to zoo);  by genre, including fiction and nonfiction; by topic, from friendship to reluctant reader; and reading level, too.

Six years ago,  I didn't know about this thing called the book blogosphere and, for my purposes, the kidlitosphere. Now, it is one of my go-to sources for book ideas. The 'spheres are filled with passionate people - teachers, librarians, parents to name a few - who read books with kids and then share their "findings."

Books can feed the natural curiosity that kids have about the world, which is why buying books as gifts are such a wonderful choice. Just like any gift, we want to find the "perfect" one. When you're not sure if something is the "it" choice, getting a second opinion from someone who has "read-tested" a book can help.