To help you select a grade/age reading level book in our juvenile collection, you will see that the books are color coded. This coding is only internal to the Eiche Library. 

Select a book that is not only reading level appropriate, but also interesting and facilitates projects and activities.

When selecting a book, think about:

• How complex is the story
  • Does it need prior knowledge of events, facts, people or places? How intermingled are the stories of the characters?
• Difficult words
  • Sometimes a lower lever reading book might have a few difficult words to pronounce, or the students might not know the meaning. It is important to read the book prior to using it in class.
• Ratio of pictures/words
  • In general, the higher the reading level of a book, the fewer images it will have. Look at the images, are they representative of the text? Are they scary?
• Reading level
  • There are many tools to help you select the best books, however every child will have a different level of reading even within a level.
  • To make sure books are at the right level, use the 5 dot rule.
    • Ask students to read a page of a book and make a dot every time they struggle with a word.
    • If the student reaches the end of a page with 5 dots, the book is probably too difficult.

Adapted from “Ten Steps for Reviewing Children’s Books” and “Selecting Books for Young Children”