by Joyce D. Sinclair

Created on: February 10, 2008

Children's literature is often glanced over as a genre; it seems that it's not taken as seriously as adult literature. But try to publish a children's book, and you'll soon find out how competitive the market can be. Children's literature is broken up into different categories: nursery rhymes, poems, and jump rope songs; baby and infant books; early childhood books (ages 2-5); elementary school (ages 6-10); and early adolescent (ages 11-15). (By the time you reach 16, most people should be able to read adult literature.) I have highlighted a few of the best books, and my personal favorites, that fit these genres.

NURSERY RHYMES: Mother Goose is to nursery rhymes as Hoyle is to card games. Any good edition of Mother Goose nursery rhymes is a must in your book collection. These nursery rhymes have been passed down for generations and have lent themselves in popular music, art and drama. I used the Riverside Anthology of Children's Literature (sixth edition) while I was in college children's literature course, and it has a great section that includes many nursery rhymes from around the world as well as jump rope songs and poetry. It also contains many fairy tales and excerpts from longer novels. It's a little pricey (Amazon lists it new at $91.20), but it is a beautiful hardback, hunter green with gold inlay that will last a lifetime.

INFANT BOOKS: Some of my favorite infant books are the cloth or vinyl ones that babies can chew on. I also like the cardboard books; they seem to stand up to slobbery baby mouths a little more than paper books. Make sure they have nice colorful pictures, because babies really can't see that well until they are almost 9 months old. There are so many out there, that it's easy to find one somewhere. Eric Carle books ("The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "The Grouchy Ladybug") are also great at this age as well as for toddlers.

EARLY CHILDHOOD: Bilingual books are my favorite! Even if you only know a little of the language, you can learn along with your baby. (A great place to find bilingual and foreign language children's books are on eBay.) "Good Night, Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown still remains a classic to this day. Books by Dr. Suess, such as "Green Eggs and Ham," "Fox in Socks," and "The Cat in the Hat," are a great start for toddlers who are learning how the language is put together. Children as young as 18 months can recognize and repeat rhyming words. They begin to understand that words equal an idea or object. Another classic that

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