What's your favorite type of book to read?

The question I get asked most in my library: "What's your favorite type of book to read?"

No contest: Everybody books!

I'm not sure if that's a universal genre- or not. Many people call these picture books. I call them everybody books because they are good for - EVERYBODY!

Top reasons why Everybody books are my favorite: (in no particular order)

1. I have a sense of satisfaction when I complete one, and let's face it- these are often short.  Cheap reason- but keeping it real, here. 

2. Everybody books come in a variety of genres. Fantasy is heavily represented with animals as main characters acting like people, historical fiction, realistic fiction and mystery have their presence too. 

3. Purely picture books- wordless ones- instill in me the sense of story. I have to "tell the story" in my own words. Here, I'm forced to consider how I would write the story. I'm forever amazed how many times I can look at a wordless book and see something new each time. 

4. Need an easy way to help build prediction and inference in readers?  Pictures add so much to the author's words. I'm amazed at the nuances my children pick up in the illustrations when we share a book out loud. They describe setting, impending weather changes, and anticipate what's next based on clues in the illustrations. 

5. Everybody books help build vocabulary. Oftentimes, an author will use a word that is new- but the illustration supports the word! What's even more fun? When there's a glossary in the back of the everybody book! 

If it sounds like I'm a big kid about reading- well, guilty. I struggled through school thinking every time I read a book that I had to do a worksheet, or a project, or answer multiple choice questions about context clues and main idea. I read books to analyze a theme or plot. I never read for fun. 

So, my main goal now? Every time children come to check out books- they take an Everybody book with them. Just because. They're fun, and engaging- and everyone deserves to have a book. Just for fun.