2 April is International Children’s Book Day. On this special day, iRead published its first selection of 100 best books of the year, iRead Top 100 Children’s Books.

Taofen Fund Director General Nie Zhenning, Narada Foundation Director General Xu Yongguang, former IBBY China President Hai Fen, Hans Christian Anderson Award Winner Cao Wenxuan, Ocean University of China Professor of Children’s Literature Zhu Ziqiang, children’s reading expert Wang Lin, National Library of China Children’s Section Director Wang Zhigeng, IBBY Vice President Zhang Mingzhou, the iRead Foundation Director General Li Wen, Hongniba Reading Club founder A Jia, the Literature Department of Nanjing Normal University Professor Tan Fengxia, children’s author Ji Zhaohua, Xiaoduo Media founder Yang Midi, among others attended this event.

Every year, the iRead Foundation will select 100 best newly published books in China from tens of thousands annual publications in order to guide parents and children to choose high quality children’s books. The selection jury panel consists of experts on children’s literature, children’s education, children’s reading, children’s psychology, children’s science studies, and arts.

One year selection process

In order to ensure the quality of the book list, iRead has done rigorous work throughout the year. First, very large data are collected from a variety of sources. Then in each quarter, jury members will read hundreds of new books for the selection. For each book they recommend, the jurors need to write their reasons for recommendation. Equally importantly, we make sure the book list is diverse, including books in different genres and for different ages.

This year’s selection comes from newly published books in China between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017. The team first collected suitable data on 11,106 books in total. At the next stage, the Preliminary Assessment Committee selects suitable books for the jurors. In total, 2638 books were chosen. In every quarter, jury members read through all the books selected for that quarter. In total, 459 books were chosen by the jurors in the four quarters. Lastly, after thorough discussions, 100 excellent children’s books were selected. In addition, 10 more books were selected for teachers.

Guidelines

In the book selection process, several aspects are taken into account. The book list should include local Chinese cultures and international elements, pay attention to children’s interests and serve as a guide for children, stress the importance of core values and emphasize diverse thinking, respect the market’s choice and focus on the books’ relevance, and pay attention to both how interesting and intellectually stimulating the books are.

In this year’s selection, 30%, 35%, 35% of the books are for grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 respectively. 61%, 14%, 25% of the books are in the categories of literature, humanity and science respectively. Selected books are from 18 countries including China, U.S.A, Britain, Japan and so on, of which 33% are from China.

Donations to 1000 schools

At the press event, the iRead Foundation announced its plan to donate books selected by Top 100 Children’s Books to at least 1000 rural primary school libraries.

There are two ways to apply for iRead’s donation, by submitting an application form directly or through referral. Non-profit organizations focusing on improving children’s reading environment can apply by submitting the application form which can be downloaded from iRead’s Wechat offical account, official website and partner organizations’ platforms. Organizations working with primary school teachers and headmasters can directly refer schools qualified for the donation.

The iRead Foundation hopes these donations can serve as bridges connecting people in need with donors and charitable organizations.

Since its foundation, iRead has put great emphasis on delivering high quality children’s books to every child. From the publication of Primary School Core Book List to Top 100 Children’s Books, iRead’s book lists have been widely used.

The iRead Foundation has never ceased its pursuit of promoting high quality children’s reading and sharing the joy of reading with every child and adult.