Our 2023 Screen-Free Booklist, in collaboration with Children’s Book Week is filled with awesome books to inspire healthy screen time! Three authors of books added this year shared videos with us where they talk about Screen-Free Week or read from their stories. Check them out below and get the full booklist here.
Author Howard Pearlstein wishes us a happy Screen-Free Week and talks about his book, Connor Crowe Can’t Let Go!
“Would you rather have 100 friends that you’ve never met online or one that will actually show up in person when you really needed them?” Author Dr. Allan Peterkin reads from Peacock & Sketch.
Author Annette Sexton reads from Timmy’s Monster Diary: Screen Time Stress (But I Tame It, Big Time) for Screen-Free Week.
Stephanie Wildman reads her book, Treasure Hunt, a new addition to the Screen-Free Children’s Booklist this year!
We can’t wait to celebrate with you during Children’s Book Week and Screen-Free Week, from May 1-7, 2023! Happy reading!
We love celebrating during the same week as Children’s Book Week because one of our favorite Screen-Free Week activities is reading!
Each year, we pair up with the Children’s Book Council to curate a list of books that inspire kids and teens to unplug and have healthy relationships with technology! This year, we added six awesome new books to our list! We love so much about them, but here are the highlights, below:
Book by David W. Miles, illus. by Natalie Hoopes (Familius) What we love: Simple words and soft illustrations celebrate the idea that books, with no off switch and no need to charge, hold amazing worlds! (Ages 4-8)
Climb On! by Baptiste Paul, illus. by Jacqueline Alcántara (NorthSouth Books) What we love: This multilingual (English and Creole) book tells the story of a child who pulls her dad away from the TV to go for a hike. The two bond as they encounter little adventures on the way to the top! (Ages 4-8)
Peacock and Sketch by Allan Peterkin, MD, illus. by Sandhya Prabhat (APA Books for Children and Teens) What we love: Kid-friendly commentary on influencers and fast fame! We love the illustrations, the quirky Peacock character, and the message of the importance of real friendship. (Ages 4-8)
Connor Crowe Can’t Let Go by Howard Pearlstein, illus. by Stefani Buijsman (Clavis) What we love: It’s hard to put down the screen; this book adds humor to the problem when the screen literally sticks to little Connor! (Ages 5-9)
Treasure Hunt by Stephanie Wildman, illus. by Estefania Razo (Lawley Publishing) What we love: A big brother leads younger siblings away from video games and toward a fun treasure hunt! We love to see siblings guiding siblings in healthy screen habits. (Ages 5-12)
Timmy’s Monster Diary: Screen Time Stress (But I Tame It, Big Time) by Dr. Raun Melmed, illus. Jeff Harvey (Familius) What we love: This book was written by an ADHD expert for children who need support with device use. We love that it offers concrete tactics for managing screen time, a suggestion made by a peer to Timmy the monster who finds success and a happy balance in the end. (Ages 7-11)
The list also features past winners, which include books for readers ages 0-18! Get the full list here.
What we love about these books is they serve as great conversation starters. We look for books that don’t shame kids about their screen use, but instead are empathetic to how hard it is to put down a device while also providing inspiration to unplug!
We can’t wait to celebrate with you during Children’s Book Week and Screen-Free Week, from May 1-7, 2023! Happy reading!
Established in 1919, Children’s Book Weekis the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, young people across the country participate by attending events at schools, libraries, bookstores, celebrating at home, and engaging with book creators both online and in person.
This celebration of books and reading is a time for readers of all ages to share books that they love, to discover new books, and to engage with their communities.
We LOVE books and we want people everywhere to tap into that same joy. Every Child a Reader’s mission is clear in its name, and Children’s Book Week is one of the main ways we work to accomplish our goal.
So, what can you do to celebrate Children’s Book Week (May 1-7) and what resources do we have to help?
Children’s Book Week 2023 is all about the spark of inspiration that can come from a book. Our theme is Read Books. Spark Change. which speaks to the power that books and stories have to inspire positive change. Books can spark change within an individual reader, a family, a classroom, or a whole community.
Every Child a Reader has created a bunch of free resources for kids and adults to celebrate and find their spark.
The Official Children’s Book Week Poster by Rilla Alexander. About her poster Rilla said “For the theme Read Books. Spark Change, I kept coming back to the butterfly effect. And how, even if you’re small, you can make a big difference.”
Find Your Spark Challenge. Follow the steps in the Challenge guide to find your newest spark from a book.
Bookmarkswith activities by five amazing illustrators. Print them all, cut the bookmark off to use in your current read and enjoy the fun, related activities.
Drawing Instructions. Kids interested in learning more about how illustrators create book characters can use these step-by-step instructions to draw all kinds of things.
Anyone can celebrate from anywhere using these resources. You can host a book party, go to a library or bookstore, read by yourself, or read with someone. Let us know how you are celebrating on social media using #ReadBooksSparkChange.
We love that our celebration coincides with Screen Free Week. Diving into a good book or magazine is a perfect way to celebrate both!
In 2018, Children’s Book Week is the same week as Screen Free Week! Here’s how to host both events together—and get in some great reading while you unplug. And check out our new resource: fun books for kids about reducing screen time!
CCFC and the American Academy of Pediatrics want you to know that taking a break from entertainment screen media can help you launch healthy media habits for the rest of the year! Learn more here.
Changing children’s screen habits can be a challenge for both kids and parents. That’s why we created “7 Parent-Tested Tips to Unplug and Play,” strategies for getting young kids to spend less time with screens from real parents who have done it and noticed a world of difference.
Want the children in your life to spend more time playing and less time with screens? CCFC’s great new handout is for you. Clear, concise, and evidence-based, our Healthy Kids in a Digital World brochure is packed with tips, facts, and screen-free activities—and it’s free!