This resource book is intended to help parents identify good books for their children by offering a list of the best contemporary Australian books for children and by explaining ways to recognize what qualities to look for in new and unfamiliar books. The first section of the book answers some common questions about why books and reading aloud are important to children's development. The second section contains an annotated list of over 70 recommended children's books in the following categories: (1) board books; (2) alphabets and counting books; (3) aboriginal stories; (4) laughter; (5) everyday life; (6) flights of the imagination; (7) animals; (8) back in time; (9) longer picture books; (10) poetry and anthologies; and (11) short novels. The third section discusses five criteria for choosing children's books. Those criteria are suitability, literary and artistic merit, balance between text and illustrations, production quality, and lasting appeal. The final section of the book offers an annotated list of reference books that contain more recommended books and discussion of how to use them with children. (TJQ)