About Build Strong Children
“Build Strong Children” is half of a quote by Frederick Douglass that I read years ago:
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
I have always believed that books play an important role in building strong children.
My wife, my daughter, and I love books. Or more specifically, we love good stories.
Our daughter was born during the COVID pandemic, and like many families, we spent a lot of time at home. Since we loved books, we read constantly. We read during the day, before naps, before bedtime, and sometimes whenever we simply needed a few quiet moments together.
The more we read, the more we realized how difficult it was to find good book recommendations. Most lists seemed random, promotional, or incomplete. The best recommendations often came from other parents we knew personally, but that only provided a small pool of books for a child with a seemingly endless appetite for stories.
Then our local librarian challenged us to complete the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program.
While we happily accepted the challenge, I remember wondering where we were going to find 1,000 good books.
That question eventually became Build Strong Children.
What We Do
Our goal is simple:
Help parents discover books worth reading again and again.
We review children's books and organize them by age, theme, and rating so parents can spend less time searching and more time reading.
Most of our reviews focus on books for children from birth through the early elementary years, though we occasionally review books for older readers as well.
Our Review System
Every book we review falls into one of three categories:
⭐ Favorite
Books we love, read repeatedly, and would happily give as gifts.
✓ Nothing Wrong
Good books that we enjoyed, but that didn't quite become favorites.
✕ Skip
Books we would choose not to read again when there are better alternatives available.
We believe a review system only has value if reviewers are willing to say when a book isn't worth recommending.
Why We Do It
Reading with children creates opportunities for learning, imagination, conversation, and connection. It helps build vocabulary, attention span, creativity, empathy, and countless other skills.
Most importantly, it creates memories.
We hope Build Strong Children helps you discover a few books that become favorites in your own home.
Happy reading!