As much time as I've spent talking to parents about reading with their children, there's a question that always stumps me, and that is when parents ask for specific recommendations of books their children should read.

Paul Haxo spends a lot of time helping kids find books as librarian at Fairmont and Harding elementary schools in El Cerrito, Kensington Elementary in Kensington, and Wilson and Stege elementary schools in Richmond, so he seemed like the logical person to ask.

Haxo says the first thing he does is ask the child what she's interested in. If that doesn't get an answer, he'll prompt her with silly suggestions like, "Would you like a book about a chimp who scratches his head?"

The intent of the humor, he says, is to put the child at ease. His next step might be to suggest a genre such as ghost story, adventure, or mystery. If it's a kid he's worked with for a while, he may already have the advantage of knowing her tastes from past selections.

For Haxo, the next step is to draw upon his vast knowledge of children's books. He's been known to read 100 to 150 children's books a year.

Parents also can consider what books their children have read and their interests and ask a few questions. But what if they don't happen to have read hundreds of children's books? Haxo suggests they ask the school librarian or children's librarian at their public library for recommendations if possible.

Some parents may be inclined to steer their children toward higher brow material than what the children favor. Haxo recommends caution with this approach.

"You don't want reading to become a bone of contention. You want it to be a pleasure."

Haxo works to give his libraries an informal feel, having the children call him Paul, rather than Mr. Haxo. He reads to students at his schools as much as possible, and makes a point of choosing many funny stories. Haxo, who has a PhD in drama history, draws on his theater background when he reads, employing a variety of voices and facial expressions to breathe life into the characters.

At the same time he weaves in information about literature such as the characteristics of stories from different cultures and genres. For older children he's more inclined to look for selections related to what the students are studying.

He cautions parents shopping in bookstores that what is popular may not always be age appropriate.  Newbery Medal books, he says, often are better choices for reading aloud to children than for independent reading because those books often address issues that should be discussed between parent and child.

He encourages parents to continue the process of reading aloud to their children as long as they possibly can because it provides such a wonderful opportunity for parent-child bonding, as well as discussing concepts and exposing the child to more advanced vocabulary.

Haxo suggests saving easier books, like Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series, for the children to enjoy reading on their own and selecting books a couple of grade levels above what the children are reading themselves for read-aloud selections.

Haxo recalls a discussion with his son, prompted by reading together, that included questions from his son like, "Do bad people go to jail? Do good people go to jail? Do bad people ever do good things? Do good people ever do bad things?"

This example is a good reminder that the conversations we have with children around books are even more important than the books we select.

Suggestions from the Contra Costa County Library system can be found on  its website, which has a wonderful section just for kids. The KidsHealth website offers advice directly to kids on finding great books.