The ABC Children's Group is dedicated to the enrichment and expansion of independent children's bookstores and their readers. Annual dues are $50.

Bookseller benefits include:

• Free "Snack Nap Read" poster (upon joining)
• A members listserv
• A monthly enewsletter, The Flashlight, with special tips and offers
• 250 free ABC Best Books for Young Readers catalogs
• Children's bookselling marketing designs and resources
• Dedicated children’s bookselling education at the annual ABC Children’s Institute and other events
• Exclusive offers relating to ABC Children’s Institute
• Member prices for the ABC Group’s annual BookExpo events

Authors, illustrators, publishers, and other supporters of children’s bookselling can subscribe to the ABC Group listserv and request a mailing list of bookstore members. Publisher subscribers can submit titles for consideration to include in the ABC Best Books for Young Readers Catalog, the summer reading program, and the Indies Introduce program.

The entire ABA community benefits from the work and mission of the ABC Group. Any ABA bookstore, regardless of ABC membership, may attend children's bookselling-focused education at ABA events; promote the annual E.B. White Read Aloud Awards; and receive 20 free ABC Children's Best Books for Young Readers catalogs with the option to purchase additional quantities.

To Join

Bookstores: Contact Gen de Botton, ABC Group Manager, to join. You may also opt-in to the ABC Group with your renewal submission.
If you are not currently an ABA member, join ABA and select the opt-in to ABC Children's Group membership on your application.

Publishers*, Authors, Illustrators and Industry Friends: Join as an ABC Group Subscriber.

• Indies Introduce debut authors marketing materials and special terms for middle-grade and YA debut titles

  Show More About Indies Introduce

  Independent booksellers across the country twice yearly discover and champion twenty titles as the best new talent to share with customers. Indies Introduce highlights 10 children’s debut books selected by teams of booksellers, who seek out the best by first-time authors. Publishers provide varying incentives for titles chose to be in the Indies Introduce program. Each season, the titles, blurbs, and DIY materials are added to BookWeb.org's Design and Downloads section. Indies Introduce also highlights 10 adult titles chosen by a separate panel of booksellers.

• The exclusive right to purchase tickets to the ABC Group's annual BookExpo events, which focus on children’s authors and illustrators
• Free admission to the Annual Children's Book Art Silent Auction to Benefit ABFE and Free Speech in Children's Books
• Exclusive voting privileges for the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards

  Show More About the E.B. White Read Aloud Awards

  The E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, established in 2004, honor books that reflect the universal read aloud standards that were created by the work of the author E.B. White in his classic books for children: Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. In the first two years of the award, a single book was selected. In 2006, in recognition of the fact that reading aloud is a pleasure at any age, the award was expanded into two categories: Picture Books, and Older Readers. The winners are announced during the Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch at BookExpo America, and the shortlist books that remain receive E. B. White Read Aloud Honors.

  Click here for E.B. White DIY sticker files.

  Criteria and Selection Process

  Each year in January, a committee of independent booksellers nominates a list of new books (published the previous year) that they believe most embody the ideal of a good “Read Aloud.” Stores are allowed to put in more than one nomination, and are encouraged to get their employees involved in the nomination process. This list is narrowed down by the committee over a series of conversations, until they arrive at a short list of favorites.

  The shortlist is announced annually in April, and then independent booksellers from across the nation vote online to pick a single winner for each category. The winners are announced at ABA’s ABC Children’s Institute, and the shortlist books that remain receive E.B. White Read Aloud Honors.

  For more detailed information and a FAQ about the E.B. White Awards click here.

*Publishers must be ABA members to subscribe to the ABC Children's Group. Authors and illustrators do not need to be ABA members in order to subscribe to the ABC Children's Group.