How do you score?

Children's librarians pride themselves on being able to match children and books. We watch children's choices, listen to their requests and make suggestions about what they might want to try next. Do we usually choose correctly? It's hard to tell. This month The Horn Book presents a Children's Literature Application Test for school librarians (although it's just as applicable to public librarians). On a quiet weekend morning you might do worse than read through the test and try to answer the questions. You may not always agree with the answers, but they will certainly make you think. How much can we actually tell about a child by observing his or her book choices? What does it mean when a child rejects a book you just know she would enjoy? The quiz will give you a lot to think about as you do your weekend shopping.