Why I built KiddReads
Most book-discovery sites are built by adults, for adults. They have ads. They serve up content meant for grown-ups. Their "AI recommendations" make up books that don't exist.
I built KiddReads to be different. Every book is hand-picked and age-classified. Every AI recommendation is verified against Google Books before it reaches a kid — so no hallucinated titles ever appear. No ads, no tracking, no commercial agenda.
If you serve young readers, I built this for you too.
What librarians might find useful
The things that matter when you're recommending books to kids and families.
55,000+ curated titles
Hand-picked, content-classified, and filterable by age and US grade level. Adult and inappropriate material is filtered at the catalog level — not left for a kid to stumble onto.
AI that never makes up books
Seb, our friendly book buddy, suggests real books — every recommendation is verified against the Google Books API before it ever reaches a kid. No fabricated titles, ever.
No ads. No tracking.
KiddReads is COPPA-conscious from the ground up. No ad networks. No kid analytics. Parents create each child account; kids' identities stay private.
Parents stay in the loop
Grown-ups can see what their child searches, reads, and reviews. Trust with visibility — exactly the model libraries are comfortable recommending to families.
Goodreads import
Kids can import their existing Goodreads library — every book is safety-checked, parents can override anything filtered. Their reading history travels with them.
👋 A note from me
I'm Brandon, a 12-year-old book lover in Vancouver, BC, and I built KiddReads myself — every page, every feature. I started building it because I couldn't find a book-discovery site actually made for kids my age, and I got tired of AI recommendations that made up titles that didn't exist. Every feature here reflects something a real kid (me!) wanted from a book site.
Ways librarians can use KiddReads
Practical ideas, starting today.
Link from your library page
Add KiddReads to your kids' resources page as a recommended book-discovery tool. I'm free, ad-free, and built so kids' interests come first.
Use it for recommendations
When a kid asks "what should I read next?" — they can ask Seb directly. Or you can use the browse-by-age filter to build a list together.
Reading lists
Browse by grade level to build reading lists and suggestions for your patrons. The catalog skews toward books kids actually want to read.
Help shape what comes next
I'd love to hear from librarians directly. What features would help you most? What's missing from existing kids' book sites?
🛠️ What I'm building for librarians next
Tell me which of these matter most — I'll prioritize based on what librarians actually ask for.
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Reading-level filters Lexile, Accelerated Reader, and Guided Reading levels for every book.
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Embeddable widget Copy-paste HTML to show "KiddReads recommendations" on your library website.
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Librarian's Pick badge Verified librarians can star books they personally recommend; those stars show up to kids browsing.
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Print-friendly reading lists Generate a clean PDF for classroom displays or reading programs.
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Curated collections Themed lists (mystery, kindness, mythology, and more) you can share or remix for your library.
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Suggest-a-book form Recommend additions to the catalog — I'll prioritize librarian recommendations.
Get in touch
Questions, ideas, feature requests, or just want to say hi? I'd love to hear from you.
bw@kiddreads.comEvery email gets read. Most get a personal reply within a day.