It happens at least once every season. There’s a particular Lerner series that I fall head-over-heels in love with. This season, that series is Name That Text Type! (cover pictured). Just why do I adore it? Let me count the ways.

1. It’s all about a topic near and dear to my heart: language, literature, and their power to add meaning to our lives.

2. It shows readers that each text type is all around us—an integral part of our everyday experience. For instance, the first example of a poem in the What Is Poetry? book is the “Happy Birthday” song.

3. It reveals the inherent appeal of every genre. To quote from the series: “Fiction takes you into other worlds. It lets you meet other people.”   Plays “are exciting to watch. The theater lights dim. Music fills your ears. Then actors come onto the stage.”

4. The design is absolutely lovely. Each page is simple, elegant, and beautiful—never visually “talking down” to young readers.

5. School Library Journal loves it too! From their August issue: “Definitions and explanations are brief but informative, with illustrated examples along the way…. [A] colorful but pared down layout adds to the charm.” Name That Text Type! offers “concise works ideal for units on introducing the concept of genres or types of literature.”

Check it out and see if you don’t develop a book crush of your own!