Best-selling author James Patterson, famous for his detective and psychologist Alex Cross novels among others, is helping parents with their children's summer reading.

The 65-year-old Patterson created a summer reading list through his ReadKiddoRead Program. The program is designed to help parents select the best books for their children based on their child's age. 

Patch, AOL's network local news, information and engagement sites, has partnered with Patterson to help spread the word about the ReadKiddoRead Program. The aim of the program is to help parents to encourage their young ones to become avid readers.

"James Patterson's passion for inspiring children to read made this partnership a perfect fit for Patch, given our commitment to supporting our communities— and by extension, the kids and families in those communities," stated Patch Co-Founder Warren Webster, about the partnership.  

Patterson praised Patch, which has more than 850 sites throughout the country, for allowing parents to become more engaged with their community through the news website

"I’m proud to be working with Patch to get more children reading good books," said Patterson. "I’m really excited to be getting a conversation going this summer with such a lively and active network of families across the country.” 

Please see the following articles to find the best books for your children:

• Reading list for preschoolers and kids ages 2-7
• Reading list for kids ages 6-9
• Reading list for kids ages 8-12
• Reading list for tweens and teens

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our newsletter.