I know that children’s books is correct, but for some reason I want to say kids books, even though I know that it’s a plural possessive noun ending in an s.
A quick search on the web turns up Barnes & Noble, who have a web page title that reads “Children's Books, Kids Books”.
Is the major bookseller wrong here? Or is there some exception I don’t remember?
More simply, is it kids books or kids’ books — and why?
Best Answer
Part of my answer to the question posted here was:
Nothing is lost by writing kids books rather than kids’ books. However, the Cambridge Guide does point out 'that there are special cases which seem anomalous without the apostrophe s', and one of them is childrens, 'because that is not a regular form of the word . . . Thus context is the final arbiter as to whether apostrophes are needed, as always.'