EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Lifestyle

January 3, 2010

Best Children's Books of 2009

If you are interested in some of the most acclaimed books released for children this year, look no further than this, compiled by librarians across the country:

BOARD BOOKS

"Baby, I Love You" (Little Simon, $7.99), by Karma Wilson; illustrated by Sam Williams. (Ages infant-two years).

"Daddy, Papa and Me" and "Mommy, Mama and Me" (Tricycle, $7.99 each), by Leslea Newman; illustrated by Carol Thompson (Ages infant-two years).

PICTURE BOOKS:

"Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales" written and illustrated by "Maisy" creator Lucy Cousins (Candlewick Press, $18.99, ages 4-8).

"Stick Man" (Scholastic, $16.99), by Julia Donaldson; illustrated by Axel Scheffler. (Ages 4-8).

"Let's Do Nothing" (Candlewick Press, $16.99), written and illustrated by Tony Fucile (Ages 3-6).

"Birds" (Greenwillow, $17.99), by Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes; illustrated by Laura Dronzek. (Ages 3-6).

"Crow Call" (Scholastic, $16.99), by Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. (Ages 4-8).

"The Lion & the Mouse" (Little Brown, $16.99), illustrator Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of an Aesop's fable. (Ages 3-8).

"Duck! Rabbit!" (Chronicle, $16.99), by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. (Ages 4-8).

"Erika-San" (Houghton Mifflin, $17), written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Allen Say (Ages 6-10).

"All the World" (Simon & Schuster, $17.99), by Liz Garton Scanlon; illustrated by Marla Frazee. (Ages 3-6).

"Truckery Rhymes" by Jon Scieszka; illustrated by David Shannon (Simon & Schuster, $17.99). (Ages 4-8).

BEGINNING/EARLY READERS:

"Dodsworth in London" (Houghton Mifflin, $15), written and illustrated by Tim Egan. (Ages 4-8).

"The Dunderheads" by Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman; illustrations by David Roberts (Candlewick Press, $16.99, ages 5-10).

"Pigs Make Me Sneeze" (Hyperion, $8.99), written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Ages 4-7).

GRAPHIC NOVELS:

"Luke On the Loose" by Harry Bliss (TOON Books, $12.95, ages 4-6).

"The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook" written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis (Bloomsbury, $10.99, ages 7-12).

The "Lunch Lady" series, written and illustrated by Jarrett Krosoczka (Knopf, $5.99 each, ages 6-10).

"Little Mouse Gets Ready," written and illustrated by "Bone" creator Jeff Smith (TOON Books, $12.95, ages 4-7).

"Adventures in Cartooning," written and illustrated by James Sturm et al (First Second, $12.95, ages 6-12).

NOVELS:

"The Magician's Elephant" by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press, $16.99, ages 8-12)

"Scat" by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf, $16.99, ages 9-12).

"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly (Henry Holt, $16.99, ages 10-14).

"Melonhead" by Katy Kelly (Delacorte, $12.99, ages 7-10).

"The Faceless Ones," the latest "Skulduggery Pleasant" book by Derek Landy (Harper, $16.99, ages 10-14).

"The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis" by Barbara O'Connor (FSG, $16.99, ages 8-12).

"A Season of Gifts," the latest in the Grandma Dowdel saga, by Newbery Medalist Richard Peck (Dial, $16.99, ages 9-12).

"When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead (Random House, $15.99, ages 9-12).

HYBRIDS - PART NOVEL, PART GRAPHIC NOVEL

"Dog Days," the latest "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books, $13.95, ages 7-12).

"Malice" by Chris Wooding (Scholastic, $14.99, ages 12 up).

NON-FICTION:

"Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War" by Thomas and Roger Allen (National Geographic, $18.95, ages 10 up).

"The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous of Showman P.T. Barnum" by Candace Fleming (Random House, $18.99, ages 12 up).

"Moonshot," written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum, $17.99, ages 7-10).

"Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman (Henry Holt, $18.95, ages 12 up).

"Claudette Colvin," this year's National Book Award winner in the Young People's Literature category, by Phillip Hoose (FSG, $19.95, ages 12 up).

"Saving the Ghost of the Mountain" by Sy Montgomery; photographs by Nic Bishop (Houghton Mifflin, $18, ages 9-12).

"Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting" by Jim Murphy (Scholastic, $19.99, ages 12 up).

"Marching for Freedom" by Elizabeth Partridge (Viking, $19.99, ages 10 up).

"Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride" by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Jump at the Sun/Disney, $16.99, ages 5-10).

"Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream" by Tanya Stone (Candlewick Press, $24.99 hardcover, $17.99 paperback, ages 10 up).

POETRY:

"City I Love" by Lee Bennett Hopkins; illustrated by Marcellus Hall (Abrams, $16.95, ages 4-8).

"Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face," a treasury of poems by Jack Prelutsky; illustrated by Brandon Dorman (Greenwillow, $22.99, ages 4 up).

YOUNG ADULT FICTION:

"Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking, $17.99, ages 13 up)

"Fire" by Kristin Cashore (Dial, $17.99, ages 13 up).

"Catching Fire," the second book in "The Hunger Games" trilogy by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $17.99, ages 13 up).

"Marcelo in the Real World" by Francisco X. Stork (Scholastic, $17.99, ages 13 up).

Scripps Howard News Service

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Lifestyle

Get Cooking: Recipes from local chefs
Photos of the Week