Best of 2010 so far

Selected by:
Mary Slamin, Sandra Hile & Gail Fell

JP Juvenile Picture Books

(Read Aloud Stories)

JP Baker, Keith. LMO Peas. Beach Lane Books. Busy little peas introduce their favorite occupations, from astronaut to zoologist.

JP Bottner, Barbara. Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't). Alfred A. Knopf. A first-grade girl who does not like to read stubbornly resists her school librarian's efforts to convince her to love books until she finds one that might change her mind.

JP Parenting "G" Braun, Sebastian. Back to Bed, Ed! Peachtree Publishers. Ed the mouse will not sleep in his own bed, until eventually his exasperated and tired parents find a way to keep him from joining them in the middle of the night.

JP B. Brush, Brush, Brush. Scholastic. Are your teeth clean and white? Do you brush them day and night? Do you brush them up and down? Making faces like a clown? Sing along while you brush.

JP Craig, Lindsey. Dancing Feet! Alfred A. Knopf. Lindsey Craig's rollicking text features funny sound words (Tippity! Creepity! Stompity! Thumpity!), dancing animals, a singsong beat, and a guessing element just easy enough for preschoolers to anticipate.

JP Parenting "B" Feiffer, Kate. But I Wanted A Baby Brother! A Paula Wiseman Book. Oliver Keaton wants a baby brother more than anything but when he gets a baby sister instead, he sets out with his dog Chaplin to trade his sister for the perfect baby brother.

JP Frasier, Debra. A Fabulous Fair Alphabet. Beach Lane Books. Bursting with bright, bold illustrations of favorite fair elements like dill pickles and Ferris wheels and midway games, here is an alphabet-exploring adventure like no other!

JP Gilani-Williams, Fawzia. Nabeel's New Pants: an Eid tale. Marshall Cavendish. While buying gifts for his family to wear to the mosque on Eid a shoemaker buys+ new pants for himself, but the only pair available is too long and no one seems to have time to shorten them.

JP Gravett, Emily. Dogs. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Big dogs, small dogs, stripy dogs, spotty dogs. There are so many different kinds of dogs. How can anyone pick one type of dog to love the most?

JP Hall, Michael. My Heart is Like a Zoo. Greenwillow Books. Twenty animals are waiting for young readers. Hall's menagerie invites parents and their children to talk about feelings and emotions explore colors and shapes, count the hearts, and meet the animals.

JP Henkes, Kevin. My Garden. Greenwillow Books. A young girl imagines her dream garden complete with jellybean bushes, chocolate rabbits, and tomatoes the size of beach balls.

JP Huneck, Stephen. Sally's Great Balloon Adventure. Abrams Books for Young Readers. Lured into a hot air balloon by the smell of fried chicken, Sally the black Labrador retriever inadvertently goes for a ride all by herself.

JP Karas, G. Brian. The Village Garage. Christy Ottaviano Books. Throughout the seasons the workers at the Village Garage are busy taking care of the town and its residents.

JP Kemp, Anna. Dogs Don't Do Ballet. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Meet Biff, an adorable little puppy who will stop at nothing to become a ballet dancer.

JP Kerby, Johanna. Little Pink Pup. G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pink, a piglet who is the runt of the litter, is adopted by Tink, a dachshund who is nursing a litter of her own, and Pink is raised in the house along with the puppies.

JP Kimmelman, Leslie. The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah. Holiday House. No one will help the Little Red Hen make the Passover matzah, but they all want to help her eat it. Includes information about Passover, a recipe for matzah, and a glossary of Yiddish words used in the story.

JP Toddler Lionni, Leo. Colors, Numbers, Letters: 3 Books in 1. Alfred A. Knofp. Leo Lionni's playful mice invite the youngest children to identify colors, count to 10 and learn their ABCs.

JP London, Jonathan. I'm a Truck Driver. Henry Holt. Readers will love watching the little boy and girl in the story as they sit in the driver's seat of twelve great machines that rumble and tumble and go clinka-vroom vroom!

JP Mccully, Emily Arnold. Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smartest Horse. Henry Holt and Co. Bill "Doc" Key, a veterinarian, trained his horse, Jim Key, to recognize letters and numbers and to perform in skits around the country, and moved the nation toward a belief in treating animals humanely.

JP McQuinn, Anna. Lola Loves Stories. Charlesbridge. Join Lola as she goes to the library with her daddy. She has fun reading the books she finds there, and even more fun imagining adventures inspired by the books.

JP SPA Mora, Pat. Gracias Thanks. Lee & Low Books. A young boy celebrates family, friendship, and fun by telling about some of the everyday things for which he is thankful.

JP Niemann, Christoph. Subway. Greenwillow Books. Simple, rhyming text follows two boys and their father as they spend a rainy day riding the various lines of the New York City subway system.

JP O'Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy Poet Extraordinaire! Harper Collins. Fancy Nancy and her class learn about poetry and write their own poems to read on Family Day at school.

JP Piven, Hanoch. My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil. Schwartz & Wade Books. When her grandma asks her about school, a girl draws a class portrait, adding details that show what makes each person special.

JP Portis, Antoinette. Kindergarten Diary. Harper Collins. Starting kindergarten can be a little scary. But Annalina shows us there are lots of new and exciting things to look forward to-meeting your teacher, playing on the monkey bars, feeding the pet tortoise, and making new friends.

JP Rash, Andy. Are You a Horse? Arthur A. Levine Books. When Roy gets a saddle for his birthday, he goes in search of a horse. The problem is he doesn't know what a horse is.

JP Smith, Lane. It's a Book. Roaring Brook Press. Monkey teaches his friend about reading in the digital age. Features the best last line ever written in the history of children's literature.

JP Underwood, Deborah. The Quiet Book. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Quiet can be sweet, and cozy, and can most definitely help you fall asleep. With kid-centric descriptions and irresistible artwork, this gentle picture book explores all the different quiets that can fill a child's days.

JP Toddler Walker, David. Hello, New York City! Sterling. Say hello to wide-awake pigeons and sleepy carriage horses, graceful ballerinas and clumsy circus clowns and much more from the Big Apple.

JP Willems, Mo. City Dog, Country Frog. Hyperion Books for Children. In spring, when City Dog runs free in the country for the first time, he spots Country Frog sitting on a rock. They become friends through all seasons.

JP Yolen, Jane. My Father knows the Names of Things. Simon & Schuster. From each bird that sings to every kind of cloud, the father in this story knows the names of them all--and takes the time to impart his knowledge to his child.

JE Juvenile Easy Readers

(Beginning Reader)

Chaconas, Dori. Cork & Fuzz: the babysitters. Viking. Best friends Cork and Fuzz are babysitting a little porcupine, but one of them is doing all the work.

Lin, Grace. Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! Little Brown and Company. Ling and Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same, but time and again they prove to be different.

O'Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy: Spectacular Spectacles. Harper. When Nancy's friend Bree gets some glittery glasses to help her see better, Nancy, who likes to be fancy, wants to wear glasses too.

Ries, Lori. Aggie the Brave. Charlesbridge. Ben's dog Aggie is at the vet to get spayed. Find out who needs more courage, Aggie or Ben, as this loveable duo deal with loneliness and healing.

Willems, Mo. I am going!: an Elephant and Piggie book. Hyperion Books for Children; Piggie ruins a perfectly good day by telling Gerald he is going. But if Piggie goes, who will Gerald play ping-pong and wear silly hats with?

Willems, Mo. Let's Say Hi to Friends Who Fly. Balzer & Bray. An exuberant cat cheers on her friends as they demonstrate whether or not they can fly.

JYR Juvenile Young Readers

(1st & 2nd Grade Reader)

Butler, Dori. The Buddy Files: the case of the lost boy. Albert Whitman & Company. While searching for his mysteriously lost human family, Buddy the dog is adopted by another family and helps solve the mystery of their missing boy.

Byars, Betsy. Cat Diaries. Henry Holt. On one night every year, cats in the MEOW Society, which stands for "Memories Expressed In Our Writing," gather to read from their diaries, hearing stories of a gypsy cat, a Caribbean pirate cat, a library cat, and many others.

Nolan, Lucy. Home on the Range. Marshall Cavendish. Dogs Down Girl and Sit accompany their masters to a dude ranch, where they encounter scary "squirrels" that live in holes in the ground, stampedes, and enemies even worse than their nemesis, the cat that lives next door.

Seabrooke, Brenda. Wolf Pie. Clarion Books. Can a wolf and three pigs ever be friends. Please note that no wolves were harmed in the creation of this book.

J Juvenile Fiction

(Novels / Stories 3rd Grade & Higher)

Dowell, Frances O'Roark. Falling in. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Like Alice through the looking glass, Isabelle Bean finds herself in a parallel universe, where she's mistaken for a witch, then finds out her grandmother is a witch.

Draper, Sharon M. Out of my Mind. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Fifth-grader Melody has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her body but not her mind. Although she is unable to walk, talk, or feed or care for herself, she can read, think, and feel. A brilliant person is trapped inside her body, determined to make her mark in the world in spite of her physical limitations.

Gardner, Lyn. Out of the Woods. David Ficklin Books. The Eden sisters are lured to the fair by Belladonna, a witch who wants Aurora's heart and Stormy's powerful musical pipe.

Gutman, Dan. Roberto & Me: a baseball card adventure. Harper Collins. Stosh travels back to 1969 to try to prevent the untimely death of Roberto Clemente, a legendary baseball player and humanitarian, but upon his return to the present, he meets his own great-grandson who takes him into the future, and what he finds there is more shocking than anything he has encountered in his travels to the past.

Ignatow, Amy. The Popularity Papers: research for the social improvement and general betterment of Lydia Goldblatt & Julie Graham-Chang. Amulet Books. Two best friends embark on a project to study the behavior and taste of the popular girls at their elementary school so that by the time they get to middle school they too will be in the right crowd.

MacLachlan, Patricia. Word After Word After Word. Harper Collins. A visiting author teaches five friends about the power of words and writing.

Paulsen, Gary. Lawn Boy Returns. Wendy Lamb Books. Having expanded his summer lawn mowing job into an ever-growing business conglomerate, a twelve-year-old boy gets involved in high finance thanks to his hippie stockbroker, takes on sponsorship of a boxer, and becomes a media sensation.

Paulsen, Gary. Woods Runner. Wendy Lamb Books. From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community.

Philbrick, W. R. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. Blue Sky Press. Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.

Riordan, Rick. The Red Pyramid. Hyperion Books. After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe. The first book in Rick Riordan's exciting new series, The Kane Chronicles.

Spinelli, Eileen. The Dancing Pancake. Alfred A. Knopf. Eleven-year-old Belinda "Bindi" Winkler and her family find their way through tough times with the love and support of the community that grows around their newly opened restaurant, "The Dancing Pancake."

Tooke. Wes. Lucky, Maris, Mantle, and my Best Summer Ever. Simon & Schuster. Louis, who loves baseball despite being the worst stickball player in White Plains, New York, sees his opportunity to be bat boy for the 1961 Yankees team as the perfect way to escape the problems of his father's remarriage and moving to the suburbs.

Vail, Rachel. Justin Case: School, Drool, and other Daily Disasters. Feiwel and Friends. Justin K. (for Krzeszewski), nicknamed Justin Case, has fairly standard third-grade worries (former best friends, rope climbing in gym) and pretty typical joys (current best friends, making it to the top of the rope). He expresses all of these in diary form throughout a school year.

Wood, Maryrose. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. Balzer and Bray. Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children. Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess.

Zahler, Diane. The Thirteenth Princess. Harper. Zita, raised as a kitchen maid, learns when she is nearly twelve that she is a princess and that her twelve sisters love her, and so when she discovers they are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them.

J Graphc Novel

J Graphic Kim. Kim, Susan. City of Spies. First Second Books. Mystery, and intrigue abound in this World War II spy tale. Evelyn typically satisfies her longing for adventure with the help of a pencil and a sheet of paper. But when she makes a new friend, Tony, she's happy to abandon her art for a real-life search for spies.

J Graphic Pien, Lark. Long Tail Kitty. Blue Apple Books. Meet Long Tail Kitty and his friends and neighbors: a bee who's friends with the flowers (at least the nice ones), Good Tall Mouse, who likes ice skating, and a family of aliens who drop in for one night of fun.

J Graphic S Superman: The Story of the Many of Steel. Cosentino, Ralph. Viking Children's Books. Told in simple, child-friendly language and illustrated with bright, bold artwork inspired by the originals, Superman is the perfect introduction to this beloved American icon.

J Juvenile Nonfiction

(Subject Books)

J 292 K. Karas, G. Brian. Young Zeus. Scholastic Press. This is the story of how young Zeus, with a little help from six monsters, five gods, an enchanted she-goat (that's me), and his mother, became god of gods, master of lightning and thunder, and ruler over all.

J 323.11 S. Shelton, Paula Young. Child of the Civil Rights Movement. Schwartz & Wade Books. The daughter of a civil rights activist brings a child's unique perspective to an important chapter in America's history.

J 551.46 R. Rizzo, Johnna. Oceans: Dolphins, Sharks, Penguins, and More! National Geographic. Heartwarming photos of animal families are accompanied by fun facts and fascinating information about the animals of the ocean and the environment they live in.

J 567.9 W. Woodward, John. Dinosaurs Eye To Eye: Zoom in on the world's most incredible dinosaurs. DK Books. Providing a zoomed-in encounter with dozens of the most incredible creatures ever to walk, stalk, swim, or fly.

J 569.67 B. Bardoe, Cheryl. Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age. Abrams Books for Young Readers. Examines both ancient and modern clues for insights into the diets, physical development and behavior of extinct animals.

J 571 L. Swerling, Lisa. The Little Brainwaves Investigate...Human Body. DK Publishers. The Little Brainwaves are little people with big ideas. Join them for an extremely informative look at how the amazing human body works.

J 590.22 D. Grubman, Steve. Orangutans Are Ticklish. Schwartz and Wade Books. Fun facts from an animal photographer with exciting pictures as well.

J 591.78 J. Jenkins, Steve. How to Clean a Hippopotamus: a look at unusual animal partnerships. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Explores animal symbiosis and offers readers a close-up, step-by-step view of nature's fascinating partnerships.

J 595.7 V. Voake, Steve. Insect Detective. Candlewick Press. Young readers will definitely catch the bug when they see this enticing, fact-filled invitation to explore the world of insects.

J 638.13 B. Burns, Loree Griffin. The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastophe. Houghton Mifflin. An examination of bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. Readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen if they were gone.

J 641.36 S. Sylver, Adrienne. Hot Diggity Dog: The History of the Hot Dog. Dutton Children's Books. Garnished with hilarious illustrations and amazing foodie facts, this kid-friendly, globespanning history of our favorite fast-food meal offers unique insight into America's multicultural heritage.

J 664.6 M. McCarthy, Meghan. Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum. Simon & Schuster. Sometimes the best inventions come from the most unexpected places. Full of fun historical facts, Pop is the true story of how bubble gum was invented.

J 682.92 M. Miller, Edward. Fireboy To The Rescue!: a fire safety book. Holiday House. Fireboy gives tips on preventing fires and staying safe if a fire does start.

J 811.54 F. Florian, Douglas. Poetrees. Beach Lane Books. This book is ripe with poetrees. They're grown to educate and please.

J 940.53 L. Levy, Debbie. The Year of Goodbyes: A true story of friendship, family and farewells. Disney-Hyperion Books. The true story of Jutta Salzberg's family's last year in Germany.

J B Edison. A Wizard from the Start: The Incredible Boyhood & Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison.Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. From his humble boyhood as a farmer's son, selling newspapers on trains, reading through public libraries shelf by shelf, and dreaming of new inventions, Thomas Edison went on to create the light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera.

J B Ewing. Stand Straight, Ella Kate: the True Story of a Real Giant. Dial Books for Young Readers. A touching and inspiring true story about a strong-minded girl who keeps growing and growing and soon learns to embrace her differences.

J B Ford. Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford. National Geographic. Driven combines fine photography and an inviting text to depict Ford's life and his impact on the world.

J B Lincoln. Lincoln Tells a Joke: How laughter saved the president (and the country). Harcourt Children's Books. This unusual biography of Abraham Lincoln highlights his life and presidency, focusing on what made his sense of humor so distinctive--and so necessary to surviving his tough life and times.

J B Obama. Obama: only in America. Marshall Cavendish. From birth to getting elected as president, a biography told in lyrical prose.

J B Soriano. Biblioburro: a true story from Colombia. Beach Lane Books. Luis loves to read, but soon his house in Colombia is so full of books there's barely room for the family. Then he comes up with the perfect solution--a traveling library! He buys two donkeys--Alfa and Beto--and travels with them throughout the land, bringing books and reading to the children in faraway villages.

JNF Parenting

(Parenting Books)