HERE are some of our favourite titles published for children this year. It was hard, but we limited ourselves to 10 books per category.
Picture Books
- Bentley, Peter. King Jack and the Dragon
Three boys build a castle fort and spend the day fighting off dragons and other baddies. Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
- Boynton, Sandra. Happy Hippo, Angry Duck (board book) A new Boynton book is always cause for happiness!
- Carle, Eric. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse Carle's homage to painter Franz Marc showcases his signature style in bold, beautiful colour.
- Crausaz, Anne. Seasons Explore the four seasons through five senses.
- Klassen, J. I Want My Hat Back
Bear goes on a search for his missing hat, with a satisfactory (if possibly shocking) result. The sly illustrations perfectly match the deadpan text.
- Portis, Antoinette. Princess Super Kitty
Imaginative play at its best: why pretend to be just a kitty when you could be a Princess Super Kitty?
- Watt, Melanie. Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party The world's favourite chicken lists all the reasons why he shouldn't invite anyone to his party and as usual, things go wrong. Fifth in a hugely popular picture book series.
- Willems, Mo. Amanda and Her Alligator
Amanda and her toy alligator share silly jokes and make a new friend in 6½ Stories about two Surprising Friends.
- Wilson, Karma. Bear's Loose Tooth
Our old friend, who has already snored on; stayed up for Christmas; made a new friend; and survived a cold, now has his first loose tooth and is once again helped out by his woodland friends.
- Ziefert, Hariet. Bunny's Lessons
Being the toy of a rambunctious boy is not easy, but Bunny and Charlie manage to learn from each other.
Fiction
- Coakley, Lena. Witchlanders
Ryder is on a quest to avenge his mother, and Falpian is on retreat to mourn his brother's death. The two should be enemies, but find they're not in this imaginative fantasy.
- Cottrell Boyce, Frank. The Unforgotten Coat
Two brothers from Mongolia mysteriously arrive in Julie's
Liverpool school and choose her to be their "Good Guide," to help them learn about English life. But they are facing something a lot more difficult than just fitting in to a new school.
- Ellis, Sarah. That Fatal Night Latest in the Dear Canada series, this is the diary of Dorothy Wilton, age 12, written a few months after she survived the sinking of the Titanic.
- Ford, Christopher. Stickman Odyssey: Book One, An Epic Doodle Yes, that's right-Homer's Odyssey rewritten and illustrated with stick figures. Goofily fun, but also true to the original.
- Morpurgo, Michael. Warhorse A reissue of an older title, to coincide with the upcoming movie. Reminiscent of Black Beauty, Joey the horse describes growing up on a farm, becoming a cavalry horse and finally reuniting with his beloved master.
- Peck, Richard. Secrets at Sea In the late 19th century, an American family sails to London, and the mice living in the basement decide to come too. It's like Upstairs, Downstairs. With mice. At sea. Fast-paced, funny and charming.
- Schneider, Josh. Tales for Very Picky Eaters Five hilarious stories about a father's devious techniques for getting James to eat terrible food such as broccoli, eggs and oatmeal.
- Selznick, Brian. Wonderstruck From the imagination that brought us The Invention of Hugo Cabret comes another story told in word and pictures.
- Ursu, Anne. Breadcrumbs Part fantasy, part fairy tale, yet also wholly realistic, this is the story of 10-year-old Hazel who must venture into the wintery Minnesota forest to rescue her friend Jack from the Snow Queen.
- Welsh, L. M. Mistress of the Storm Lonely, odd-one-out Verity discovers that she alone may have the power to save her family from a dangerous witch who can control the weather.
Non-Fiction/Information
- Arni, Samhita. Sita's Ramayana The classic Indian tale told in graphic novel format with bold, colour-saturated illustrations.
- Aronson, Marc. Trapped Relive the survival and rescue story of the Chilean miners.
- Chin, Jason. Coral Reefs A girl takes a library book off the shelf and goes on an amazing journey to a coral reef.
- Denenberg, Barry. Titanic Sinks! A poetic mix of fact and fiction that tells the familiar story in a way you haven't heard before.
- Jenkins, Steve. Time to Eat Jenkins' meticulous paper collages illustrate this comparison of who eats what in the animal world.
- Silverstein, Shel. Every Thing On It A posthumous collection of poems from a perennial favourite.
- Stewart, Ross. Into the Unknown: How great explorers found their way by land, sea and air Intricate cross-sections are the highlight of this history of exploration.
- Turnbull, Ann. Greek Myths 16 Greek myths retold in beautiful prose and illustration. If Percy Jackson sparked an interest in Greek mythology, this would be the perfect follow-up.
- Williams, Anne-Marie. Learn to Speak Dance: A guide to creating, performing and promoting your moves A whole lot more than ballet - beyond information about dance styles, there are instructions for building a stage, making costumes and putting on a show. Guaranteed to get you moving.
- Williams, Marcia. Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs Egyptian myths in graphic novel format. Words and pictures blend in a funny yet faithful retelling.
Compiled by the Children's staff of North Vancouver District Public Library. Guess what we're giving for Christmas this year? For more library information check out www.nvdpl.ca.
