Best books for Kids 2012

Last week I visited Prairie Lights Books for the FIRST Time!

It won’t be the last!

I met Barbara Stein, a guru of kids’ books who shared her knowledge and excitement of some of the new books for kids. She even gave me a copy of their 2012 favorites.

This list is compiled by Barbara Stein and Victoria Walton. I can’t wait to finish reading the list (and I’m not kidding!)

BOARD Books

Fox, Mem                        Hello Baby!

Gershator, Phillis            Who’s in the

                                    Farmyard?

Hutchins, Hazel            Up Cat; Up Dog

Stein, David                        Pouch

Poetry, Songs and Mother Goose

Alexander, Elizabeth            Praise Song for

                                    The Day

Elliot, David                        In the Sea

Florian, Douglas            UnBeelievables

Hoberman, MaryAnn

                                    Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart           

Loeb, Lisa                        Lisa Loeb’s Silly

                                    Sing-Along

Traditional

Ketteman, Helen            Senorita Gordita

Lowry, Amy                        Fox Tales: Four Fables from Aesop

Stampler, Ann                        The Wooden Sword” A Jewish Tale from                                                                                     Afghanistan

Picture Books

Allen, Jonathan            Don’t Copy Me

Buzzeo, Toni                        One Cool Friend

Davies, Nicola                        Just Ducks

Henkes, Kevin                        Penny and her Song

Hobbie, Holly                        Gem

Joose, Barbara                        Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats

Kalman, Maira            Looking at Lincoln

Lyons, Kelly                        Ellen’s Broom

Nichols, Grace                        I’m Fast                       

Parker, Marjorie            Whoa Baby, Whoa!

Patricelli, Leslie            Faster! Faster!

Schaefer, Lola M.            One Special Day: A Story for Big Brothers and Sisters

Singer, Marilyn            Tallulah’s Solo

Stoeke, Janet                        The Loopy Coop Hens: Pip’s Trip

Strauss, Linda                        The Elijah door: A Passover Tale

Wells, Rosemary            Yoko Learns to Read

Biography

Corey, Shana                        Here Come the Girl Scouts!

Kamkwamba,

William                        The Boy Who Harnessed Wind

Lang, Heather                        Queen of the Track

Nivola, Claire                        Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle

Tavares, Matt                        There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter who ever Lived

Walker, Sally                        Freedom Song: The Story of Henry “Box” Brown

Non-fiction

Abdul-Jabbar,

Kareem                        What color is my World? The Lost History of African-American

                                    Inventors

Carnesi, Monica            Little Dog Lost: The True Story of the Dog Named Baltic

Davies, Nicola                        Outside your Window: A First Book of Nature

Jenkins, Steve                        The Beetle Book

Judge, Lita                        Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why

The Mayo Clinic Kids’ Cookbook: 50 Favorite Recipes for Fun and Healthy eating

McHugh, Erin                        National Parks: A Kids’ Guide to America’s Parks, Monuments                                                 and Landmarks

Novesky, Amy            Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keefe painted what she                                                 Pleased

Potter, Alicia                        Mrs. Harkness and the Panda

Transitional Chapter Books

Butler, Dori                        The Case of the School Ghost

Cronin, Doreen            The Legend of Diamond Lil: A J.J. Tully Mystery

English, Karen                        Nikki and Deja: A Wedding Drama

Hest, Amy                        Letters to Leo

Jonell, Lynn                        Lawn Mower Magic

Jones, Diana Wynne

                                    Earwig and the Witch

McCall Smith,

Alexander                        The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case

McDonald, Megan            Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk

O’Connor, Jane            Nancy Clancy Super Sleuth           

Fiction

Applegate, Katharine

                                    The One and Only Ivan

Boyce, Frank                        Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again

Foley, Lizzie                        Remarkable

Hiassen, Carl                        Chomp

Ibbotson, Eva                        One Dog and His Little Boy

Levine, Kristin            The Lions of Little Rock

McKay, Hilary            Caddy’s World

Palacio, R.J.                  Wonder

Rex, Adam                     Cold Cereal

Riordan, Rick                The Serpent’s Shadows: Kane Chronicles Book 3

Stewart, Trenton

Lee                                    The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

Teens        

                       

Andrews, Jesse            Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Green, John                        The Fault in our Stars

Handler, Daniel            Why we Broke up

Petrucha, Stefan            Ripper

Quick, Matthew            Boy21

Voorhoeve, Anne            My Family for the War

Woodson, Jacqueline            Beneath a Meth Moon

Award winning, best and most excellent book lists for children, kids and teens

One of my favorite bookstores, ever, is Anderson's, I played, or should I say, worked there for six years and never found a more dedicated book of book gobblers. We loved reading and arguing about books. If you need suggestions for best books, great books, award winning books for children, kids, and young adults...this is a great resource.

Naperville    Downers Grove     Aurora

in Illinois

www.andersonsbookshop.com

www.abcfairs.com

Illinois Reading Council

March 14^th-17th, 2012

Looking at New Books for Children

Presenter, Becky Anderson

Grades K-3

Picture Books                                                                                                            _____________

And Then It’s Spring         Julie Fogliano, illus. Erin E. Stead

Another Brother        Matthew Cordell

Chopsticks        Amy Krouse Rosenthal,    illus. Scott Magoon           

Extra Yarn       Mac Barnett,      illus. Jon Klassen

Goodnight iPad,  A Parody for the Next Generation     Ann Droyd

Grandpa Green         Lane Smith

I Don’t Want To Be a Pea!       Ann Bonwill,   illus Simon Rickerty

I Want My Hat back                   Jon Klassen

Little Treasures         Jacqueline K. Ogburn,     illus. Chris Raschka

The Monster Returns         Peter McCarty

Moonlight          Helen V. Griffith,    illus. Laura Dronzek

M.O.M.            Doreen Cronin and Laura Cornell

More                  I.C. Springman,  illus.  Brian Lies           

No Bears         Meg McKinley,  illus. Leila Rudge

One Cool Friend         Toni Buzzeo,  illus.  David Small

Otto, The Book Bear           Katie Cleminson

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet            Paul Thurlby

Pete the Cat .. I Love My White Shoes and Rocking In My School Shoes       Eric Litwin,  illus. James Dean

Petunia Goes Wild                    Paul Schmid

Piggy Bunny                         Rachel Vail,    illus.  Jeremy Tankard

The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas           Tony Wilson,  illus.  Sue deGennaro

Prudence Wants a Pet           Cathleen Daly,   illus. Stephan Michael King

Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit         Chris Van Dusen

The Really Awful Musicians            John Manders

Stuck           Oliver Jeffers

Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur           Judy Sierra,  illus. Tim Bowers

Virginia Wolf           Kyo Maclear,  illus. Isabelle Arsenault

Z is for Moose          Kelly Bingham,  illus. Paul Zelinsky

Zero the Hero    Joan Holub,  illus. Tom Lichtenheld

Poetry, Language and Words________________________________________________

Book Speak! Poems about Books            Laura Purdie Salas, illus. Josee Bisaillon

Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie            J. Patrick Lewis, illus. Michael Slack

Grasshopper Pie and Other Poems           D.J. Steinberg,  illus. Adrian Sinnott

The Great Migration – Journey To The North           Eloise Greenfield,  illus. Jan Spivey Gilchrist

I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus           Jack Prelutsky,  illus. Jackie Urbanovic

A Meal Of the Stars – Poems Up and Down          Dana Jensen,  illus. Tricia Tusa

Out Of This World – Poems and Facts About Space           Amy E. Sklansky,  illus. Stacey Schuett

Poem Runs – Baseball Poems and Paintings            Douglas Florian

The President’s Stuck In the Bathtub – Poems about the Presidents      Susan Katz,  illus. Robert Neubecker

Step Gently Out           Helen Frost,  illus. Rick Lieder

UnBEElievables – Honeybee poems and paintings           Douglas Florian

We Are America – A Tribute From the Heart            Walter Dean Myers,  illus. Christopher Myers

People, Places and Things____________________________________________________

ABC’s of Baseball          Peter Golenbock,  illus. Dan Andreasen

Bambino and Mr. Twain         P.I. Maltbie,  illus. Daniel Miyares

A Boy Called Dickens            Deborah Hopkinson,   illus.  John Hendrix

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind          William Kamkwamba,   illus.  Elizabeth Zunon

Brothers at Bat          Audrey Vernick,  illus.. Steven Salerno

Escaping Titanic         Marybeth Lorbiecki,  illus. Kory S. Heinzen

Freedom Song           Sally M. Walker,  illus. Sean Qualls

Friends            Catherine Thimmesh

G is For Gold Medal         Brad Herzog,  illus. Doug Bowles

Here Come the Girl Scouts!           Shana Corey,  illus. Hadley Hooper

Looking at Lincoln           Maira Kalman

There Goes Ted Williams         Matt Tavares

Those Rebels, John & Tom    Barbara Kerley,   illus. Edwin Fotheringham

We March          Shane W. Evans

Women Explorers           Julie Cummins,  illus. Cheryl Harness

Words Set Me Free           Lesa Cline-Ransome,  illus. James E. Ransome

Fiction_____________________________________________________________________

The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini              Peter Johnson                        Gr. 3-7

Bad Kitty for President          Nick Bruel                                                                                                Gr. 2-5           

Listen to My Trumpet!  and Happy Pig Day!        Elephant and Piggie Books     Mo Willems            Gr. K-2

Ellray Jakes in Not a Chicken!  And Ellray Jakes is a Rock Star!         Sally Warner                        Gr. 2-4

The Flying Beaver Brothers:  The Evil Penguin Plan  and  The Fishy Business     Maxwell Eaton III Gr. 1-4

Gooney Bird on the Map          Lois Lowry                                                                                                Gr. 2-4

Heidi Heckelbeck  Casts a Spell and Has a Secret         Wanda Coven                                                Gr. 2-4

Kaspar the Titanic Cat          Michael Morpurgo    Illus.   Michael Foreman                                    Gr. 3-7

Kindred Souls           Patricia Mac Lachlan                                                                                                Gr. 2-5

The Legend of Diamond Lil   and  The Trouble with Chickens   Doreen Cronin  Illus.  Kevin Cornell Gr. 2-4

Magic Tree House #47:  Abe Lincoln at Last  and Abraham Lincoln Fast Tracker  Mary Pope Osborne

Nancy Clancy  Super Sleuth           Jane O’Connor   Illus.  Robin Preiss Glasser                                    Gr. 2-4

Oddfellows Orphanage             Emily Winfield Martin                                                                        Gr. 3-6

The One and Only Ivan            Katherine Applegate                                                                        Gr. 4-8

Penguin New Young Readers:      multiple titles                                                                                    Gr. K-3

Penny and Her Song            Kevin Henkes                                                                                                Gr. Prek--3

Princess Posey and the First Grade Parade and Princess Posey and the Next Door Dog  Stephanie Greene

Super-Sized Slugger           Cal Ripken Jr.                                                                                                Gr. 3-7

Stella Batts  Needs a New Name        Courtney Sheinmel                                                                        Gr. 2-4

Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk        Megan McDonald                                                            Gr. 2-4

Take Your Best Shot         John Coy                                                                                                            Gr. 3-7

Naperville   Downers Grove   Aurora

www.andersonsbookshop.com

www.abcfairs.com

Illinois Reading Council

March 14^th-17th, 2012

Looking at New Books for Children

 Intermediate, Grades 4-8

Presenter, Becky Anderson

Novels and Stories                                                                                                ______________­­­­

Addie on the Inside        James Howe                                                                        Gr. 6-8

The Amazing Adventures of John Smith J. AKA Houdini      Peter Johnson            Gr.4-7

The Auslander       Paul Dowswell                                                                                    Gr. 7-12

Bliss        Kathryn Littlewood                                                                                                Gr. 4-7

Breaking Stalin’s Nose       Eugene Yelchin                                                                        Gr. 4-7

Cinder       Marissa Meyer                                                                                                Gr. 7-12

The Case of the Deadly Desperados       Caroline Lawrence                                    Gr. 4-7

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, A Dickens of a Tale     Carmen Agra Deedy                        Gr. 4-8

Cold Cereal       Adam Rex                                                                                                Gr. 4-8

Crow         Barbara Wright                                                                                                Gr. 4-7

Death Cure-Bk. #3 Maze Runner Trilogy    James Dashner                                                Gr. 7-12

Divergent  Veronica Roth    Bk. 2—Insurgent-(Coming May 1^st)                                    Gr. 7-12

Explorer:  The Mystery Boxes      Kazu Kibuishi                                                            Gr. 4-7

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman      Meg Wolitzer                                                Gr. 4-12

The Fourth Stall  Part II       Chris Rylander                                                               Gr. 4-7

The Gathering Storm       Robin Bridges                                                                        Gr. 7-12

Glory Be        Augusta Scattergood                                                                                    Gr. 4-7

How Not to Run for President     Catherine Clark                                                            Gr. 4-7

The Invisible Tower      Nils Johnson-Shelton                                                            Gr. 4-7

Kaspar The Titanic Cat     Michael Morpurgo                                                            Gr. 4-7

Kindred Souls      Patricia MacLachlan                                                                        Gr. 3-6

Legend      Marie Lu                                                                                                            Gr. 7-12

The Lions of Little Rock         Kristin Levine                                                            Gr. 5-8

May B.     Carline Starr Rose                                                                                                Gr. 4-7

The Mighty Miss Malone    Christopher Paul Curtis   (Sequel to Bud Not Buddy)Gr. 4-7

My Family for the War         Anne C. Voorhoeve                                                            Gr.7-12

Oddfellows Orphanage         Emily Winfield Martin                                                Gr. 3-6

The One and Only Ivan      Katherine Applegate                                                            Gr. 3-8

Same Sun Here        Silas House and Neela Vaswani                                                Gr. 4-8

Stealing Magic         Marianne Malone     (Sequel to The Sixty-eight Rooms)            Gr. 4-7

Super-Sized Slugger       Cal Ripken Jr.                                                                        Gr. 3-6

Take Your Best Shot       John Coy                                                                                    Gr. 3-6

Winterling        Sarah Prineas                                                                                    Gr. 4-7

Wonder          R.J. Palacio                                                                                                Gr. 4-8

Novels for 8^th Grade and above-“Not for Kids Only”______________________________

Ashes      Ilsa Bick

The Berlin Boxing Club             Robert Sharenow

Between Shades of Gray            Ruta Sepetys

Embrace               Jessica Shirvington

Future of Us    Jay Asher  and  Karolyn Mackler

Guantanamo Boy        Ann Perera

Illuminate         Aimee Agresti

Incarnate         Jodi Meadows

A Million Suns        Beth Revis      (Sequel to Across the Universe)

Pandemonium         Lauren Oliver    (Sequel to Delirium)

Playground         50 Cent 

Switched   and   Torn      Amanda Hocking  

Under the Never Sky     Veronica Rossi

The Way We Fall       Megan Crewe

Poetry-Language,  Words_and_Pictures_________________________________________

100 Great Poems for Boys        Edited-  Leslie Pockell

100 Great Poems for Girls        Edited- Celia Johnson

The Arrow Finds Its Mark, A Book of Found Poems      Edited-Georgia Heard

Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie,  Math Puzzles in Classic Poems     J. Patrick Lewis

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It,  False Apology Poems    Gail Carson Levine

Goodnight iPad,  A Parody for the Next Generation        Ann Droyd

The Hound Dog’s Haiku and Other Poems for Dog Lovers      Michael J. Rosen

Poems I Wrote When No One Was Looking    Alan Katz

Requiem, Poems of the Terezin Ghetto     Paul Janeczko

Step Gently Out           Helen Frost,  illus. Rick Lieder

Non-Fiction_____________________________________________________________

100 People Who Made History, Meet the People who Shaped the Modern World    Ben Gilliland

Black and White        Larry Dane Brimner

The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math      Seam Connolly

Bootleg, Murder, Moonshine , and the Lawless Years of Prohibition    Karen Blumenthal

Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London     Andrea Warren

First Girl Scout, The Life of Juliette Gordon Low       Ginger Wadsworth

Ghosts in the Fog, The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion       Samantha Seiple

Heat and Soul, The Story of America and African Americans     Kadir Nelson

His Name was Raoul Wallenberg      Louise Borden

Lives of the Presidents, Fame, Shame and what the Neighbors Thought      Kathleen Krull

Marching to the Mountaintop           Ann Bausum

So You Want to be President    Judith St. George   illus.  David Small

Superman Versus The Klu Klux Klan        Rick Bowers

Steve Jobs, The Man who Thought Different        Karen Blumenthal

Stolen into Slavery, The True Story of Solomon Northup      Judith and Dennis Fradin

Surviving the Angel of Death, The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz   Eva Mozes Kor

Surviving the Hindenburg     Larry Verstraete    illus.   David Geister

Temple Grandin, How the Girl who loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World-

Sy Montgomery

Titanic Sinks         Barry Denenberg

Trapped            Marc Aronson

Usborne War Stories, True Stories         Paul Doswell

The War to End All Wars, World War I         Russell Freedom

We’ve Got a Job, The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March      Cynthia Levinson

Witches, The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem         Rosalyn Schanzer