Betsy Bird, the remarkable and passionate librarian we spoke to this week about great children's books, tracks the latest kid's literature at her job, and on her blog, the well-thumbed (virtually speaking) A Fuse #8 Production. Here are fifty or so of her favorites published this year. She reads them all, so she knows!
Picture Books:
- "I'm Not Cute!"
by Jonathan Allen
- Manny's Cows: The Niagara Falls Tale
by Suzy Becker
- The Princess and the Pea
by Lauren Child
- For You Are a Kenyan Child
by Kelly Cunnane
- Dear Fish
by Chris Gall
- Chickens to the Rescue
by John Himmelman
- Adele & Simon
by Barbara McClintock
- Learning to Fly
by Sebastian Meschenmoser
- When You Were Small
by Sara O'Leary
- Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
by Adam Rex
- Mommy
by Maurice Sendak
- Mrs. Crump's Cat
by Linda Smith
- Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
Published by Dial and produced by a bunch of talented illustrators
- Flotsam
by David Wiesner
- Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
by Mo Willems
Early Chapter Books:
- Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Erupts!: The First Experiment
by Frances O'Roark Dowell
- Rosy Cole's Memoir Explosion: A Heartbreaking Story about Losing Friends, Annoying Family, and Ruining Romance
by Sheila Greenwald
- Toys Go Out
by Emily Jenkins
- The Year of the Dog
by Grace Lin
- Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker
Fiction For Ages 9-12
- Fly by Night
by Frances Hardinge
- The Loud Silence of Francine Green
by Karen Cushman
- Penny from Heaven
by Jennifer Holm
- The Mailbox
by Audrey Shafer
- Firegirl
by Tony Abbott
- The Homework Machine
by Dan Gutman
- Horns and Wrinkles
by Joseph Helgerson
- Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War
by Kathy Henderson
- Weedflower
by Cynthia Kadohata
- Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial
by Ronald Kidd
- Book Of Everything
by Guus Kuijer
- Out of Patience
by Brian Meehl
- Wintersmith
by Terry Pratchett
- Yellow Star
by Jennifer Roy
- Here Be Monsters!
by Alan Snow
- The Case of the Missing Marquess
by Nancy Springer
- Listen!
by Stephanie Tolan
Non-fiction:
- Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini
by Sid Fleischman
- Isaac Newton: Giants of Science
by Kathleen Krull
- The Wand in the Word
by Leonard S. Marcus
- Oh Rats! The Story of Rats and People
by Albert Marrin
- Aliens Are Coming!
By Megan McCarthy
- Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon
by Catherine Thimmesh
Graphic Novels:
- American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yang
- Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitter's Club #1)
by Ann M. Martin and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
- Babymouse: Heartbreaker
by Jennifer L. Holm
- Gray Horses
by Hope Larson
