MORE 'BEST-BOOKS-OF-2011' POSTS
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making By Catherynne M. Valente Illustrations by Ana Juan Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-312-64961-6 On shelves now. Well devil if I know what to do with it. Never complain that you are bored, ladies and gentlemen. Say such a […]
I Want My Hat Back By Jon Klassen Candlewick Press $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5598-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 27th. I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! When Caroline Stutson’s Cats’ Night Out was released by Simon & Schuster in 2010 it contained art by […]
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero By Marissa Moss Illustrated by John Hendrix Abrams Books for Young Readers $18.95 ISBN: 978-0-8109-9735-6 Ages 6-12 On shelves now. If I want to depress myself on a given day I’ll compare the list of biographical subjects that kids in school are handed […]
Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word By Bob Raczka Illustrated by Nancy Doniger Roaring Brook (a division of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-541-4 Ages 4-10 On shelves now. The lady from Manhattan would like to register a complaint. The lady from Manhattan is aware, perfectly aware, that there are plenty of fabulous children’s […]
Dead End in Norvelt By Jack Gantos Farrar, Straus and Giroux (an imprint of Macmillan) $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-374-37993-3 Ages 10-14 On shelves September 13, 2011 What makes Jack Gantos tick? It’s a question that haunts every book he writes, from the simplest Rotten Ralph to his own YA autobiography Hole in My Life. It’s a […]
My Side of the Car By Kate Feiffer Illustrated by Jules Feiffer Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4405-5 Ages 4-8 On shelves April 26th. Reality is subjective. You learn this when you have children of your own. What may be glaringly obvious to a parent will pass right over a six-year-old’s head (and vice-versa). To a […]
Blue Chicken By Deborah Freedman Viking (an imprint of Penguin) $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-670-01293-0 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 15th Call it barnyard self-actualization. Too heavy an idea for a picture book? Fine. How about breaking down the barn’s fourth wall? Or nine barnyard characters in search of an illustrator? However you want to couch it, […]
Fly Trap By Frances Hardinge Harper Collins $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-088044-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves May 31, 2011 As I see it, reviewing a sequel is a peculiar enterprise. One can hardly review a book without suggesting to the reader that they read the previous novel as well. And in the rare case where the sequel […]
Ice By Arthur Geisert Enchanted Lion Books $14.95 ISBN: 978-1-59270-098-1 For ages 5 and up On shelves now Me and Arthur Geisert, Arthur Geisert and I . . . I wouldn’t say we’ve ever connected, exactly. Over the years I’ve had a hard time getting a grasp on his particular brand of picture book creation. […]
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette By Jeanne Birdsall Knopf (an imprint of Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-85851-2 Ages 7-12 On shelves May 10th When Jeanne Birdsall’s first middle grade novel The Penderwicks was published in 2005 it committed a crime. A crime shared, I might add, by books written by authors like Dr. Seuss, J.K. […]