New York Times Notable Children's Books 2015

Looking for some picture books, middle grade books and/or young adult books to give as presents? Here are the New York Times recommendations for 2015. One of my very favorite books on the middle grade list is Roller Girl, a debut graphic novel by Victoria Jamieson.

Twelve year old Astrid and her best friend, Nicole, have always done everything together. Astrid signs up for Roller Derby Camp expecting Nicole to sign up, too. But Nicole decides to go to Dance Camp instead. A difficult summer follows as Astrid misses her friend, makes new derby friends and learns to be a tough roller girl. At the end of the summer, Nicole and Astrid decide they can do what they each love and still be best friends. Roller girls play under a pseudonym. Astrid chooses, Asteroid. It is amazing how creative the names can be. One of the Astrid's new friends chooses Slay Miserable.

The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies.

A big shout out to Krispy Kreme Her and Suzy Bonebreaker!

“Spooktacular” Picture Books for Halloween

I looked at three fairly new Halloween books published within the past two years. Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray and lushly illustrated by Brandon Dorman is a  parody of  The Night Before Christmas. It  tells the story of  some very special party preparations and the best Halloween night ever. The Sonoma County Library has several copies.

Trick or Treat by Leo Landry is about another very special party preparation and some unexpected guests and making new friends. Be sure to read the front flap as well as the pages in the book. The Sonoma County Library has several copies on order.

The Monster’s Monster by Patrick McDonnell (creator of the Mutts comic strip) is about three fellows who fancied themselves to be monsters. They argued among themselves was the biggest, baddest monster. One day they decided to make the biggest, baddest monster ever. Like Frankenstein, a lighting bolt enlivened their creation. But unlike, Frankenstein, this monster was happy to be alive and grateful to his creators. Patrick McDonnell is the  Caldecott Honor illustrator of Me... Jane. The Sonoma County Library has two copies of this book.

Caldecott Medal

Today The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association awarded the Randolph Caldecott Medal

to

This book is going to be a birthday present for one or more of my four pre-school granddaughters. Why? Because it is about a dog, a big time subject with the aforementioned girls and it is about loss (Daisy’s red ball) and gain (a friend and a new blue ball). This book has no words but the story is clear. Preschoolers and kindergarteners can “read” this book themselves. The book can be found at the Sonoma County Library and Yulupa’s Library.

The  ALSC also honored three more books:

I wrote about this book in the 100 Best Children’s Books for 2011 post on January 16th. The Sonoma County Library and Yulupa’s Library have this book..

Grandpa Green’s life story is told by his great-grandson through a walk in his topiary garden. As the boy is walking along he picks up tools his great-grandfather has left in the garden. At the end he uses them to make his own topiary of the great-grandfather. This book is touching to me because it reflects how I spent time with my grandparents in their gardens and the talents they passed on to me. This book can be found at the Sonoma County Library.

It is summer in the city, it is hot, and the power goes out. The TV doesn’t work, the phone and computer are off and Dad can’t cook dinner. The family goes to the roof where now in the darkness they can actually see the stars. So many of their neighbors are on the roof it is like a block party. The lights come back on so everything can go back to normal…but it turns out not everyone likes normal. This book can be found at the Sonoma County Library.

Each year the Caldecott Award is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It was first given in 1939 to Mei Li by Thomas Handforth. A few other winning books you may know are  Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak in 1964, The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg in 1986 and The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney in 2010.  Familiar Honors books include Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans in 1940, If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss in 1951 and  Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin in 2001.

100 Best Children’s Books for 2011

A group of librarians at the New York Public Library have posted a list of the best children’s books for 2011. A hundred year tradition (since 1911) the books are divided into seven categories: picture books, fairy and folk tales, early chapter books, chapter books, poetry, graphic novels and non-fiction. Here is one sample in each category:

Picture Books

This is the story of Jane Goodall as a child and her favorite toy chimpanzee named Jubilee. Jane dreams of some day “living with and helping all animals” until one day her dream comes true. The book is written by Patrick McDonnell the  Creator of the Mutts comic strip. There are several  copies of this book in the Sonoma County Library. Yulupa’s library has one copy.

 Folk and Fairy Tales

Nine tales of ancient Egypt are told comic-strip style. The Sonoma County Library has three copies of this book.

Early Chapter Books

Spunky tells this story because his humans, the Bates, do not speak dog. Due to a miscommunication, his family gives him a friend he is not so sure he wants. Our family loves books about (and by) dogs. The Sonoma County Library has several copies of this book.

Chapter Books

This should be no surprise. See the post on The Houdini Box below. The Sonoma County Library has many copies. The Yulupa library has one copy.

Poetry

More than 130 never-before-seen poems and drawings to delight all ages. The Sonoma County Library has several copies.

Graphic Novels

Superhero, Captain Amazing, is looking for a sidekick. His pets duke it out for the the honor. The Sonoma County Library has several copies.

Nonfiction

This is a book about one of the greatest friendships and greatest rivalries in our history. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were strong allies before and during the Revolution. They became political rivals, each seeing the role of government differently, during their service under President Washington. They became political enemies during their respective terms as President. After retirement, these two men commenced a written dialogue that lasted over a decade. And in one of the most spectacular coincidences in American history, they died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826. There is one copy in the Sonoma County Library.