Victoria Library's 2009 list of great books for kids

Great Books for the Children on Your List

Every year at this time, children’s staff at the Greater Victoria Public Library compile lists of recommended books in time for holiday shopping. Here are some of our favourites for 2009:

Children’s Picture Books

• The Bears We Know by Brenda Silsbe, illus. by Vlasta van Kampen (2009) CDN/BC
• The Big Elephant in the Room by Lane Smith (2009)
• Bradley McGogg: The Very Fine Frog by Time Beiser, illus. by Rachel Berman (2008) CDN/BC
• Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy, illus. by Polly Dunbar (2008)
• Chicken Little by Rebecca Emberley & Ed Emberley (2009)
• The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson, illus. by Jon J Muth (2009)
• Dogs Don’t Brush Their Teeth by Diane deGroat & Shelley Rotner (2009)
• Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld (2009)
• The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen, illus. by Irene Luxbacher (2009) CDN
• It’s a Secret! by John Burningham (2009)
• The King’s Taster by Kennth Oppel, illus. by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher (2009) CDN
• Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes by Margie Palatini, illus. by Barry Moser (2009)
• Molly and the Night Monster by Chris Wormell (2008)
• Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban, illus. by Henry Cole (2009)
• Violet and Winston by Sonya Sones & Bennett Tramer, illus. by Chris Raschka (2009)
• Wombat Walkabout by Carol Diggory Shields, illus. by Sophie Blackall (2009)

Children’s Non Fiction

• Amelia Earhart: the Legend of the Lost Aviator by Shelley Tanaka (2008) CDN
• Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face And Other Poems: Some of the Best of Jack Prelutsky (2008)
• A Bear in War by Stephanie Innes & Harry Endrulat, illus. Brian Deines (2008) CDN
• Beverlie Manson's Fairies: a Celebration of the Seasonsby Beverlie Manson (2008)
• The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry edited by Bill Martin Jr. (2008)
• Button Up! : Wrinkled Rhymes by Alice Schertle (2009)
• Dr Frankenstein's Human Body Book: the Monstrous Truth About How Your Body Works by Richard Walker (2008)
• Eat it up!: Lip-Smacking Recipes for Kids by Elisabeth de Mariaffi (2009)
• FamilyFun Birthday Cakes: 50 Cute & Easy Party Treats edited by Deanna F. Cook and the experts at FamilyFun magazine (2003)
• FamilyFun Cookies for Christmas: 50 Cute & Quick Holiday Treats edited by Deanna F. Cook and the experts at FamilyFun magazine (2009)
• Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar! by Bob Barner (2009)
• Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian (2009)
• Face to Face with Gorillas by Michael Nichols with Elizabeth Carney(2009)
• Hansel and Gretel retold by Michael Morpurgo, illus. by Emma Chichester Clark (2008)
• Knucklehead : Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka (2008)
• Sleight of Hand by Joe Fullman (2008)
• Super-Duper Cupcakes: Kids Creations From the Cupcake Caboose by Elaine Cohen (2006)
• Robots by the editors of YES Mag (2008) CDN
• You are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O’Brien (2009)

Children’s Fiction

For Younger Readers (5-8):

• Bad to the Bone (Down Girl and Sit series) by Lucy Nolan (2008)
• Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman ; illus. by David Roberts (2009)
• Horse Crazy (Silver Horse Switch series) by Alison Lester (2007)
• Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas by Cary Fagan (2009) CDN
• The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt by Megan McDonald (2009)
• Melonhead by Katy Kelly (2009)
• Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes by Kate DiCamillo (2009)
• Piper Reed: the Great Gypsy by Kimberly Willis Holt (2008)
• Uh oh, Cleo by Jessica Harper (2008)

For Intermediate Readers (9-12):

• A Christmas to Remember: Tales of Comfort and Joy(Dear Canada series) CDN
• Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (2009)
• Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress (2007) CDN
• Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson (2008) CDN
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (2009)
• Everything For a Dog by Ann Martin (2009)
• Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (2009)
• Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2009)
• Graveyard of the Sea by Penny Draper (2008) CDN
• Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick (2007)
• Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (2009)
• Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle (2009)
• Where the River Takes Me: The HBC Diary of Jenna Sinclair (Dear Canada series) by Julie Lawson (2009) Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff (2009)
• Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen (2008) CDN

Teen Fiction

• Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (2009)
• Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby (2007) CDN
• Emily the Strange: the Lost Days by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner (2009)
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008) (followed by Catching Fire)
• If I Stay by Gayle Foreman (2009)
• King of the Screwups by E.L. Going (2009)
• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (2006) (followed by Dead and Gone)
• The Lit Report by Sarah Harvey (2008) CDN
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008)
• Q&A by Vikas Swarup (2005)
• Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (2008)
• A Thousand Shades of Blue by Robin Stevenson (2008) CDN
• Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (2007) (followed by Fragile Eternity)
• Wounded by Eric Walters (2009) CDN

NYT 10 Best Children's Books

NYT Picks 10 Best Children's Books

Running in this Sunday's New York Times Book Review, the list comprises:

* Only a Witch Can Fly, by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo (Feiwel & Friends)
* Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Richard Jackson/Atheneum)
* The Odd Egg, written and illustrated by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster)
* A Penguin Story, written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)
* The Lion & the Mouse, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown)
* The Snow Day, written and illustrated by Komako Sakai (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
* Tales from Outer Suburbia, written and illustrated by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
* Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales, written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins (Candlewick)
* White Noise, by David A. Carter (Little Simon/Simon & Schuster)
* All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster)

Just keep in my that the NYT tends toward a US list. There are lots of Canadian, British and other titles out there that are fabulous.

Lemony Snicket interview

Here's a taste of a Halloween interview with Lemony Snicket of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame.

Enjoy...

Susan Rich: Hello Mr Snicket. Thank you for agreeing to speak with us

about matters relating to Halloween. Halloween can be a very creepy time.

What sorts of things scare you?

Lemony Snicket: Masks, silverfish, a woman I once knew, iced tapioca

drinks, injustice, things that jump out suddenly at me in the dark, things

that approach me slowly in the dark, corporate hegemony, flickering

lightbulbs and bland, self-serving philosophies concerning the world.

SR: Many people who usually dress in regular clothes find Halloween a good

time to put on a disguise. Can you tell us about your most successful

disguise?

LS: No, but the next time you sit down at your “desk” you might look a bit

more closely.

Click here to read the rest of the interview and to download a free,

original Lemony Snicket story.

Orca Book Publishers offers free download of graphic novel

Sorry for the extended holiday from blogging, but this is an awesome opportunity so read on to find out more about a Free Graphic Novel Download.

Did you say free?
Yep! Free download...
Starting October 1, and for a limited time, Orca Books will be giving away a free download of the new Graphic Guide Adventure graphic novel - Media Meltdown by Liam O'Donnell and Mike Deas.

The site also features games and activities and a page for teachers and librarians with information about media literacy.

Graphic Guide Adventures is an ongoing series of graphic novels for ages 8-12. These exciting action-packed books have colorful illustrations, strong stories and engaging characters. Media Meltdown is the fourth title in the series, and was preceded by Wild Ride, Ramp Rats and Soccer Sabotage. Look for Food Fight in Spring 2010.

School Library Journal says of these graphic novels: "...fun, stylish art and underdog stories will appeal to many readers."

So enjoy it and pass the word on.

Sheryl

Young Winners Announced in 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest

TORONTO: April 1, 2009 — The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is excited to announce the winners of the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest for young writers. The contest is a much-anticipated part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week—the largest celebration of Canadian books for young people in Canada.

In honour of the 100th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Book Week 2008 celebrated Classic Canadian Reading. In keeping with this theme, young writers from across Canada were invited to captivate our judges with recently-written stories or poems that they think could become a classic and be read for the next 100 years like Anne of Green Gables has.

Five Canadian children’s authors donated their time and expertise to judge 713 submissions from young writers in grades two to six. For the 2008 contest, the jurors were: Sylvia Gunnery, Richard Scrimger, Sheryl McFarlane, David Poulsen and Sylvia McNicoll.

The winner from each grade will receive a $200 gift certificate for the bookstore of his or her choice. The winning stories and honourable mentions can be enjoyed at www.bookweek.ca.

The WINNERS of the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest are:

Grade 2: Laith Asem Sbeitan of Oakville, Ontario (Age 7) for his story Coming to Canada

Sylvia Gunnery’s comments: The worries of Chinese children, as they journey to Canada and as they begin to settle into a new life, are worries that many readers can easily understand. As I read Coming to Canada, I realized that the parents were hoping to begin a wonderful new life for the family; but the children missed China and all the things they were used to there. By the end of the story, both Sunjay and Romana had met new friends and they were “happy and safe.” I love stories with happy endings.

Grade 3: Kayla Borecky of Oakville, Ontario (Age 8) for her story Hug

Richard Scrimger’s comments: The story of Snookie the Hedgehog is completely charming and very well plotted. The issues are timely and the illustrations are perfect. I smiled all the way through the story, and my own children loved it too.

Grade 4: Audrey Pao of Toronto, Ontario (Age 9) for her story Can Santa Go On His Sleigh Tonight?

Sheryl McFarlane’s comments: I loved Audrey's creative new take on the magic of Christmas and I especially appreciated her ability to balance a well-paced plot against the story's message of the importance of a healthy life style. Audrey's use of rich language made the story come to life. All of these elements made this story a pleasure to read.

Grade 5: Elizabeth Roberts of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Age 10) for her story The Magic Song of Christmas

David Poulsen’s comments: I very much enjoyed The Magic Song of Christmas by Elizabeth Roberts of Winnipeg Manitoba. I was reminded of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" as I read it—high praise indeed for this ten year old, grade five student. The symbolism that enriches her story and the delightful way she tied the ending to the magic of what had transpired through the night made it the kind of enduring and endearing story that I'm sure will be read over and over for many years, especially at Christmas. I look forward to seeing more writing in the future from this talented young Winnipeg writer.

Grade 6: Jared Levinson of Hamilton, Ontario (Age 11) for his story Flint

Sylvia McNicoll’s comments: Jared Levinson’s ghostly thriller Flint shows great sophistication in writing skill. Jared varies the pace of the story effectively by interspersing dialogue, description, action and flashbacks. His choice of language, especially in the flashbacks, creates a spine tingling mood and when he switches to the backstory, he tightens the tension till the reader wants to scream.

* * *

The judges for the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest talented authors of children’s and young adult books from across Canada:

Grade 2 judge:
Sylvia Gunnery (LaHave, Nova Scotia), author of Out of Bounds and Personal Best.

Grade 3 judge:
Richard Scrimger (Cobourg, Ontario), author of the Norbert series and Into the Ravine.

Grade 4 judge:
Sheryl McFarlane (Victoria, British Columbia), author of Waiting for the Whales and The Smell of Paint.

Grade 5 judge:
David Poulsen (Claresholm, Alberta), author of The Salt & Pepper Chronicles series and Numbers.

Grade 6 judge:
Sylvia McNicoll (Burlington, Ontario), author of Beauty Returns and Last Chance for Paris.
* * *
About the Canadian Children's Book Centre:
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976 to encourage the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. The CCBC is dedicated to promoting quality Canadian children’s literature through its services, publications and programs. For more information, please visit our website at www.bookcentre.ca.

Young Winners Announced in 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest

TORONTO: April 1, 2009 — The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is excited to announce the winners of the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest for young writers. The contest is a much-anticipated part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week—the largest celebration of Canadian books for young people in Canada.

In honour of the 100th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Book Week 2008 celebrated Classic Canadian Reading. In keeping with this theme, young writers from across Canada were invited to captivate our judges with recently-written stories or poems that they think could become a classic and be read for the next 100 years like Anne of Green Gables has.

Five Canadian children’s authors donated their time and expertise to judge 713 submissions from young writers in grades two to six. For the 2008 contest, the jurors were: Sylvia Gunnery, Richard Scrimger, Sheryl McFarlane, David Poulsen and Sylvia McNicoll.

The winner from each grade will receive a $200 gift certificate for the bookstore of his or her choice. The winning stories and honourable mentions can be enjoyed at www.bookweek.ca.

The WINNERS of the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest are:

Grade 2: Laith Asem Sbeitan of Oakville, Ontario (Age 7) for his story Coming to Canada

Sylvia Gunnery’s comments: The worries of Chinese children, as they journey to Canada and as they begin to settle into a new life, are worries that many readers can easily understand. As I read Coming to Canada, I realized that the parents were hoping to begin a wonderful new life for the family; but the children missed China and all the things they were used to there. By the end of the story, both Sunjay and Romana had met new friends and they were “happy and safe.” I love stories with happy endings.

Grade 3: Kayla Borecky of Oakville, Ontario (Age 8) for her story Hug

Richard Scrimger’s comments: The story of Snookie the Hedgehog is completely charming and very well plotted. The issues are timely and the illustrations are perfect. I smiled all the way through the story, and my own children loved it too.

Grade 4: Audrey Pao of Toronto, Ontario (Age 9) for her story Can Santa Go On His Sleigh Tonight?

Sheryl McFarlane’s comments: I loved Audrey's creative new take on the magic of Christmas and I especially appreciated her ability to balance a well-paced plot against the story's message of the importance of a healthy life style. Audrey's use of rich language made the story come to life. All of these elements made this story a pleasure to read.

Grade 5: Elizabeth Roberts of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Age 10) for her story The Magic Song of Christmas

David Poulsen’s comments: I very much enjoyed The Magic Song of Christmas by Elizabeth Roberts of Winnipeg Manitoba. I was reminded of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" as I read it—high praise indeed for this ten year old, grade five student. The symbolism that enriches her story and the delightful way she tied the ending to the magic of what had transpired through the night made it the kind of enduring and endearing story that I'm sure will be read over and over for many years, especially at Christmas. I look forward to seeing more writing in the future from this talented young Winnipeg writer.

Grade 6: Jared Levinson of Hamilton, Ontario (Age 11) for his story Flint

Sylvia McNicoll’s comments: Jared Levinson’s ghostly thriller Flint shows great sophistication in writing skill. Jared varies the pace of the story effectively by interspersing dialogue, description, action and flashbacks. His choice of language, especially in the flashbacks, creates a spine tingling mood and when he switches to the backstory, he tightens the tension till the reader wants to scream.

* * *

The judges for the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest talented authors of children’s and young adult books from across Canada:

Grade 2 judge:
Sylvia Gunnery (LaHave, Nova Scotia), author of Out of Bounds and Personal Best.

Grade 3 judge:
Richard Scrimger (Cobourg, Ontario), author of the Norbert series and Into the Ravine.

Grade 4 judge:
Sheryl McFarlane (Victoria, British Columbia), author of Waiting for the Whales and The Smell of Paint.

Grade 5 judge:
David Poulsen (Claresholm, Alberta), author of The Salt & Pepper Chronicles series and Numbers.

Grade 6 judge:
Sylvia McNicoll (Burlington, Ontario), author of Beauty Returns and Last Chance for Paris.
* * *
About the Canadian Children's Book Centre:
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976 to encourage the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. The CCBC is dedicated to promoting quality Canadian children’s literature through its services, publications and programs. For more information, please visit our website at www.bookcentre.ca.

The Very Hungry Catepillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is celebrating 40 years and it's still as good as the day it hit bookshelves. Check out this link to hear Eric Carle explain how it all began.

Freedom to Read

This being Freedom to Read Week, I thought I'd fill you all in on a few of the off the wall challenges to books that have come my way--

• The little black book for girlz: a book on healthy sexuality was challenged for being "obscene and for containing explicit instructions for sexual acts"" among other things! Hello...how on earth can you have a book that explains sexuality without being explicit!
• My friend Flicka, the classic by Mary O'Hara was challenged because the book uses the word "bitch" to refer to a female dog. Ok, so go ahead and check with any breeder for the acceptable term for female dog. Big surprise...it's "bitch"!
• Here's a good one; The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier was challenged because it promotes defiance of authority. Who knew a Canadian classic picture book about hockey could be so controversial!
• And the one I like the best is The tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. which was challenged for portraying only middle-class rabbits and by consequence is "classist".

For more information on challenged and banned books, check out the Freedom To Read website

The Graveyard Book Trailer Narrated by Neil Gaiman

Here is the book trailer for The Graveyard Book narrated by the author. it's kind of cool.

2009 Newbery and Caldecott Awards

2009 ALA Award Winners have been announced. Visit ALSC for more on children's book awards sponsored by the American Library Association.

Newbery Medal

"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, HarperCollins Children's Books

Newbery Honor Books

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle, Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Savvy by Ingrid Law, Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group in partnership with Walden Media, LLC

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson, G.P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Books for Young Readers

Caldecott Medal

The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Caldecott Honor Books

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee, Harcourt, Inc.

How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz, Farrar Straus Giroux

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

How to Talk to Girls by Alec Greven

I know, I know. It's been months since I've posted. But then, I have such good excuses; a trip to Oregon, 2 months in Europe, Xmas, a poetry course, the novel I'm still working on (yep, the same one!), travel for work, and I confess, a case of blogger burn-out. But, now I'm back in the saddle, so here goes.

My latest find isn't exactly news, but I'm really enjoying it. It' called How to Talk to Girls by Alec Greven. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I'm thinking Alec has a few words of wisdom for boys in need of a little love advice. The guide is short, to the point, and easy to follow. For example, Alec advises "move on" if a girl you like ditches you. His wisdom doesn't stop there though. "You also have to be aware that girls win most of the arguments and have most of the power." He goes on to suggest that life will be easier guys if you learn that now! Wise well beyond his nine years, Alec has already figured out that "if you try for too many girls, you will have jealousy issues and might end up with nobody." Alec has advice on starting converstations with girls, what to do if you are shy, how to dress to impress, and even what not to do if you are successful in getting a girl and you want to keep her.

So, if you're looking for a valentine for a boy you like, this little gem just might be the ticket. At $9.99 US and $10.99 Canadian, it's a steal. Be careful though; Alec Greven may just steal your heart, and even for a book lover, that's one big ticket item. Sheryl