Best of 2005

Selected by:
Mary Slamin, Kate Colquitt & Gail Fell

JP Juvenile Picture Books

(Read Aloud Stories)

JP Adams, Diane. Zoom! Peachtree. A rhyming ride on a dinosaur roller coaster makes Dad turn from excited to fearful of yet another ride.

JP Agee, Jon. Terrific. Hyperion. Stranded on a small desert island with a talking parrot with an attitude – you'd say “terrific” too! Hilarious fun for everyone.

JP Anderson, M. T. Me, All Alone, At The End Of The World. Candlewick. A boy enjoys living quietly by himself at the end of the world until Mr. Shimmer builds an Inn and an Amusement Park, demanding that tourists come and have “fun without end!”

JP Blackstone, Stella. I Dreamt I Was A Dinosaur. Barefoot Books. A baby dinosaur in a dream reveals lots of fun, rhyming text with felt stitched art. Locate the little snail on each page. Fun facts about dinosaurs are gathered in this little gem.

JP Bloom, Suzanne. A Splendid Friend, Indeed! Boyd Mills. Duck interrupts everything Polar Bear tries to do but in the end makes up for boisterous behavior with lunch. Perfect for toddlers.

JP Juster, Norton. The Hello, Goodbye Window. DiCapua Books. A little girl visits her grandparents who always wave at the window. Interracial, a child's perspective, this Caldecott winner vibrantly captures the life of a toddler.

JP Keller, Holly. Sophie's Window. Greenwillow. An endearing book of new found friendship of a baby pigeon learning to fly and, Sophie, the dog who guides her back home again.

JP Kinsey-Warnock. Nora's Ark. Harper Collins. After a big rainstorm, all the animals and neighbors join Grandma Nora in her house on the hill to avoid the flood. Based on a true story.

JP McDonnell, Patrick. The Gift Of Nothing. Little Brown. Cat and dog are true friends and cat wants to find a perfect gift for dog. Adorable. Great gift for adults and older children.

JP McMillan, Bruce. The Problem With Chickens. Houghton. Based on real life problems of Iceland villagers who raise chickens but forget to teach them how to lay eggs.

JP McPhail, David. Emma In Charge.Dutton. Baby bear takes her three dollies to many activities including visiting the “zoo” to see the family pussy cat. Adorable for toddlers.

JP Richardson, Justin. And Tango Makes Three. Simon & Schuster. Two father penguins care for one egg in this cute version of how the Emperor Penguins struggle against sub-freezing weather to protect their young.

JP Sabuda, Robert. A Winter's Tale: An Original Pop-Up Journey. Simon & Schuster. Exquisite, finely cut paper moves in amazing ways to form a winter wonderland of animals leading to a warm cottage with tiny colored lights that blink over the landscape.

JP Say, Allen. Kamishibai Man. Houghton Mifflin. In Japan long ago, a man would ride on a bicycle carrying sweets to buy and a story board theater to entertain the children of each village.

JP Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. Walter Was Worried. Roaring Brook Press. Children in a school react to a coming storm and the sun's shining return. Part of each child's name can be found in the expressive yet simple portrait of each child's face.

JP Shannon, George. White Is For Blueberry. Greenwillow. A toddler book of objects or animal's colors before they mature and change. A baby blueberry is white then it becomes a blue berry.

JP Stoeke, Janet Morgan. Waiting For May. Dutton. A realistic portrayal of international adoption as an older brother and parents anxiously wait to travel to China to meet little sister May.

JE Juvenile Easy Readers (Beginning Reader)
JYR Juvenile Young Readers (1st – 2nd Grade Reader)
J Juvenile Fiction (Novels / Stories 3rd Grade & Higher)

J Anderson, M. T. Whales On Stilts! Harcourt. A Sci-Fi adventure of a mad scientist who will use mind-controlled whales to take over the world unless Lily, Katie and Jasper can stop him. Similar to Captain Underpants & Series of Unfortunate Events.

J Armstrong, Alan. Whittington. Random House. What ever became of Dick Whittington's Cat's descendents? In this story involving feline, human and duck interaction, we learn of great adventures and achievements done by all.

J Avi. The Book Without Words: A Fable Of Medieval Magic. Hyperion. An alchemist yearns for the secret mixture to be able to live forever. His book is blank and only the banished green-eyed people can read the treasured pages.

J Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale Of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, And A Very Interesting Boy. Knopf. Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty (very much like Little Women) are on their own at Mrs. Tifton's house whose snobbish manner never deters the four sisters from their own willful adventures.

J DeFelice, Cynthia. The Missing Manatee. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Skeet Waters, 11, gets relief from his parents' marital troubles by fishing only to discover that a manatee has been shot. He becomes a detective to single handedly solve the murder of this delightful endangered species.

JF Juvenile Fiction

J Lawrence, Iain. The Convicts. Delacorte. An historical novel set when Australia was used as a prison colony where Tome, wrongly accused of theft, is imprisoned. The story continues in The Cannibals, for those with the stomach to read it.

J Marsden, Carolyn. Moon Runner. Candlewick. Close friendships among four friends are altered when Mina realizes she has a greater talent for running than her friend Ruth. Simple & eloquent.

JYR McDonough, Yona Z. The Doll With The Yellow Star. Henry Holt. Based on a Holocaust survivor's experiences, a young girl is sent to America to live with relatives while her parents stay behind in Europe. Somehow on the voyage Claudine's beloved doll is lost but amazingly finds its way back many years later.

J McKay, Hilary. Permanent Rose. McElderry Books. Another Casson family saga, this time featuring frantic, head-strong Rose as she searches for Tom and observes her brother Indigo's blossoming friendship with former gang member David. Sequel to: Saffy's Angel, and Indigo's Star.

J Park, Linda Sue. Project Mulberry. Clarion. Julia moves with her family to Plainfield, IL where she wants to leave her Korean heritage behind. When a science fair project involves silk worms Julia is torn between her desire to do something more “American” and less like her ancestral heritage.

J Parker, Toni. Siena's Scrapbook: Our African American Heritage Trip. Chronicle Books. Similar to Moss' book, Amelia's Notebook, this travelogue scrap book is filled with important historical displays of Black culture as Siena and her family enjoys a summer vacation.

J Non-Fiction (Subject Books)

J 028.5 A The Art Of Reading: 40 Illustrators Celebrate RIF'S 40th Anniversary. Dutton. Top illustrators describe which books influenced them, each contributing a beautiful new illustration from a classic book.

J 305.23 F Freedman, Russell. Children Of The Great Depression. Clarion. Using Walker Evans and other great photographic work of the 1930's, Freedman combines the everyday life sentiments of kids and the simple things that made them happy. Today, these children are our senior citizens who have great wisdom to share.

J 306.874 K Kerley, Barbara. You And Me Together: Moms, Dads, And Kids Around The World. National Geographic. Common experiences of how we all laugh or cry depicted by award-winning photographs. Maps and source notes at the end.

J 324.6 W White, Linda A. I Could Do That! Esther Morris Gets Women The Vote. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Self reliant and hard working from an early age, Esther takes on opportunities that eventually culminates as Wyoming becomes the first state to allow women the right to vote.

J 370.92 J Jurmain, Suzanne. The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True And Dramatic Story Of Prudence Crandall And Her Students. Houghton Mifflin. A well documented account of one white teacher's fight to allow black, female students to attend her private school in the 1800's. Her convictions took over 50 years to change; historical implications that will amaze readers.

J 599.67 A Arnole, Katya. Elephants Can Paint Too! Atheneum. Bright photographs compare young children's art to elephant's art as they both learn to paint. The results will amaze you.

J 616.02 D Dendy, Leslie A. Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold “Self-Experimenters” Of Science And Medicine. Henry Holt. Scientists, doctors and even volunteers perform experiments on themselves despite the high risk.

J 629.454 M McNulty, Faith. If You Decide To Go To The Moon. Scholastic. A thrilling introduction, full of facts and adventure, to space travel for young readers. Steve Kellogg illustrations.

J 796 B Blumenthal, Karen. Let Me Play: The Story Of Title IX: The Law That Changed The Future Of Girls In America. Atheneum. Many of today's Olympic female winners were able to succeed because of the sports opportunities granted them in high school.

J 808.8 E Edelman, Marian Wright. I Can Make A Difference: A Treasury To Inspire Our Children. Harper Collins. Stories and songs of courage, caring and sharing

J 811.008 J Janeczko, Paul. A Kick In The Head: An Everyday Guide To Poetic Forms. Candlewick. Have you ever heard of a triolet or a sonnet? Poems and the poetic form are explained with samples all surrounded by the richly decorative and whimsical art of Chris Raschka. Great gift idea.

J 811.54 H Hoberman, Mary Ann. You Read To Me, I'll Read To You. Little Brown. Very short Mother Goose tales to read together. Great for acting out well known characters and tales.

J 973.3 A Aronson, Marc. The Real Revolution: The Global Story Of American Independence. Clarion. Tea in India and in the Boston Harbor, both colonies of England, each linked to England's economic future. (older readers)

J 973.7 F Friedman, Robin. The Silent Witness: A True Story Of The Civil War. Houghton Mifflin. The McLean family witnessed the beginning of the Civil War and the surrender signing in their front parlor. As a “war trophy” souvenir, Lula McLean's doll was taken by a Union Officer. The doll is now in a museum.

J 973.7 W Walker, Sally M. Secrets Of A Civil War Submarine: Solving The Mysteries Of The H.L. Hunley. Carolrhoda Books. Match this with Hawk's, The Story Of The H.L. Hunley And Queenie's Coin, and a complete story emerges of how a gold coin saves a young officer from a bullet only to have him die in the sinking of this submarine. The coin is now in a museum.

J B Einstein Delano, Marfe F. Genius: A Photobiography Of Albert Einstein. National Geographic. In this chronology of Einstein's life are his misbehaviors, beliefs and brilliant theories of relativity. The complex is made easy for anyone to understand and the photographs set a perfect background to the times in which Einstein lived and worked.

JP Brett, Jan. Honey…Honey…Lion! Putnam. A badger helps the honey bird dig out the honey comb but one day he decides not to share and the honey bird teaches him a lesson.

J JP Cronin, Doreen. Diary Of A Spider. Harper Collins. A young spider discovers there is a lot to learn about being a spider, including how to avoid vacuum cleaners.

JP Dawes, Kwame. I Saw Your Face. Dial. Poetic texts with line drawings by Tom Feelings depict images of black heritage from around the world.

JP DePalma, Mary Newell. A Grand Old Tree. Levine Bks. Light watercolor images delicately placed between poetic words that express the cycle of life. Unlike Silverstein's The Giving Tree, this gentle book shows how giving is really done in nature.

JP Ehlert, Lois. Leaf Man. Harcourt. Another paper-cut marvel inventively showing a different Autumn of creatures all made out of various leaves.

JP Esbaum, Jill. Steee-am Boat A-Comin'! Farrar. The arrival of a steamboat on the river awakens the community into a welcoming frenzy. Vibrant life-like paintings reminiscent of Norman Rockwell bring the poetic text to life.

JP Fleming, Denise. The First Day Of Winter. Henry Holt. Using the familiar “12 Days of Christmas” motif (here only 10 days), a snow person is made using gifts of: 2 bright blue mittens and a red cap with a gold snap!

JP Muth, Jon J. Zen Shorts. Scholastic. A giant panda bear named Stillwater listens to 3 children as each explains daily ordeals. Like a fairy godmother, the panda shares wisdom through old stories to guide the children through their experiences.

JP Nolan, Jerdine. Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life. Simon & Schuster. Born to parents who are giants, Hewitt learns that size doesn't prevent him from success. This African-American story shows the importance of each person's individual abilities.

JP O'Connor, George. Ker-Splash! Simon & Schuster. In a graphic novel illustrative style, three toddlers at the beach imagine being super heroes and fend off a bully.

JP Priceman, Marjorie. Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story Of The First Hot-Air Balloon Ride. Atheneum. Hilarious yet truly terrifying for the three brave contestants (a duck, rooster and a sheep) who set off on September 19, 1783 from Versailles as the first passengers to travel by balloon.

JP Provensen, Alice. Klondike Gold. Simon & Schuster. The stampede of 1897 brought thousands to the Canadian North Klondike River Valley. Some survived, some stayed, and some did not.

JP Rand, Gloria. A Pen Pal For Max. Henry Holt. A young farm boy wants a pen pal friend so he places a letter in with a crate of grapes. His far away friend becomes endeared to all his school friends after a devastating earthquake ruins their school.

JP Rappaport, Doreen. The School Is Not White! A True Story Of The Civil Rights Movement. Jump At The Sun. One family's struggle and courage to send their children to a better school at the onset of the Civil Rights Movement.

JP Willems, Mo. Leonardo The Terrible Monster. Hyperion. A young monster wants to really scare an unsuspecting kid but instead they become best friends.

JP Willems, Mo. Time To Say Please! Hyperion. In true Willems humor, a group of mice help a variety of children learn that saying “please” and “thank you,” truly helps to get things accomplished. Great introduction to manners.

JP Willis, Jeanne. Misery Moo. Henry Holt. Cow is depressed and her friend lamb makes several attempts to cheer her up with hilarious results. Tony Ross illustrations.

JP Woodson, Jacqueline. Show Way. Putnam. The author tells her children about her great-grandmother whose great-grandmother before her showed her daughter how to stitch a quilt that shows the way for future women to be strong. African-American

JP Yaccarino, Dan. The Birthday Fish. Henry Holt. Cynthia wanted a horse as a pet but got a goldfish instead. On her way to dump the fish in a nearby pond she learns to love her fish dearly.

JYR DiCamillo, Kate. Mercy Watson To The Rescue. Scholastic. A pig in search of a family is adopted by the Watson family who dote lovingly upon her. The next door neighbors don't feel the same warmth toward Mercy especially when in humorous pursuit of some buttered toast. Fans of Babe will adore this pig as well.

J Duble, Kathleen B. The Sacrifice. McEldery. Based on the author's family history during the Salem Witch Trials, a mother begs her daughter to tell authorities that it was she who was a witch, so her daughter will be set free. (older readers)

J Dyer, Heather. The Girl With The Broken Wing. Scholastic. Hilary is an angel who falls on James & Amanda's roof top. Hilary wants a place to stay while her wings repair but instead of being grateful she turns out to be bossy, temperamental and not so sweet.

J Erdrich, Louise. The Game Of Silence. Harper Collins. Sequel of The Birchbark House; Omakayas, now 9 years old, begins to realize her ability of foretelling through dreams is one her Objibwe culture is desperate for as their culture slowly changes.

J Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy. Bloomsbury. Learning to be a princess is hard work for Miri and her friends. She must fight the prejudice of her mining family only to realize that her past will help her when she is sent on a quest for a prince.

J Hiaasen, Carl. Flush. Knopf. Similar to Hoot . Here is another environmentally themed, action, adventure, mystery story. Noah must first prove then stop those responsible for dumping sewage into the Florida Keys.

J Perkins, Lynne Rae. Criss – Cross. Greenwillow. Sequel to, All Alone In The Universe, Set in the 1960's, this is both a humorous and poignant story of young teen life told using haiku, drawings and a lot of philosophical questions. (older readers).

JE Rylant, Cynthia. Henry And Mudge And The Great Grandpas. Simon & Schuster. Another story of Henry and his beloved dog Mudge; both take care of Grandpa Bill and all his friends as they enjoy a swim, play checkers and other simple pleasures.

J Sachar, Louis. Small Steps. Delacorte. Sequel to, Holes. Armpit, now 16, uses his skill for digging holes by working for a landscape company. When former Camp Greenlake detainee X-Ray joins him with other plans of success, they both embark on a journey of small steps toward maturity. (older readers)

J Sage, Angie. Septimus Heap, Book One: MAGYK. Tegen Books. Fabulous characters in ingenious settings flow through this first book in the world of wizards and guards controlled by evil wizard Dom Daniel. With a host of unique characters and a cat-and-mouse adventurous pace, this tale will appeal to younger audiences of Harry Potter fans.

JE Silverman, Erica. Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa. Harcourt. A girl and her talking horse share adventures out on the range. Each of the four hilarious episodes will leave readers wanting more tales – hopefully soon!

JE Van Leeuwen, Jean. Amanda Pig And The Really Hot Day. Dial. Part of a series, young Amanda and her older brother Oliver stay busy on a very hot day while waiting for the cool of a summer's eve.

J 398.8 S Sierra, Judy. School Yard Rhymes. Knopf. Kid's own rhymes for rope skipping, hand clapping, ball bouncing and just plain fun. All the favorites are here!

J 501.7 J Jenkins, Steve. I See A Kookaburra!: Discovering Animal Habitats Around The World. Houghton Mifflin. Cleverly cut paper arranged to hide animals as they would in their environment. Try and find them, then turn the page to learn more about each animal.

J 560 J Jenkins, Steve. Prehistoric Actual Size. Houghton Mifflin. Amazingly enough the actual proportions of dinosaurs loom on each page with fantastical facts that make these prehistoric animals come alive.

J 567.9 K Kudilinski, Kathleen. Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! Dutton. A basic, historical review of how scientists learned about dinosaurs. Were they dragons? Can their brain size allow them to see color, and more interesting dinosaur insights.

J 567.9 S Sabuda, Robert. Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs. Candlewick. Pop-up master, Sabuda, combines paper engineering with fascinating new facts and insights into a variety of dinosaurs. Great gift idea.

J 591.68 M Mills, Andrea. Animals Like Us. DK. From the different biomes of the world, endangered animals and others share a unique perspective on their world. Preface by Sir David Attenborough.

J 595.3 S Sill, Cathryn. About Crustaceans: A Guide For Children. Peachtree. A husband and wife team, have created a simple, straight forward introduction to creatures with shells. One of a series.

J 598.47 M Markle, Sandra. A Mother's Journey. Charlesbridge. Learn how the female Emperor Penguin walks miles for food while the father stays and warms the egg until her return.

J 811.54 P Prelutsky, Jack. Read A Rhyme Write A Rhyme. Knopf. The beginning of a poem is given. Lots of inspirational pictures and possible rhyming words, make writing poetry easy for any young poet.

J 813.52 B Borden, Louise. The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape Of Margret And H. A. Rey. Houghton Mifflin. A fascinating, picture book style approach to the biographical events leading up to the Nazi's march into Paris and the subsequent departure of millions of refugees. The manuscript for the beloved character of Curious George narrowly escapes in a bicycle basket.

J 821.91 D Dahl, Roald. Vile Verses. Viking. A compilation of rhymes from various familiar Dahl books and selected poems. Funny illustrations.

J 880 A Aesop. Mice, Morals And Monkey Business. Running Press. Lively lessons from Aesop's fables. Bold wood cut illustrations by Christopher Wormell capture the moral of the tale juxtaposed opposite bold lettering to each moral, not the story. One must guess which fable is being told, answer key at the end of the book. Great gift idea.

J 920. 72 C Chin-Lee, Cynthia. Amelia To Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed The World. Charlesbridge. Arranged alphabetically, these entries of famous women are insightful and international.

J 937 D Deem, James M. Bodies From The Ash: Life And Death In Ancient Pompeii. Houghton Mifflin. August 24 & 25th, 79 A.C.E., the two days of terror are slowly revealed as architects and tourists begin to uncover the destruction of Pompeii, a Roman resort.

J 973 Y Yorinks, Adrienne. Quilt Of States. National Geographic. Amazing data collected by 50 Librarians of little known facts of our 50 states.

J B Johnson Appelt, Kathi. Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers: How A First Lady Changed America. Harper Collins. A picture book style biography shows how this First Lady planned to clean up America's highways by planting flowers and banning litter.

J B Lee Yoo, Paula. Sixteen Years In Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story. Lee & Low. A young, teenage, Korean-American is determined to compete in the sport of diving at the Olympics despite discrimination and his goal to become a doctor. A story of an unknown hero.

J B Parks Giovanni, Nikki. Rosa. Henry Holt. One of the best introductions to the Civil Rights Movement. After Rosa Parks' arrest, her friends from the Women's Political Council organized a bus boycott that led the way to history.

J B Roosevelt Fleming, Candace. Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look At Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life. Atheneum. Extensive, archival photographs of images and newspaper articles fill the pages of this candid biography of America's longest term First Lady.

J B Seuss Krull, Kathleen. The Boy On Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up To Become Dr. Seuss. Random House. Filled with drawings and photographs, in a picture book format, the life of the Cat In The Hat creator comes to life.

J B Socrates Usher, M. D. Wise Guy: The Life And Philosophy Of Socrates. Farrar Straus Giroux. In cartoon like rendering with a picture book format, the famous philosopher Socrates is portrayed as someone who asked too many questions.

J B Toulouse-Lautrec Burleigh, Robert. Toulouse-Lautrec: The Moulin Rouge And The City Of Light. Abrams. The short life of Lautrec is conveyed using his poster art, photographs of the era, and a dialogue like narrative.

For assistance in finding these titles and others, be sure to ask the Greenburgh Public Library Children's Librarians for help.