Best of 2011

Selected by:
Mary Slamin, Sandra Hile & Gail Fell

JP Juvenile Picture Books

(Read Aloud Stories)

JP Ackerman, Peter. The Lonely Phone Booth. David R. Godine. When cellular telephones arrive on the scene, a once-popular Manhattan phonebooth becomes shabby and lonely until a power outage reminds everyone of how useful it can be.

JP Bently, Peter Bently and Helen Oxenbury. King Jack and the Dragon. Dial Books for Young Readers. Jack, Zack, and Caspar spend a day fighting dragons and beasts, but at day's end giants carry away first Sir Zack, then Caspar, and King Jack is left to face night creatures alone.

JP Biedrzycki, David. Me and My Dragon. Charlesbridge. A child tells all the reasons a small, fire-breathing dragon would make an excellent pet, and the ways to take proper care of it.

JP Bottner, Barbara. An Annoying ABC. Alfred A. Knopf. Imagine a preschool classroom with 25 cranky kids and one beleaguered teacher. It only takes one small annoying act from Adelaide to set off a chain reaction of bad behavior.

JP Crum, Shutta. Mine! Alfred A. Knopf. A playful picture book about two very young children and an adorable dog navigating the trials and triumphs of sharing.

JP Dunklee, Annika. My Name Is Elizabeth! Kids Can Press. Meet Elizabeth. She's got an excellent pet duck, a loving granddad and a first name that's just awesome. After all, she's got a queen named after her! So she's really not amused when people insist on using nicknames.

JP Ehlert, Lois. Rrralph. Beach Lane Books. Ralph the dog can talk, appropriately saying words such as "roof," "rough," "bark," and "wolf."

JP Fisher, Valorie. Everything I Need to Know Before I'm Five. Schwartz & Wade Books. Perfect for kids heading to kindergarten and even pre-K, this book covers the alphabet, counting, opposites, shapes, colors, and seasons.

JP Gormley, Greg. Dog in Boots. Holiday House. After reading "Puss in Boots," an adventurous dog sets out to find the perfect pair of shoes to suit his every need.

JP Gravett, Emily. Blue Chameleon. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. Chameleon can turn himself into anything and appear to fit in anywhere, but will he ever find someone to talk to? Someone just like him?

JP Grey, Mini. Three by the Sea. Alfred A. Knopf. Cat, Dog, and Mouse live together contentedly in a cottage by the sea, dividing the work between them, until A. Stranger, Esq., a fox from the Winds of Change company, arrives and stirs up trouble.

JP Toddler Hale, Rachael. Baby's Best Friend. LB Kids. Little ones will read along as adorable babies and animals do everything together: frolic, sleep, and explore the world around them.

JP Hall, Michael. Perfect Square. Greenwillow Books. A perfect square that is perfectly happy is torn into pieces, punched with holes, crumpled, and otherwise changed but finds in each transformation that it can be something new, and just as happy.

JP Henkes, Kevin. Little White Rabbit. Greenwillow Books. As he hops along, rabbit wonders what it would be like to be as green as grass, as tall as fir trees, as hard as rocks, and to flutter like butterflies.

JP Hillenbrand, Will. Spring is Here. Holiday House. Excited that spring has finally arrived, Mole tries--unsuccessfully--to wake up Bear, but then he comes up with the perfect plan.

JP Hubbell, Patricia. Check It Out! : Reading, Finding, Helping. Marshall Cavendish. Librarians love books, reading, and children and inspire children with a love of books and reading.

JP Huget, Jennifer LaRue. The Best Birthday Party Ever. Schwartz & Wade Books. A young girl plans an elaborate birthday party and eagerly counts the months, days, hours, and minutes before the celebration.

JP Intriago, Patricia. Dot. Farrar Straus Giroux. In this whimsical book about opposites, You'll find dots here, dots there, you can see dots everywhere! Some are loud, and some are quiet. Some are happy, and some are sad.

JP James, Simon. George Flies South. Candlewick Press. A little bird waiting in his nest for his mother to bring back food is blown into the sky, nest and all, by a great wind. Will he be able to fly?

JP Jeffers, Oliver. Stuck. Philomel Books. In an exuberantly absurd tale that recalls the old woman who swallowed a fly, a boy named Floyd goes to ridiculous lengths to remove his kite from a tree.

JP Juster, Norton. Neville. Schwartz & Wade. A simply told story about a boy who moves to a new neighborhood and finds a unique way to make friends. Sure to be a hit with anyone who is "the new kid on the block."

JP Kaplan, Michael B. Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake. Dial Books for Young Readers. From her first bite, young Betty Bunny likes chocolate cake so much that she claims she will marry it one day, and she has trouble learning to wait patiently until she can have her next taste.

JP Latimer, Alex. The Boy Who Cried Ninja. Peachtree. Tim is accused of lying when he tells his parents that a ninja ate the last piece of cake and a sunburned crocodile landed on the roof, so he figures out a way to prove that he is telling the truth.

JP Lindbergh, Reeve. Homer the Library Cat. Candlewick Press. When a quiet loving cat takes an unexpected tour of the neighborhood, he's in for some rude surprises--until he discovers the purrfect solution.

JP Litwin, Eric. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. Harper. Pete the Cat gets into colorful adventures while out walking in his new white shoes.

JP Maccarone, Grace. Miss Lina's Ballerinas and the Prince. Feiwel and Friends. Miss Lina's ballerinas have all learned how to dance as a group. But now Miss Lina has a new surprise for them -- a boy will be joining their class and performing in their end-of-year show.

JP Maclachlan, Patricia. Before You Came. Katherine Tegen Books. A mother relates how she spent time before her child arrived, then passes on a gift of days paddling a red canoe, reading in a pillow-filled hammock until dark, and watching the moon rise at night.

JP Moore, Inga. A House in the Woods. Candlewick Press. When Moose and Bear accidentally destroy their pig friends' modest digs, the foursome decide to bring in the local beaver construction crew to build a house they can all share.

JP Moore, Julianne. Freckleface Strawberry: Best Friends Forever. Bloomsbury. Freckleface Strawberry and Patrick have a lot in common and enjoy many of the same things, but when their classmates challenge their boy-girl friendship, they pull away from each other.

JP Parenting "D" Moundlic, Charlotte. The Scar. Candlewick Press. A little boy responds to his mother's death in a genuine, deeply moving story leavened by glimmers of humor and captivating illustrations.

JP Neubecker, Robert. Wow! Ocean! Disney Press. Explore the mysteries of the deep in a fun-filled day at the beach with Izzy and her family. Readers will delight as much in the habitats of tide pools as they will in the different species of whales as Izzy explores every aspect of marine life.

JP O'Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy, Aspiring Artist. Harper. Inspired by such art masters as Edgar Degas, and Henri Matisse, Nancy, who likes to use fancy words, dons her beret to create her own fabulous artwork.

JP Raschka, Chris. A Ball for Daisy. Schwartz and Wade Books. A wordless picture book about all the fun a dog can have with her ball.

JP Rawlings, Marjorie. The Secret River. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Young Calpurnia and her ever-constant puppy, Buggy-horse, go on a self-determined expedition to "turn hard times into soft times."

JP Rim, Sujean. Birdie's Big-Girl Dress. Little, Brown and Company. Birdie is looking forward to her birthday. But when Birdie tries on her favorite party dress, she realizes that it's too small. She tries on dress after dress, but nothing is quite right. She soon realizes that all she needs is her imagination.

JP Rocco, John. Blackout. Disney Hyperion Books. When a busy family's activities come to a halt because of a blackout, they find they enjoy spending time together and not being too busy for once.

JP Rodriguez, Beatrice. Fox and Hen Together. Enchanted Lion Books. When the cupboard is bare, Hen-no stay-at-home mom-to-be-entrusts her egg to Fox and sets out to catch some dinner, accompanied by an intrepid, scene-stealing crab (who has enough charm to carry his own book).

JP Sattler, Jennifer. Pig Kahuna. Bloomsbury. Fergus is afraid to go in the water, but he and his baby brother Dink find a surfboard while collecting treasures along the seashore.

JP Savage, Stephen. Where's Walrus? Scholastic. Bored with life at the zoo, an adventurous walrus escapes to the outside world. With the zookeeper in hot pursuit, Walrus cleverly tries on all sorts of hats to disguise himself.

JP Schmid, Paul. A Pet for Petunia. Harper. Petunia so desperately wants a pet skunk that she refuses to believe her parents when they say skunks stink.

JP Seuss, Dr. The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories. Random House. Presents seven Dr. Seuss stories first published in magazines between 1948 and 1959, with an introduction and commentary on each.

JP Shea, Susan A. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? Blue Apple Books. This playful picture book asks children to consider which things grow and which stay the same. If a duckling grows and becomes a duck, can a car grow into a truck?

JP Staake, Bob. Look! A Book! Little, Brown and Company. Easy-to-read, rhyming text invites the reader to search for items on a different theme on each page, while celebrating the wonder of a picture book.

JP Toddler. Snyder, Laurel. Nosh, Schlep, Schluff: Babyiddish. Random House. The rhyming text follows a toddler through a busy day and is peppered from beginning to end with Yiddish words. Oy!-will everybody kvell when they hear their little ones spouting words from this most expressive of languages.

JP Spires, Ashley. Small Saul. Kids Can Press. The tales of a little pirate who dares to be different.

JP Staake, Bob. Look! A Book! Little, Brown and Company. Easy-to-read, rhyming text invites the reader to search for items on a different theme on each page, while celebrating the wonder of a picture book.

JP Stockdale, Susan. Bring On the Birds. Introduces young readers to both exotic and familiar birds.

JP Thomas, Shelley Moore. A Good Knight's Rest. Dutton Children's Books. The Good Knight's hard work has earned him a vacation, but his three little dragon friends come along and make the trip anything but relaxing.

JP Tullet, Herve. Press Here. Chronicle Books. Three dots on a page, one yellow, one blue, and one red, "need" readers help to make them multiply and move, either by pressing or tapping on them, blowing on them, shaking the book, or clapping.

JP White, Becky. Betsy Ross. A Holiday House Book. Inch by inch, bit by bit, Betsy Ross clips, dips, and stitches the first American flag. Includes directions to show children how to make their own Betsy Ross star.

JP Willems, Mo. Hooray For Amanda & Her Alligator! Balzer and Bray. Amanda and her alligator have lots of fun together, but when Amanda's grandparents buy her a panda, Alligator must learn to make new friends.

JP Yaccarino, Dan. All the Way To America: The Story of A Big Italian Family and A Little Shovel. Alfred A. Knopf. Dan Yaccarino tells the story of his family's experiences in the United States since his great-grandfather came to America from Italy through Ellis Island.

JP Ziefert, Harriet. My Dog Thinks I'm A Genius. Blue Apple Books. A simple boy-and-his-dog story gets an artistic twist when both enjoy painting.

JE Juvenile Easy Readers

(Beginning Reader)

JE Chaconas, Dori. Cork & Fuzz: The Swimming Lesson. Viking. Cork the muskrat wants his best friend Fuzz, a possum, to visit his home, but first he must teach Fuzz to swim and not be afraid of the water.

JE Day, Alexandra. Carl and the Puppies. Square Fish. Mama Dog needs a rest. Carl offers to watch her puppies. Will he be able to keep three playful puppies out of trouble?

JE Egan, Tim. Dodsworth in Rome. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Dodsworth and his duck companion have a lovely time in Rome even though the duck tries to improve the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and takes all the coins from the Trevi Fountain.

JE Eastman, Peter. Fred and Ted's Road Trip. Beginner Books. Dogs Fred and Ted pack up their cars and go on a road trip, and their different ways of doing things have interesting results.

JE Gilman, Grace. Dixie. Harper. Emma and her puppy, Dixie, are inseparable after-school friends. But when Emma starts preparing for her class's production of The Wizard of Oz, Dixie feels left out.

JE Hayes, Geoffrey. A Poor Excuse for a Dragon. Random House. When Fred the dragon leaves home he learns that he is not very good at roaring or breathing fire and swallowing people only makes him ill, but with help from a witch, a giant, and a wise boy he finds his true calling.

JE Manushkin, Fran. Star of the Show. Picture Window Books. Katie is sad when she is cast as an earthworm in her school play, because that means she cannot be the star.

JE McNamara, Margaret. Class Picture Day. Simon Spotlight. When Emma learns that her class picture will be taken while she must wear an eye patch, she is sad because she will look different from the other first-graders.

JE Parish, Herman. Go West, Amelia Bedelia! Greenwillow Books. Amelia Bedelia, the literal-minded housekeeper, takes a vacation at her Uncle Buck's dude ranch.

JE Rau, Dana Meachen. Flip Flop! A Sticker Book. Rhyming text explores the many options that summer presents to two best friends, from swimming in a pool versus swimming in the sea, to wearing flip flops versus going barefoot.

Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter & Tabby Ring The Bell. Harcourt Children's Books. Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry cook up an idea to take Tabby and her dog, Zeke, for show-and-tell to the local school. All does not go as planned.

JE Schneider, Josh. Tales for Very Picky Eaters. Clarion Books. A father tells outlandish stories while trying to get his young son, who is a very picky eater, to eat foods he thinks he will not like.

JE Scotton, Rob. Splat the Cat: Good Night, Sleep Tight. Harper. Splat is excited about camping out until his mother surprises him with the news that Spike and Plank will be there, too.

JE Willems, Mo. I Broke My Trunk! Hyperion Books for Children. Gerald tells Piggie the long, crazy story about breaking his trunk. Will Piggie end up with a long, crazy story of her own?

JYR Juvenile Young Readers

(1st & 2nd Grade Reader)

JYR Carris, Joan D. Magic at the Bed and Biscuit. Candlewick Press. The family of animals at the Bed and Biscuit are expected to welcome and help protect Malicia, a mean-spirited city chicken who tours with a magic show. Can they convince Grampa that she's up to no good before it's too late?

JYR Mills, Claudia. Fractions = Trouble! Farrar, Straus and Giroux. While trying to decide on a science fair project, 3rd grader Wilson struggles with fractions and much to his embarrassment, his parents sign him up to work with a math tutor.

JYR Sternberg, Julie. Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. Amulet Books. When nine-year-old Eleanor's beloved babysitter Bibi moves away to care for her ailing father, Eleanor must spend the summer adjusting to a new babysitter while mourning the loss of her old one.

J Juvenile Fiction

(Novels / Stories 3rd Grade & Higher)

J Alvarez, Julia. How Tía Lola Saved the Summer. Alfred A. Knopf. When three girls and their father visit for a week in the summer, it takes Tía Lola to make Miguel forget his unhappiness at the absence of any boys and embrace the adventures that ensue.

J Avi. City of Orphans. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Dickensian street action comes to New York's Lower East Side in this gripping story, set in 1893, about newsboy Maks, 13.

J Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette. Alfred A. Knopf. When the three younger Penderwick sisters go to Maine with Aunt Claire and are separated from oldest sister Rosalind for the first time in their lives, an uncertain Skye is left in charge as the OAP--oldest available Penderwick.

J Clements, Andrew. Troublemaker. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. When his older brother gets in serious trouble, sixth-grader Clay decides to change his own mischief-making ways, but he cannot seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.

J Cronin, Doreen. Trouble with Chickens. Balzer and Bray. A hard-bitten former search-and-rescue dog helps solve a complicated missing chicken case.

J Erskine, Kathryn. The Absolute Value of Mike. Philomel Books. A novel about a boy sent to Pennsylvania by his father to work on an engineering project, who finds himself working alongside his wacky aunt, a homeless man, and a punk-rock girl as part of a town-wide project to adopt a boy from Romania.

J Grimes, Nikki. Planet Middle School. Bloomsbury. A series of poems describes all the baffling changes at home and at school in twelve-year-old Joylin's transition from tomboy basketball player to not-so-girly girl.

J Harvey, Jacqueline. Alice-Miranda at School. Delacorte Press. Soon after arriving at the Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies, resourceful seven-and-one-quarter year-old Alice-Miranda finds her new boarding school to be a very curious establishment with a headmistress that has not been seen for years, and a mysterious stranger that seems to be hiding out on the premises.

J Henkes, Kevin. Junonia. Greenwillow Books. The week of her tenth birthday, Alice and her parents go to Sanibel Island, Florida, just as they do every year, but this time some of the people who are always there are missing and some new people have come, which unsettles Alice, who wants things to be exactly the same as they always are.

J Holm, Jennifer L. The Trouble with May Amelia. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Living in Washington State in 1900 with seven brothers and her father, who thinks girls are useless, a thirteen-year-old Finnish American farm girl is determined to prove her worth.

Jenkins, Emily. Toys Come Home: Being the early experiences of an intelligent stingray, a brave buffalo, and a brand-new someone called Plastic. Schwartz & Wade books. When a little girl gets a plush stingray for her birthday, it makes friends with some of her other toys as they all try to navigate in the world of real people.

J Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out & Back Again. Harper. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

J MacLachlan, Patricia. Waiting for the Magic. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. When William's father leaves, his mother promptly goes out and adds four dogs and a cat to their lives. William's sure that nothing can fill the hole left by his father, but William will learn that "family" can come in all shapes and sizes.

J Meloy, Colin. Wildwood. Balzer and Bray. When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, seventh-grader Prue ventures into the forbidden Impassable Wilderness, a dangerous and magical forest at the edge of Portland, Oregon.

J Selznick, Brian. Wonderstruck. Scholastic. Set 50 years apart, two independent stories - Ben's is told in words, Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry.

J Stephens, John. The Emerald Atlas. Alfred A. Knopf. Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared to protect them, but now they learn that they have special powers, a prophesied quest to find a magical book, and a fearsome enemy.

J Voigt, Cynthia. Young Fredle. Alfred A. Knopf. A novel about discovery, perspective, and the meaning of home--all through the eyes of an affable and worried little mouse.

J Whelan, Gloria. Small Acts Of Amazing Courage. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. In 1919, independent-minded fifteen-year-old Rosalind lives in India with her English parents, and when they fear she has fallen in with some rebellious types who believe in Indian self-government, she is sent "home" to London, where she has never been before to stay with her two aunts.

J Yee, Lisa. Warp Speed. Arthur A. Levine Books. Marley Sandelski has always felt invisible at school when he is not facing bullies, but a series of unexpected events gives him a taste of popularity and insights into some classmates, well-liked or greatly-feared.

J Graphc Novel

J Cosentino, Ralph. Wonder Woman: The Story of the Amazon Princess. Viking. Wonder Woman tells how she came to be the protector of humankind, who her enemies are, and how she keeps her identity secret.

J Luciani, Brigitte. Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox: the Meeting. Graphic Universe. Having lost their home, a fox and her daughter move in with a badger and his three children, but when the youngsters throw a big party hoping to prove that they are incompatible, their plan backfires.

J McCranie, Stephen. The Adventures of Mal and Chad : the biggest, bestest time ever. Philomel Books. Fourth-grade genius Mal and his talking dog Chad shrink themselves to microscopic size and travel through time, but girls and the school bully present bigger challenges.

Santat, Dan. Sidekicks. Arthur A. Levine Books. When Captain Amazing is laid up due to his peanut allergy, his pets secretly take up crime-fighting duties and end up in a trial by fire as they get tangled in a supervillain's secret plot.

J Juvenile Nonfiction

(Subject Books)

J 030 T. The Big Book of How. Time for Kids Books. 501 facts that kids want to know.

J 031.02 N. Ultimate Weird But True. National Geographic Kids. Packed with 1,000 wild and wacky facts and stories that prove truth really is stranger than fiction.

J 031.02 T. That's Incredible! The World’s Most Unbelievable Facts & Records. Time For Kids. Filled with brand-new and impressive facts combined with colorful and attention-grabbing photos and illustrations about the marvels of the world.

J 292 L. Lunge-Larsen, Lise. Gifts From The Gods: Ancient Words & Wisdom From Greek & Roman Mythology. Houghton Mifflin Books For Children. Ancient names come to rich and fascinating life in this illustrated book for mythology fans and word lovers.

J 292 N. Napoli, Donna Jo. Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters. National Geographic. Wise, witty, and thoroughly entrancing, this collection is ideal for those who want more from their mythology.

J 292 T. Turnbull, Ann. Greek Myths. Candlewick Press. A gorgeous collection of classic Greek myths welcomes readers into a legendary world of beauty, tragedy, and miracle.

J 304.2 K. Kirk, Ellen. Human Footprint: Everything you will eat, use, wear, buy, and throw out in your lifetime. National Geographic Kids. Shows kids the dimensions of consumption, including diapers worn as a baby, bread eaten in a lifetime, and recycled cans, and explains how to create a sustainable way of living.

J 306.85 H. Hoffman, Mary. The Great Big Book of Families. Dial Books for Young Readers. Featuring homes and holidays, school and pets, feelings and family trees, this book explores every aspect of family life with warmth, wit and sensitivity.

J 362.73 R. Rotner, Shelley. I'm Adopted! Holiday House. Insightful photographs, matched with a simple text, encourage children to reflect and ask questions about adoption. Most of all, this book celebrates another way family can grow.

J 363.11 A. Aronson, Marc. Trapped: How The World Rescued 33 Miners From 2,000 Feet Below The Chilean Desert. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Thirty-three miners trapped in a copper-gold mine in San Jose, Chile and how experts from around the world, from drillers, to astronauts, to submarine specialists, came together to make their remarkable rescue possible.

J 398.2 Germany B. Barrager, Brigette. Twelve Dancing Princesses. An easy retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who dance secretly all night long and how their secret is eventually discovered.

J 398.2 Germany G. Gibb, Sarah. Rapunzel: based on the original story by the Brothers Grimm. Albert Whitman and Company. A retelling of the German folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a witch.

J 398.24 D. Children's Book of Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters. DK Publishing. An introducution to fascinating myths and legends from around the world.

J 428.1 W. Word Book: Learning the words in your world. National Geographic. Presents hundreds of words with images representing each word, grouped together by such themes as shapes, food, games, pets, music, and seasons.

J 513.21 S. Sebe, Masayuki. Let's Count to 100! Kids Can Press. Let's Count to 100! is comprised of 11 bright panoramas, each featuring a delightful assortment of 100 different objects. This book makes counting fun and accessible.

J 523.3 A. Aguilar, David A. 13 Planets: the latest view of the solar system. National Geographic. Photo-realistic illustration and fascinating up-to-date facts straight from the latest astronomy news brings a comprehensive look at our solar system.

J 551.21 S. Stewart, Melissa. Inside Volcanoes. Sterling Children's Books. Ten spectacular gatefolds, plus incredible photos, graphs, maps, diagrams, and first-person stories, take intrepid young explorers right to the source to find out what is inside volcanoes.

J 551.55 F. Fradin, Dennis and Judith. Tornado! The Story Behind These Twisting, Turning, Spinning and Spiraling Storms. National Geographic Kids. Through riveting narrative and eyewitness stories, young readers learn what it's like to be caught in a monster tornado.

J 551.57 G. Gibbons, Gail. It's Snowing. Holiday House. This crystal clear introduction to one of winter's wonders presents information about different types of snowstorms, regions where snow falls, and how to prepare when a snowstorm approaches.

J 567.9 G. Greenwood, Marie. Dinosaurs and Me. DK Publishing. A completely new approach to the world of the dinosaurs and other prehistoric life - by comparing it with ourselves and with the massive variety of animals, habitats, and plant life that make up our world today.

J 567.91 H. Hartland, Jessie. How The Dinosaur Got To The Museum. Blue Apple Books. The fascinating 145-million-year journey of a dinosaur: a Diplodocus longus, from its discovery in 1923 in Utah to its arrival in the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian.

J 590 D. Animals Alive. DK Publishing. Discover the amazing variety of animal life on Earth, meet endangered species and learn about what you can do to help keep animals alive.

J 590.96 J. Joubert, Beverly and Dereck. African Animal Alphabet. National Geographic Little Kids. Meet some amazing African animals brought to life through beautiful photography.

J 591.5 T. Thimmesh, Catherine. Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships. Houghton Mifflin. Amazing photographs of unlikely animal friendships.

J 591.51 J. Jenkins, Steve. Time to Sleep. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. It s time to sleep! Who dozes standing on one leg without falling over, snores while flying, or snuggles together in a big sleepy pile?

J 591.68 J. Jenkins, Martin. Can We Save the Tiger? Candlewick Press. Introduces some of the world's most endangered species and gives us powerful reasons to try to save them.

J 591.9 W. Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas. National Geographic Kids. Earth's astonishing animals and where they live.

J 595.78 A. Aston, Dianna Hutts. A Butterfly is Patient. Chronicle Books. A gorgeous and informative introduction to the world of butterflies.

J 597.8 D. Everything You Need To Know About Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures. DK Publishing. A book all about amphibians and reptiles.

J 598 M. Munro, Roxie. Hatch! Marshall Cavendish Children's. Gives young readers a bird's-eye view into the fascinating world of birds and their unique eggs and nests.

J 598.15 A. Arnosky, Jim. Thunder Birds: Nature's Flying Predator. Sterling. Acclaimed naturalist and illustrator Jim Arnosky helps birds and imaginations take glorious flight in this breathtaking nonfiction picture book with six giant gatefolds.

J 599.78 N. Newman, Mark. Polar Bears. Holt. Irresistibly endearing polar bear photographs--numerous icy-blue pictures of adults and babies in their natural habitats--are the highlight of this memorable book that explores the world of polar bears.

J 618.92 S. Stefanski Daniel. How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski (an autistic kid). Free Spirit Publishing. Gives kids and adults the confidence and tools needed to befriend kids with autism. With Daniel's upbeat and often funny advice, they'll feel like they've made a friend already.

J 636.73 M. McCarthy, Meghan. The Incredible Life of Balto. Alfred A. Knopf. The story of Balto, a world famous dog who led his sled team through a blizzard to deliver lifesaving serum to the stricken people of Nome, Alaska, in 1925.

J 688.7 D The Lego Ideas Book: Unlock Your Imagination. DK Publishing. Featuring all-new LEGO building projects, tips to supplement and enhance LEGO creations, inspirational builds, and expert advice from LEGO Master Builders, "The LEGO Ideas Book" is sure to keep kids of all ages creating for hours.

J 704.08 R. Raczka, Bob. Before They were Famous: how seven artists got their start. Millbrook Press. See the childhood works of Durer, Michelangelo, Artemisia Gentileschi, Sargent, Klee, Picasso, and Dali and learn what influenced their art.

J 743.89 M. Masiello, Ralph. Ralph Masiello's Robot Drawing Book. Charlesbridge. Offers budding artists a step-by-step tutorial on how to draw kid-friendly robots.

J 791.43 D. Disney Winnie the Pooh: The Essential Guide. Dorling Kindersley. The "Essential Guide" takes readers back to the Hundred-Acre Wood in a gorgeous guide to the world of Pooh.

J 811.008 S. Silverstein, Shel. Every Thing On It. HarperCollins Children's Books. Silverstein pushes playful poetry to its limits with drawings that are as strange and wonderful as the artist's earlier collections.

J 811.54 F. Franco, Betsy. A Dazzling Display of Dogs. Tricycle Press. A new collection of visual poems celebrating all things canine-from obedience school, to backyard break outs, to flatulent Fidos.

J 811.54 G. George, Kristine O'Connell. Emma Dilemma: Big sister poems. Clarion Books. Emma is Jess's little sister . . . and her dilemma. How can one small girl be sweet, funny, imaginative, playful, and affectionate as well as a clinging vine, brat, tattletale, and nuisance-all at the same time?

J 910.9 R. Ross, Stewart. Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air. Candlewick Press. Open this dynamic book and discover how the greatest explorers in history - from Marco Polo to Neil Armstrong - plunged into the unknown and boldly pieced together the picture of the world we have today.

J 910.91 D. Denenberg, Barry. Titanic Sinks! Viking Books. Experience the Titanic's doomed voyage in this unique presentation of fact and fiction.

J 917.47 L. Lamprell, Klay. Not-For-Parents: New York City: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know. Lonely Planet. A world of intriguing stories and fascinating facts about the people, places, history and culture of the world's most exciting city.

J 920.02 R. Roop, Peter and Connie. Tales of Famous Heroes. Scholastic Reference. Introduces a diverse range of admirable men and women, in a fact-filled volume that includes coverage of such historic individuals as Nelson Mandela, Neil Armstrong, and Jane Goodall.

J 945.92 N. Nivola, Claire A. Orani: My Father's Village. Frances Foster Books. Nivola invites readers to share in her experience of Orani, a village where surprises met them at every turn and luxuries were unheard of, but life was rich, lived close to the earth.

J 973 N. Nelson, Kadir. Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. Balzer & Bray. An simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama with illustrations that are as eloquent as the text.

J B Anderson. Stauffacher, Sue. Tilllie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, A Sewing Needle and A Bicycle Changed History. Alfred A. Knopf. The story of Tillie Anderson, the first woman's bicycle racing champion of the world.

J B Edmonds. Jones, Carrie. Sarah Emma Edmonds Was a Great Pretender: the true story of a Civil War spy. Carolrhoda Books. A picture book biography of Sarah Emma Edmonds, a Canadian-born woman who served as a spy in the Union Army during the Civil War.

J B Goodall. McDonnell, Patrick. Me...Jane. Little, Brown & Company. Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals.

J B Henson. Krull, Kathleen. Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played With Puppets. Random House. An inspiring and timely portrait of the late Henson. The book covers Henson's upbringing, experimentation with and study of puppetry, and the creation and success of his beloved Muppets on TV and on the big screen.

J B Louis. De La Pena, Matt. Joe Louis: A Nation's Hope. Dial Books. This elegant and powerful picture book biography centers around the historic fight in which Black and White America were able to put aside prejudice and come together to celebrate our nation's ideals.

J B Sarg. Sweet, Melissa. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Meet Tony Sarg: the boy who loved to figure out how things moved - the boy who became the puppeteer of Macy's parade.

J B Twain. Burleigh, Robert. The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Who better to tell the tale of the life of Mark Twain than Huckleberry Finn? True to Huck's voice, this picture book biography is a riverboat ride through the life of a real American treasure.

J B Warhol. Christensen, Bonnie. Fabulous! A Portrait of Andy Warhol. Christy Ottaviano Books. Chronicles Warhol's remarkable path to becoming a renowned Pop Art icon.

J B Young. Young, Ed. The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China. Little Brown & Co. Young brings his exquisite sense of design, expressive brushwork, and mastery of a variety of mediums to the story of his childhood in China.

JNF Parenting

(Parenting Books)