Last week I wrote about picking safe toys for holiday gifts, well what could be safer then a book? It's not noisy or full of toxic chemicals and I've never seen a book that's a choking hazard, unless your kid has really strong teeth to take a bite out of it. So here are a few lists to offer some ideas of the best books out this year, and then a few of my personal favorites:
Kirkus Review Best Children's Books of 2009
NY Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009
Publishers' Weekly Best Children's Books of 2009
And for my personal favorites:
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton - true story of borther who invented new colors
A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis - a big story time hit
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - anticipated sequel to The Hunger Games, for older readers
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan - graphic novel that is part history, part folklore and part thriller
Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry - debut novel that I can't stop thinking about.