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BEST BOOKS OF THE
YEAR
Best of Year 2010
Best of Year 2008
Notables from 2007
Notables from 2006
Notables from 2005
Notables from 2004
Notables from 2003
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THEMES
Animals
Anthologies
Bears
Bedtime
Classics
Concept Books
Dinosaurs
Families
Fiction for the Young
Folk Literature
Friendship
Holiday/Special Days
Humor & Nonsense
Insects
Oceans, Lakes, Rivers,
& Ponds
Rhythm & Rhyme
Wordless Books
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Toddlers
Preschool
First Grade
Second Grade
Third-Fifth Grades
Middle Grades
Upper Grades
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Kindergarten
Kindergarten is the time
when children become more aware and curious about people, places and
things. Their social world now includes others outside the family.
They are now ready for stories that help them try on different personalities
and assist them over difficult stages. They need stories that are
written for the sole purpose of providing fun, entertainment, and
enjoyment.
Kindergartners enjoy seeing characters who take risks, gain control
over their surroundings and where all ends in happy ever after. Unlike
preschool books, these stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
Introduce some folktales, but stay away from complex or gory ones.
Try some folktales from other countries and cultures. They not only
entertain, but teach children how universal stories are. Choose versions
that maintain some of the flow of the original language.
Because their attention spans are increasing, introduce a few of the
more complicated fairytales, but stay away from the more gruesome
ones.
Wordless books require that children interpret the story from the
illustrations. The reader must follow the pictures in sequence for
the story to make sense. Choose a variety of styles from muted to
brilliant colors to black and white. Pictures also help children focus
on details.
Because people, places and things are becoming more important to kindergartners,
these books should give simple, straightforward information relating
to the real world.
This is an exciting age for kindergartners, full of new and exhausting
information. Don't push for learning to read just yet. Listening to
stories is where reading begins. |
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THE CURIOUS
GARDEN
written/illus. by Peter Brown, (Little, Brown and Co., $16.99,
ISBN 978-0-316-0 1547-8), 40p, Ages 3-6.
One day while exploring
his dreary neighborhood, Liam finds a few flowers on an old
elevated train track. With several hits and misses, he begins
watering, weeding, and pruning them. "But this was no ordinary
garden. With miles of open railway ahead of it, the garden was
growing restless. It wanted to explore." Over the next few months,
the garden expands along the railway and into the drab city.
Sidetracked by winter snow, the plants and flowers lay dormant
until spring, when they pop up in every conceivable place. New
gardens pop up on rooftops, windmills, and ponds along with
new gardeners to care for them. The colorful illustrations are
fascinating, and the message that one small dream can change
the world is what children need to hear. |
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FORGET-ME-NOT
written/illus. by Michael Broad, (Barrons Educational Series,
$14.99, ISBN 978-0-7641-6200-8), 28p, Ages 4-7.
Concerned for his safety, Monty's Mama tells him two things
to remember: stay with the herd for protection, and never forget
how much that he is loved. While searching for flowers for Mama,
Monte mistakes a buried blue bucket for a bunch of forget-me-nots.
By the time he digs up the bucket, the herd has moved on. Alone
and lost, he comes across a flock of flamingos, a mob of meerkats,
and a colony of termites, who try to help him find home. When
the rain begins, Monty finally remembers Mama's wise words and
continues walking until he bumps into a group of trees (Mama's
legs). "From that day on, Monty never forgot to stay with the
herd, or how much his Mama loved him. And forever after, he
was always called Forget-Me-Not." This warm and gentle cautionary
tale is perfect for young children to remember. |
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THE NAPPING
HOUSE
written by Audrey Wood, illus. by Don Wood, (Harcourt Books,
$17.99, ISBN 978-0-15-256708-8), 32p, Ages 3-7.
Written in cumulative rhyme, this gentle story of a house full
of sleeping people and creatures will sooth and amuse even the
youngest listener. One by one, a snoring grandmother, a dreaming
child, a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, and a slumbering mouse
congregate on Granny's bed in a pile of bodies for an afternoon
nap. When a small flea bites the mouse, it creates a chain reaction
of chaos, as one by one each bounces, flies, bumps, and thumps
off the bed. This newly designed edition, with CD of a reading
and six original songs, commemorates twenty-five years of great
storytelling for a new generation. |
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THE LION
& THE MOUSE
illus. by Jerry Pinkney, (Little Brown & Co., $16.99, ISBN
978-0-316-01356-7), 40p, Ages 3-6.
illus. by Jerry Pinkney, (Little Brown & Co., $16.99, ISBN 978-0-316-01356-7), 40p, Ages 3-6.
In a nearly wordless interpretation of the popular Aesop's fable,
Jerry Pinkney's marvelous rendition takes place in Africa. An
adventurous mouse escapes the claws of a hungry owl, only to
accidentally disturb a sleeping lion. Trapped in his paws, mouse
is graciously freed to live another day. When she later comes
upon the lion, caught in a hunter's trap, she remembers the
lion's kindness and nibbles his ropes. The little mouse returns
home with a piece of rope for her babies to chew. Endpapers
show the mouse and her babies resting on the lion's back for
a family outing. Artist's Note explains his concern and reverence
for animal life. "It seemed fitting, then, to stage this fable
in the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, with its wide
horizon and abundant wildlife so awesome yet fragile–not unlike
the two sides of each of the heroes starring in this great tale
for all times." As always, Jerry Pinkney's illustrations are
delightful. |
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EPOSSUMONDAS
PLAYS POSSUM
written by Coleen Salley, illus. by Janet Stevens, (Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, $16.00, ISBN 978-0-15-206420-4), 40p,
Ages 3-7.
Set in a Louisiana swamp, the lovable little diaper-clad possum
is back with his Mama in the fourth and final picture book.
Warned about the swamp's fearsome loup-garou, which snatches
possums in its huge claws, Epossumondas follows a butterfly
into the swamp and becomes lost. He meets a ferocious swamp
cat, a huge slithery snake, a fierce swamp hog, and a powerful
swamp buzzard, but by playing dead, the animals leave him alone.
When Mama locates him, he is admonished for not trying to escape.
Epossumondas replies, "I just played dead, like every good possum
should!" In Southern tradition, Mama carries him home to have
sweet tea. Note from the Author explains the legend of the loup-garou
and the defense mechanisms of possums. As a lasting tribute
to Colleen Salley, Janet Stevens has rendered Mama in the spitting
image of the late New Orleans' storyteller. |
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THE CLOCK
STRUCK ONE: A Time-Telling Tale
written by Trudy Harris, illus. by Carrie Hartman, (Millbrook
Press, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-8225-9067), 32p, Ages
4+.
Expanding on the famous nursery rhyme, "Hickory Dickory Dock,"
when the clock strikes two, the cat awakes and chases the mouse
for a twelve-hour romp through the house and out to the barnyard
where the dog and hen join the chase. "Hickory, dickory dix,/the
clock on the barn said SIX./A hen joined the group where they
charged through the coop/and frightened her new little chicks."
Humans join in the pursuit until all collapse at midnight. Endpapers
explain facts about clocks and basic information on telling
time. Children are challenged to search for the various clocks
featured throughout the story, i.e., pocket watch, grandfather
clock, stove timer, alarm clock, etc. Children will also enjoy
the humorous rhymes, illustrations, and introduction to telling
time. |
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