Dear Friends,
If you are new to book ordering, a word of caution. Choices are
subjective. No two library populations need the same books, and even
titles below with two asterisks are not for every library. *Read at
least one well-respected review before ordering any title on the list.*
(You can find reviews by Booklist and SLJ on amazon.)
If you would like the list in one alphabetical order by title,
I can send you that as an attachment. Write to me for it. Joan.
I want to thank the following forty-four people on LM-NET
who offered their choices for the Best Children's Books of 2005:
Wendy Baker Agocs, Jeannie Ammon, Dr. Mary Ann Bell, Sue Broberg, Susan
Burstein, Erin L. Bush, Lynn Butler, Toni Buzzeo, Robin Canetti, Kelli
Cleaver, GraceAnne Andreassi DeCandido, Kate Dwojeski, Felice Feldman,
Lori Feldstein-Gardner, Judy Freeman, Monica Gardner, Anne-Marie
Gordon, Darla Grediagin, Carl Harvey, Jacquie Henry, Michelle Henry,
Rhonda Idleman, Ann Jantzen, Brenda Kahn, Donna Knott, Sue Marley,
Darcy Maxwell, Melinda Miller-Widrick, Mary G. Milligan, Erica Moon,
Kathleen Murdock, Jody Newman, Karen Perry, Rebecca Reitz, Christine
Rinehart, Sandie Rock, T. E. Schwartz, Krish Stella, Elizabeth Varley,
Ellie Weiss, Emily Willis, John Wolfgang, Laurie Woodfin, Brenda Young.
Joan Kimball, Concord, Mass. woodkimball@juno.com
Retired from Hart's Hill School Library, Whitesboro NY
Chair Press Committee, National Storytelling Network
www.storynet.org 800-525-4514
publisher of "Telling Stories to Children" ed. Lehrman (2005)
and "Beginners Guide to Storytelling" ed. Rydell (2003)
LM-NET - BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF 2005
Notes:
Asterisks indicate special recognition:
*One asterisk = 3 or 4 recommendations for this title. **Two
asterisks = 5 or more recommendations.
The survey is arranged by interest in age groups as follows: Primary
5-8; Primary-Intermediate 6-10;
Intermediate 9-12; Intermediate-Young Adult 10-14;
Young Adult 13-15.
ALL AGES
The Art of Reading: Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF's 40th Anniversary
by Reading is Fundamental. Dutton.
Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits by Wynton Marsalis.
Candlewick.
PRIMARY (Ages 5-8)
America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven. Illus. by Mike Benny.
Sleeping Bear Press.
Author Day for Room 3T by Robin Pulver. Illus. by Chuck Richards.
Clarion.
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook.
Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley. Photos by Nic Bishop. Scholastic.
Clara and Asha by Eric Rohmann. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook.
Click Clack, Quackity-Quack: An Alphabet Adventure by Doreen Cronin.
Illus. by Betsy Lewin. Atheneum.
The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle. Illus. by Steve Johnson and Lou
Fancher. Viking.
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Big Heart by Pat
Mora. Illus. by Raul Colon. Knopf.
Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George. Illus. by Lauren Stringer.
Harcourt.
Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing Minds. by
Saxton Freymann. Illus. by the author. Scholastic.
The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell. Little.
Granite Baby by Lynne Bertrand. Illus. by Kevin Hawkes. Farrar.
**The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.
Illus. by Janet Stevens. Harcourt.
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster. Illus. by Chris Raschka.
Hyperion.
*I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont. Illus. by David Catrow.
Harcourt.
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen. Dutton.
In the Small, Small Night by Jane Kurtz. Illus. by Rachel Isadora.
Amistad.
**Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. Illus. by the author. Harcourt.
**Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. Illus. by the author.
Hyperion.
Lizette's Green Sock by Catharina Valckx. Clarion.
Look What the Cat Dragged In by Gary Hogg. Illus. by Mike Wohnoutka.
Dutton.
The Magic Rabbit by Richard Jesse Watson. Blue Sky Press.
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DeCamillo. Illus. by Chris Van
Dusen. Candlewick.
Momotaro and the Island of Ogres by Stephanie Wada. Illus. by Kano
Naganobu. George Braziller.
Mr. Tanen's Ties Rule! by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.
The Neat Line: Scribbling Through Mother Goose by Pamela Duncan
Edwards. Illus. by Diana Cain Bluthenthal. HarperCollins.
Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett. Illus. by Noah Z. Jones.
Candlewick.
One Red Dot: A Pop-up Book for Children of All Ages by David A. Carter.
Illus. by the author. Little Simon.
Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel. Illus by David Catrow. Putnam.
Pink Magic by Donna Jo Napoli. Illus. by Chad Cameron. Clarion.
Saving the Liberty Bell by Megan McDonald. Atheneum.
Shhhhh! Everybody's Sleeping! by Julie Markes. Illus. by David
Parkins. HarperCollins.
The Silent Witness by Robin Friedman. Houghton Mifflin.
A Splendid Friend Indeed by Suzanne Bloom. Boyds Mills.
So, What's It Like To Be a Cat by Karla Kuskin. Illus. by Betsy Lewin.
Atheneum.
Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald. Illus. by Peter
H. Reynolds. Candlewick.
Sunny Boy!: The Life and Times of a Tortoise by Candace Fleming. Illus.
by Anne Wilsdorf. Farrar.
Terrific by Jon Agee. Michael Di Capua (pub).
That New Animal by Emily Jenkins. Illus. by Pierre Pratt. Farrar.
Traction Man Is Here! by Mini Grey. Illus. by the author. Knopf.
Wiggle by Doreen Cronin. Atheneum.
Winter Lights: A Season in Poems and Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines.
Greenwillow.
PRIMARY-INTERMEDIATE (Ages 6-10)
*Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin. Joanna Cotler Books.
*Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up by Robert
Sabuda. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley. Walker.
Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis. Illus. by Kyle M.
Stone. Harcourt.
Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins. Houghton Mifflin.
Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook by Shel Silverstein. Illus. by the author.
HarperCollins.
Searching for Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison. Harcourt.
**Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson. Illus. by Hudson Talbott. Putnam.
Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems by Joyce Sidman. Illus.
by Beckie Prange. Houghton Mifflin.
*The Three Silly Billies by Margie Palatini. Simon & Schuster.
INTERMEDIATE (Ages 9-12)
Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Simon & Schuster.
Babymouse: Our Hero by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm. Illus. by
Matthew Holm. Random House.
Ballpark: The Story of America's Baseball Fields by Lynn Curlee.
Atheneum.
Basketball (Or Something Like It) by Nora Raleigh Baskin. HarperCollins.
Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem About China by Ed Young.
Illus. by the author. Chronicle.
*Chicken Boy by Frances O'Roark Dowell. Atheneum.
Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two by
Joseph Bruchac. Dial.
*Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles. Gulliver.
Giant Rat of Sumatra: or Pirates Galore by Sid Fleischman. Illus. by
John Hendrix. Greenwillow.
The Giants and the Joneses by Julia Donaldson. Illus. by Greg
Swearington. Henry Holt.
Hidden Child by Isaac Millman. Illus. by the author. Farrar.
If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty. Illus. by Steven
Kellogg. Scholastic.
The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of
Margaret and H. A. Rey by Louise Borden. Illus. by Allan Drummond.
Houghton Mifflin.
Kamishibai Man by Allen Say. Illus. by the author. Houghton Mifflin.
*A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by Paul B.
Janeczko, sel. Illus. by Chris Raschka. Candlewick.
*The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter.
Illus. by the author. Harcourt.
**The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick
Riordan. Miramax/Hyperion.
Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan. HarperCollins.
Lunch Money by Andrew Clements. Simon & Schuster.
*Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very
Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall. Knopf.
*Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park. Clarion.
Red Ridin' in the Hood: And Other Cuentos by Patricia Santos
Marcantonio. Illus. by Renato Alarcão. Farrar.
Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets by Kate Klise.
Harcourt.
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni. Illus. by Bryan Collier. Henry Holt.
*The Scarecrow and His Servant by Philip Pullman. Illus. by Peter
Bailey. Knopf.
Sea Legs by Alex Shearer. Simon & Schuster.
Seen Art? by Jon Scieszka. Illus. by Lane Smith. Viking.
Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach. Henry Holt.
Unlikely Pairs: Fun with Famous Works of Art by Bob Raczka. Millbrook.
Whales on Stilts by M. T. Anderson. Illus. by Kurt Cyrus. Harcourt.
What I Call Life by Jill Wolfson. Henry Holt.
**Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. Illus. by the author. Scholastic.
INTERMEDIATE-YOUNG ADULT (Ages 10-14)
A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye. Illus. by Terre Maher.
Greenwillow.
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion.
Birdwing by Rafe Martin. Arthur A. Levine.
Blood Red Horse (Book One of the Granville Trilogy) by K. M. Grant.
Walker.
Bone #1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith. Illus. by the author.
Graphix/Scholastic.
Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Simon & Schuster.
Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2) by Christopher Paolini. Knopf.
*Flush by Carl Hiaasen. Knopf.
The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich. HarperCollins.
Gentle's Holler by Kerry Madden. Viking.
Guys Write for Guys Read by John Scieszka. Viking.
**Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling. Illus. by
Mary Grandpré. Scholastic.
Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher. Knopf.
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell
Bartoletti. Scholastic.
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. Chicken House.
The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli. Wendy Lamb Books.
The Legend of the Wandering King by Laura Gallego Garcia. Trans. by Dan
Bellm. Scholastic.
Midnight Rider by Joan Hiatt Harlow. Margaret K. McElderry.
The Misadventures of Maude March: or Trouble Rides a Horse by Audrey
Couloumbis. Random House.
My 13th Season by Kristi Roberts. Henry Holt.
Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Remarkable Life by
Candace Fleming. Atheneum.
Permanent Rose by Hilary McKay. Margaret K. McElderry.
Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan. Philomel.
Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz. Scholastic.
Search for Belle Prater by Ruth White. Farrar.
The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer. Margaret McElderry.
Wing Nut by M. J. Auch. Henry Holt.
YOUNG ADULT (Ages 13-15)
Across the Nightingale Floor: Episode 2 by Lian Hearn. Puffin.
Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers. Illus. by
Christopher Myers. Amistad.
Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer. Putnam.
Boy 2 Girl by Terence Blacker. Farrar.
Catch a Tiger by the Toe by Ellen Levine. Viking.
Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow.
Dark Angel by David Klass. Farrar.
Day of Tears by Julius Lester. Jump at the Sun (pub).
The Diary of Pelly D by L. J. Adlington. Greenwillow.
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Farrar.
Fade to Black by Alex Flinn. HarperTempest.
Help wanted: Stories by Gary Soto. Harcourt.
I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak. Knopf.
I, Coriander by Sally Gardner. Dial.
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch. Atheneum.
Last Universe by William Sleator. Abrams.
*Looking for Alaska by John Green. Dutton.
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier. Razorbill.
Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. Viking.
Ptolomy's Gate (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3) by Jonathan Stroud.
Miramax.
Replay by Sharon Creech. Joanna Cotler Books.
Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger. Simon & Schuster.
The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton. Eos.
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel. Eos.
Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher. Greenwillow.
Stealing Henry by Carolyn MacCullough. Roaring Brook.
Summer's End by Audrey Couloumbis. Putnam.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Megan Tingley (pub).
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Simon Pulse (pub).
Where I Want to Be by Adele Griffin. Putnam.
The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber. HarperTempest.
2004
A few books published in 2004 that missed last year's list.
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding. Orchard. 2004 (young
adult)
Lucy Rose: Here’s the Thing About Me by Katy Kelly. Illus. by Adam Rex.
Delacorte. 2004 (primary-intermediate)
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Disney.
2004 (intermediate-young adult)
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. Knopf. 2004 (young adult)
So B. It by Sarah Weeks. Laura Geringer (pub.). 2004 (young adult)
Joan Kimball, Concord, Mass. woodkimball@juno.com
Retired from Hart's Hill School Library, Whitesboro NY
Chair Press Committee, National Storytelling Network
www.storynet.org 800-525-4514
publisher of "Telling Stories to Children" ed. Lehrman (2005)
and "Beginners Guide to Storytelling" ed. Rydell (2003)
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