Some of the Best Children’s Fiction of 2009 and 2010Books and BrunchOctober 1, 2010

Compiled by: Jennie Dunn M/RCPL Children’s Assistant

Picture Books:

Barton, Chris. Shark vs. Train (JE Bar) Illustrated by: Tom Lichtenheld Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010 ISBN 9780316007627

A shark and a train compete in a series of contests on a seesaw, in hot air balloons, bowling, shooting baskets, playing hide-and-seek, and more.

Battut, Eric. The Fox and the Hen (JE Bat)Boxer Books Limited : New York : Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Sterling Publishing Co., 2010. ISBN 9781907152023

"Crafty Red Fox has taken Henrietta Hen's beautiful egg. Now Henrietta and her friends must come up with a cunning plan to trick Red Fox into giving it back"

Bottner, Barbara. Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t ) (JE Bot)

Illustrated by: Michael Emberley New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. ISBN

9780375846823A first-grade girl who does not like to read stubbornly resists her school librarian's efforts to convince her to love books until she finds one that might change her mind.

Braun, Sebastien. Back to Bed, Ed! (JE Bra) Atlanta : Peachtree Publishers, 2010. ISBN

9781561455188Ed the mouse will not sleep in his own bed, until eventually his exasperated and tired parents find a way to keep him from joining them in the middle of the night.

Cousins, Lucy. I’m the Best (JE Cou)

Somerville : Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN 9780763646844

When Dog's constant boasting makes his friends sad, they find a way to teach him what it means to be a good friend.

Fleming, Candace. Clever Jack takes the Cake (JE Fle)

Illustrated by: G. Brian Karas New York : Schwartz & Wade Books, 2010.

ISBN 9780375849794A poor boy named Jack struggles to deliver a birthday present worthy of the princess.

Frazee, Marla. The Boss Baby (JE Fra) New York : Beach Lane Books, 2010. ISBN

9781442401679From the moment he arrives, it is obvious that the new baby is boss and he gets whatever he wants, from drinks made-to-order around the clock to his executive gym.

French, Vivian. Yucky Worms (JE Fre) Illustrated by: Jessica Ahlberg Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2010 ISBN

9780763644468While helping Grandma in the garden, a child learns about the important role of the earthworm in helping plants grow.

Gravett, Emily. Dogs (JE Gra) New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers,

2010ISBN

9781416987031Big dogs, small dogs, stripy dogs, spotty dogs. There are so many different kinds of dogs. How can anyone pick one type of dog to love the most?

Guiberson, Brenda Z. Moon Bear (JE Gui) Illustrated by: Ed Young New York : Holt, c2010. ISBN

9780805089776

Moon bears, or Asiatic black bears, are becoming increasingly rare in the wild. Follow one moon bear in the wild as she eats, plays, hibernates, and wakes up again in the spring.

Henkes, Kevin. My Garden (JE Hen) New York : Greenwillow Books, 2010. ISBN

9780061715174After helping her mother weed, water, and chase the rabbits from their garden, a young girl imagines her dream garden complete with jellybean bushes, chocolate rabbits, and tomatoes the size of beach balls.

Kerley, Barbara. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) (JE Ker)

Illustrated by: Edwin Fotheringham New York : Scholastic Press, 2010. ISBN

9780545125086Thirteen-year-old Susy Clemens wants the world to know that her papa, Mark Twain, is more than just a humorist and sets out to write a comprehensive biography of the American icon.

McCarty, Peter. Henry in Love (JE McC) New York : Balzer & Bray, 2010. ISBN

9780061142888On the first day of school, Henry the cat vies for the attention of the most amazing girl in class, Chloe Rabbit.

McCully, Emily Arnold. Wonder Horse [the True Story of the World’s Smartest Horse] (JE McC)

New York : Henry Holt, 2010. ISBN 9780805087932fictionalized account of Bill "Doc" Key, a former slave who became a veterinarian, trained his horse, Jim Key, to recognize letters and numbers and to perform in skits around the country, and moved the nation toward a belief in treating animals humanely.

Proimos, James. Todd’s TV (JE Pro) New York : Katherine Tegen Books, 2010. ISBN

9780061709852

When Todd's parents are too busy to take care of him, his television steps in to handle the parenting.

Rostoker-Gruber, Karen. Bandit’s Surprise (JE Ros) Illustrated by: Vincent Nguyen New York : Marshall Cavendish, 2010. ISBN

9780761456230When Michelle brings home a new kitten, her cat Bandit is not at all pleased to share his home and water dish, and absolutely refuses to share his favorite toy mouse.

Samuels, Barbara. The Trucker (JE Sam) New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. ISBN

9780374378042A boy who loves trucks is disappointed when he receives a cat named Lola instead of a toy fire truck, but Lola proves to be a "trucker" after all.

Schoenherr, Ian. Don’t Spill the Beans (JE Sch) New York : Greenwillow Books, 2010.

ISBN 9780061724572A bear tries hard to keep a birthday surprise a secret.

Shea, Bob. Oh, Daddy! (JE She) New York : Balzer & Bray, 2010. ISBN

9780061730801A young hippopotamus shows his father the right way to do things, such as getting dressed, watering the flowers, and especially giving big hugs.

Williams, Karen Lynn. A Beach Tail (JE Wil) Honesdale, Pa. : Boyds Mills Press, 2010. ISBN

9781590787120When his father tells him not to leave the lion he is drawing on the beach, a little boy starts making a very, very long tail--and a trail to follow back.

Thomson, Bill. Chalk (JE Tho)

New York : Marshall Cavendish, 2010. ISBN 9780761455264A wordless picture book about three children who go to a park on a rainy day, find some chalk, and draw pictures that come to life.

Voake, Steve. Insect Detective (JE Voa) Illustrated by: Charlotte Voake Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN

9780763644475 All around you there are thousands of strange and wonderful insects. Become an insect detective and find out just what the insects around you are up to!

Willems, Mo. City Dog, Country Frog (JE Wil) Illustrated by: Jon J. Muth New York : Hyperion Books for Children, c2010. ISBN

9781423103004Through the seasons, whenever City Dog visits the country he runs straight for Country Frog's rock to play games with him, but during the winter things change for them both.

Winter, Jonah. Here Comes the Garbage Barge! (JE Win) Illustrated by: Red Nose Studio New York : Schwartz & Wade Books, 2010. ISBN

9780375852183In the spring of 1987, the town of Islip, New York, with no place for its 3,168 tons of garbage, loads it on a barge that sets out on a 162-day journey along the east coast, around the Gulf of Mexico, down to Belize, and back again, in search of a place willing to accept and dispose of its very smelly cargo.

Wiviott, Meg. Benno and the Night of Broken Glass (JE Wiv) Illustrated by: Josée Bisaillon Minneapolis : Kar-Ben Pub., 2010. ISBN

9780822599296In 1938 Berlin, Germany, a cat sees Rosenstrasse change from a peaceful neighborhood of Jews and Gentiles to an unfriendly place where, one November night, men in brown shirts destroy Jewish-owned businesses and arrest or kill

Jewish people. Includes facts about Kristallnacht and a list of related books and web resources.

Fiction:

Cottrell Boyce, Frank. Cosmic (J C851) New York, NY : Walden Pond Press, 2010. ISBN

978006183683112-year old Liam looks like he's thirty. Sometimes it's not bad; for example on the first day of school the principal mistakes Liam for a teacher or when he convinces a car dealer to let him test drive a Porsche. So feeling like he's stuck between two worlds, Liam cons his way into being the adult chaperone on the first space ship to take civilians into space. But when the ship is stuck 230,000 miles from home, being mistaken for an adult is not good.

Schlitz, Laura Amy. The Night Fairy (J S344) Illustrated by: Angela Barrett Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN

9780763636746When Flory the night fairy's wings are accidentally broken and she cannot fly, she has to learn to do everything differently.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer (J W721) New York : HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN

9780060760885In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.