New Christmas Books

Duck & Goose: It's Time for Christmas - Tad Hills
Goose is more interested in skating, sledding, and making snow angels than in helping Duck decorate their big Christmas tree


Bear Stays Up for Christmas - Karma Wilson
Bear's friends awaken him the day before Christmas and help him to stay awake as they bake fruitcakes, fill stockings, and sing carols; then, while they sleep, he prepares his own surprise.


The First Christmas: A Changing-Picture Book - Sophy Williams
Retells the story of the birth of Jesus, with lift-the-flap illustrations that gradually reveal the unfolding events.


Llama Llama Holiday Drama - Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama becomes overwhelmed as Christmas preparations progress, until his mother reminds him of the real gift the holiday brings.


It's Christmas, David! - David Shannon
Christmas has arrived with so many rules to follow that David fears his mistakes will cause Santa to pass him by.


Christmas Is Here - Lauren Castillo
Snowflakes fall on a young family watching a live nativity scene in their city neighborhood. As the boy peers into the manger, the story shifts to an ancient field underneath gentle moonglow and a brilliant star's guiding light on the holy night observed by shepherds.


The Night Before Christmas - Clement Clarke Moore
An illustrated version of the classic Christmas poem about a visit from St. Nick. Includes a specially created three-track musical and narrative CD featuring Moore's tale stunningly set to music by Noel Paul Stookey, an enchanting reading by Mary Travers over a special score composed by Peter Yarrow with Peter and Noel joining Mary one last time in her final performance, plus the classic Peter, Paul and Mary holiday favorite, ""A' Soalin."


The Christmas Giant - Steve Light
When two best friends, a giant and an elf, grow Christmastown's holiday tree, disaster strikes.


Santa Duck and His Merry Helpers - David Milgrim
Every Christmas, Nicholas Duck helps Santa by collecting gift lists, but this year his little brothers and sister create havoc when they try to help, leading Nicholas to contemplate the true meaning of Christmas.


Tacky's Christmas - Helen Lester
Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, Perfect, and Tacky are having a wonderful Christmas, complete with an unusual tree, when Tacky's odd behavior saves them from a group of hunters.


The Twelve Bots of Christmas - Nathan Hale
In this variation on the folk song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," Robo-Santa gives gifts that consist of electronic gear, including a cartridge in a gear tree, three wrench hens, and nine droids a-dancing.


 Christmas in the Time of Billy Lee - Jerdine Nolen
When Ellie makes three wishes and begins to believe in the magic of Christmas, all kinds of miracles occur, from broken tree lights twinkling again, to angel shapes appearing in snow, to the biggest of all: a baby brother arriving soon. It all happened in the time of Billy Lee.


12 Days of Christmas - Rachel Isadora
Sets the traditional Christmas carol in Africa, using a combination of text and rebuses. Includes author's note about some of the African traditions depicted.


The Nutcracker - Alison Jay
After rescuing her Christmas nutcracker from an army of angry toys, Marie and her brother are rewarded by the nutcracker, now a prince, with a fantastic nighttime journey to a realm of dancing fairies, beautiful palaces, and wonderful things to eat.


O Christmas Tree: Its History and Holiday Traditions - Jacqueline Farmer
Recounts the traditions and folklore surrounding the Christmas tree, including its origin, customs around the world, and the activities that take place on a Christmas tree farm.


Captain Sky Blue - Richard Egielski
Separated from his favorite toy pilot action figure, young Jack envisions his lost friend's brave journey back home across the ocean, in a story complemented by a glossary of pilot terms.



Jackie's Gift - Sharon Robinson
When young Steve, who is Jewish, tells his new neighbor, Jackie Robinson, that his family does not have a Christmas tree, Jackie brings one to his neighbors, not knowing that they celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas. Based on a true story.


The Christmas Eve Ghost - Shirley Hughes
In 1930s Liverpool, England, Bronwen and Dylan live with their widowed mother, who works long hours doing other people's washing, and even though she sometimes must leave the children alone in the house, she cautions them not to speak to the O'Rileys next door, who go to a different church.

New Children's Books

Dog Loves Books - Louise Yates
Dog loves books so much that he decides to open a book store.




The Chicken Thief - Beatrice Rodriguez
A fox steals a chicken. Why would the fox do this and not eat the bird?




Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything - Kathleen Krull
An introduction to the thirteenth-century Chinese emperor which offers a more complete picture of the man than books which treat him as just a supporting player in Marco Polo's adventures.


The Boy in the Garden - Allen Say
After Jiro encounters a life-like garden statue of a tall bird, he falls asleep and dreams of the story his mother once told him about a grateful crane.


Elsie's Bird - Jane Yolen
Young Elsie must find a way to adapt to her new home on the Nebraska prairie after she and her father leave their comfortable city life in Boston.


April and Esme, Tooth Fairies - Bob Graham
On their first assignment, two young tooth fairy sisters journey by night into the huge world of humans to collect Daniel Dangerfield's tooth and fly it safely home.


Nini Lost and Found - Anita Lobel
Nini Cat enjoys her outdoor adventure until she ventures too far and can't find her way home.


Eleven Lazy Llamas - Dianna Bonder
The llamas on Dale and Sheila's farm are lazy, resting in the sun all day, but when a chicken gets worried because her baby chicks are missing, the lazy llamas jump to the rescue.


Snowmen All Year - Carolyn Buehner
A child imagines what it would be like if a snowman, made of magical snow, could be a companion throughout the year.


Switching on the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems - Jane Yolen
A collection of poems for bedtime that features topics such as owls, lullabies, and the sounds of the city, with work from poets such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, Sylvia Plath, and Lee Bennett Hopkins.


Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald - Roxanne Orgill
A biography of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald.


Me and You - Anthony Browne
An urban retelling of the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears story, told from the baby bear's perspective.

New Nonfiction Books

Lizards - Nic Bishop
With breathtaking full-page images, including a double-gatefold spread, Sibert-Honor photographer Nic Bishop introduces the beauty and diversity of lizards.The simple, engaging text presents both basic information and fun, quirky facts about the appearance, habits, and life cycle of these amazing reptiles.


Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography - Sid Jacobson
Drawing on the unique historical sites, archives, expertise, and unquestioned authority of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the New York Times bestselling authors Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon have created the first authorized graphic biography of Anne Frank. Their account is complete, covering the lives of Anne's parents, Edith and Otto; Anne's first years in Frankfurt; the rise of Nazism; the Franks' immigration to Amsterdam; war and occupation; Anne's years in the Secret Annex; betrayal and arrest; her deportation and tragic death in Bergen-Belson; the survival of Anne's father; and his recovery and publication of her astounding diary. Carefully researched for historical authenticity, the book includes numerous panels featuring images that have been painstakingly adapted from rare photographs of Anne and her family. A remarkable collaboration of talent, Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography not only reflects the dedication of its authors but marks another milestone in the evolution of graphic nonfiction.


Built to Last - David Macaulay
Reveals the how and why behind some of the most fascinating and enduring structures humankind has ever created.  Contains updated versions of Macaulay's Castle, Cathedral, and Mosque.


Lincoln's Flying Spies: Thaddeus Lowe and the Civil War Balloon Corps - Gail Jarrow
Describes the contributions made to the Union's efforts in the Civil War by Thaddeus Lowe and a corps of hot air balloonists who helped spy on the Confederate army, despite becoming targets in the war themselves.


The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us - Tanya Lee Stone
Readers learn about Mattel Toys and the background behind Barbie's concept and development, how it was a solution for girls who wanted to imagine adult roles rather than just play mother, and details about inventor Ruth Handler.


Sugar Changed the World - Marc Aronson
Songs, oral histories, maps, and more than eighty archival illustrations help trace the history of sugar and the sugar trade.

New YA Books

Moon Over Manifest - Clare Vanderpool
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.


Half Brother - Kenneth Oppel
In 1973, when a renowned Canadian behavioral psychologist pursues his latest research project-- an experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills-- he brings home a baby chimp named Zan and asks his thirteen-year-old son to treat Zan like a little brother.


The 10 p.m. Question - Kate de Goldi
Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons has a quirky family, a wonderful best friend, and a head full of worrying questions that he shares with his mother each night, but when free-spirited Sydney arrives at school with questions of her own, Frankie is forced to face the ultimate ten p.m. question.


Guys Read: Funny Business - edited by Jon Scieszka
A collection of humorous stories featuring a teenaged mummy, a homicidal turkey, and the world's largest pool of chocolate milk.


Behemoth - Scott Westerfeld
Continues the story of Austrian Prince Alek who, in an alternate 1914 Europe, eludes the Germans by traveling in the Leviathan to Constantinople, where he faces a whole new kind of genetically-engineered warships.


The Toymaker - Jeremy de Quidt
What good is a toy that will wind down? What if you could put a heart in one? A real heart. One that beat and beat and didn't stop. What couldn't you do if you could make a toy like that? From the moment Mathias becomes the owner of a mysterious piece of paper, he is in terrible danger.


Fallout - Ellen Hopkins
Written in free verse, explores how three teenagers try to cope with the consequences of their mother's addiction to crystal meth and its effects on their lives.


The Winds of Heaven - Judith Clarke
Clementine and her cousin Fan both grow up in 1950s Australia but have very different lives, Clementine coming from a stable, city family and Fan from a broken, country home, and their destinies are also strikingly divergent.


Please Ignore Vera Dietz - A.S. King
When her best friend, whom she secretly loves, betrays her and then dies under mysterious circumstances, high school senior Vera Dietz struggles with secrets that could help clear his name.


The Things a Brother Knows - Dana Reinhardt
Although they have never gotten along well, seventeen-year-old Levi follows his older brother Boaz, an ex-Marine, on a walking trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. in hopes of learning why Boaz is completely withdrawn.

New Activity and Idea Books

Teaching Physical Science Through Children's Literature - Susan E. Gertz
Literature-based science lessons using favorite children's books.


100 Ways to celebrate 100 Days - Bruce Goldstone
It's the 100th day of school--what can you do to celebrate? Here are 100 different ideas for celebrating this fun and important day. The 100th day is about math--and so much more! From collecting to counting, baking to bouncing, reading to writing, every possible kind of activity is included for 100th day celebrations at home or at school.


Rhymeplay: Playing with Children and Mother Goose - Peggy D. Bennett
Mother Goose rhymes are used to engage children as they play with language, dexterity and imagination. Accompanying the rhymes are photographed fingerplay movements. Reproducible Picture Cards enhance the lessons, which focus on building childrens organizational, expressive, and memory skills. Storymaking and Playlets allow children to develop expressiveness and understanding as they actively explore the imaginary world of the rhymes. ReadingPlay exercises lead children toward literacy


Treasures from the Orff Attic - Konnie Saliba
Throughout the reproducible book, students are given opportunities to explore their creativity with rhythmic and speech pieces, canons, animal songs, and special performances. Most selections include Orff instrumental accompaniments as well as a Creative Ideas section.

New Children's Books

Balancing Act - Ellen Stoll Walsh
Two mice have fun playing on a teeter-totter, but as more and larger friends join them, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay balanced.

This Is the Feast - Diane A. Shore
A heartwarming first Thanksgiving story depicts the celebration of friendship between the Pilgrims and their neighbors, the Indians.

Mary Engelbreit's Fairy Tales - Mary Engelbreit
With twelve beloved stories meant for reading aloud and more than one hundred glorious illustrations, Mary Engelbreit's Fairy Tales is destined to become a family favorite!

Brontorina - James Howe
Despite her size and not having the proper footwear, a determined dinosaur pursues her dream of becoming a ballerina.

Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa - Donna L. Washington
L'il Rabbit searches for a gift for his grandmother when she is sick during Kwanzaa, and surprises her with the best gift of all. Includes "The Nguzo Saba - The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa."

There's Going to Be a Baby - John Burningham
 A young boy imagines what life will be like when his new sibling arrives.