UPDATE: 12/23:

We’re happy to announce that our annual spreadsheets, rounding up all the titles in the national best books lists, with ISBN’s and information on additional formats — audio, large print, and eformats from OverDrive — are now available for downloading and checking against your collections.

 

• 2011 Adult Fiction
• 2011 Adult Nonfiction
• 2011 Childrens and Young Adult

Below is the text of the original post:

Two new childrens best books list appeared over the holiday; the New York Times Book Review’s Notable Childrens and Kirkus Review‘s Childrens and Teen lists.

Consensus is a rare thing, particularly in best books picks. Of the 172 titles, only 14 were picked by three or more sources; 82% of the titles were picked by just one.

Below are the top titles, by number of picks.

Four Picks

Children’s fiction

Schmidt, Gary D Okay for Now, HMH/Clarion (RH/Listening Library; OverDrive). Picked by: Amazon, National Book Award Finalist, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Selznick, Brian,  Wonderstruck, Scholastic. Picked by; Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Book

Young Adult

Sepetys, Ruta, Between Shades of Gray, Penguin/Philomel (Penguin Audio; OverDrive); Picked by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Stiefvater, Maggie, The Scorpio Races, Scholastic, (Scholastic Audio; OverDrive); Picked by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Taylor, Laini Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Hachette, (Hachette Audio); Picked by Amazon (one of the Top Twenty), Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Three Picks

Picture Books

Klassen, Jon, I Want My Hat Back, Candlewick; Picked by NYT Book Review Best Illustrated, Publishers Weekly, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Rocco, John Blackout, Disney/Hyperion; Picked by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Young Adult

Billingsley, Franny Chime YA Penguin/Dial (RH/Listening Library; OverDrive); Picked by National Book Award Finalist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus

Ness, Patrick, A Monster Calls, Candlewick, (Brilliance Audio; OverDrive); Picked by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Children’s Fiction

Lai, Thanhha, Inside Out & Back Again, HarperCollins/Harper (OverDrive, 26 circs), National Book Award Winner, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus

Valente, Catherynne M., illustrated by Ana Juan, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends, (Brilliance Audio); Picked by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus

Picture Books

Tullet, Herve,  Press Here, Chronicle; Picked by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus

Children’s Nonfiction

Nelson, Kadir Nelson, Kadir Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray; Picked by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

McDonnell, Patrick McDonnell, Patrick Me … Jane , Hachette/LBYR; Picked by NYT BR Best Illustrated Books, Kirkus, NYT BR Notable Children’s Books

Tim Burton will develop the surprise YA hit Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs (Quirk Books, Jun, 2011) as a “potential directing project,” according to Deadline.

Riggs has the strange hobby of collecting old snapshots, he published highlights of his collection in his blog on the Mental Floss magazine site. For Miss Peregrine, he wove a story around some strange and haunting Victorian photos. It’s been on the NYT Children’s Hardcover list for 22 weeks, raching a high of #2.

An as-yet-untitled sequel to Miss Peregine is scheduled for Spring 2013.

Coming in April is a book that expands on Riggs’s Mental Floss series, called Talking Pictures.

Talking Pictures Ransom Riggs Retail Price: $13.99 Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: It Books/HarperCollins(2012-04-10) ISBN / EAN: 9780062099495, 0062099493

If, like us, you had difficulty downloading the first full-length Hunger Games trailer from iTunes yesterday, it’s now available via YouTube (click the link, to access the full-screen version).

Reactions from fans as well as critics (with the exception of the Wall Street Journal‘s”Speakeasy“) are positive.

The NYT Book Review‘s special section on children’s books arrived this weekend, complete with a slide show of the NYT Best Illustrated Books.

On the left, a page from one of the featured “Picture Books About New York City Traditions,” (chosen by NYC icon Pete Hamill),  Balloons Over Broadway, by Melisssa Sweet, HMH).

Be sure to read EarlyWord Kid’s correspondent, Lisa Von Drasek’s review of Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver, illus by Kei Acedera (Harper/HarperCollins, Middle grade; ages 8 to 12).

By all accounts, screaming fans went crazy for the first full-length Hunger Games trailer when it appeared on Good Morning America‘s jumbotron on Times Square this morning.

It’s supposed to be on iTunes exclusively, but we didn’t have success in getting it to play (too much traffic?)

The first full-length trailer for The Hunger Games is set to debut on Good Morning America Monday during the  8 a.m. hour. It will also be displayed on GMA‘s jumbotron in Times Square.

Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark in the movie, will introduce the trailer. The movie, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen is based on the first book in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy and is scheduled for release on 3/23/12.

The second in the series, Catching Fire is scheduled for Nov. 22, 2013. In keeping with the traditions set by the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises, the final book in the series, Mockingjay, may be divided into two films, but no announcements have been made about that yet.

Co-starring in the film are:

Liam Hemsworth … Gale Hawthorne

Stanley Tucci … Caesar Flickerman

Woody Harrelson … Haymitch Abernathy

Elizabeth Banks … Effie Trinket

Donald Sutherland … President Snow

Two tie-ins are being released; an Official Illustrated Movie Companion as well as a regular tie-in edition. Both will be released by Scholastic on Feb. 7.

Jeff Kinney will appear on Tuesday, November 15th, 10:00 am at my school (Bank Street College of Education). Abrams has partnered with School Library Journal to Webcast the event to any school or library who wishes to watch. Some public libraries are inviting classes to visit that morning. Register here.

PS- sorry about the West Coast… we scheduled the visit before we came up with the idea of sharing it. The visit is being recorded and will be Webcast from School Library Journal, a few days later.

J.K. Rowling’s interactive site Pottermore.com was supposed to launch to the general public on Oct. 15, but problems in handling traffic have kept the site exclusive to Beta users and even they suffered for a few days last week when the site was taken down to fix some hardware glitches.

USA Today book editor Dierdre Donahue is a Beta user and has found the experience frustrating. Rather than making her a fan of the Web site, she says it’s made her want to reread the print books.

Meanwhile, JK Rowling has made headlines by saying she nearly killed off Harry’s friend Ron Weasley midway through the series.

Based on Mary Norton’s classic children’s tale, The Borrowers, (Harcourt, 1953), the Japanese film The Secret World of Arietty was the third-highest-grossing movie of 2010 in Japan, after Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3.

The U.S. version, which opens here February 17, uses the voices of American actors including Amy Poehler and Will Arnett as Arrietty’s parents and Carol Burnett as the housekeeper.

When the British version opened in the UK, it received kudos for its hand-drawn elegance.

Trailer for the American version:

VIZ Media is releasing tie-ins:

The Art of The Secret World of Arrietty Hiromasa Yonebayashi Retail Price: $34.99 Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2012-01-03) ISBN / EAN: 1421541181 / 9781421541181

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The Secret World of Arrietty (Film Comic), Vol. 1 (Arrietty Film Comics) Hiromasa Yonebayashi Retail Price: $16.99 Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2012-01-03) ISBN / EAN: 1421541165 / 9781421541167

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The Secret World of Arrietty (Film Comic), Vol. 2 (Arrietty Film Comics) Hiromasa Yonebayashi Retail Price: $16.99 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2012-01-03) ISBN / EAN: 1421541173 / 9781421541174

The understated picture book, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, (Candlewick Press9/27/11) is one of the ten titles on the just-released list of the New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Books.

Illustrator Klassen’s first effort as both author and illustrator, it was one of EarlyWord Kid’s correspondent, Lisa Von Drasek’s Picks of BEA. It is also featured as a PW Editors’ Favorite of the year.

The list will be featured in the special Children’s Book section in the 11/13 NYT Book Review.

NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 2011

Along a Long Road Frank Viva Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2011-06-28) ISBN / EAN: 0316129259 / 9780316129251

A Ball for Daisy Chris Raschka Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Schwartz & Wade – (2011-05-10) ISBN / EAN: 037585861X / 9780375858611

Brother Sun, Sister Moon Katherine Paterson Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 36 pages Publisher: Chronicle Books – (2011-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0811877345 / 9780811877343

Grandpa Green Lane Smith Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Roaring Brook Press – (2011-08-30) ISBN / EAN: 1596436077 / 9781596436077

Ice (Stories Without Words) Arthur Geisert Retail Price: $14.95 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books – (2011-03-29) ISBN / EAN: 1592700985 / 9781592700981

I Want My Hat Back Jon Klassen Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Candlewick Press – (2011-09-27) ISBN / EAN: 0763655988 / 9780763655983

Me . . . Jane Patrick McDonnell Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2011-04-05) ISBN / EAN: 0316045462 / 9780316045469

Migrant Maxine Trottier Retail Price: $18.95 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Groundwood Books – (2011-03-01) ISBN / EAN: 0888999755 / 9780888999757

A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis Matt de la Pena Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Dial – (2011-01-20) ISBN / EAN: 0803731671 / 9780803731677

A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story Li Qiong Yu Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Candlewick Press – (2011-12-27) ISBN / EAN: 0763658812 / 9780763658816

This is the time of year when I get requests for a Halloween read aloud, but one that’s not too scary, please!

After The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, by by Linda Williams (Harper, 1986), The Ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam by Angela Shelf Medearis (Scholastic, 1997) and Hoodwinked by Arthur Howard (Harcourt, 2001), I start to come up dry. I was delighted to see the following newcomers join the pack of old favorites for the little ones’ story time.

Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Kelly Murphy, Candlewick, July, 2011. Ages 3+

The cuddliest, sweetest monsters this side of Monsters inc. We follow the furry, multi-eyed, spiky teethed creatures as they leave school and hip-hop, tumble and slither home in the dusky evening light.  Yolen’s spare rhyming text makes this the perfect unscary, scary good-night story.

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The 13 Nights of Halloween, written and illustrated by Guy Vasilovich, Harper, July, 2011. Ages 5 and up.

Riffing on the Twelve Days of Christmas, the text sings, “On the first night of Halloween, my mummy gave to me, a bright, shiny skeleton key. On the second day of Halloween my mummy gave to me, a 2- headed snake and a bright, shiny skeleton key.”  Vasilovich’s cheerfully gruesome illustrations abound with visual puns (the 3 baseball “bats” are flying mammals in sports caps). Begs to be sung aloud at holiday program.

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Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane, Illustrated by Jane Manning, Harper, July, 2011. Ages 4 and up

We count up the monsters, ghosts, zombies, werewolves and mummies in this Halloween retelling of the preschool classic, Over in the Meadow. “Leap!” said the father. “We leap,” said the ten. “So they laughed and they leaped in the deep green glen.” The final spread brings everyone together for a final count and find.

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Never Kick a Ghost and Other Silly Chillers by Judy Sierra, pictures by Pascale Constantin, Harper, July, 2011. Ages 5 and up

An easy-to-read compendium of short shivery tales, rhymes and jokey epitaphs from award winning folklorist and poet, Judy Sierra.

Go to the stacks for her classic, The House that Drac Built (HMH, 1998) illustrated by Will Hillenbrand.

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What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen? written and illustrated by Nick Sharratt, Candlewick, July, 2011. Ages 4 and up.

A lift-the-flap trick or treat, asks readers if something nice or something icky lurks behind the cupboard door, or in the bowl, or in the toaster. Pull the flap to the right, it could be “crunchy hot toast.” Pull it to the left, ”A grumpy, burnt ghost.”

One of the perks of being a children’s librarian in New York is the opportunity to go to various publisher’s previews for librarians.

This week, Penguin hosted the first of the spring season. Below are my picks. Upcoming in the next few weeks are previews from Lerner, Chronicle, Random House, Harper and Little Brown.

To get your own preview, download the Jan thru April Penguin catalog here.

The Treasure Chest: Angel of the Battlefield, Ann Hood, illus by  Karl Kwasny, Grosset & Dunlap, Jan 24.

A new series from adult author Ann Hood, it’s the next step up in reading level from The Magic Tree House readers. It features twins, Felix and Maisie, who time-travel through the magic of the “treasure chest.” In each volume they meet a distinguished historic figure as a child. The first episode features Clara Barton. The second volume, Little Lion, also coming in January, features Alexander Hamilton.

Ann describes the inspiration for the series below:

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Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood Street, by Peter Abrahams, Philomel, Jan. 19.

The number one request that I have trouble filling is for new mystery novels…not horror, not adventure, not survival, not suspense, not fantasy, but MYSTERY. Looks like I have my answer in Robbie Forester, from the author of Down the Rabbit Hole and the Echo Falls series (as well as the popular adult Chet & Bernie mysteries written under the name Spencer Quinn).

A bonus; it’s set in my town, Brooklyn.
 
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Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral, Razor Bill, February 2012. 12 and up

As you can see from my photo of an interior spread below, this romance is told in scrapbook style, combining photographs, illustration and text.

The combination of photos and text has worked successfully for Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It’s interesting to see this technique applied to a teen romance.

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Looking at Lincoln, Maira Kalman, Nancy Paulsen Books, Jan 5.

Kalman wrote a blog on the New York Times site about viewing a collection of photos of Abraham Lincoln (in Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum and Library), looking deep into his eyes, and … falling in love with him. The book is reformatted from the original postings with additional art.

Kalman is currently creating an illustrated column for The New Yorker based on travels to museums and libraries, beginning with the Peoples Palace, the New York Public Library (available to subscribers only).

During the preview, we were treated to a look at some of Kalman’s original art (see more interior pages here):

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Playground, 50 Cent, Razorbill, Nov. 1.

The rapper 50 Cent bases this, his first novel on his own childhood experiences with bullying. Originally planned for publication in January, it’s been moved to November 1st. Entertainment Weekly‘s “Shelf Life” blog has posted the first three chapters.

Says Rita Williams-Garcia, “50 Cent takes monster to new depths in this character who haunts and inspires. Playground is both a sly and brutally smart novel.” VOYA approves it; “this story effectively suggests various underlying issues that can lead to bullying and how anger, if not treated, can lead to greater problems.”

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Quirk Books) is at #4 on the NYT Print Children’s Best Seller list after 17 weeks, so we were curious if there will be a sequel to this wonderfully peculiar novel that features strange and creepy old photographs.

We’re not the only ones. Back in August, author Ransom Riggs responded to numerous fan inquiries with the news that a sequel is in the works:

I just got back from a whirlwind trip around the country to hunt down a new crop of peculiar photos for book 2. I scored lots of great images — now I just have to figure out how to use them! But that, as they say, is the fun part.

The publisher, Quirk Books, adds that the as-yet-untitled sequel is scheduled for Spring 2013. There might also be a movie; rights were sold to 20th Century Fox in May.

Out today is a collection of “lost” Dr. Seuss stories (they weren’t exactly lost; they had been published in magazines, but never collected into a book). Below is a promotional trailer on how The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (Random House) came about:

Also being released is an unabridged CD with celebrity narrators, including Angelica Huston, Joan Cusack, and William Macy. It is also available from OverDrive (listen to excerpts here).

This week brings an unusual number of big trade paperback releases, the book club format of choice, so we have listed them under their own heading.

Watch List

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier (Random House; Audio, Random House Audio and Books on Tape; Large Print, Random House; Audio currently on OverDrive, eBooks available soon) is the author’s third novel. Anticipation is high, as indicated by the fact that it is already reviewed in the NYT and Entertainment Weekly.

Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks, (Ecco; HarperAudio; Large Type, HarperLuxe; ePub, OverDrive); This one comes with Nora’s personal recommendation, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been so involved with a book’s characters that at one point, I shouted, ‘No, don’t!'” About a young man forced into homelessness after being convicted as a sex offender, it’s a book that people will be talking about. Booklist starred it, but Publishers Weekly found it, “Bloated and remarkably repetitive, this is more a collection of ideas and emblems than a novel.”

River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (FSG; Audio, Brilliance and on OverDrive) is the second volume of a trilogy about the Opium Wars in China that began with the 2008 Booker short listed Sea of Poppies. Publishers Weekly warns, “This crowded novel is in turn confusing and exhilarating, crammed with chaotic period detail and pidgin languages.”

Trade Paperback Originals

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore: A Novel by Stella Duffy (Penguin; Audio, Recorded Books) caught the eye of librarians at BEA’s Shout ‘n’ Share program and was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA. Below, the author describes the book.

The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman, (Mira/Harlequin) was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA, a disturbing story about a teacher involved in a sexual relationship with a student. Ripe for book discussions, the trade paperback format makes it even more attractive to book groups.

The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate (Algonquin; ePub and Kindle, on OverDrive) is part of the Algonquin Readers Roundtable, titles published in original trade paperback to appeal to book groups. It was included in Reading Group Guides’ 2011 Hot Fall Titles for Book Clubs. This is the third book by an author that Kirkus calls “A master at portraying the hurdles faced by upwardly mobile African-Americans,” In this case, the novel deals with the effect of alcoholism on a family. Booklist gives it high praise, “With a lyrical style and obvious respect for her craft, Southgate has composed a compassionate, complex, and concentrated novel, tenderly powerful, that explores family bonds that last long after the family is dispersed.” People chose it as one of five fiction titles in their Great Fall Reads preview.

Childrens

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss (Random House Books for Young Readers; Audio, Random House and Books on Tape and OverDrive) is a collection of “lost” stories by Dr. Seuss. Earlier this year, All Things Considered explored the story of the book’s origins. On eBay, a Random House art director discovered that a Dr. Seuss-obsessed collector had identified magazines from the ’50′s featuring Seuss stories that had not been published elsewhere.

The Flint Heart by Katherine and John Paterson, illustrated by John Rocco (Candlewick Press; Audio, Brilliance and OverDrive) is the retelling of a hundred-year-old story by the Newbery Medalist (Bridge to Terabithia) and her husband. It is starred by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, which said, “This timeless, enjoyable retelling is a strong choice for both a read-aloud and an under-the-covers escape.”

Ten Rules for Living with My Sister by Ann M Martin, (Feiwel & Friends) is nine-year-old Pearl’s hard-won rules for living with her 14-year-old sister. Says Kirkus, “Pearl, as narrator, shows herself to be a keen observer of the people around her and mature enough to handle some sticky situations, all with a sense of humor and aplomb.”

Usual Suspects

The Affair by Lee Child, (Delacorte/RH; RH Audio and Books on Tape;  RH Large type) explores the series character, Jack Reacher’s back story (sorry, Reacher fans, the movie version of One Shot is moving along,  with Tom Cruise in the role of the imposing 6′ 5″ Reacher). Janet Maslin already sang its praises in the NYT this week.

Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke (S&S; Audio, S&S; Large Type, Thorndike) continues the story of Hackberry Holland, the reformed drunk who is now a sheriff in a small South Texas border town. Booklist stars it, saying, “As Burke steers the elaborately structured narrative toward its violent conclusion, we are afforded looks inside the tortured psyches of his various combatants, finding there the most unlikely of connections between the players. This is one of Burke’s biggest novels, in terms of narrative design, thematic richness, and character interplay, and he rises to the occasion superbly.”

Nonfiction

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean (S&S; Audio, S&S; Large Type, Thorndike); we’re expecting this to be THE narrative nonfiction title of the fall. An excerpt appeared in the 8/25 issue of The New Yorker. In a video, Susan Orlean chats about her work.

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt, (WW Norton, 9/26) has already been featured twice on NPR, on Morning Edition and Fresh Air (libraries may want to heed the advice that this will bring a spike in the sales of Greek philosopher Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things). More media attention is coming next week.

Worm: The First Digital World War by Mark Bowden (Atlantic Monthly Press; Brilliance Audio) is a true cyber-crime story about the battle against the Conficker computer worm by the best-selling author of Blackhawk Down.

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (Holt; Audio, Macmillan Audio; Large Type, Thorndike) the Fox News host joins forces with historian Martin Dugard (who earlier teamed with James Patterson on the nonfiction title, The Murder of King Tut) to retell an often-told story. PW commented dryly, “Well-documented and equally riveting histories are available for readers interested in Lincolns assassination; this one shows how spin can be inserted into a supposedly no spin American story. ”

Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, (Knopf) is a celebrity memoir (Lindsay-Hogg is the son of actress Geraldine Fitzgerald and the director of Brideshead Revisited). Kirkus, enthuses, “even those who dismiss celebrity memoirs should enjoy this jaunt through the glitz.”

Movie Tie-ins

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Penguin; other editions available in ePub and Kindle on OverDrive) includes “The Final Problem,” the story that is the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows starring Robert Downey Jr., which opens Dec. 16.