Top Five, or Seven, or Three…

Top ten? Such a cliché. Here are lists of some of my favorite books in various genres. I’m not going to list big-name classics, though of course many of those books are high on my overall lists. For example, Charlotte’s Web is wonderful, but you all know that one, so I’ll give you slightly less famous fare or forgotten classics that are dear to my heart. They’re books you may have missed, but just might like very much. Because in between gardening and walking around with your umbrella in the almost-April rain, you know you're looking for a good book!

FANTASY

The Bronze King and two sequels by Suzy McKee Charnas

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (was Crown Duel/Court Duel)

Gom on Windy Mountain and three sequels by Grace Chetwin

The Nine Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

Grimbold’s Other World by Nicholas Stuart Gray

The Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke

The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken

The Silver Curlew by Eleanor Farjeon

Taash and the Jesters by Ellen Kindt McKenzie

The Wicked Enchantment by Margot Benary-Isbert

SCIENCE FICTION

The Bromeliad Trilogy and the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy by Terry Pratchett

Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein

The Dragonback series by Timothy Zahn (Dragon and Thief, etc., especially for preteen boys)

Fledgling and sequels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (see also the Liaden Universe series for adults)

The Silver Crown by Robert C. O’Brien

Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle

MYSTERY & ADVENTURE

Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Down the Rabbit Hole and sequels by Peter Abrahams (see also his teen mystery/thriller, Reality Check)

The Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer

Minerva Clark Gets a Clue and two sequels by Karen Karbo

CONTEMPORARY & HISTORICAL FICTION

Casson Family books by Hilary McKay

The Flight of the Doves by Walter Macken

The Lark and the Laurel by Barbara Willard

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth (an old-fashioned coming-of-age story with Quakers)

Thursday’s Children by Rumer Godden

PICTURE BOOKS

Beware of Boys by Tony Blundell

Dogger by Shirley Hughes

Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep by Eleanor Farjeon, illustrated by Charlotte Voake

Julius the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes

Little Rabbit Foo Foo, retold by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Arthur Robins

Not This Bear! by Bernice Myers

Suddenly! by Colin McNaughton

The Talking Eggs, retold by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Jerry Pinckney

Thea’s Tree by Alison Jackson, illustrated by Janet Pedersen

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (best for 3- and 4-year-old boys)

What! Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story by Kate Lum, illustrated by Adrian Johnson

FOLKTALES & FAIRY TALES

“The Boy Who Read Aloud” by Joan Aiken, from Classic Fairy Tales to Read Aloud, ed. Naomi Lewis

Duffy and the Devil by Harve and Margot Zemach

Good Griselle by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Christiana

The Language of Birds, retold by Rafe Martin, illustrated by Susan Gaber

Larky Mavis by Brock Cole

The Magic Fish-bone by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Robert Florczak

The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline K. Ogburn, illustrated by Laurel Long

Mr. Semolina-Semolus, retold by Anthony L. Manna and Christodoula Mitakidou, illustrated by Giselle Potter

Tatterhood and Other Tales, ed. Ethel Johnston Phelps

POETRY

All the Small Things and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth, illustrated by Natalie Babbitt

Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, ed. Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar

 

Knock at a Star: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy

Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems, ed. Beatrice Schenk de Regniers et al., illustrated by nine Caldecott Medal artists

A Spider Bought a Bicycle and Other Poems for Young Children, ed. Michael Rosen, illustrated by Inga Moore

Swing around the Sun and Words with Wrinkled Knees by Barbara Juster Esbensen

Tail Feathers from Mother Goose: The Opie Rhyme Book (Little, Brown), many different illustrators

Talking Like the Rain: A Read-to-Me Book of Poems, ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy, illustrated by Jane Dyer

Under the Moon and Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems, ed. John Agard and Grace Nichols

PLUS A FEW YA FAVORITES

Changeover and Tricksters by Margaret Mahy

Dairy Queen and two sequels by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Dragon's Bait and Magic Can Be Murder by Vivian Vande Velde

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer and sequel by Lish McBride

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (Book 3 in a series that must be read in order, starting with The Thief)

Northlander and The King Commands by Meg Burden

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

Soul Enchilada by David McInnis Gill

Thief's Covenant and False Covenant by Ari Marmell

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

So Happy Spring! (And don't say you can't find anything to read.)

Book Aunt's First Annual WHY NOT? Children's Book Awards

You know, it's really getting to me. Newbery awards, Caldecotts, Printz awards, Spirit awards, Academy awards, and now SLJ's Battle of the Children's Books. Not to mention things like Top Ten Literary Crushes (male and female lists) over at Amy's Library of Rock and elsewhere. I feel a sudden strange compulsion to hand out awards...

It's either that or prune the roses. So, without further ado, I give you the Pistachios (because awards are supposed to have nicknames). Naturally, I mostly ignore the 2010 thing and jump all over the place because hey, Dr. Who and I know how to get around!


GRAND STUFF

Most Iconic Children's Books of All Time

—Picture Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
—Middle Grade: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
—Young Adult: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Books That Redefined the Genre

—The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
—Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems
—The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
—Holes by Louis Sachar
—The Giver by Lois Lowry
—Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones
—Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Books That Redefined the Market

—Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
—Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
—Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
—The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins


AUTHOR CATEGORIES

Authors Who Really "Get" Kids

—Picture Book: Kevin Henkes
—Middle Grade: Dav Pilkey and Jeff Kinney
—Young Adult: Sarah Dessen

Best World Builders

—Philip Reeve, most notably in the Hungry City Chronicles
—Shaun Tan: anything he writes/illustrates
—Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan and sequels

Best Weird/Cool Writers

—M.T. Anderson (with the Pals in Peril series and his Octavian Nothing books, he's got range like Mariah Carey!)
—Mac Barnett, The Brixton Brothers series and Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World (with illustrator Dan Santat, who's also pretty weird and cool)
—Barry Deutsch, Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (graphic novel; orthodox Jewish girl fighting monsters)
—Neil Gaiman (obviously!), The Graveyard Book
—Adam Gidwitz, A Tale Dark and Grimm (bursting on the scene with gore and snark)
—Emily Gravett, with picture books like Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears

Best of the Trillion YA Paranormal Writers

—Kelley Armstrong, The Summoning and sequels (Darkest Powers)
—Holly Black, Tithe and sequels
—Meg Cabot, The Mediator series and other titles
—Rosemary Clement-Moore, Prom Dates from Hell and sequels (Maggie Quinn books)
—Lili St. Crow, Strange Angels and sequels
—Rachel Hawkins, Hex Hall and sequel (one so far!)
—Maggie Stiefvater, Lament and Shiver

Best Newcomers of 2010

—Erin Bow, author of Plain Kate
—Adam Gidwitz, A Tale Dark and Grimm (see Weird/Cool Writers above)
—Clare Vanderpool, author of Moon Over Manifest (this year's Newbery winner)


NEW MEDIA

Most Innovative PR Ever

—James Kennedy, author of the equally innovative book, The Order of Odd-Fish

Best Geek-Chic Brainiac YouTube Star

—John Green, author of Looking for Alaska and other way-intelligent books

Best Publisher's Blog

—Under the Green Willow by, yes, Greenwillow (HarperCollins)

Best Kidlit Video Postings

—Betsy Bird's "Video Sunday" feature at A Fuse #8 Production


BOOK CHARACTERS

Top Ten Literary Families (revised from a mere 5!)

—The Casson family from Hilary McKay's Saffy's Angel, etc.
—The Murry family from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and sequels
—The Quimby family from Ramona the Pest and other books by Beverly Cleary
—The Ingalls family from Little House in the Big Woods, etc. by Laura Ingalls Wilder
—The Pevensie family from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
—The Logan family from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and sequels by Mildred D. Taylor
—The Tillerman family from Homecoming and sequels by Cynthia Voigt
—The Clock family from The Borrowers and sequels by Mary Norton
—The Penderwick family in Jeanne Birdsall's book by the same name and sequels
—The Melendy family in Elizabeth Enright's books, starting with The Saturdays

Top Ten Literary Couples

—Laura Chant and Sorry Carlisle in Changeover by Margaret Mahy
—Meliara and Shevraeth from Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
—Sophie and Howl in Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
—Ella and Prince Char in Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
—Amy and Perry in The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye
—Dashti and Tegus in Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
—Auden and Eli in Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride
—Dash and Lily in Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
—Kate and Thomas and Cecilia and James in Sorcery and Cecilia: Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
—All right, all right! Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (or Katniss and Gale if you're feeling cranky about the whole thing)

Note: The next two lists are in alphabetical order.

Top Ten Girl Characters (excluding ones already named in Best Couple!)

—Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
—Beka Cooper in Terrier and sequels by Tamora Pierce
—Charlotte (the spider) from Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
—Flavia de Luce from The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and sequels by Alan Bradley (I know, they're books for grown-ups, but get a load of the 11-year-old mad scientist/detective who's the narrator!)
—Frankie Landau-Banks from The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
—Harriet M. Welch from Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
—Lunch Lady from the middle grade graphic novel series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
—Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
—Rose Casson from Hilary McKay's Saffy's Angel and sequels
—Tiffany Aching from The Wee Free Men and sequels by Terry Pratchett

Top Ten Guy Characters (excluding ones already named in Best Couple!)

—Bartimaeus (the genie) in The Amulet of Samarkand and sequels/prequels by Jonathan Stroud
—Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
—Christopher Chant (later Chrestomanci) in The Lives of Christopher Chant and other books by Diana Wynne Jones
—Durango from Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill
—Gen (Eugenides) from the Queen's Thief books by Megan Whalen Turner
—Henry York from the 100 Cupboards trilogy by N.D. Wilson
—Moon Blake from Alabama Moon by Watt Key
—Maniac Magee from the book of the same title by Jerry Spinelli
—Percy Jackson from The Lightning Thief and sequels by Rick Riordan
—Stanley Yelnats from Holes by Louis Sachar


ODDS AND ENDS (MOSTLY 2010)

Best Use of Crazy Little Blue Men

—The Wee Free Men and sequels by Terry Pratchett (I Shall Wear Midnight in 2010)

Best Underwear and Snot Jokes

—Manners Mash-up: A Goofy Guide to Good Behavior by Tedd Arnold et al.

Best Use of Metafiction in a Picture Book

—Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

Girliest Homage to Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline

—Miss Lina's Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Christine Davenier

Best Alien Invasion

—Pod by Stephen Wallenfels

Best Under-Awarded Book

—The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Angela Barrett


TOP HONORS

Best Writing in General

—Winner: Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
—First Runner-up: Granny Dowdel books by Richard Peck
—Second Runner-up: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
—Third Runner-up: Dairy Queen trilogy by Catherine Murdock

Best in Show: a book that's yet to be beat; innovative, iconic, rich, and beautiful

—The Arrival by Shaun Tan (see image to right)


Watch this site next March when I may (a) forget all about this or (b) hand out a whole different set of awards!

Please note your suggestions for awards in these or additional categories in the comments. Because when it comes to the Pistachios, our motto is "Why not?"

It's Cybils Awards Time (Almost!)

Okay, this is exciting! I'm going to be a Cybils Awards judge in Round 2 for the Middle Grade Science Fiction/Fantasy category. Woo-hoo! Click here for a complete list of this year's judges, also FAQs and other info.

In case you haven't heard, the Cybils are the kidlit blogging community's version of the Newberys. We even have a graphic novel category! Finalists will be announced on January 1 and winners on February 14, 2011.

So what's your part, besides sitting back and rooting for your favorite book? Well, from October 1-15, you'll be able to nominate your picks for the best children's books of 2010. Any reader, blogger, writer, publisher, kid, parent, or miscellaneous humanoid can nominate books for the Cybils. (Though please note that once one person nominates a book, it's in the running; multiple nominations are not necessary.)

Be thinking about your favorites!