Also in the store...

ThinkFun Games - engage and educate kids. They challenge the players and nurture thinking skills important to growth and development. ThinkFun games aren't designed to simply occupy a child's time; they channel the natural joy and energy of play into focused way of building essential thinking skills.

Washington Redskins 101 by Brad M. Epstein (Michaelson Entertainment)
The perfect primer for your little Redskins fan. Filled with great photographs, football facts, information and historic tidbits about the Redskins team. Ages baby to 3.

Little Football (Sleeping Bear Press)
Alternating pages of rhyming riddles and answers make this book a great read for your young football fan; i.e., "Score three points if you kick it through. It's shaped just like the letter 'U'". Ages baby to 3

Quarterback Season by Fred Bowen (Peachtree Publishers)
Told through journal entries, Quarterback Season offers a first-person fictional account of Matt's junior-high football season. Matt expects to be the starting quarterback, but after watching Devro, he's not so sure. Who will make the position? Ages 8 to 10.

Hand-off by Michael Teitelbaun, illustrated by Ron Zalme (Penguin)
Pablo loves the game of football. Practicing frequently and absorbing any kind of knowledge that he can about the game, but when it comes time to play, he gets nervous and makes mistakes. Now, it's the biggest game of the season and Pablo has to take the place of Joey, who's hurt his ankle. Can he keep his nerves at bay to bring the team the win? Ages 8 to 10.

Hockey ABC by Christopher Jordan (Fenn/Tundra of Tundra books of Northern New York)
Is hockey more your game? Then, pick up this book by Christopher Jordan that goes through the abc's hockey-style: elbow pads, pucks and the Zamboni. Pages include the team logos in the top boarder above the photographs and text. Ages baby to 3

Snow Happy by Patricia Hubbell and illustrated by Niroe Nakata (Tricycle Press)
If the thought of shoveling, ice-scraping, and driving in snow makes you anything but happy pick up this book to remind of the wonders of a snow-filled landscape. Sledding, laughing, snowballs flying, snowman and igloo making all told in rhyming text will get you over the snow blues in no time and will leave you feeling snow happy. Ages 3 to 6

No Two Alike by Keith Baker (Beach Lane Books)
Told with short, rhyming text phrases comes this sweet book about how no two items are exactly alike. Each is unique in their own way, including ourselves. Ages 3 to 6

Zoozical by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown (Alfred A. Knopf)
It's winter time at the zoo. A time of few visitors and the animals are bored beyond belief. What to do? Put on a musical, of course. The animals all practice their distinctive acts from the alphabet song to tap dance and tight rope walking to a rousing rendition of the seals on the bus. A great book to help you shake off your own winter doldrums. Ages 3 to 6

Double Trouble Goundhog Day by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Lorinda Bryan Cauley (Square Fish an imprint of McMillan)
Grampie groundhog decides that it's time to pass the bar of being the official groundhog for Groundhog Day to one of his grandchildren. Twins Gregory and Greta draw straws to see who will be the lucky groundhog. Gregory wins, much to the dismay of Greta, but Gregory has nightmares about the big day while hibernating and wakes up tired and missing his glasses. Will some support and searching from Greta help him? Ages 3 to 6

Hug Time by Patrick McDonnell (Little Brown and Company) "There once was a kitten so filled with love/He wanted to give the whole world a hug." So begins the story of Jules from Patrick McDonnell's loveable "Mutts" cartoon. Jules travels the world giving hugs to birds, a giraffe and a polar bear. An adorable board book you can share with someone you'd love to hug. Ages baby to 1000! 


All Kinds of Kisses by Nancy Tafuri (Little, Brown and Company a division of Hachette Book Group)
Cheep kisses, meow kisses, Maaa kisses and Baaa kisses. All kinds of kisses abound in this sweet book filled with farmyard kisses between parents and their little ones, including the best kisses off all; Mommy's kiss good night. Ages 3 to 6

Looking for other lists of best books?  The New York Times list of best illustrated children's books is a great resource, as is the Times' Fall Children's Book Special!   

2 AND UNDER

Who Am I? by Salina Yoon (Scholastic) - For those who love lift-the-flap books, here’s something new: Salina Yoon’s Who Am I? with pull tabs. Each page contains a silhouette of a sea creature with accompanying text, ending with the question “Who am I?” Pull the tab to reveal the creature: whale, seahorse, crab. The bright, vibrant illustrations and sturdy pull tabs will engage little ones whose hands may not be quite so gentle on regular paper pages or lift-the-flaps. Toddlers will delight in guessing and revealing the sea creatures again and again. Perfect for reading at home or bringing in the car or outings.

AGES 3-6

Story County by Derek Anderson (Orchard Books) “Once upon a time…there were five friends. Together they made a wonderful farm.” So says Chicken, who is one of the five friends in Story County by Derek Anderson. Farmer and Dog are waiting for Chicken, Cow and Pig to help Farmer build his farm. Starting with a blank page, you watch them frame the barn, paint it, prepare the fields, plant the crops and paint the sky — all before going to bed, when they hear Chicken’s wonderful story about their adventure.

BEGINNER READER

I Can't Take a Bath: by Irene Smalls, Illustrated by Aaron Boyd (Scholastic) - A young boy does says everything he can think of to get out of having to take a bath: he has a headache; there's a monster in the tub; he'll float down the drain; he needs his favorite towel. Told in rhyming text parents of early readers will get a kick out of this and early readers just might get some new ideas to get out of their next bath.


AGES 8 - 10

Penny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder Jeff Kinney (Random House) -  A new house, new town, and new neighbors and friends all enter Penelope’s boring world and quickly turn it into anything but boring! Beginning with a name change from Penelope to Penny, she starts to get used to small-town life, while making friends with her quirky neighbors, looking for buried treasure, and most importantly, helping her family to understand what truly matters in life.

AGES 12 AND UP

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White  (Harper Teen) - If you like supernatural teen fiction, you will love Paranormalcy.  Evie is a heroine with pizazz and spunk.  As the only human who can see through any  paranormal creature’s glamor, Evie’s job is to capture and neutralize dangerous paranormal creatures such as hags, vampires, and the occasional werewolf.  While her job can be very exciting, living in an underground compound surrounded by adults and paranormal creatures can be pretty tedious.  Things get interesting for Evie, though, when she develops a crush on an almost normal paranormal guy.

GROWN-UP

Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (Avon) - The story of Cassandra Fallowes, a semi-famous memoirist who returns to Baltimore after many years away, two hit memoirs and, more recently, one failed novel. In her search for inspiration for her fourth book, she is drawn into an old story that involves a woman she knew slightly at school, a woman who went to jail for seven years on contempt charges after refusing to speak about the disappearance of her baby.

The story takes many twists and turns, and there are many secrets revealed in the course of the book, as well as details about Cassandra’s relationships with her former friends and her family. There are questions raised about Cassandra’s ethics, and about her perception of what happened all those years ago, not the least by Cassandra herself.

MORE LISTS - STAFF FAVORITES OLD AND NEW

Trish's Favorites
“Duck,” Randy Cecil (ages 3-6)
“Mouse Mess,” Linnea Riley (2-6)

Ellen's Favorites
“Hooray for Fish!,” Lucy Cousins (6 mos. - 2-1/2)  
“Now We Are Six,” A.A. Milne (6-10)

Patrick's Favorites
“Cinder Edna,” Ellen Jackson (4-8)
“Library Mouse,” Daniel Kirk (4-8)

Megan's Favorites
“Corduroy,” Don Freeman (4-7)
“The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” Rachel Isadora (4-8)

Looking for other lists of great children's books? The Kirkus Review has just published its list of notable children's books for 2008. The ALA's Association for Library Service to Children has a great list that includes Caldecott and Newbery winners. Go to our home page for the New York Times list!