I know one is supposed to post these in the weeks leading up to the end of the year, but I didn’t get around to it. So, here it is, our best children’s books of the year. For me, I only included books I read for the first time this year, which ruled out a number of wonderful rereads.
Farrar’s Top Five
(fiction only, in no particular order)
Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson
middle grades classic
I can’t believe it’s only in the last year that we read half a dozen of the Moomin books (only Moominpappa at Sea was a bust for us). We love their weird, fantastic, nonsense world.
The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland by Cathrynne Valente
middle grades fantasy
As I said in my review, this book, with its complex language and plot blew me away. There should be more challenging fantasy like this in middle grades.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams
middle grades historical fiction
This award winner brought together so many elements without it feeling forced and managed to wrap everything up neatly while still letting the characters be messily human. Oh yeah, I reviewed it.
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
young adult contemporary fantasy
This satire was probably the best young adult book I read this year. It was hilarious and insightful, as I said in my review. Count me as a firm Libba Bray Devotee.
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
middle grades fantasy
As I said in my review, never have I read a book for children so dark yet so appropriate. This one continues to push my thinking even months after I read it. I think it may be my very favorite of the year.
Mushroom’s Top Five
Dodsworth (the whole series) by Tim Egan
easy readers
These are funny.
Your Very Own Robot (Choose Your Own Adventure) by R.A. Montgomery
easy reader
In this book, there’s a kid who makes a robot and does all this crazy stuff with him. You can make a way through the book and choose which way you want to go to, like if I say, would you like to have ice cream or soda, you can pick which one and go through the book differently, so you can read it as many times as you want.
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
middle grades contemporary
This book is about a few kids who go to Arundel for vacation. And they meet a kid named Jeffery, but his mother is evil and the person she marries is evil too.
The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
middle grades classic
This book is little like The Penderwicks but it has not as many parts with sadness or badness inside it.
You Can Cook by Anabel Karmel
cookbook
A lot of the things inside here, kids can’t cook by themselves. I love it because it has chicken tikka masala, Swedish meatballs, and burgers. It also has lots of treats at the end.
BalletBoy’s Top Five
(BalletBoy didn’t have anything to say about his choices. He was more concerned that I get the appropriate cover images.)
The Fog Mound: The Travels of Thelonius by Susan Schade and Jon Bueller
middle grades fantasy
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
middle grades classic
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
middle grades contemporary
BalletBoy might not have anything to say about it, but I did review it.
Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
middle grades graphic novel
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
middle grades fantasy
I Capture the Rowhouse 