from The Washington Post
Best children’s books of 2011
PICTURE BOOKS
BONE DOG
(Greenwillow Books) - ‘Perfect Sqaure’ by Michael Hall
‘Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku’ by Lee Wardlaw; illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
By Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook, $16.99)
An eerie sweetness permeates this comic tale of a young boy whose pet is reincarnated in the form of a skeleton dog on that spookiest of all nights, All Hallows’ Eve. — KEJ
PERFECT SQUARE
By Michael Hall (Greenwillow, $16.99)
In this perfectly square book, a perfect square transforms itself into a fountain, a garden, a park, a bridge, a river, a mountain, a window . . . and ultimately, a story that combines the days of the week, the colors of the rainbow and the unspoken joy of breaking boundaries. — KEJ
STARS
By Mary Lyn Ray. Illustrated by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane, $16.99)
From tiny white strawberry blossoms in the spring to snowflakes in the winter, from the tip of a wand to the points of a sheriff’s badge, from the shape you make when you turn a cartwheel to the twinkling night lights in the sky, stars are all around us. We only have to look, this dreamy book tells us. — KEJ
SWIRL BY SWIRL: Spirals in Nature
By Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Beth Krommes (Houghton Mifflin, 16.99)
Whether describing spider webs or galaxies, Sidman’s poetic text (“A spiral is a snuggling shape”) and Krommes’s lushly tinted scratchboard illustrations reveal our world as an intricately patterned and glorious wonder. — KEJ
WON TON: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku
By Lee Wardlaw. Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (Henry Holt, $16.99)
Sinuous and sassy, a homeless feline wiggles his way out of the shelter and slips into your heart. “Letmeoutletme / outletmeoutletmeout. / Wait — let me back in!” — Kristi Elle Jemtegaard
NONFICTION
AMELIA LOST: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
By Candace Fleming (Schwartz & Wade, $18.99) Ages 9 and up.
Delving into Earhart’s accomplishments and showmanship, Fleming resurrects the aviator and the times in which she flew. — Abby McGanney Nolan
AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK: The Day the Towers Fell
By Don Brown (Roaring Brook, $16.99)
Ages 9-12
Brown’s crisp illustrations convey the shocks and heroics of Sept. 11, 2001, and his text offers children a straightforward introduction to that sorrowful day. — AMN
By Kadir Nelson (Balzer & Bray, $19.99) Ages 9 and up
Bringing African American history close to home, author-illustrator Nelson depicts great struggles and landmark events as part of a family story. Heroes such as Martin Luther King Jr. are presented as beloved elders. You may even want to frame Nelson’s portraits, such as the one of Rosa Parks in profile, a picture of dignity. — AMN
INTO THE UNKNOWN: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea and Air
By Stewart Ross. Illustrated by Stephen Biesty (Candlewick, $19.99) Ages 9-12
Spanning history as well as great heights and depths, this guide to 14 breakthrough explorations features Ross’s clear, engaging narratives and Biesty’s very cool cross-section illustrations. — AMN
WHEELS OF CHANGE: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom
By Sue Macy (National Geographic, $18.95) Ages 12 and up
In this well researched and wonderfully illustrated history, Macy conveys the profound effects of the two-wheeler on the late 19th-century American woman, from feminine fashion and fitness to religion and politics. — AMN
FICTION
By Jack Gantos (Farrar Strauss Giroux, $15.99) Ages 10-14
Oddball characters and offbeat riffs on history inform this darkly comic semi-autobiographical tale of small-town doings in 1962. — Mary Quattlebaum
By Thanhha Lai (Harper Collins, $15.99) Ages 8-12
This vivid novel in poems, a 2011 National Book Award winner, follows a feisty girl named Ha as she escapes with her family from Vietnam and takes on the strange food, school bullies and quirky language of her new American home. — MQ
By Debby Dahl Edwardson (Marshall Cavendish, $17.99) Ages 12 and up
An Alaskan boarding school of the 1960s is a crucible of change for the Eskimo and American Indian students whose lively voices infuse this powerful novel — a National Book Award finalist — with anger, determination and hope. — MQ
By Brian Selznick (Scholastic, $29.99) Ages 9 and up
This superbly paced illustrated novel brings the parallel adventures of two deaf children, separated by 50 years, to a surprising, deeply satisfying close in New York City. — MQ
By Ellen Booraem (Dial, $16.99) Ages 10-14
Help! Hundreds of mischievous fairies are doomed unless 13-year-old Mellie can discover the secret that links her family’s fate to theirs. This sprightly contemporary fantasy brims with surprises, including a giant frog and a tech-savvy Prince Charming. — MQ
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