Books for Children (#10)

Part 1

Edited by Margaret N. Coughlan
Children's Literature Center

Source

Library of Congress -- Washington

Contents

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A list of noteworthy books published in the United States during 1993. The books were suggested by the Children's Literature Center in the Library of Congress.

Books for Children has been published by the Children's Literature Center in the Library of Congress since 1964 for parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and those interested in the best of this country's current children's literature.

How Selections Are Made

The editor and an advisory committee of children's book specialists meet on an average of once a month during the year to examine newly published titles--well over five thousand hardcover and paperbound books in 1993--to choose about a hundred titles they consider to be the most noteworthy.

Selection criteria have remained constant over the years. Quality of plot, theme, style, pace, characterization, and setting is essential for any story to be satisfying. In addition, for the picture-story book, the art--its harmony with the text--is vital. For nonfiction books, accuracy, organization, timeliness, and clarity of presentation as well as quality of writing and illustration need to be evaluated.

What Is Selected and for Whom

For Children Up to Four Years Old

Christmas Carol
A poem by Sara Teasdale. Pictures by Dale Gottlieb. New York: Holt. 1993. unp. $14.95 ISBN 0-8050-2695-9
Brightly colored, childlike pictures enhance the appeal of this simple little poem celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Dinosaur Encore
(By) Patricia Mullins. (New York): Perlman/HarperCollins (1993) unp. $15.00 ISBN 0-06-021069-9
For the youngest, a guide to dinosaurs using fold-out flaps to compare various prehistoric beasts with animals of today while supplying brief facts and a glossary.

John Burningham's ABC
(By John Burningham) New York: Crown/Random (1993) unp. $13.00 ISBN 0-517-59503-6
An uncluttered fresh-looking alphabet book, with letters, capital and small, representing a wide range of images, from fruits to birds, to people, animals, and flowers.

Noah's Ark
Retold & illustrated by Lucy Cousins. Cambridge, Mass.: (1993) unp. $14.95 Candlewick Press ISBN 1-56402-213-7
A simple retelling of a favorite Bible story for the youngest features the artist's bright, cheerful pictures, naive in style.

Three Billy Goats Gruff Retold & illustrated by Glen Rounds. New York: Holiday (1993) unp. $14.95 ISBN 0-8234-1015-3
Droll, unpretentious pictures and spare text make this work a welcome addition to collections of illustrated nursery favorites.

For Children Ages 5 to 7

Everything Has a Place
By Patricia Lillie. Pictures by Nancy Tafuri. New York: Greenwillow/Morrow (1993) unp. $14.00 ISBN 0-688-10082-1
Reminiscent of Jessie Willcox Smith's work, these clear, uncluttered pictures show various creatures in their natural habitats-the cow in the barn, the bird in the nest, the human baby in a mother's lap.

Go Away, Big Green Monster
By Ed Emberley. Boston: Little, Brown (1993) unp. $12.95 ISBN 0- 316-23653-5
Scraggly purple hair, long blue nose, and little squiggly ears, and a monster is fashioned feature by feature with each turn of the die-cut pages, then quickly banished by its creator, not to return "until I say so."

In the Small, Small Pond
(By) Denise Fleming. New York: Holt (1993) unp. $15.95 ISBN 0- 8050-2264-3
The busy life in frog's pond as the seasons change is chronicled in exuberant rhyme and vibrant collage.

Adventures of Snail at School
Story & pictures by John Stadler (New York): HarperCollins (1993) unp. (An I can read book) $14.00 ISBN 0-06-021041-9
Three funny stories about Snail who manages to find a highly improbable adventure each time his teacher sends him on an errand.

By the Light of the Halloween Moon
(By) Caroline Stutson. (Illustrations by) Kevin Hawkes. New York: Lothrop/Morrow, 1993 unp. $15.00 ISBN 0-688-12045-8
A cumulative tale, in which a cat in pursuit of a mysterious tapping toe triggers a procession of wonderfully imagined Halloween creatures.

The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down
Story & pictures by Paul Brett Johnson. New York: Orchard/Watts (1993) unp. $14.95 ISBN 0-531-05481-0
How Miss Rosemary outwits a stubborn cow who takes to flying is told in lively text and pictures.

Coyote Steals the Blanket: An Ute Tale
Retold & illustrated by Janet Stevens. New York: Holiday (1993) unp. $15.95 ISBN 0-823-409961
Vigorous pictures and rhyming text show trickster Coyote, for once, getting his just desserts.

Darcy and Gran Don't like Babies
By Jane Cutler. Illustrated by Susannah Ryan. New York: Scholastic, 1991. unp. $14.95 ISBN-0-590-445871
A nice twist on the sibling rivalry story, with beguiling pictures and a satisfactory ending.

Grandaddy and Janetta
(By) Helen V. Griffith. Illustrated by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow/Morrow (1993) unp. $14.00 ISBN 0-688-11226-9
For grandfathers everywhere, this engaging companion to Grandaddy's Place (1987) reveals new delights that Janetta and her Grandaddy share-fanciful stories, night noises, and a new litter of kittens.

Grandfather's Journey
Written & illustrated by Allen Say. Boston: Houghton (1993) 32p. $16.95 ISBN 0-395-57035-2
Elegant paintings and spare text capture the bittersweet emotions of an immigrant grandfather and his grandson whose hearts are divided between two dramatically different countries, Japan and America.

The Fire Children: A West African Creation Tale
Retold by Eric Maddern. Pictures by Frane Lessac. New York: Dial/Penguin (1993) unp. $14.50 ISBN 0-8037-1477-7
Brilliantly colored, primitive paintings complement this West African myth about the creation of the world's different peoples. Fine for story hour and reading aloud.

Fox on Stage
(By) James Marshall. New York: Dial/Penguin. 1993. 48p. (Dial easy-to-read) $10.89 ISBN 0-8037-1357-6
Young readers will savor the comic adventures of Fox and his friends, told tongue-in-cheek in text and pictures.

Garth Pig Steals the Show
By Mary Rayner. New York: Dutton/Penguin (1993) unp. $13.99 ISBN 0-525-45023-8
Another thoroughly satisfying story about the Pig Family in which the ubiquitous Mrs. Wolf, still in pursuit of Garth Pig, disguises herself as a sousaphone player, only to be outwitted by the intrepid William Pig. Beguiling pictures.

How You Were Born
(By) Joanna Cole. Photographs by Margaret Miller. New York: Morrow (1993) 48p. $15.00 ISBN 0-688-12059-8
A revision of a 1984 stanby, with fresh, engaging color photographs.

I like Monkeys Because....
(By) Peter Hansard. Illustrated by Patricia Casey. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press (1993) unp. (Read and wonder) $14.95 ISBN 1-56402-196-3
An appealing volume, one of six Read and Wonder books, introduces young children to the various species of monkeys found around the world. The series includes Think of a Beaver (Karen Wallace; illustrated by Mick Manning); Think of an Eel (Karen Wallace; illustrated by Mike Bostock); and What is a Wall, after All? (Judy Allen; illustrated by Alan Baron), all published in 1993.

If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo
(By) Mary Jean Hendrick. Illustrated by Jane Dyer. San Diego: Harcourt (1993) unp. $13.95 ISBN 0-15-238007-8
A fanciful tale, perfect for reading aloud, about a spirited young animal lover whose wish to have the animals at the zoo come to her house comes true.

Mattie's Little Possum Pet
By Ida Luttrell. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. (New York: Atheneum, 1993) unp. $14.95 ISBN 0-689-31786-7
Take a sentimental human, a dog and a cat, add a possum, and you have a rollicking tale of misplaced kindness. Bouncy pictures.

Nana's Birthday Party
(By) Amy Hest. Pictures by Amy Schwartz. New York: Morrow (1993) unp. $15.00 ISBN 0-688-07497-9
Two young cousins, Maggie and Brette, pool their talents to make their grandmother the best birthday present ever. Told & illustrated by Gerald McDermott. San Diego: Harcourt

Raven: a Trickster Tale from the Northwest
(1993) unp. $14.95 ISBN 0-15-265661-8
Geometric pictures in vibrant colors enhance this retelling of a Northwestern trickster tale in which Raven manages to steal the sun for his people.

The Real Mccoy: The Life of an African-american Inventor
By Wendy Towle. Paintings by Will Clay. New York: Scholastic (1993) unp. $14.95 ISBN 0-590-43596-5
A well-illustrated, straightforward biography of the Canadian- born African-American, son of runaway slaves, who invents the first successful automatic oil cup for locomotives.

The Outside Dog
Story by Charlotte Pomerantz. Pictures by Jennifer Plecas. (New York): HarperCollins (1993) 62p. (An I can read book) $13.95 ISBN-0-06-024782-7
A childlike story, flavored with Spanish words, concerns a little Puerto Rican girl and the stray dog she wants her grandfather to adopt.

Owen
(By) Kevin Henkes. New York: Greenwillow/Morrow (1993) unp. col. il. $13.95 ISBN 0-688-11449-0
In this beguilingly pictured, satisfying story with a cast of mice, Owen's mother finds an ingenious way to separate him from Fuzzy, his treasured yellow blanket, before school begins.

Seven Candles for Kwanzaa
(By) Andrea Davis Pinkney. Pictures by Brian Pinkney. New York: Dial/Penguin (1993) unp. $14.99 ISBN 0-8037-1292-8
Handsome woodcuts and succinct text take a family through the seven days of Kwanzaa, from December 26 through January 2, as they celebrate their African-American heritage, the family, and the harvest.

Ten Sly Piranhas: A Counting Story in Reverse (A Tale of Wickedness and Worse!)
(By) William Wise. Pictures by Victoria Chess. New York: Dial/Penguin (1993) unp. $13.50 ISBN 0-8037-1200-6
A tongue-in-cheek counting rhyme featuring ten of nature's most ravenous creatures who are done in by their nature.

Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
(By) Eugene Trivizas. Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. New York: McElderry/Macmillan (1993) unp. $15.95 ISBN 0-689-50569-8
Sly pictures give a nice fillip to this twist on the familiar nursery tale that casts the pig as the sinister villain.

Where Are You Going, Manyoni?
(By) Catherine Stock. New York: Morrow (1993) unp. $15.00 ISBN 0-688-10352-9
Wonderfully detailed paintings take the reader with Manyoni through a peaceful Zimbawe countryside on her way to school. The appended list of unfamiliar words and picture glossary of animals add to the pleasure of the book.

Yo! Yes?
By Chris Raschka. New York: Orchard/Watts (1993) unp. (A Richard Jackson book) $14.95 ISBN 0-531-05469-1
Cartoonlike drawings and minimal text depict with humor the beginnings of a friendship between two hip youngsters. Fun for the older reader.

The Cuckoo Child
(By) Dick King-Smith. Illustrated by Leslie W. Bowman. New York: Hyperion (1993) 127p. $13.95 ISBN 1-56282-350-7
With the unwitting help of his two pet geese, Jack manages to raise an ostrich from the egg, with astonishing results.

Dinah in Love
(By) Claudia Mills. New York: Macmillan (1993) 143p. $13.95 ISBN 0-02-766998-X
Here Dinah, as impetuous as ever, throws herself into sixth-grade life-the class debate, the class play, a sock hop, and a feud with a boy.

Dinosaurs All Around: An Artist's View of the Prehistoric World
By Caroline Arnold. Photographs by Richard Hewett. New York: Clarion/Houghton (1993) 48p. $14.95 ISBN 0-395-62363-4
Numerous photographs and an informative, well-organized text present the work of paleoartists who construct life-size models of dinosaurs for museums and exhibits.

Continue in Part 2