Reads to Wrap 2012
December 2012
Holiday gift book recommendations and Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season from the Youth Services Committee of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System!
Picture Books
Brave Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby
In a story that will encourage young readers to face their fears, Squish, a little rabbit who is afraid of nearly everything, bravely ventures into the night during a storm to find his friend, Twitch, who is missing and soon discovers that the dark can be magical, especially when filled with stars. This book is sure to become a bed time favorite. (Ages 3-6)
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Jon Klassen
With a supply of yarn that never runs out, Annabelle knits for everyone and everything in town until an evil archduke decides he wants the yarn for himself. (Ages 4-8)
A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead
Stead's story is a warm and beautifully understated celebration of the importance of caring for others. (Ages 3-8)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Mark Teague
Some of the different ways a well-behaved dinosaur can celebrate Christmas. (Ages 4-7)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Mark Teague
Some of the different ways a well-behaved dinosaur can celebrate Chanukah. (Ages 4-7)
Julie Andrews’ Treasury for All Seasons: poems and songs to celebrate the year selected by Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton; paintings by Marjorie Priceman
Classic and modern poems and songs that commemorate the year's holidays and seasons. (All ages)
Lovable Llama Llama is back in a series of board books that allow the littlest readers to follow Llama Llama through his day.
Llama Llama, Wakey Wake by Anna Dewdney
Every morning Mama helps Llama Llama get up and start a brand new day. (Ages 1 and up)
Llama Llama, Hoppity-Hop by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama does a dance that involves jumping, clapping, stretching, and hugging. (Ages 1 and up)
Llama Llama, Zippity-Zoom by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama plays in the park, zipping by on scooters, swooshing down the slide, and zooming by on a tricycle. (Ages 1 and up)
Llama Llama, Nighty Night by Anna Dewdney
A young llama follows the same bedtime routine every night. (Ages 1 and up)
Mouse and Lion by Rand Burkert; pictures by Nancy Ekholm Burkert
In jaunty prose author Rand Burkert retells Aesop’s fable of the mouse and lion who develop an unlikely friendship in which an act of mercy proves to be a lifesaving gesture. (Ages 4 up)
Pomelo Explores Color by Ramona Badescu; illustrated by Benjamin Chaud
Imaginative, playful, and funny, this book is about discovery and the experience of seeing color anew. (Ages 3 and up)
Princess in Training by Tammi Sauer; illustrated by Joe Berger
Viola is a skateboarding, karate-chopping, moat-diving princess, to the distress of her parents, and so she accepts an invitation to Princess Camp, hoping to become the "darling of her kingdom. This is the perfect book for little girls who are tired of the pretty pink princess books. (Ages 4-8)
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
Enjoy the antics of a tiny fish who wears a perfectly fitting round blue hat while trying to avoid an enormous sleeping fish. (Ages 4-8)
Zorro Gets an Outfit by Carter Goodrich
Zorro is embarrassed at having to wear a fancy outfit to the park and Mister Bud is unable to cheer him up until a "cool" new dog arrives in his own fancy clothes and challenges the friends to a race. (Ages 4-8)
Early Readers (Grades K-2)
5-Minute Marvel
A collection of twelve short bedtime stories featuring the Marvel superheroes, including Spider-Man, Captain America, and the Hulk. (Ages 3 and up)
Dixie and the Class Treat by Grace Gilman; pictures by Jacqueline Rogers
Dixie comes to the rescue when Emma takes a turn preparing a snack for her class and accidentally mixes up the ingredients for a favorite cookie recipe. (Ages 4-6)
Let's Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems
Elephant Gerald and Piggie want to go for a drive, but as Gerald thinks of one thing after another that they will have to take along, they come to realize that they lack the most important thing of all. (Ages 4-6)
Mouse and Mole, a Winter Wonderland by Wong Herbert Yee
Best friends Mouse and Mole enjoy playing in the snow with Sno-Mouse and Sno-Mole, two more best friends. (Ages 5-8)
Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes
Penny instantly loves the doll her grandmother sends her, but finding the perfect name for her is a challenge. (Ages 4-6)
Ride, Fly Guy, Ride by Tedd Arnold
While riding in the car with Buzz and his father, Fly Guy gets blown out of the window and finds himself riding in a truck, then a boat, a train, an airplane, and maybe even a rocket. (Ages 5-7)
Splat the Cat Takes the Cake by Amy Hsu Lin; based on the books by Rob Scotton
When an accident breaks the family's television, Splat resolves to win a new one by entering a cake-baking contest, an effort that is challenged by a disastrous first attempt and a goal of preparing a cake in the shape of a superhero. (Ages 4-6)
Step Gently Out by Helen Frost; photographs by Rick Lieder
Stunning close-up photography and a lyrical text implore children to look more closely at the world around them. (Ages 4-8)
Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
The state fair is in town, and now Bink and Gollie - utter opposites and best friends extraordinaire - must use teamwork and their gray matter while navigating its many wonders. (Ages 6-8)
What a Good Kitty by Mercer Mayer
Little Critter has his very own cat! And what a good kitty she is, who tangles up Mom's knitting, knocks over the trash and gets trapped high up in a tree before bravely protecting her family and hissing at a mean dog. (Ages 4-7)
Chapter Books (Grades 3-6)
Face Book by Chuck Close
Presents an autobiography about the author's artistic life, describing the creative processes he uses in the studio, his struggles with his disabilities and a mix-and-match self-portrait section that demonstrates his techniques and images. (Ages 8-12)
Dare to Dream: life and One Direction by One Direction
A surefire hit with all One Direction fans! This book is written so you can get to know who they really are, where they came from, and where they are going next. (Ages 8-12)
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart
Nine-year-old Nicholas Benedict, an orphan afflicted with an unfortunate nose and with narcolepsy, is sent to a new orphanage where he encounters vicious bullies, selfish adults, strange circumstances, and a mystery that could change his life forever. (Ages 10-14)
Giants Beware written by Jorge Aguirre; illustrated by Rafael Rosado
In this graphic novel, Claudette wants nothing more than to slay a giant but her little village is too safe and quiet. (Ages 6-10)
The Lego Ideas Book: unlock your imagination by Daniel Lipkowitz
Divided into six themed chapters--transportation, buildings, space, kingdoms, adventure and useful makes--a guide filled with hints and tips from Master Builders helps LEGO fans create new projects from kits intended for specific builds. This edition will delight LEGO enthusiasts. (Ages 6 and up)
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father's efforts to start a new business, his mother's extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants his help spying on another resident of their building. (Ages 10-12)
My Robots: the robotic genius of Lady Regina Bonquers III by Johan Olander
Depicts robotic inventions designed by a Scottish recluse and described in sketchbooks recently found in her abandoned castle. (Ages 9-14)
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life. (Ages 8-12)
The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee: an Origami Yoda book by Tom Angleberger
McQuarrie Middle School's students miss Origami Yoda when Dwight leaves for Tippett Academy, but he sends Sara a paper Fortune Wookiee that seems to give advice just as good as Yoda's--even if, in the hands of girls, it seems preoccupied with romance. (Ages 9-14)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student. (Ages 8-12)
Young Adult (Grades 7-12)
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before. (Ages 14 and up)
Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown
In this hilarious and sweet comic reimagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other - except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith. (All ages)
Divergent by Veronica Roth
In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all. (Grades 9 and up)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
A sequel to the Divergent finds Tris Prior's initiation day shattered by Erudite simulation attacks that end the lives of several loved ones and launch a bitter war, compelling Tris to embrace her Divergent nature and make painful sacrifices. (Grades 9 and up)
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle- school production of Moon over Mississippi as various relationships start and end, and others never quite get going. (Ages 10-14)
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.The first book in a new series. (Ages 12 and up)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. (Ages 12 and up)
List created by:
2012 BCCLS Youth Services Committee