After a full year of intense reading, evaluation, and re-reading by committee members, the final 2011 Notable Children’s Books Midwinter discussion list and ballot is now available. Final selections will be made at the ALA Midwinter conference. The Notable Children’s Books Committee will meet Friday, January 7 through Monday, January 10, 1:30-4:30pm as well as Tuesday, January 11 from 8am-Noon at the San Diego Convention Center, Room 03.
Chairperson Katie O’Dell promises it will be a lively discussion of the most notable books for children of 2010!
Here is a complete list of the titles:
| Title | Author | Illustrator | Publisher |
| Fiction | |||
| The Adventures of Nanny Piggins | Spratt, R.A. | Santat, Dan | Little, Brown |
| After Ever After | Sonnenblick, Jordan | Scholastic | |
| Aggie the Brave | Ries, Lori | Dormer, Frank W. | Charlesbridge |
| Alchemy and Meggy Swann | Cushman, Karen | Clarion Books | |
| Anna Hibiscus | Atinuke | Tobia, Lauren | Kane Miller |
| As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth | Perkins, Lynne Rae | Greenwillow | |
| Ashes | Lasky, Kathryn | Viking | |
| Bamboo People | Perkins, Mitali | Charlesbridge | |
| Best Friends Forever | Patt, Beverly | Klinger, Shula | Marshall Cavendish |
| Bink & Gollie | DiCamillo, Kate and Alison McGhee | Fucile, Tony | Candlewick |
| Cloud Tea Monkeys | Peet, Mal and Elspeth Graham | Wijngaard, Juan | Candlewick |
| A Conspiracy of Kings | Turner, Megan Whalen | Greenwillow | |
| Cosmic | Cottrell Boyce, Frank | Walden Pond Press | |
| Countdown | Wiles, Deborah | Scholastic | |
| The Crowfield Curse | Walsh, Pat | Chicken House | |
| The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin | Berk, Josh | Knopf | |
| The Dancing Pancake | Spinelli, Eileen | Lew-Vriethoff, Joanne | Knopf |
| The Death-Defying Pepper Roux | McCaughrean, Geraldine | HarperCollins | |
| The Dreamer | Ryan, Pam Muñoz | Sis, Peter | Scholastic |
| Falling In | Dowell, Frances O’Roark | Atheneum | |
| The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester | O’Connor, Barbara | Farrar, Straus & Giroux | |
| Fever Crumb | Reeve, Philip | Scholastic | |
| Finding Family | Bolden, Tonya | Bloomsbury | |
| Finnikin of the Rock | Marchetta, Melina | Candlewick Press | |
| Forge | Anderson, Laurie Halse | Atheneum | |
| Guys Read – Funny Business | Scieszka, Jon – editor | Rex, Adam | Walden Pond Press |
| Half Brother | Oppel, Kenneth | Scholastic | |
| Heart of a Samurai | Preus, Margi | Abrams/Amulet | |
| Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword | Deutsch, Barry | Richmond, Jake | Amulet |
| Incarceron | Fisher, Catherine | Dial | |
| The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling | Wood, Maryrose | Klassen, Jon | Balzer & Bray |
| Jake | Couloumbis, Audrey | Random House | |
| Keeper | Appelt, Kathi | Hall, August | Atheneum |
| The Kneebone Boy | Potter, Ellen | Feiwel & Friends | |
| Leaving Gee’s Bend | Latham, Irene | Putnam | |
| Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same | Lin, Grace | Lin, Grace | Little, Brown |
| Lockdown | Myers, Walter Dean | Amistad | |
| A Long Walk to Water | Park, Linda Sue | Clarion | |
| Meanwhile | Shiga, Jason | Amulet Books | |
| A Million Shades of Gray | Kadohata, Cynthia | Atheneum | |
| Mockingbird | Erskine, Kathryn | Philomel | |
| Moon Over Manifest | Vanderpool, Clare | Delacorte Press | |
| Mouse and Mole: A Winter Wonderland | Yee, Wong Herbert | Yee, Wong Herbert | Houghton Mifflin |
| My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood | Wells, Rosemary with Secundino Fernandez | Ferguson, Peter | Candlewick |
| My Life as a Book | Tashjian, Janet | Tashjian, Jake | Henry Holt |
| A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration and the Meaning of Home | Cole, Henry | Katherine Tegen Books | |
| The Night Fairy | Schlitz, Laura Amy | Barrett, Angela | Candlewick |
| Ninth Ward | Rhodes, Jewell Parker | Little, Brown | |
| Once | Gleitzman, Morris | Henry Holt | |
| One Crazy Summer | Williams-Garcia, Rita | Amistad | |
| The Other Half of My Heart | Frazier, Sundee T. | Delacorte Press | |
| Out of My Mind | Draper, Sharon M. | Atheneum | |
| Ship Breaker | Bacigalupi, Paolo | Little, Brown | |
| Star in the Forest | Resau, Laura | Delacorte Press | |
| The Strange Case of Origami Yoda | Angleberger, Tom | Amulet Books | |
| Sweet and Sunny | Paratore, Coleen Murtagh | Scholastic | |
| A Tale Dark & Grimm | Gidwitz, Adam | Dutton | |
| Touch Blue | Lord, Cynthia | Scholastic | |
| Tumbleweed Skies | Sherrard, Valerie | Fitzhenry & Whiteside | |
| Turtle in Paradise | Holm, Jennifer L. | Random House | |
| The Unsinkable Walker Bean | Renier, Aaron | Longstreth, Alec | First Second |
| Warriors in the Crossfire | Flood, Nancy Bo | Front Street | |
| The Water Seeker | Holt, Kimberly Willis | Henry Holt | |
| We Are In a Book! | Willems, Mo | Hyperion | |
| What Momma Left Me | Watson, Renée | Bloomsbury | |
| The Wonder of Charlie Anne | Fusco, Kimberly Newton | Knopf | |
| Woods Runner | Paulsen, Gary | Random House | |
| The Year Money Grew on Trees | Hawkins, Aaron | Houghton Mifflin | |
| Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty | Neri, Greg | DuBurke, Randy | Lee & Low |
| Picture Books | |||
| April and Esme, Tooth Fairies | Graham, Bob | Graham, Bob | Candlewick Press |
| Art & Max | Wiesner, David | Wiesner, David | Clarion |
| Back of the Bus | Reynolds, Aaron | Cooper, Floyd | Philomel |
| Bag in the Wind | Kooser, Ted | Root, Barry | Candlewick |
| Balancing Act | Walsh, Ellen Stoll | Walsh, Ellen Stoll | Beach Lane Books |
| Beaver is Lost | Cooper, Elisha | Schwartz & Wade | |
| Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation | Sherman, Pat | Cooper, Floyd | Eerdmans |
| Big Red Lollipop | Khan, Rukhsana | Blackall, Sophie | Viking |
| The Boss Baby | Frazee, Marla | Frazee, Marla | Beach Lane Books |
| Brontorina | Howe, James | Cecil, Randy | Candlewick |
| Bunny Days | Nyeu, Tao | Dial | |
| Chalk | Thomson, Bill | Marshall Cavendish | |
| City Dog, Country Frog | Willems, Mo | Muth, Jon J. | Hyperion |
| Clever Jack Takes the Cake | Fleming, Candace | Karas, G. Brian | Schwartz & Wade |
| Dogs | Gravett, Emily | Simon & Schuster | |
| Dust Devil | Isaacs, Anne | Zelinsky, Paul O. | Schwartz & Wade |
| Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn’t Fit | Rayner, Catherine | Rayner, Catherine | Farrar, Straus, Giroux |
| Farm | Cooper, Elisha | Orchard | |
| Feeding the Sheep | Schubert, Leda | U’Ren, Andrea | Farrar, Straus, Giroux |
| Floating on Mama’s Song/Flotando en la Cancion de mama | Lacamara, Laura | Morales, Yuyi | HarperCollins |
| Flora’s Very Windy Day | Birdsall, Jeanne | Phelan, Matt | Clarion |
| Goal! | Javaherbin, Mina | Ford, A.G. | Candlewick |
| In Front of My House | Dubuc, Marianne | Dubac, Marianne | Kids Can Press |
| It’s a Book | Smith, Lane | Roaring Brook Press | |
| The Junkyard Wonders | Polacco, Patricia | Polacco, Patricia | Philomel |
| Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly! | Willems, Mo | Blazer & Bray | |
| LMNO Peas | Baker, Keith | Beach Lane Books | |
| Me and You | Browne, Anthony | Browne, Anthony | Farrar, Straus, Giroux |
| Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) | Bottner, Barbara | Emberley, Michael | Knopf |
| Moon Bear | Guiberson, Brenda Z. | Henry Holt | |
| Mr. Putney’s Quacking Dog | Agee, Jon | Michael de Capua Books | |
| My Brother Charlie | Peete, Holly Robinson and Ryan Elizabeth Peete | Evans, Shane W. | Scholastic |
| My Garden | Henkes, Kevin | Greenwillow | |
| My Heart Is Like a Zoo | Hall, Michael | Greenwillow | |
| Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) | Barnett, Mac | Santat, Dan | Disney Hyperion |
| One Too Many: A Seek and Find Counting Book | Marino, Gianna | Chronicle Books | |
| Pecan Pie Baby | Woodson, Jacqueline | Blackall, Sophie | Putnam |
| Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes | Litwin, Eric | Dean, James | HarperCollins |
| A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade | Preller, James | Ruth, Greg | Feiwel and Friends |
| The Quiet Book | Underwood, Deborah | Liwska, Renata | Houghton Mifflin |
| The Rabbit Problem | Gravett, Emily | Simon & Schuster | |
| Rain School | Rumford, James | Rumford, James | Houghton Mifflin |
| Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth! | Gay, Marie-Louise | Groundwood Books | |
| Rubia and the Three Osos | Elya, Susan Middleton | Sweet, Melissa | Disney Hyperion |
| Ruth and the Green Book | Ramsey, Calvin Alexander | Cooper, Floyd | Carolrhoda |
| Seasons | Blexbolex | Enchanted Lion | |
| Shadow | Lee, Suzy | Chronicle Books | |
| Shark vs. Train | Barton, Chris | Lichtenheld, Tom | Little, Brown |
| A Sick Day for Amos McGee | Stead, Philip C. | Stead, Erin E. | Roaring Brook |
| Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down | Pinkney, Andrea Davis | Pinkney, Brian | Little, Brown |
| Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy | Fleming, Denise | Fleming, Denise | Henry Holt |
| Snook Alone | Nelson, Marilyn | Ering, Timothy Basil | Candlewick Press |
| There’s Going to Be a Baby | Burningham, John | Oxenbury, Helen | Candlewick Press |
| Tuck Me In | Hacohen, Dean | Scharschmidt, Sherry | Candlewick Press |
| The Village Garage | Karas, G. Brian | Henry Holt | |
| We Planted a Tree | Muldrow, Diane | Staake, Bob | Golden Books |
| What If? | Seeger, Laura Vaccaro | Roaring Brook | |
| What the Ladybug Heard | Donaldson, Julia | Monks, Lydia | Henry Holt |
| Yasmin’s Hammer | Malaspina, Ann | Chayka, Doug | Lee & Low |
| Yucky Worms | French, Vivian | Ahlberg, Jessica | Candlewick |
| Nonfiction – Folklore | |||
| Michael Townsend’s Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders | Townsend, Michael | Dial | |
| Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess | O’Connor, George | First Second | |
| Mary’s Penny | Landman, Tanya | Holland, Richard | Candlewick Press |
| Nabeel’s New Pants: An Eid Tale | Gilani-Williams, Fawzia | Roy, Proiti | Marshall Cavendish |
| Ol’ Bloo’s Boogie-Woogie Band and Blues Ensemble | Huling, Jan | Sí¸renson, Henri | Peachtree |
| Once Upon a Time: Traditional Latin American Tales | Martínez, Rueben | Colí³n, Raíºl | Rayo |
| The Rooster Prince of Breslov | Stampler, Ann Redisch | Yelchin, Eugene | Clarion |
| Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection | Dembicki, Matt | Fulcrum Books | |
| Young Zeus | Karas, G. Brian | Scholastic | |
| Nonfiction – Poetry | |||
| Borrowed Names: Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie and Their Daughters | Atkins, Jeannine | Henry Holt | |
| Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night | Sidman, Joyce | Allen, Rick | Houghton Mifflin |
| The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba | Engle, Margarita | Henry Holt | |
| Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys | Raczka, Bob | Reynolds, Peter H. | Houghton Mifflin |
| In the Wild | Elliott, David | Meade, Holly | Candlewick |
| Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse | Singer, Marilyn | Masse, Josée | Dutton |
| Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes | Mavor, Salley | Mavor, Salley | Houghton Mifflin |
| Poetrees | Florian, Douglas | Beach Lane Books | |
| Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems | Hopkins, Lee Bennett | Diaz, David | Margaret K. McElderry Books |
| Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors | Sidman, Joyce | Prange, Beckie | Houghton Mifflin |
| The Year of Goodbyes | Levy, Debbie | Disney Hyperion | |
| Nonfiction – Biography & Autobiography | |||
| All Star! Honus Wagner and the Most Famous Baseball Card Ever | Yolen, Jane | Burke, Jim | Philomel |
| Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean | Taylor, Sarah Stewart | Towle, Ben | Hyperion |
| Biblioburro: a True Story from Colombia | Winter, Jeanette | Beach Lane Books | |
| Black Elk’s Vision: A Lakota Story | Nelson, S.D. | Abrams | |
| Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson | Smith Jr., Charles R. | Evans, Shane W. | Roaring Brook Press |
| Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci | D’Agnese, Joseph | O’Brien, John | Henry Holt |
| Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot” | Tunnell, Michael O. | Charlesbridge | |
| Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave | Hill, Laban Carrick | Collier, Bryan | Little, Brown |
| Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) | Kerley, Barbara | Fotheringham, Edwin | Scholastic |
| Frederick Douglass: A Noble Life | Adler, David A. | Holiday Hosue | |
| Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix | Golio, Gary | Steptoe, Javaka | Clarion |
| Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything | Krull, Kathleen | Byrd, Robert | Viking |
| Lafayette and the American Revolution | Freedman, Russell | Holiday House | |
| Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country) | Krull, Kathleen and Paul Brewer | Innerst, Stacy | Harcourt |
| Lives of the Pirates: Swashbucklers, Scoundrels (Neighbors Beware!) | Krull, Kathleen | Hewitt, Kathryn | Harcourt |
| Mama Miti: WangariMaathari and the Trees of Kenya | Napoli, Donna Jo | Nelson, Kadir | Simon & Schuster |
| Me, Frida | Novesky, Amy | Diaz, David | Abrams |
| Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light | Tingle, Tim | Clarkson, Karen | Cinco Puntos Press |
| Shake, Rattle & Turn That Noise Down! How Elvis Shook Up Music, Me and Mom. | Stamaty, Mark Alan | Knopf | |
| Sir Charlie: Chaplin the Funniest Man in the World | Fleischman, Sid | Greenwillow | |
| Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald | Orgill, Roxane | Qualls, Sean | Candlewick |
| Smile | Telgemeier, Raina | Telgemeier, Raina and Stephanie Yue | Graphix |
| Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian | Engle, Margarita | Paschkis, Julie | Henry Holt |
| The Taxing Case of the Cows: A True Story About Suffrage | Shea, Pegi Deitz and Iris Van Rynbach | McCully, Emily Arnold | Clarion |
| Nonfiction – General | |||
| Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring | Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan | Floca, Brian | Roaring Brook |
| The Bat Scientists | Carson, Mary Kay | Uhlman, Tom | Houghton Mifflin |
| Bones: Skeletons and How They Work | Jenkins, Steve | Scholastic | |
| A Book About Color: A Clear and Simple Guide For Young Artists | Gonyea, Mark | Henry Holt | |
| The Buffalo Are Back | George, Jean Craighead | Minor, Wendell | Dutton |
| Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America’s Farmland | Geisert, Arthur | Houghton Mifflin | |
| The Cowgirl Way: Hats Off to America’s Women of the West | George-Warren, Holly | Houghton Mifflin | |
| For Good Measure: The Ways We Say How Much, How Far, How Heavy, How Big, How Old | Robbins, Ken | Roaring Book Press | |
| The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll’s History and Her Impact on Us | Stone, Tanya Lee | Viking | |
| Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature | Campbell, Sarah C. | Campbell, Sarah and Richard P. Cambell | Boyds Mills Press |
| Hip-Pocket Papa | Markle, Sandra | Marks, Alan | Charlesbridge |
| The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Bee Catastrophe | Burns, Loree Griffin | Harasimowicz, Ellen | Houghton Mifflin |
| How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships | Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page | Jenkins, Steve | Houghton Mifflin |
| If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge | Aronson, Marc | National Geographic Kids | |
| Insect Detective | Voake, Steve | Voake, Charlotte | Candlewick |
| Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot | Montgomery, Sy | Bishop, Nic | Houghton Mifflin |
| The Life of Rice: From Seedling to Supper | Sobol, Richard | Candlewick Press | |
| Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age | Bardoe, Cheryl | Abrams Books | |
| Nic Bishop Lizards | Bishop, Nic | Bishop, Nic | Scholastic |
| Older Than the Stars | Fox, Karen C. | Davis, Nancy | Charlesbridge |
| Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths | Wittenstein, Vicki Oransky | Boyds Mills Press | |
| Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum | McCarthy, Meghan | Simon & Schuster | |
| Project Seahorse | Turner, Pamela S. | Tuason, Scott | Houghton Mifflin |
| Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science | Aronson, Marc and Marina Budhos | Clarion | |
| They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group | Bartoletti, Susan Campbell | Houghton Mifflin | |
| Time Zones | Adler, David A. | Miller, Edward | Holiday House |
| The War to End All Wars: World War I | Freedman, Russell | Clarion | |
| We Shall Overcome: A Song That Changed the World | Stotts, Stuart | Cummings, Terrance | Clarion |
Shelf-employed
Hooray! I finally see my favorite fiction title of 2010 on someone else’s list – The Death-Defying Pepper Roux! What great choices! The committee’s got a tough job ahead.
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Read Aloud Dad
What a great job these committee members have. These books seem to be a blast! If I remember well Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum was recently recommended by Jim Trelease on his website…
Read Aloud Dad
Art Miramontes
I love the Adventures of Nanny Piggins. You should also check out – There is an Elephant in my Bathtub. Great list!
Beverly Patt
Is there a fixed amount of books that can be named as notables? And I’ve read somewhere that the award winners are automatically put on the notable list, is that correct?
Katie O'Dell
Hi Beverly,
I am the current chair for the Notable Children’s Book Co. There is not an exact number of books that can be named to this list, but typically it seems to be between 60-80 titles. The committee is searching for the books that best meet the Notable criteria. ALSC Award titles are automatically named to the list. If you would like more information or have other specific questions, feel free to email me.
Best,
Katie