New York Times Notable Children's Books 2012

Just thought you'd like to know!!

YOUNG ADULT

BITTERBLUE. By Kristin Cashore. (Dial, $19.99.) The companion to “Graceling” and “Fire,” this beautiful, haunting and thrilling high fantasy about a young queen and her troubled kingdom stands on its own.

CODE NAME VERITY. By Elizabeth Wein. (Hyperion, $16.99.) This tale of a spy and a fighter pilot during World War II is at heart a story about female ­friendship.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. By John Green. (Dutton, $17.99.) An improbable but predictably wrenching love story about two teenage cancer patients, written in Green’s signature tone, humorous yet heart-filled.

JEPP, WHO DEFIED THE STARS. By Katherine Marsh. (Hyperion, $16.99.) A dwarf at court in 16th-century Denmark is the surprising hero in this novel, which also features the real-life astronomer Tycho Brahe, an eccentric Danish nobleman.

NEVER FALL DOWN. By Patricia McCormick. (Balzer & Bray/Harper­Collins, $17.99.) This novelized memoir tells the tragic but inspiring life story of Arn Chorn-Pond, a boy who was 9 years old when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia.

SON. By Lois Lowry. (Houghton Mifflin, $17.99.) In the conclusion to the dystopian “Giver” quartet, Lowry returns to the story of a mother searching for her lost son. “A quiet, sorrowful, deeply moving exploration of the powers of empathy and the obligations of love,” our reviewer said.

MIDDLE GRADE

BEYOND COURAGE: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust. By Doreen Rappaport. (Candlewick, $22.99.) This book about the Holocaust dwells on the choice to fight and resist rather than the road to death. A lively, absorbing and eye-opening history for young readers.

THE FALSE PRINCE. By Jennifer A. Nielsen. (Scholastic, $17.99.) Four orphaned boys and would-be princes are captured in a treacherous medieval kingdom in the first book of a new series. Adam Gopnik, our reviewer, called it a “page turner” and praised its “persuasively surly and defiant character, and a realistic vein of violence.”

HAND IN HAND: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. By Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. (Disney-Jump at the Sun, $19.99.) Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, A. Philip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Barack Obama feature in this collection.

THE HERO’S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM. By Christopher Healy. Illustrated by Todd Harris. (Walden Pond/HarperCollins, $16.99.) The enchanting premise of this story is that four Princes Charming, carried over from their fairy tales of origin, must band together to track down Cinderella and restore harmony to their kingdom.

THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER. By Jasper Fforde. (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) A 15-year-old orphan, indentured to magicians, in a world where dragons are dying out. Fforde’s first book for young readers.

LIAR & SPY. By Rebecca Stead. (Wendy Lamb, $15.99.) A bunch of misfits star in this contemporary tale, Stead’s follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning “When You Reach Me.”

THE SECRET TREE. By Natalie Standiford. (Scholastic, $16.99.) Two children, a summer and a tree that tells secrets in this story about neighborhood kids.

SEE YOU AT HARRY’S. By Jo Knowles. (Candlewick, $16.99.) With four siblings at its center, Knowles’s story is about a family who run a restaurant and the commonplace and serious traumas they face.

SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS. By Laura Amy Schlitz. (Candlewick, $17.99.) A Gothic novel, from the Newbery-winning author, about three children and a master puppeteer in Dickensian London.

“WHO COULD THAT BE AT THIS HOUR?” By Lemony Snicket. Illustrated by Seth. (Little, Brown, $15.99.) A prequel of sorts to “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” this humorous riddle of a book is the start of a mock-autobiographical series.

WONDER. By R. J. Palacio. (Knopf, $15.99.) This novel tells the moving story of August Pullman, a 10-year-old boy born with severe facial malformations, and the bullying he endures when he attends school for the first time.

PICTURE BOOKS

BROTHERS AT BAT: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team. By Audrey Vernick. Illustrated by Steven Salerno. (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) The true story of the longest-running all-brother baseball team, 12 Acerra siblings who played together during the 1930s. A captivating story, impeccable layout and glorious illustrations make this historical account an unqualified winner.

THE DAY LOUIS GOT EATEN. Written and illustrated by John Fardell. (Andersen Press, $16.95.) A boy is eaten by a Gulper, which is eaten in turn by a Grabular, an Undersnatch, a Spiney-Backed Guzzler and a Saber-Toothed Yumper. His intrepid sister, traveling by bicycle and other hand-jiggered contraptions, comes to the rescue. Hilarious and sweet, both. “I love this book so much I want to eat it up,” our reviewer said.

DRAGONS LOVE TACOS. By Adam Rubin. Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri. (Dial, $16.99.) Rubin and Salmieri, the team behind the equally hilarious “Those Darn Squirrels!,” bring their kooky sensibility to this irresistible story about what can go wrong at a taco party for dragons. Salmieri’s drawings are not only a wacky delight, they’re also strangely beautiful.

A GOLD STAR FOR ZOG. By Julia Donaldson. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, $16.99.) A school for dragons and a dragon-loving princess (who really wants to be a doctor) are at the center of this rhyming tale from the team behind “The Gruffalo” and “Room on the Broom.” Humor, heart and a worthy heroine earn this story its own star.

HELLO! HELLO! Written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. (Disney-­Hyperion, $16.99.) In this ode to nature and the palpable joys of pre-technology days, a girl runs wild on a horse while her screen-­addicted family members tap away indoors. The book’s “art is gloriously old-style,” our reviewer, David Small, said. Its message is loud, clear and important.

I’M BORED. By Michael Ian Black. Illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. (Simon & Schuster, $16.99.) Black, a comedian, has become a fine children’s book storyteller (“A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea”). This original story features a bored child, a bored potato and a bored flamingo. Readers will not be bored.

KING ARTHUR’S VERY GREAT GRANDSON. Written and illustrated by Kenneth Kraegel. (Candlewick, $15.99.) On the day of his sixth birthday, Henry Alfred Grummorson, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of King Arthur, sets out for peril and conquest. Alas, all he finds are peaceable beasts. There are still dragons in this clever story by a first-time author and illustrator.

THIS IS NOT MY HAT. Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. (Candlewick, $15.99.) The hat is back, but this time it belongs to a fish, not a bear. It belongs to a big fish, to be precise, but a small fish has stolen it. You will probably guess what happens in this delightfully dark, comic follow-up to “I Want My Hat Back.”

Book fo Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Nora's happy life is shattered by a nightmarish evening that leaves one friend in a catatonic state, another dead and her boyfriend accused of murder. Nora resolves to prove her boyfriend's innocence and follows a violent trail to Prague, where she discovers a mysterious manuscript that purportedly offers the secret to ultimate knowledge and the ability to communicate with the divine and thus control the world. This story reminds me of the Da Vinci Code with ancient manuscripts, mysterious robed men, murder and cyphers and is an excellent adventure with a detailed plot of twists and turns.

Starters by Lissa Price (Random House)

The world has been devasted by a war and only the young and the old were immune to the biological toxins. Callie, her sickly brother, and another boy try stay alive in spite of bad conditions. Callie is desperate to help her ailing brother and so she goes to Prime Destinations. Here teens rent their bodies to the elderly, who want to be young again, for a huge pay-off. Maybe she can earn the money to help her brother. A contract is signed and the body is returned to the young person after a time. Callie discovers her renter plans to do more than party--her renter wants to commit murder through the use of her young body. The girl also discovers what Prime Destinations is beginning to do which will endanger the lives of all young people. This science fiction action adventure read will take many twists and turns before evil is defeated--or is it? This will be a two-part series and I'm already anxiously awaiting the conclusion!

Dead to you by Lisa McMann

Ethan was abducted nine years ago when he was seven years old. He has returned to his family and everything is wonderful--at first. The adjustments are harder than everyone realizes and issues start to surface. Ethan resents Grace at first because she is young and represents that his parents went on with their lives without him. Blake, the younger brother, keeps wondering why Ethan went with the people who pulled up to him, when he knew they were not supposed to get in a car with strangers. The family is now falling apart in a different way and it would help if Ethan could remember more about the event to help answer questions. Tension and doubt build in the household and Ethan has only one person with whom  he can share his feelings. It all comes to a head when the police show up. This is a riveting story of desperation and trust and a desire to really belong.

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. The sister space ship, New Horizon, is ahead of the Empyrean and has a dogmatic leader who yearns to populate the New Earth first. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, Waverly and her boyfriend,Kieran, will be pioneers of a New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Still, there's a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth. Suddenly, Waverly's dreams are interrupted by an attack of the New Horizon. The New Horizon's leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. The girls are taken onto the New Horizon and Kieran and Waverly are separated They each find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster. This is a riveting book with twists at every turn and no one to trust!
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The Secret Journeys of Jack London, Book One: The Wild by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon

Looking for a book to intrigue the teen reader who loves adventure? This book will captivate those who also love the books by Jack London. Using Jack London as the main character in this new series, the authors have created a modern tale with the classic feel.
The world knows Jack London as a writer who lived his own thrilling, real-life adventures--terrifying, mysterious, bizarre, and magical-- these are the Secret Journeys of Jack London. We meet Jack at age seventeen, following thousands of men and women into the Yukon Territory in search of gold. For Jack, the journey holds the promise of another kind of fortune: challenge and adventure. But what he finds in the wild north is something far more sinister than he could have ever imagined: kidnapping and slavery, mythical beasts and evil men. This book is a total page-turner with action, gore and suspense at every turn.

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett

 A futuristic novel about the kind of life that might await us if winter never ends, but more than that, it’s a book about a teenager discovering the world and his place in it. While Willo’s father fears he’s been hardened by the harsh realities of his childhood, Willo is actually full of innocence, shown in his pure desire to help a girl he finds along his path. He’s tough when battling the elements or any other cruelties nature throws at him, but having been raised by kind people, he is completely unprepared for the cruelty of men. Willo comes off the mountain after his family is taken to go to the city in search of them. He sees the reality of what his father has kept from him and survives in spite of it. Set in a sparse, cold landscape, with hardships befalling its protagonist at every turn, the novel is surprisingly hopeful and sure to keep one engrossed to the final page. I was a little thrown off by the form of language used, but you soon get used to it and see that it also is harsh just like the environment.

Wonder by R.J. Polacio

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to school--he's been homeschooled--until now. His parents make the decision that it's time he faced the world. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep and if you've ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. He wants to be a regular kid, making friends and doing ordinary things. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite his appearance? This story has you laughing one minute and crying the next and it's hard to believe that it is uplifting and heart-warming and should be read by all kids.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

For the first ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by and the security of a happy childhood. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and some of her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. The journey begins the journey of her lifetime. Her father is missing in action and there is such an emotional toll on the family when they flee. In America, Ha discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the continuing strength of her very own family. The author has told her story and most of the impact comes from the emotional upheaval of starting over in a strange place.
Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature 2011.