Best children's books of 2009

It's that time of year. All the review publications and media outlets are publishing their "best of" lists for children's books published in 2009. There are some great books on the lists, too. Books that I recognize as head and shoulders above my own effort. Even so, it's a bit of a pang every time I see a new one and Maggie's Monkeys isn't on it. Ridiculous, I know.

Some of the titles that show up a lot and that warrant attention from parents and book lovers are

• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee
  
• Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli
• Hook by Ed Young
• Let's Do Nothing!  by Tony Fucile
• The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (see illustration above)
• A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis
• Snow Day by Komako Sakai
• Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins

If you're interested, here's where you can find some of the lists.

• Amazon
• School Library Journal
• Kirkus (BTW: rumors are circulating that there's a deal in the works that could save it)
• Publisher's Weekly
• New York Times
  
• Karen MacPherson of Scripps Howard

Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and editors who produced these outstanding books! Thank you for enriching our world.