The best of the best from 60 years of Notable Children's Books, 1940-99. The annual Notable lists, produced by a committee made up of members of ALA's Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), have been an essential collection-development tool for school and public libraries for more than half a century. This handy resource brings together more than 1,500 notable titles, organized by decade. Also included are theme lists, gathering notable books across the decades around popular subjects.

"What children's book changed the way you see the world?" Anita Silvey asked this question to more than one hundred of our most respected and admired leaders in society, and she learned about the books that shaped financiers, actors, singers, athletes, activists, artists, comic book creators, novelists, illustrators, teachers... The lessons they recall are inspiring, instructive, and illuminating. And the books they remember resonate as influential reading choices for families. EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK--with its full color excerpts of beloved children's books, is a treasury and a guide: a collection of fascinating essays and THE gift book of the year for families.

Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past. When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education. Set during one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, one crazy summer is the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls in search of the mother who abandoned them—an unforgettable story told by a distinguished author of books for children and teens, Rita Williams-Garcia.

‘A highly diverting picture book about an agreeable pet boa constrictor that earns the affection and gratitude of a French village.’ —BL. ‘Children will love it.’ —H. Notable Children's Books of 1940–1959 (ALA) 1959 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book) A Reading Rainbow Selection 1958 Children's Spring Book Festival Prize (NY Herald Tribune)

Upon publication, Anita Silvey’s comprehensive survey of contemporary children’s literature, Children’s Books and Their Creators, garnered unanimous praise from librarians, educators, and specialists interested in the world of writing for children. Now The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators assembles the best of that volume in one handy, affordable reference, geared specifically to parents, educators, and students. This new volume introduces readers to the wealth of children’s literature by focusing on the essentials — the best books for children, the ones that inform, impress, and, most important, excite young readers. Updated to include newcomers such as J. K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket and to cover the very latest on publishing and educational trends, this edition features more than 475 entries on the best-loved children’s authors and illustrators, numerous essays on social and historical issues, thirty personal glimpses into craft by well-known writers, illustrators, and critics, and invaluable reading lists by category. The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators summarizes the canon of contemporary children’s literature, in a practical guide essential for anyone choosing a book for or working with children.

Recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2019 A young slave girl witnesses the heartbreak and hopefulness of her family and their plantation community when her brother escapes for freedom in this brilliantly conceived picture book by Coretta Scott King Award winner James E. Ransome. Every single morning, the overseer of the plantation rings the bell. Daddy gathers wood. Mama cooks. Ben and the other slaves go out to work. Each day is the same. Full of grueling work and sweltering heat. Every day, except one, when the bell rings and Ben is nowhere to be found. Because Ben ran. Yet, despite their fear and sadness, his family remains hopeful that maybe, just maybe, he made it North. That he is free. An ode to hope and a powerful tribute to the courage of those who ran for freedom, The Bell Rang is a stunning reminder that our past can never be forgotten.

Coretta Scott King Book Award, Illustrator, Honor Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Honor Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Nonfiction Honor In exuberant verse and stirring pictures, Patricia Hruby Powell and Christian Robinson create an extraordinary portrait for young people of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself.

"The ideal time to begin sharing books with children is during babyhood, even with children as young as six weeks." --Starting Out Right National Research Council All parents hope to give their children the best possible start in life. Many of them know it's a good idea to read to their children at a very young age, not with the goal of teaching their kids to read, but with the joy of having special time together looking at pictures and playing with words. Carefully chosen books that introduce children to the pleasures of language, simple story structure, and wonderful artwork are the foundation for a future love of books. Great Books for Babies and Toddlers is the first book of its kind--a guide to the best age appropriate children's books available. Compiled by Kathleen Odean, former Chair of the Newbery Award Committee, Great Books for Babies and Toddlers provides lively annotations for more than five hundred books, divided into two helpful categories: Nursery Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Songs; and Picture-Story Books for the Very Young. With story selections ranging from such classics of children's literature as Goodnight Moon and Where's Spot? to excellent new books like How Does a Dinosaur Say Good Night? and Buzz!, Great Books for Babies and Toddlers will be more than a cherished guide for parents--it will also be a child's first step in the lifelong adventure of reading.

From award-winning author Deborah Heiligman comes Torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship SS City of Benares, which was evacuating children from England during WWII. Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set sail for Canada with one hundred children on board. When the war ships escorting the Benares departed, a German submarine torpedoed what became known as the Children's Ship. Out of tragedy, ordinary people became heroes. This is their story. This title has Common Core connections.

She was a perfect baby, and she had a perfect name. Chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum loved her name—until she started school. A terrific read-aloud for the classroom and libraries!