Introduction

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!

Recommended Reads

Picture Books

Brave Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby
ISBN: 9780670012688
Publication Date: 2012-09-27
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; Jon Klassen (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780061953385
Publication Date: 2012-01-17
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781596437111
Publication Date: 2012-06-05
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; Mark Teague (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780545416788
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
Some of the different ways a well-behaved dinosaur can celebrate Christmas. (Ages 4-7)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen; Mark Teague (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780545416771
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
Some of the different ways a well-behaved dinosaur can celebrate Chanukah. (Ages 4-7)
Julie Andrews' Treasury for All Seasons by Julie Andrews; Emma Walton Hamilton; Marjorie Priceman (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780316040518
Publication Date: 2012-10-02
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
ISBN: 9780670013265
Publication Date: 2012-01-05
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
ISBN: 9780670013296
Publication Date: 2012-05-01
Llama Llama does a dance that involves jumping, clapping, stretching, and hugging. (Ages 1 and up)
Zippity-Zoom by Anna Dewdney
ISBN: 9780670013289
Publication Date: 2012-05-01
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
ISBN: 9780670013272
Publication Date: 2012-01-05
A young llama follows the same bedtime routine every night. (Ages 1 and up)
Mouse and Lion by Rand Burkert; Nancy Ekholm Burkert (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780545101479
Publication Date: 2011-10-01
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; Benjamin Chaud (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781592701261
Publication Date: 2012-10-09
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; Joe Berger (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780152065997
Publication Date: 2012-10-02
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780763655990
Publication Date: 2012-10-09
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781442435353
Publication Date: 2012-05-01
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 Stories by Disney Book Group Staff
ISBN: 9781423167228
Publication Date: 2012-10-02
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; Jacqueline Rogers (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780062086068
Publication Date: 2012-03-13
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781423164821
Publication Date: 2012-10-02
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780547341521
Publication Date: 2010-11-15
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780062081995
Publication Date: 2012-08-21
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
ISBN: 9780545222761
Publication Date: 2012-03-01
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 Rob Scotton (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780061978609
Publication Date: 2012-02-28
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; Rick Lieder (Photographer)
ISBN: 9780763656010
Publication Date: 2012-03-13
Stunning close-up photography and a lyrical text implore children to look more closely at the world around them. (Ages 4-8)
Bink and Gollie - Two for One by Kate DiCamillo; Alison McGhee; Tony Fucile (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780763633615
Publication Date: 2012-06-12
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 (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780060835668
Publication Date: 2012-05-01
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)

Chuck Close by Chuck Close; Françoise Mouly
ISBN: 9781419701634
Publication Date: 2012-04-01
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)
One Direction - Dare to Dream by One Direction
ISBN: 9780062213426
Publication Date: 2012-05-22
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; Diana Sudyka (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780316176194
Publication Date: 2012-04-10
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! by Rafael Rosado (Illustrator); Jorge Aguirre
ISBN: 9781596435827
Publication Date: 2012-04-10
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)
LEGO Ideas Book by Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff; Daniel Lipkowitz
ISBN: 9780756686062
Publication Date: 2011-09-19
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 and Spy by Rebecca Stead
ISBN: 9780385737432
Publication Date: 2012-08-07
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 by Johan Olander
ISBN: 9780761461739
Publication Date: 2012-10-09
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; Patricia Castelao (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780061992254
Publication Date: 2012-01-17
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 by Tom Angleberger; Cece Bell (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781419703928
Publication Date: 2012-08-07
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
ISBN: 9780375869020
Publication Date: 2012-02-14
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
ISBN: 9781442408920
Publication Date: 2012-02-21
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
ISBN: 9781452106557
Publication Date: 2012-04-18
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
ISBN: 9780062024022
Publication Date: 2011-05-03
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
ISBN: 9780062024046
Publication Date: 2012-05-01
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
ISBN: 9780545326988
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
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
ISBN: 9780375866562
Publication Date: 2012-07-10
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
ISBN: 9781599906959
Publication Date: 2012-08-07
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)