Butler Children's Literature Center recommends children's books for holiday gifts
Thom Barthelmess |
Janice Del Negro |
The Butler Children’s Literature Center at Dominican University has released a list of
books written for children and young adults suitable for giving as holiday gifts to young people.
The list was compiled by Thom Barthelmess, curator of the center, and Janice Del Negro,
assistant professor in Dominican’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, author and
master storyteller.
“We have recommended these books as gifts because they are all current, in print and readily
available, making them easy last-minute gifts. But more importantly, each of these books, whether
recent releases or timeless classics, have a quality that will make reading them a memorable
experience for young people,” Barthelmess said.
The list includes recommendations based on grade level of the reader, from preschool through
grade 9, and a variety of genres, from picture books to Christmas seasonal stories and thrillers
for young teens.
Barthelmess and Del Negro both teach courses on children’s literature and library service to
young people at Dominican.
Prior to joining Dominican, Barthlemess was youth services manager at Austin (Texas) Public
Library. He is past president of the Association for Library Service to Children and current chair
of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.
Del Negro is an award-winning author of children’s books and resource books for
storytellers, professor and contributor to several literary publications. Her most recent book,
Storytelling: Art and Technique, received the 2011 Storytelling World Resource Award. Her
children’s books include
Passion and Poison: Tales of Shape-Shifters, Ghosts, and Spirited Women,
Willa and the Wind and
Lucy Dove.
Barthelmess and Del Negro are available to the media to discuss the list and other books as
recommendations for holiday gifts. Members of the media interested in speaking with them can
contact Dan Armstrong, public relations manager, at (708) 524-6452 or darmstrong@dom.edu.
The Butler Children's Literature Center at Dominican University is one of the nation's
premier centers for the study of children's and young adult literature in the services of literacy,
learning and a life-long love of reading. Dedicated in 2009, the center is a collaboration of
Dominican’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science and School of Education. It serves
as an examination center for children's and young adult books, an historical collection of the best
children's and young adult literature and as an evidence-based, best practices professional
collection in support of the young adult literature in classrooms, libraries, childcare centers,
and homes.
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Preschool
Tubby by Leslie Patricelli
Leslie Patricelli has a slew terrific board books for babies to her name, and quite honestly
it’s hard to go wrong with any of them. Tubby features her trademark button-nosed boisterous bundle
getting ready for bathtime. Bubbles of fun.
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
With four little words this deceptively sophisticated picture book has endless fun, playing
around with word order and illustration. Toddlers will delight at the warm, affectionate paintings
while their adults appreciate the subtle humor.
The Animals’ Christmas Carol by Helen Ward
Based on a 13th Century French carol, rhyming verse and glorious gold-tinged paintings
recall how a series of animals paid tribute to the Christ Child in the manger.
Gr. K-3
We Are In a Book by Mo Willems
Elephant and Piggie are back, and funnier than ever. Willems’ deft characterizations, simple
language, and hysterical situations will appeal to just-beginning and practiced new readers alike.
Press Here by Hervé Tullet
This deceptively complex riff on interactive media sets forth a series of irresistible
commands (press the yellow dot, shake the book, clap twice) and transmogrifies accordingly. Sit
back and watch the fun.
The Night Before Christmas Pop-Up by Clement Moore, illustrated by Robert Sabuda
Sabuda’s intricate, glorious pop-up extravaganza brings the familiar verses to life in
swirls of three-dimensional holiday fun.
Gr. 4-6
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
After you run out to see the film
Hugo, based on the Caldecott-Award winning
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, pick up
Wonderstruck, Selznick’s “follow-up” replete with all of the poignant charm and magic you
might expect.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Quentin Blake
There are many editions of Dickens’ classic Christmas tale available, and Blake’s saucy,
ebullient illustrations elevate this one to something especially memorable.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
When the Herdmans, the worst family in the history of the world, infiltrate the Christmas
Pageant, everyone learns something new about the real magic of the season.
Gr. 7-9
Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel adapted by Antony Johnston, illustrated by Kanako Damerum
and Yuzuru Takasaki
Anthony Horowitz’s popular thriller about young Alex Rider (something of a James Bond, Jr.)
gets the manga treatment and bustles with kinetic graphics and speedy storytelling. Hold on tight.
The Christmas Story by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The King James version of the Christmas story is elegantly illustrated with gorgeous,
gold-accented reproductions from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Fans of The Hunger Games trilogy will thrill at this heart-stopping, romantic fantasy where
two teens competing in an annual, deadly water horse race become dangerously entwined.
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