Best New Children’s Books of the Month

The Best New Children’s Books of December 2017

It’s December once again, and everyone’s schedules are full of all kinds of hustle and bustle. And children of all ages will certainly be at the forefront of all this activity. But loving parents will not neglect moments of quiet closeness within the family. And there’s no better way to inspire this, than by reading highly-engaging books together. So here’s a roundup of best new children’s books for children ages 9 to 12 that the whole family can read together.

The Best New Children’s Books: Fiction

Bolivar

by Sean Rubin

Bolivar Sean Rubin Best New Children's Books
Bolivar is a dinosaur quietly living in complete and perfect peace in an apartment in Manhattan, New York City. Nobody notices him because everyone is too busy to see what is right in front of their noses. Nobody, that is, except for Sybil, the little girl who lives next door. She alone notices the odd height, the tiny arms, and the long tail of her next door neighbor.

But an unlikely parking ticket pulls Bolivar into an adventure that takes him from City Hall to New York’s Natural History Museum. He must finally make a choice: should he continue to live unnoticed but rely on Sybil to make this work. Or should he finally step into the spotlight and let the whole city see who he really is.

This book is the debut release of author-illustrator Sean Rubin. It is an interesting piece of work in that it is a strange kind of graphic novel/picture book/bedtime novel hybrid. One might say that it is an extraordinarily long picture book. It is 224-pages long, richly annotated with narrative text. It’s a wonderful new mix of comics and prose.

>>> Get it on Amazon

Oddity

by Sarah Cannon

Oddity Sarah Cannon Best New Children's Books
Welcome to Oddity, New Mexico, where zombie rabbits, alien mobs, and puppet cartels are ordinary. But things haven’t been the same since eleven-year-old Ada Roundtree’s twin sister Pearl won the town’s yearly Greeley’s Sweepstakes and promptly disappeared. She and her friends Raymond and Cayden take it upon themselves to discover Oddity’s secrets, all while dodging carnivorous dumpsters and evading invisible Blurmonsters.

They unexpectedly uncover something that threatens to unravel the very foundations of their town, the very reason that Pearl is in grave danger.

>>> Get it on Amazon

The Crims

by Kate Davies

The Crims Kate Davies Best New Children's Books
The Crim family is full of notorious but hopelessly inept criminals. From Uncle Knuckles who once tried to steal a carnival, Great-Uncle Bernard who held himself hostage by accident, to Aunt Drusilla who died when she slipped on a banana peel. Imogen, however, is different. She was born with a skill for scandal, and a knack for the nefarious. She is a true master of misdemeanors.

Despite her natural talent for lawlessness, Imogen’s ambition is to become the head girl at Lilyworth Ladies’ College. But somebody exposed her as belonging to a family accused of stealing the Capt. Crook lunchbox, worth 1 million pounds.  For this, the College expelled her. With mixed feelings, she returns home to Crim House in Blandington, England. Her family confesses, however, that they did not actually steal the lunchbox; somebody framed them for the heist that they are most proud of. But who would do such a thing? Who would perpetrate such a daring heist, but defer celebrity-criminal status to the Crims? Imogen finds herself with no choice but to step in to clear their names. But to solve the mystery, Imogen must first mend fences with the Horrible Children, whom she deserted for Lilyworth years ago.

>>> Get it on Amazon

In the Country of Queens

by Cari Best

In the Country of Queens Cari Best Best New Children's Books Eleven-year-old aspiring writer Shirley Alice Burns lives with her overprotective single mother, Hurricane Anna, and loving Grandmother. Her family always tells her that her beloved father is simply long absent. But one day she accidentally discovers that her father is already deceased. She understands why they haven’t told her. But she vows to confront her mother about it, once her “courage comes in”.

Shirley has other items on her list of things to do once she finds the courage to speak up. She wants to tell her mother that she’s too old for summer camp, she hates ballet, and she wants to go on vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee with her cousins. But Shirley isn’t going to be able to do the things she wants to do unless she starts speaking up.

Shirley gradually finds the strength to give her dreams a voice through the help of a dead mouse that she keeps in the freezer, her hero Pippi Longstocking, and her cousin Phillie. She finds the courage to convince everyone, even Hurricane Anna, that she doesn’t need to be sheltered, especially from the truth.

>>> Get it on Amazon

 

You may also want to read about James Patterson’s Best Selling Middle-Grade Book

The Best New Children’s Books: Non-Fiction

Star Wars: The Last JediTM: The Visual Dictionary

by Pablo Hidalgo

Star Wars The Last Jedi The Visual Dictionary Pablo Hidalgo Best New Children's BooksStar Wars: The Last JediTM: The Visual Dictionary is the exhaustive visual guide to the movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi. , The Dictionary provides in-depth information on the characters, creatures, droids, locations, and technology from the new film. This volume consists of more than one hundred images and innumerable behind-the-scenes information. Middle-grade readers will surely enjoy this.

Pablo Hidalgo, creative executive at Lucasfilm,  wrote this visual dictionary. Hidalgo has written visual guides for other Star Wars films like The Force Awakens and Rogue One, as well as other extensive Star Wars encyclopedias. Hardcore fans often refer to him as the Yoda of Lucasfilm, due to his extensive insider knowledge of Star Wars canon. The extensive expertise of the author assures readers of the wealth of reliable information in this reference guide.

>>> Get it on Amazon

The Know-Nonsense Guide to Money

by Heidi Fiedler, illustrated by Brendan Kearney

The Know-nonsense Guide to Money An Awesomely Fun Guide to the World of Finance Heidi Fiedler Brendan Kearney Best New Children's Books
Money is a difficult concept for children to understand. This book helps kids learn this important idea through fun and funny illustrations, infographics, and lessons.  Every page of this book helps children understand basic and necessary fiscal ideas such as earning, saving, spending, sharing, counting, and borrowing. This book also will also greatly contribute to the development of positive money-management habits in children. The lighthearted approach of this guide turns serious and important topics into fun concepts that everyone can easily understand. Learning about such an important idea has never been so much fun.

>>> Get it on Amazon

 

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

by Vashti Harrison

Little Leaders Bold Women in Black History Vashti Harrison Best New Children's Books
This beautifully illustrated book introduces readers of all ages to forty women who changed the world.

Little Leaders educates and inspires through the true stories of forty trailblazing black women in American history. The common themes of breaking boundaries and achieving amazing feats beyond expectations are accompanied by attractive illustrations. This adorably illustrated picture book gives short but adequate biographies of each of the featured forty women.

>>> Get it on Amazon

 


Another of James Patterson’s Best Selling Middle Grade Books
Selective Mutism Memoirs and Biographies

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