Shopper alert: SCBWI helps with book list

If you’re reading this and not out shopping on Black Friday, don't despair. Instead of fighting those crowds, take a few minutes to see if any of these children’s books may help round out your holiday gift list. I added some of these to my shopping list while I was at the Nov. 12 conference in Chicago for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

Yep, I’m a new member and it was my first SCBWI conference. It was envigorating to be around more than 200 folks who are interested in creating books kids will want to read. In our packet was a list of books from each of the editors who spoke at the conference. Be sure to check out the book descriptions before buying, but for me, the highlights were:

The Chet Gecko Mysteries (age 8+) and Snoring Beauty (age 5+) by Bruce Hale

A Dog’s Way Home (age 8+) by Bobbie Pyron -- a girl and her dog are separated in an accident: told from her perspective and the dog's.

Divergent (teens) by Veronica Roth – If your kids liked Hunger Games, they’ll probably like this dystopian novel, too. I know I did.

This Girl Is Different (teens) by JJ Johnson – A homeschooler attends high school her senior year and finds social justice requires a large dose of personal responsibility to keep from running amok.

For Teens

Boys Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Ultraviolet by R.J. Andersen

Dark Life series by Kat Falls 

Ask Elizabeth:Real Answers to Everything You Secretly Wanted to Ask About Love, Friends, Your Body...and Life in General by Elizabeth Berkley

The File on Angelyn Stark by Catherine Atkins

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zeilin

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big by Jose Canseco
  
For Middle Grade

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland (age 8+) by Sally M. Walker

Bad News for Outlaws:The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, U.S. Deputy Marshal (age 8+) by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Hide and Seek (age 9+) by Katy Grant

Grow (age 9+) by Juanita Havill (in verse)

Sparrow Road (age 10+) by Shelia O’Connor

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had (age 10+) by Kristin Levine

For Elementary/Kindergarten

Planting the Wild Garden (age 6+) by Kathryn O Galbraith, illustrated by Wendy Halperin

The Blue House Dog (age 5+) by Deborah Blumenthal, illustrated by Adam Gustavson

The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians (age 5+) by Carla Morris, illustrated by Brad Sneed

For Preschool

The Little Rabbit books (age 3+) by Harry Horse

I Will Not Read This Book (age 4+) by Cece Meng, illustrated by Joy Ang

A Christmas Goodnight (age 2+) by Nola Buck, illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright

And I learned about some young adult books to keep an eye out for in January 2012: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Teen Boat by Dave Roman & John Green, and Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine, and a July 2012 release, Insignia by S.J. Kincaid.