The best kids' books of the year

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Each year, the kids and I spend December winnowing our list. Not the one for Santa; the one that has book titles on it. Figuring out which books were our favorites of the year is hard work.

This year, we found an abundance of gems both in the tweens-and-teens novel category and in nonfiction for young readers. Curiously, even most of the picture books we liked the best were fact-based biographies.

For those lucky young readers who suddenly find themselves with a shiny new bookstore gift card, here are some suggestions for what to read next: The Miami Herald's Best Kids' Books of the Year.

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NONFICTION

_ "Owney the Mail-pouch Pooch," by Mona Kerby, illustrated by Lynne Barasch (ages 4 to 8). Kerby restores to fame the canine hero of the title, a real dog who traveled the rails guarding the mail at the end of the 19th Century. Barasch's watercolors bring this historical dog to endearing life.

_ "Knucklehead," by Jon Scieszka (ages 7-12). The author of many wacky and beloved picture books reveals the source of his kooky ideas: his Michigan childhood as the second of six boys. Destined to be the No. 1 choice of elementary school kids assigned to read an autobiography.

_ "Lincoln Shot," by Barry Denenberg, illustrated by Christopher Bing (ages 8 and up). As big as a broadsheet and designed as a newspaper account of Lincoln's life and death, the book is the antidote to complaints that history is dull. The weathered-looking pages contain pen-and-ink scenes from Lincoln's life, period advertisements, and a few jaw-dropping actual photos _ casualties on the Gettysburg battlefield, and the bodies of John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators, hanging from the gallows.

_ "A River of Words," by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (ages 7-up). This visually stunning biography explores the life of William Carlos Williams, explaining how he worked his passion for poetry into his busy life as a small-town doctor. Just beautiful.

_ "The Trouble Begins at 8," by Sid Fleischman (ages 10 and up). Any kid struggling to understand why Huckleberry Finn is still a staple of high school reading lists 125 years after its publication would benefit from this biography of Mark Twain, the writer who "changed literature forever." Blending information with colorful detail, the Newbery winner Fleischman crafts a spirited portrait which will help kids understand and appreciate Twain's elevated place in American letters.

_ "We Are the Ship," by Kadir Nelson (ages 8 and up). A glorious tribute to the Negro League, written in the folksy vernacular of a fictional player. The artwork could hang on museum walls.

_ "What To Do About Alice?" by Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham (ages 5-10). With Malia and Sasha Obama about to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., this picture book biography about Teddy Roosevelt's wild child is as timely as it is lively.

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NOVELS

_ "Airman," by Eoin Colfer (ages 10 and up) A tiny island kingdom off the Irish coast is the setting for this epic action-adventure story starring Conor Broekhart, whose very life depends on learning to fly. An homage to both the 19th Century science fiction of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, and the superheroes of Marvel and DC comics, this is Colfer's best book yet.

_ "Bog Child," by Siobhan Dowd (ages 12 and up). In 1981, 18-year-old Fergus McCann crosses the border from his Northern Ireland home to the Irish republic to steal peat with his uncle _ and uncovers a small body instead. Is this a child victim of Ireland's troubles? Or are Ireland's troubles as ancient as the bog itself? This powerful story mixes history and magic realism to illustrate the impact of political conflict on innocent," bystanders.

_ "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks," by E. Lockhart (ages 12 and up). High school sophomore Frankie challenges paternalism," by secretly infiltrating her boarding school's all-male society. Sophisticated hijinx ensue but the best part of this is watching intelligent Frankie think her way through the questions she has about power and position.

_ "Graceling," by Kristin Cashore (ages 12 and up). This riveting fantasy is a coming-of-age story about Kasta, who lives in a kingdom where people born with different colored eyes have been "graced" with special talents. Kasta's grace is for killing _ making her a useful tool for her despotic king _ or is it? Kasta must find a way to put her talents to good use. A delicious romance with the silver-and-gold-eyed Po adds to this incredibly well-done first novel.

_ "The Graveyard Book," by Neil Gaiman (ages 9-12). While the rest of his family is being murdered, a toddler climbs out of his crib, walks out his open front door, and arrives in a hilltop graveyard, populated," by several hundred ghosts. Sounds grisly? This was my sixth-grader's favorite novel of the year. With his family's killer still hunting for Bod (short for the name the ghosts give him _ Nobody), it turns out it takes a graveyard to raise a child.

_ "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins (ages 12-up). Inspired," by the Greek myth about Theseus, and," by the author's reality TV viewing, this chilling dystopian fantasy imagines a future America whose totalitarian government keeps its people in line with an event called The Reaping. Twenty-four teenagers are chosen to fight each other in a televised survival game. Only one will live. The suspense is almost unbearable and then Collins' ratchets it up a notch: What happens if two of the contestants fall in love?

They are waiting for you. Will you answer?

_ "The Possibilities of Sainthood," by Donna Freitas (ages 11 and up). This romantic comedy stars Antonia Lucia Labella, Catholic schoolgirl and daughter of Italian immigrants. Her quest has two, not mutually exclusive, goals: She wants a kiss from heartthrob Andrew Rotellini, and she's been writing the Vatican for six years, petitioning to become the first living patron saint. Hilarious and sweet.

_ "Six Innings," by James Preller (ages 8-12). The group portrait of the members of a Little League baseball team takes place over the six innings of a championship game. Perceptive and funny, sketches introduce us to the players while the nail-biting action keeps the pages turning. Kids will be nodding in agreement at the truths laid bare.

_ "What I Saw and How I Lied," by Judy Blundell (ages 12 and up). This incredibly well-crafted story is set in 1940s Florida and delightful blends mystery, history and a girl's first crush in a compelling story about family secrets. Winner of the 2008 National Book Award.

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PICTURE BOOKS

_ "A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever," by Marla Frazee (ages 3-7). Sure they do. Even though it isn't the week Grandma and Grandpa had planned for Eamon and James. The words tell one story; Frazee's sublime illustrations contradict them on every page.

_ "How to Heal a Broken Wing," by Bob Graham (ages 4 to 8). In a busy city, a young boy notices the bird lying hurt on the ground and nurses it back to flight. A beautiful book with a gentle heart and a very kid-empowering message.

_ "Sergio Makes a Splash!," by Edel Rodriguez (ages 3-6). A witty parable about a penguin afraid to take the plunge, Sergio's story is rendered in just three colors _ a 1950s turquoise, tangerine and a deep midnight blue, giving it a retro feel and sharp graphic appeal. The author/illustrator is a homegrown talent: a 1990 graduate of Hialeah-Miami Lakes High.

_ "Swing!," by Rufus Butler Seder (ages 3 and up). This follow-up to last year's Gallop! uses "scanimation" technology to make the illustrations move _ mimicking the effect of a kinetoscope. As concept books go (there's no story here) this is more than just original _ it is impossibly cool. Readers watch kids hit a baseball, spin on ice skates, and pedal their bicycles as they turn the pages.

_ "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes," by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury (ages 0-up). A heartfelt paean to the beauty of all kinds of babies by the Australian writer Mem Fox, with illustrations by the legendary Helen Oxenbury. Can you say "classic?"

Enjoy Daily Readings? Pay it Forward

This could easily become the book your kids give their own kids.

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© 2008, The Miami Herald.