PlanetEsme.com's
DON'T MISS LIST
2003
Dear Children's Booklover,
As I look over all of the titles reviewed on PlanetEsme.com over the past year, I see more than a collection of delightful reads; I see a year's worth of great education. Truly, what child wouldn't significantly benefit from being exposed to each and every title in this assortment? What a schooling! What incredible conversations about art, war, nature, work, culture, history, geography, friendship, tolerance, self-actualization, imagination and celebration can take place using these books as catalysts! What qualities of humor, empathy and critical thinking can be fostered in children of all ages, abilities and temperments! Listening to these creative voices bound in book form singing out to their young audiences, it is easy to see the potential to learn shining forth in spite of whatever gloom beaurocrats, politicians and curmudgeons might ascribe to future generations. Whether shared in the classroom or the home, I believe wholeheartedly that these books will elevate all who receive them.
This list is simplified in order to be printer-friendly. To find reviews, covers, age recommendations and additional links please visit the annotated lists at www.planetesme.com/dontmiss.html and www.planetesme.com/archiveindex.html.
Thank you so much to those who join in this endeavor to connect great children with great books. Happy reading always!
--Esmé Raji Codell, Site Director
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Picture Books
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: A Pop-Up Adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Original Tale by Robert Sabuda (Simon and Schuster)
Alligator Sue by Sharon Arms Doucet, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynn Sweat (Greenwillow)
The Animal Hedge by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Candlewick)
Are You Grumpy, Santa? by Greg and Evan Spiridellis (Hyperion)
Baby Radar by Naomi Shihab Nye, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Greenwillow)
Bagels from Benny by Aubrey Davis, illustrated by Dusan Petricic (Kids Can Press)
Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan (Atheneum)
Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Farrar Straus Giroux)
The Best Class Picture Ever by Denis Roche (Scholastic)
Bill in a China Shop by Katie Weaver, illustrated by Tim Raglin (Bloomsbury USA)
A Bunny for All Seasons by Janet Schulman, illustrated by Meilo So (Knopf)
Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Brundibar by Tony Kushner, illustrated by Maurice Sendak (Hyperion)
Buster by Denise Fleming (Henry Holt)
Cat and Mouse: A Delicious Tale by Jiwon Oh (HarperCollins)
Charming Opal by Holly Hobbie (Little, Brown)
Christmas for a Kitten by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Layne Johnson (Albert Whitman)
Clarabella's Teeth by An Vrombaut (Clarion)
Clorinda by Robert Kinerk, illustrated by Steven Kellogg (Simon and Schuster)
Coyote School News by Joan Sandin (Henry Holt)
Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg (Candlewick)
Curse in Reverse by Tom Coppinger, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer (Atheneum)
The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam)
Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, illustrated by Bruce Whatley (Clarion)
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Harry Bliss (HarperCollins)
Dirty Bertie by David Roberts (Abrams)
Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Adam Rex (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Don't Let a Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds (Candlewick)
Evie and Margie by Bernard Waber (Houghton Mifflin)
Fancy That! by Esther Hershenshorn, illustrated by Megan Lloyd (Holiday House)
Father Fox's Christmas Rhymes by Clyde and Wendy Watson (Farrar Straus Giroux)
First Day by Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke (Harcourt)
Flora's Surprise! by Debi Gliori (Orchard Books)
Frog Belly Rat Bone by Timothy Basil Ering (Candlewick)
Halibut Jackson by David Lucas (Knopf)
Hallelujah Handel by Douglas Cowling, illustrated by Jason Walker (Scholastic)
The Hard-Times Jar by Ethel Footman Smothers, illustrated by John Holyfield (Farrar Straus Giroux)
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon (Harcourt)
In English, of Course by Josephine Nobisso, illustrated by Dasha Ziborova (Gingerbread House)
Indescribably Arabella by Jane Gilbert (Atheneum)
It's a Miracle! : A Hanukkah Storybook by Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Atheneum)
Jackalope by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel (Harcourt)
The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison, illustrated by Joe Cepeda (Harcourt)
The Jupiter Stone by Paul Owen Lewis (Tricycle)
Just a Minute! A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales (Chronicle)
Just Enough and Not Too Much by Kaethe Zemach (Scholastic)
Karate Girl by Mary Leary (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Kitty Princess and the Newspaper Dress by Emma Carlow and Trevor Dickinson (Candlewick)
Little Brown Bear Won't Go to School! by Jane Dyer (Little, Brown)
Little Old Big Beard and Big Young Little Beard: A Short and Tall Tale by Remy Charlip, illustrated by Tamara Rettenmund (Cavendish)
Little Pierre: A Cajun Story from Louisiana by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by David Catrow (Harcourt)
Loony Little by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Kelly Murphy (Candlewick)
Magic Window series published by Running Press
Maisy's Rainbow Dream by Lucy Cousins (Candlewick)
Mary Had a Little Ham by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Guy Francis (Hyperion)
Mary Smith by A. U'Ren (Farrar Straus Giroux)
The Miracle of the First Poinsettia: A Mexican Christmas Story by Joanne Oppenheim (Barefoot Books)
Miss Hunnicutt's Hat by Jeff Brumbeau, illustrated by Gail de Marcken (Orchard Books)
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland (Dutton)
Moo Cow, Kaboom! by Thacher Hurd (HarperCollins)
My Hippie Grandmother by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Abby Carter (Candlewick)
My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvitz, illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (Farrar, Straus Giroux)
Names for Snow by Judi K. Beach, illustrated by Loretta Krupinski (Hyperion)
Night Cat by Margaret Beames, illustrated by Sue Hitchcock (Orchard)
The Nine Lives of Artistotle by Dick King-Smith (Candlewick)
Nothing's Nosier Than a Cat by Susan Campell Bartoletti, illustrated by Beppe Giacobbe (Hyperion)
Okie Dokie, Artichokie! by Grace Lin (Viking)
Olivia and the Missing Toy by Ian Falconer (Atheneum)
Otto: the Story of a Mirror by Ali Bahrampour (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle (Henry Holt)
Paper Princess Finds Her Way by Elisa Kleven (Dutton)
Pick, Pull, Snap! : Where Once a Flower Bloomed by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Lindsay Barret George (Greenwillow)
Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon (Scholastic)
Pumpkinhead by Eric Rohmann (Knopf)
Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed (Holiday House)
Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli (Candlewick)
Read Anything Good Lately? by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman, illustrated by Vicky Enright (Millbrook)
Ready, Set, Go! and Circus Surprise both by Sue Harris, illustrated by Ingela Peterson (Candlewick)
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee (Harcourt)
Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Jesse Reisch (Dutton)
The Skeleton in the Closet by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Curtis Jobling (HarperCollins)
Snow Ghosts by Leo Landry (Houghton Mifflin)
Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow)
The Sound of Day, The Sound of Night by Mary O'Neill, illustrated by Cynthia Jabar (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Souperchicken by Mary Jane and Herm Auch (Holiday House)
The Squeaky, Creaky Bed by Pat Thompson, illustrated by Niki Daly (Doubleday)
The Tale of Urso Brunov, Little Father of All Bears by Brian Jacques, illustrated by Alexi Natchev (Philomel)
The Thanksgiving Door by Debby Atwell (Houghton Mifflin)
Time to Pee! by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! by George Shannon, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (Greenwillow)
The Trouble with Normal by Cherise Mericle Harper (Houghton Mifflin)
The True-or-False Book of Dogs by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer (HarperCollins)
Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher (Knopf)
Unique Monique by Maria Rousaki, illustrated by Polina Papanikolaou (Kane/Miller)
The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-To-Be by Mini Grey (Knopf)
Wishes for You by Tobi Tobias, illustrated by Henri Sorensen (HarperCollins)
Why Do Kittens Purr? by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Henry Cole (Simon and Schuster)
The Witch's Children by Ursula Jones, illustrated by Russell Ayto (Henry Holt)
Zee by Michel Gay (Clarion)
Zoom! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko (Scholastic)
Fiction
Agnes Parker, Girl in Progress by Kathleen O'Dell (Dial)
Almost Forever by Maria Testa (Candlewick)
Amber Brown is Green with Envy by Paula Danziger (Putnam)
Bicycle Madness by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Beth Peck (Holt)
The Boy Who Spoke Dog by Clay Morgan (Dutton)
Capp Street Carnival by Sandra Dutton (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Catie and Josephine by Jonathan Scott Fuqua, illustrated by Steven Parke (Houghton Mifflin)
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (Random House)
Donuthead by Sue Stauffacher (Knopf)
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (Knopf)
Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O'Connor (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist: Lunch Walks Among Us by Jim Benton (Simon and Schuster)
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins)
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Half and Half by Lensey Namioka (Delacorte)
How Angel Peterson Got His Name And Other Outrageous Tales About Extreme Sports by Gary Paulsen (Random House)
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Scholastic)
Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo (Atheneum)
The Key Collection by Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Yangsook Choi (Holt)
The Last Burp of Mac McGerp by Pam Smallcomb (Bloomsbury USA)
Leon and the Spitting Image by Allen Kurzweil, illustrated by Bret Bertholf (Greenwillow)
Lily B. on the Brink of Cool by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (HarperCollins)
Made You Look by Diane Roberts (Delacorte)
The Meanest Doll in the World by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick (Hyperion)
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli (Knopf)
Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee (Scholastic)
Mind Games by Jeanne Marie Grunwell (Houghton Mifflin)
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng (HarperCollins)
The Mummy's Mother by Tony Johnston (Scholastic)
Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo by Greg Leitich Smith (Little Brown)
Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (Dutton)
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter, illustrated by Peter Reynolds (Philomel)
PredicKtions by John Halliday (McElderberry)
The River Between Us by Richard Peck (Dial)
Rodzina by Karen Cushman (Clarion)
Ruby Electric by Theresa Nelson (Atheneum)
Sandmare by Helen Cooper, illustrated by Ted Dewan (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Seeing Sugar by Cynthia L. Brinson (Viking)
Skinny-Dipping at Monster Lake by Bill Wallace (Simon and Schuster)
The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley (Who Planned to Live an Unusual Life) by Martine Murray (Scholastic)
Spitting Image by Shutta Crum (Clarion)
Swear to Howdy by Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf)
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy B. Ering (Candlewick)
The Tale of the Swamp Rat by Carter Crockett (Philomel)
To The Edge of the World by Michelle Torrey (Knopf)
Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child (Candlewick)
The Way a Door Closes by Hope Smith, illustrated by Shane Evans (Holt)
Non-Fiction
A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing Women by Lynne Cheney, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser (Simon and Schuster)
Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Simon and Schuster)
Abracadabra to Zombie by Don and Pam Wulffson, illustrated by Jared Lee (Dutton)
Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet by Ross MacDonald (Roaring Brook)
Aesop's Fables retold and illustrated by Brad Sneed (Dial)
Ah, Music! by Aliki (HarperCollins)
All Aboard! A True Train Story by Susan Kuklin (Orchard)
All the World's a Stage by Rebecca Piatt Davidson, illustrated by Anita Lobel (Greenwillow)
The Ancestors Are Singing by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Karen Barbour (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Ask Me by Antje Damm (Roaring Brook)
The Bachelor and the Bean by Shelley Fowles (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Beatrix by Jeanette Winter (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life by Candace Fleming (Atheneum)
The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts by Allan Wolf, illustrated by Greg Clarke (Candlewick)
Camp Granada: Sing-Along Camp Songs illustrated by Frané Lessac (Holt)
A Cow's Alflalfa-Bet by Woody Jackson (Houghton Mifflin)
Creation by Gerald McDermott (Dutton)
Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters That Changed History by Bryn Barnard (Crown)
The Daring Nelly Bly: America's Star Reporter by Bonnie Christensen (Knopf)
Days of Jubilee by Patricia C. and Frederick L. McKissack (Scholastic)
Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons by Wayne Anderson and Ernest Drake, illustrated by Helen Ward, Douglas Carrel et al (Candlewick)
Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up by Lisa Westberg Peters, illustrated by Cathy Felstead (Greenwillow)
Ellsworth's Extraordinary Electric Ears and Other Amazing Alphabet Anecdotes by Valorie Fisher (Atheneum)
The Essential Worldwide Monster Guide by Linda Ashman, illustrated by David Small (Simon and Schuster)
Eyes and Ears by Seymour Simon (HarperCollins)
Fight On! : Mary Church Terrell's Battle for Integration by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin (Clarion)
First to Fly: How Wilbur and Orville Wright Invented the Airplane
by Peter Busby, illustrated by David Craig (Crown)
Flick a Switch: How Electricity Gets To Your Home by Barbara Seuling, illustrated by Nancy Tobin (Holiday House)
Frogs Sing Songs by Yvonne Winer illustrated by Tony Oliver (Charlesbridge)
George Washington's Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora, illustrated by Brock Cole (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock (Scholastic)
Great Pets! An Extraordinary Guide to Usual and Unusual Family Pets by Sara Stein (Storey for Kids)
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Harcourt)
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning by Rosalyn Schanzer, illustrated by Ingrid Godon (HarperCollins)
How Sweet It Is (and Was): The History of Candy by Ruth Freeman Swain, illustrated by John O'Brien (Holiday House)
Ice Cream Cones for Sale! by Elaine Greenstein (Scholastic)
In Defense of Liberty: The Story of America's Bill of Rights by Russell Freedman (Holiday House)
Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor (Atheneum)
It's Back to School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around the World by Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis (Millbrook)
A Library for Juana: The World of Sor. Juana Inez by Pat Mora, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal (Knopf)
M is for Music by Kathleen Krull (Harcourt)
Mack Made Movies by Don Brown (Roaring Brook)
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook)
Mathematickles! by Betsy Franco, illustrated by Steven Salerno (Simon and Schuster)
Mathterpieces: The Art of Problem Solving by Greg Tang (Scholastic)
Moon, Have You Met My Mother?: The Collected Poems of Karla Kuskin by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier (HarperCollins)
Mother to Tigers by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Peter Catalanotto (Atheneum)
Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert, illustrated by Julie Paschkis (Holt)
My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers by Christine King Farris, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet (Simon and Schuster)
The Queen's Progress: An Elizabethan Alphabet by Celeste Davidson Mannis, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Viking)
Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town by Diane Siebert, illustrated by David Frampton (Clarion)
Roanoke: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple, illustrated by Roger Roth (Simon and Schuster)
Scholastic Book of Outstanding Americans by Sheila Keenan (Scholastic)
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet edited by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Jane Ray (Candlewick)
Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York 1880-1924 by Deborah Hopkinson (Orchard)
The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story by Neil Waldman (Millbrook)
Sparrow Jack by Mordicai Gerstein (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Stone Soup by John J. Muth (Scholastic)
Strange Mr. Satie by M.T. Anderson, illustrated by Petra Mathers (Viking)
Ten Little Mummies by Philip Yates, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Viking)
Theodore Roosevelt : Champion of the American Spirit by Betsy Harvey Kraft (Clarion)
There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me by Loreen Leedy and Pat Street (Holiday House)
Through the Tempests Dark and Wild: A Story of Mary Shelley by Sharon Darrow, illustrated by Angela Barrett (Candlewick)
Thumbelina adapted and illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Greenwillow)
Tippintown: A Guided Tour by Calef Brown (Houghton Mifflin)
Tooth and Claw: Animal Adventures in the Wild by Ted Lewin (HarperCollins)
Uncle Andy's: A Faabbbulous Visit with Andy Warhol by James Warhola (Putnam)
Victory or Death: Stories of the American Revolution by Doreen Rappaport and Joan Verniero, illustrated by Greg Call (HarperCollins)
We Are Americans: Voices of the Immigrant Experience by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (Scholastic)
The White House: An Illustrated History by Catherine O'Neill Grace (Scholastic)
Wild Birds by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by Susan Estelle Kwas (HarperCollins)
The Wright Sister: Katharine Wright and Her Famous Brothers by Richard Maurer (Roaring Brook)
Zoo Ology by Joelle Jolivet (Roaring Brook)
Chapman Awards for Best Classroom Read-Alouds
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