THE BEST OF 2003 IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
An eclectic list of favourites by Mariella Bertelli and Mary Anne Cree

Picture Books
Anna the bookbinder. Andrea Cheng . Illustrated by Ted Rand. Walker. 0802788319
*Bagels from Benny. Aubrey Davis. Illustrated by Dusan Petricic. Kids Can Press. 1553374177
Beautiful Blackbird. Ashley Bryan. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 0689847319
Big Momma Makes the World. Phyllis Root. Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Candlewick Press. 0763611328 (alk. paper)
Brundibar. Retold by Tony Kushner. Pictures by Maurice Sendak. After the opera by Hans Krása and Adolf Hoffmeister. Michael di Capua Books/Hyperion Books for Children. 0786809043
*Fox on the Ice. Tomson Highway. Illustrated by Brian Deines. HarperCollins. 0002255324 (bound), 0006481361 (pbk) 
The Girl on the High-Diving Horse. Linda Oatman High. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. Philomel Books. 039923649X
*Good Night Sam. Marie Louise Gay. Groundwood Books. 088899530X
*Hidden Buffalo. Rudy Wiebe. Paintings by Michael Lonechild. Red Deer Press. 088995285X 
Last Night I Dreamed a Circus. Maya Gottfried. Illustrated by Robert Rahway Zakanitch. Alfred A. Knopf. 0375823883 (trade), 0375923888 (lib. bdg.)
The Magic Bed. John Burningham. Alfred A. Knopf. 0375824235 (trade); 037592423X (lib. bdg.)
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Mordicai Gerstein. Roaring Brook Press. 0761317910 (trade), 0761328688 (lib. bdg.)
*The Man Who Walked the Earth. Ian Wallace. Groundwood Books. 0888995458
Morning Glory Monday. Arlene Alda. Illustrated by Maryann Kovalski. Tundra Books. 088776620X
Mrs. Armitage, Queen of the Road. Quentin Blake. Jonathan Cape. 022406472X
*Ode to Newfoundland. Geoff Butler. Lyrics by Sir Cavendish Boyle. Tundra Books. 0887766315 (bound)
On Noah’s Ark. Jan Brett. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 0399240284
One and Seven. Gianni Rodari. Translated by David Anglin. Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna. Mariuccia Iaconi Books Inc. 0962872067 
*The Paint Box. Maxine Trottier. Illustrated by Stella East. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 15504718041; 15504718084 (pbk)
*Pippin the Christmas Pig. Jean Little. North Winds Press. 0779114205
The Shape Game. Anthony Browne. Doubleday. 0385301360
Silent Movie. Avi. Illustrated by C. B. Mordan. Atheneum. 0689841450
*Stanley’s Party. Linda Bailey. Illustrated by Bill Slavin. Kids Can Press, 1553373820.
*The Subway Mouse. Barbara Reid. Scholastic. 0439974682
The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig. Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Illustrated by Linda Wingerter.  Houghton Mifflin. 0618074368.
*Where’s Pup? Dayle Ann Dodds. Illustrated by Pierre Pratt. Tundra Books. 0887766226
*Wild Babies. Margriet Ruurs. Paintings by Andrew Kiss. Tundra Books. 0887766277
When Everybody Wore a Hat. William Steig. Joanna Cotler Books. 0060097019
The Wolves in the Walls. Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Dave McKean. HarperCollins. 038097827X  

Folklore and Mythology
*The Bear Says North: Tales from Northern Lands. Retold by Bob Barton. Illustrated by Jirina Marton. Groundwood Books. 0888995334
*Inanna: From the Myths of Ancient Sumer. Kim Echlin. Illustrated by Linda Wolfsgruber. Groundwood Books. 0888994966
The Magic Gourd. Baba Wagué Diakité. Scholastic Press. 0439439604
My Mother’s Daughter: Four Greek Goddesses Speak. Doris Orgel. Illustrated by Peter Malone. Roaring Brook Press. 0761328084; 0761316930 (lib. bdg.)
*The Painted Wall and Other Strange Tales: Selected and Adapted from the Liao-chai of Pu 
Sung-ling. Michael Bedard. Tundra Books. 0887766528
*Tales of Court and Castle. Joan Bodger. Illustrated by Mark Lang. Tundra Books. 0887766145
A Time to Love: Stories from the Old Testament. Walter Dean Myers. With artwork by Christopher Myers. Scholastic Press. 0439220009
 
Easy Readers
Elvis the Rooster Almost Goes to Heaven. Denys Cazet. HarperCollins. 0060005009, 0060005017 (lib. bdg.)
Nine Lives of Aristotle. Dick King Smith. Candlewick Press. 0763622605
The Whale. (The Lighthouse Family). Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Preston McDaniels. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 0689848811

Fiction
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. (A Pop-Up Adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Original Tale). Robert Sabuda. Simon & Schuster. 0689847432
*Ann and Seamus. Kevin Major. Groundwood. 08899561X
Arthur King of the Middle March. The Arthur Trilogy. Kevin Crossley Holland. Orion. 1842550608
*Brothers Far from Home: the World War I Diary of Eliza Bates (Dear Canada). Jean Little. Scholastic Canada. 043996900X
*Boy O’Boy. Brian Doyle. Groundwood. 0888995881
*Charlie Wilcox’s Great War. Sharon E. McKay. Penguin. 0143014714
Disappearing Act. Sid Fleischman. Greenwillow. 0060519622 (trade); 0060519030 (lib. bdg.)
The Dolphins of Laurentum. Caroline Lawrence. (The Roman Mysteries 5). Orion. 076132349X, 0761326065 (trade); 1842552236 (lib.bdg.)
*An Earthly Knight. Janet McNaughton. HarperCollins. 0006391885
Granny Torelli Makes Soup. Sharon Creech. HarperCollins. 0060292903. 
Milkweed. Jerry Spinelli. Alfred A. Knopf. 0375813748 (trade), 375913742 (lib. bdg.)
*Mud City. Deborah Ellis. Groundwood Books. 0888995423
Olive’s Ocean. Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow Books. 0060535431; 006053544X (lib. bdg.)
Rodzina. Karen Cushman. Clarion Books. 0618133518
*Run. Eric Walters. Viking. 0670044385 (trade); 0143312189 (pbk)
*The Several Lives of Orphan Jack. Sarah Ellis. Pictures by Bruno St-Aubin. Groundwood Books. 0888995296 (bound) 
Varjak Paw. S.F. Said. Illustrated by Dave McKean. David Fickling Books. 0385750196 (trade), 0385750307 (lib. bdg.) 
*Waiting for Sarah. Bruce McBay and James Heneghan. Orca. 1551432706

Poetry
Bow Wow Meow Meow. It’s Rhyming Cats and Dogs. Douglas Florian. Harcourt Books. 0152163956
*Cabbagehead. Loris Lesynski. Annick Press. 155037804X (pbk); 1550378058 (bound)
Corn Chowder. James Stevenson. Greenwillow Books. 0060530596 (trade), 006053060X (lib. bdg.)
*I Gave My Mom a Castle. Jean Little. Orca Book Publishers. 1551432536

Non-fiction
*The Amazing International Space Station. Rose Cowles. Kids Can Press. 1553375238
*Archers, Alchemists, and 98 Other Medieval Jobs You Might Have Loved Or Loathed. Priscilla Galloway. Art by Martha Newbigging. Annick Press. 1550378104 (pbk.); 1550378112 (bound) 
*Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World’s Boreal Forest. Jane Drake and Ann Love. Illustrations by Andrew Kiss. Tundra Books. 0887766080
*Dancing Elephants and Floating Continents: the Story of Canada Beneath Your Feet. John Wilson. Key Porter Books. 1552632008
Dragonology: the Complete Book of Dragons. Edited by Dugald A. Steer, B.A. (BRIST), A.S.D. Candlewick Press, 0-7636-2329-6
*Four Pictures by Emily Carr. Nicolas Debon. Groundwood Books 088995326
*Imagine You Are a Wizard! Annick Press. 1550377922 (pbk.), 1550377930 (bound) 
Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream. Robert Burleigh. Illustrated by Wendell Minor. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 0689830408
*The Kids’ Book of Black Canadian History. Rosemary Sadlier. Illustrated by Wang Qijun. Kids Can Press. 1550748920 (bound)
*The Martial Arts Book. Laura Scandiffio. Art by Nicolas Debon. Annick Press. 1550377760 (pbk.), 1550377779 (bound) 
Muhammad. Demi. Foreword by Laleh Bakhtiar. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 0689852649 (hardcover)
*Oscar: The Life and Music of Oscar Peterson. Riva Marin. Groundwood Books. 0-88899-537-7 (bound) 
*The Road to There: Mapmakers and Their Stories. Val Ross. Tundra Books, 0887766218
The Tree of Life. Peter Sis. Groundwood Books. 0888995644

Mariella Bertelli is a Children’s Librarian at the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, Toronto Public Library, and a partner in MaryContrary Associates. 
Mary Anne Cree is the Junior School Librarian at The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, and a partner in MaryContrary Associates. 

ONTARIO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SUPERCONFERENCE, JANUARY 29, 2004