Woe be the critic who doesn't include "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on their year-end best list. And, really, who wouldn't? The final volume on the magical teen caused a worldwide clamor at bookstores. Plus, J.K. Rowling actually penned an ending that made all the anticipation well worth it.
The thing is, amid all the Harry-mania, it almost feels like other worthy books may have been passed over. So, use our year-end best list to find, well, Harry and nine more of the year's top reads to put on your child's reading list. We've included selections for preschoolers, middle-graders, and teens and chosen the kind of books that beg to be read over and over.
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Best Series Ender:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Publisher: ScholasticBest for Ages 9 and Up
The final (sob...) entry in J.K. Rowling's series was more than a wholly satisfying ending to the seven-book adventure of The Boy Who Lived: It also marked the closure of a worldwide phenomenon that got kids and adults hooked on Hogwarts for more than 4,000 pages. Here's hoping 2008 is the year when bookworms find a worthy successor to the Harry Potter crown.
Purchase this book on Amazon.com.
Best Series Beginner:
"Skulduggery Pleasant" - By Derek Landy
Publisher: Harper CollinsBest for Ages 9 and Up
Author Derek Landy didn't exactly have "kid-friendly" beginnings: The creator of Skulduggery Pleasant started out penning gruesome horror films. Parents fear not: Skulduggery Pleasant, the bony-faced hero, is a really nice guy. The walking, talking skeleton rescues 12-year-old Stephanie, attacked while visiting her late Uncle Gordon's house. So begins a magical pairing: The first book in the new series crackles with wit and dialogue worthy of fast-talking detectives Nick and Nora.
Purchase this book on Amazon.com.
Best How-To Books:
"The Dangerous Book for Boys" by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden
"The Daring Book for Girls" by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz
Publisher: CollinsBest for Ages 8 and Up
Call these books politically incorrect but you can't beat them for pulling your kids away from their video games and iPods. The randomness of the tomes inspire curiosity and — for adults, anyway — nostalgia. With instructions for gender-appropriate (that's where the political incorrectness comes in) diversions like tying knots, playing paper football and go-karting for boys or note passing, weaving friendship bracelets and turning the perfect cartwheel for girls, kids will wile away their time in ways they didn't know existed.
Purchase "The Dangerous Book for Boys" on Amazon.com.
Purchase "The Daring Book for Girls" on Amazon.com.
Best Book That Feels Like a Movie:
"The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic PressBest for Ages 9 and Up
Don't call the drawings within Brian Selznick's adventure tale "illustrations." Selznick's art doesn't just reflect the story, it is as integral to the story as the words themselves. In the book, orphan, clock keeper, and thief Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station. As his world intertwines with an odd girl and a cranky old man who runs a toy store at the station, Hugo's secret — an automaton he's working to repair according to his late father's plans — is threatened. This thick tome is a fast read, thanks to Selznick's multimedia approach.
Purchase this book on Amazon.com.
Best New Entry from an Old Master:
"The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World" by E.L. Konigsburg
Publisher: Ginee Seo BooksBest for Ages 9 and Up
Konigsburg's name is associated with kid classics ("From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," anyone?) Her latest book is a tale of mystery, friendship, and loyalty, set in the world of Amedeo Kaplan, the new kid in his Florida town. Befriending William, a sophisticated 6th-grader, Amedeo sets out to fulfill his goal of making a big discovery amongst artifacts William's mother is hired to liquidate. Though Konigsburg touches on some serious themes, she does so in her usual style: kid-friendly but not condescending.
Purchase this book on Amazon.com.
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