Holiday Book Guide 2014: Children & Y.A.
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These tales include futuristic visions, historical adventures, poetry and the latest 'Wimpy Kid' installment. See all our holiday books recommendations.
Young Adult
Bass Reeves
Tales of the Talented Tenth
Fulcrum, $25.95, ages 12+
This graphic novel tells the real story of the legendary Reeves, a former slave who became one of the first African American U.S. Deputy Marshals in the American West.
Glory O'Brien's History of the Future
Little, Brown, $18, ages 15+
A young woman just out of high school gains the power to see into the future, when the U.S. has turned into a misogynistic dictatorship.
The Young Elites
Putnam, $18.99, 13+
A teenage girl discovers she has supernatural powers after surviving a "blood fever" epidemic, attracting the interest of the despotic government and a band of rebels.
Egg & Spoon
Candlewick, $17.99, 12+
The "Wicked" author returns with a mythology-steeped tale of two Russian girls, one poor, one aristocratic, who switch places.
Jackaby
Algonquin, $16.95, 12+
The perceptive Abigail Rook teams with the quirky paranormal investigator R.F. Jackaby to try to find a serial killer in 19th-century New England.
100 Sideways Miles
Simon & Schuster, $17.99, 14+
In this coming-of-age novel, California teenager Finn Easton turns to his friends to try to find meaning in life after the death of his mother in a freak accident.
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces
Cinco Puntos, $17.95, 14+
Mexican American high school senior Gabi struggles with her weight, her drug-addicted father and her burgeoning sexuality in this debut from a Southern California writer.
Middle Grade
The Iron Trial
Scholastic, $17.99, ages 8-12
Young Callum Hunt is chosen to attend the Magisterium, a school for magicians, despite trying to fail the entrance exam, in the first of a planned five-book series.
Animalium
Big Picture/Candlewick, $35, ages 7-12
Part book, part virtual museum, this volume leads young readers through a tour of the animal kingdom, with more than 200 color illustrations.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Long Haul
Amulet/Abrams, $13.95, ages 8-12
The ninth installment in the immensely popular series follows Greg Heffley and family on a bizarrely eventful road trip.
House of Robots
Little, Brown, $13.99, ages 8-12
In this new series, Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez's brilliant mother insists he take his dorky "brother" E to school. One problem: E is a troublesome, talking robot.
Sisters
Graphix/Scholastic, $10.99, ages 8-12
Siblings Raina and Amara don't have much in common but come to terms with each other after their baby brother is born in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed graphic novel "Smile."
Brown Girl Dreaming
Nancy Paulsen/Penguin, $16.99, ages 9-12
In this National Book Award-winning title, Woodson writes about growing up in South Carolina and Brooklyn during the last days of Jim Crow in this memoir told through poetry.
Picture Books
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole
Candlewick, $16.99, ages 4-8
Two boys and a dog search for buried treasure but keep missing chances to find it. Observant readers will be in for a surprise at the end.
Once Upon an Alphabet
Short Stories for All the Letters
Philomel/Penguin, $26.99, ages 3-5
The award-winning children's author and illustrator creates offbeat, funny stories for each letter, from A ("An Astronaut") to Z ("Zeppelin").
Flora and the Penguin
Chronicle, $16.99, ages 3-5
Little Flora, last seen dancing with a flamingo, returns with a new buddy — a fish-loving penguin — in this wordless illustrated book.
Viva Frida
Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.99, ages 4-8
Frida Kahlo and her pet monkey discover a marionette in this bilingual book featuring a doll constructed by Morales and photographed by O'Meara.
The Mouse Mansion
Dial, $18.99, ages 5-8
Julia and Sam are mice who explore a huge house together in this tale illustrated by photographs of an actual cardboard/papier-mâché dollhouse constructed by Schaapman.
Little Humans
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99, ages 2-6
Inspired by his widely read "Humans of New York" photo blog, Stanton's latest book is a rhyming ode to urban kids (with plenty of photographs, of course).
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