Gift books for kids: If you're browsing, here are interesting ideas for all ages

By Kari Wergeland
Special to The Seattle Times

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Picture books

"Creation," by Gerald McDermott (Dutton, $16.99, ages 3-7). This is a beautifully illustrated rendition of a creation story — a generic one — put together by a seasoned veteran.

"The Day the Babies Crawled Away," by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam, $16.99, ages 3-7). An amusing yarn about a group of babies who slip away unnoticed and find themselves in the midst of all sorts of adventures. Rathmann's illustrations may just land her another Caldecott Award.

"George Washington's Teeth," by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora, illustrated by Brock Cole (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16, ages 3-7). This is a funny — and true — story about the dental history of George Washington. Apparently, he lost every single one of his teeth over time and ended up having to wear dentures.

"How I Became a Pirate," by Melinda Long and David Shannon (Harcourt, $16, ages 3-7). A delightfully illustrated tale about a boy who meets a pack of pirates on the beach and decides to go along with them for a little adventure — as long as he's back in time for soccer.

"One Child, One Seed: a South African Counting Book," by Kathryn Cave, photographs by Gisèle Wulfsohn (Henry Holt, $16.95, ages 3-7). This counting book offers readers a bird's eye view of everyday life in South Africa.

"Serious Farm," by Tim Egan (Houghton Mifflin, $15, ages 3-7). Farmer Fred and his animals live on a pretty serious farm. In fact, it's too serious. That's why all the animals decide to lighten things up a bit.

"On Noah's Ark," by Jan Brett (Putnam's, $16.99, ages 4-8). Noah's granddaughter gets the lead role in this picture-book version of the biblical story, told from a fresh angle. As they all load up, she helps the animals settle in for a long retreat on the ark.

"The Wolves in the Walls," by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by I. Dave McKean (HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 5-8). A spooky story about a girl named Lucy who discovers wolves in the walls (nobody believes her). She and her family go about their business as usual, until the wolves decide to come out...

"Brundibar," by Maurice Sendak and Tony Kushner (Hyperion, $19.95, ages 5-9). Based on a Czech opera, this lively yarn focuses on a brother and a sister as they attempt to save their sick mother by earning money for milk. They try singing on the street — but Brundibar, a tyrannical musician, chases them away. (Though "Brundibar" has an upbeat ending, this story has a sad background — the opera's composer died in a Nazi concentration camp, where the opera was performed numerous times by the camp's children.)

"Harvesting Hope: the Story of Cesar Chavez," by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Harcourt, $17, ages 5-9). A beautifully illustrated picture-book biography of Cesar Chavez, a champion for America's field workers.

"Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer," by Robert Byrd (Dutton, $17.99, ages 6-10). This is a fascinating look at Leonardo da Vinci and all of his wonderful creations.

"The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin," by Peter Sís (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18, ages 6-10). Sís hits home with another wonderful picture-book biography — with lots of visual details that should fascinate kids.

Older children

"My Grandmother's Stories: a Collection of Jewish Folk Tales," by Adèle Geras, illustrated by Anita Lobel (Knopf, $19.95, ages 6-12). A lively collection of folktales.

"The Canning Season," by Polly Horvath (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16, ages 8-12). This recent winner of the National Book Award is about 13-year-old Ratchet, who spends the summer in Maine with her colorful twin aunts.

"The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread," by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick, $17.99, ages 8-12). Despereaux, a tiny mouse, falls in love with the princess (a human one), and then spearheads a quest to save her. DiCamillo has a wonderful tongue-in-cheek style.

"Granny Torrelli Makes Soup," by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins, $15.99, ages 8-12). Twelve-year-old Rosie goes through growing pains as she learns to deepen her friendship with her best friend, Bailey, who happens to be blind. Fortunately, Granny Torrelli is always ready to listen.

"Lionboy," by Zizou Corder (Dial, $15.99, ages 8-12). Reminiscent of work by Philip Pullman, this first installment of a trilogy-to-be introduces young Charlie Ashanti, who has the ability to speak to cats. One day he comes home from school and discovers his parents have been kidnapped. Thus his adventure begins.

"Olive's Ocean," by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, $15.99, ages 8-12). In this lyrically written story, 12-year-old Martha faces death for the first time after she learns one of her classmates, Olive, was hit by a car and killed. Olive wasn't really a friend, but Martha can't stop thinking about her — even after she and her family hole up at the beach for some R&R.

"The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book One: The Amulet of Samarkand," by Jonathan Stroud (Hyperion, $17.95, ages 8-up). Here's one for Harry Potter fans. It's another British fantasy — this one about an 11-year-old magician named Nathaniel — and it's already garnering rave reviews.

Young adults

"Aleutian Sparrow," by Karen Hesse (McElderry, $16.95, ages 10-14). Written in verse, this is the story of how Vera and many other Aleuts were forcefully removed from their homes after the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands during World War II.

"King of the Mild Frontier: an Ill-Advised Autobiography," by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow, $16.99, ages 11-up). A humorous look at the well-known Spokane author.

"The Tears of the Salamander," by Peter Dickinson (Wendy Lamb Books, $16.95, ages 11-up). An inventive fantasy about a young Italian choir boy, who is swept off to Mount Etna by a strange uncle after his parents are killed in a fire.

"The Afterlife," by Gary Soto (Harcourt, $16, ages 12-up). After he is violently murdered, Chuy experiences what it's like to be a ghost — learning much about the world along the way.

"Freaky Green Eyes," by Joyce Carol Oates (HarperTempest, $16.99, ages 12-up). Fourteen-year-old Franky is deeply affected by the state of her parents' marriage. Her mother begins pulling away, and her father becomes scarily possessive of the whole family. Then Franky's mother disappears, and she has some soul searching to do. Set in Seattle.

"Twists and Turns," by Janet McDonald (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16, ages 14-up). Two sisters who live in a New York housing project are finished with high school. Yet they don't know what to do with themselves. Then, with the help of a savvy librarian, the two decide to open a hair-braiding business. Written by a former "project girl."

Local authors/artists

"Wild Colors," by Andrea Helman, photography by Gavriel Jecan (Sasquatch, $15.95, ages 3-6). A crisp display of photos in off-beat arrangements, meant to show off the colors in nature. Each creature (or plant) comes with a brief description. Very nice!

"Busy Doggies," by John Schindel and Beverly Sparks (Tricycle, $6.95, ages birth-3). A simple board book featuring the photographs of a number of active mutts.

"Ella Sarah Gets Dressed," by Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Harcourt, $16, ages 3-7). Everyone in the family has a suggestion about what little Ella should wear, but she has her own ideas — and they are colorful.

"One Wheel Wobbles: a Homespun Counting Book," by Carole Lexa Schaefer, illustrated by Pierr Morgan (Candlewick, $15.99, ages 3-7). A fun counting book by a pair of women who are frequent collaborators.

"Tippy-Toe Chick, Go!" by George Shannon, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (Greenwillow, $15.99, ages 3-7). A hen and three chicks want to get past a ferocious dog so they can get a bite to eat. Yet only the littlest chick finds a solution to get him out of the way.

"An Ant's Day Off," by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Nina Laden (Simon & Schuster, $15.95, ages 4-8). It's unheard of for an ant to leave the anthill just for fun — but that's exactly what Bart decides to do.

"The Giant Cabbage: an Alaska Folktale," by Chérie B. Stihler, illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell (Sasquatch Books, $9.95, ages 3-8). Moose wants to show off his giant cabbage at the fair. But it's so big, he can't make it budge, without a lot of help from his friends.

"Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile," by Won-Ldy Paye & Margaret H. Lippert, illustrated by Julie Paschkis (Holt, $16.95, ages 3-8). A crocodile catches Mrs. Chicken and makes plans to have a tasty dinner. Fortunately, Mrs. Chicken is one tricky bird.

"The Jupiter Stone," by Paul Owen Lewis (Tricycle, $15.95, ages 6-8). This yarn follows the path of a meteorite, which falls to Earth and eventually finds its way back into outer space.

"Muhammad," by Demi (McElderry Books, $19.95, ages 7-10). Demi has created a compassionate portrait of Muhammad, one that will help children understand the roots of Islam.

"Escaping the Giant Wave," by Peg Kehret (Simon & Schuster, $15.95, ages 8-12). Kehret loves to write about disasters, and this one focuses on a tsunami that hits the Oregon coast. Fortunately, 13-year-old Kyle has a head on his shoulders.

"Half and Half," by Lensey Namioka (Delacorte, $15.95, ages 8-12). It's a bit confusing being half-Scottish, half-Chinese, but Fiona Cheng works hard to honor both sides of her heritage.

"Rebel," by Willo Davis Roberts (Atheneum, $15.95, ages 8-12). When 14-year-old Rebel stumbles onto a mystery, she decides to do her own sleuthing, with the help of her friend Moses.

"White Midnight," by Dia Calhoun (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18, ages 12-up). A mystical yarn about a 15-year-old servant girl who must eventually face the "Thing" in the attic.

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