Librarians' Choices 2011: A guide for selecting and sharing the best books of the year for children and young adults

The Librarians’ Choices project was developed by Dr. Sylvia Vardell and involves volunteer teachers, librarians, and library professionals in the Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas) area . They spend the calendar year reading and discussing hundreds of new books for children and young adults provided by major publishers. Participants determine which titles are most outstanding based on literary quality, appeal to children and young adults, the typical needs of a school or community library, and a comparative study of other professional review sources. In the end, they focus on developing a list of 100 titles, with approximately half of the list being designated for picture books or books for children and half of the list designated for novels or works for young adults. Poetry and nonfiction titles are also incorporated as appropriate and reviewers actively seek out works with multicultural content. This guidebook features reviews of each of these 100 titles selected in 2011 including a complete bibliography with a description and analysis of each book, as well as connections for sharing the book with child/teen audiences, and recommendations for related books to combine or compare with the featured title. It's an excellent resource for selecting and sharing the best and most appealing books of the year with children and teens.