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In the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year, we've put together a list of the best new kids' Christmas books that capture the holiday magic. We know you'll love our Christmas Books booklist!

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I’m putting the following books on my to-read list. I chose these particular books of the many the above authors have written because either these particular characters or the genres (fantasy, adventure, and historical fiction) are the most different from my own work.

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The colder months in the Northern Hemisphere are upon us and it's reflected in this list of best selling picture books. As per usual, we've shared our hand selected titles of the most popular picture books.

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Herve Tullet is a picture book hero! His best selling picture book Press Here (Chronicle Books, 2011) has been joined on the best selling picture book list by his incredibly fun Mix it Up!

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Our best selling picture book for the past month is Herve Tullet's completely awesome Press Here (Chronicle Books, 2011). As per usual, we've shared our hand selected list of the most popular picture books from the nationwide best selling picture books, as listed by The New York Times

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I've found that the best of these books spoke to my kids when they were pre-readers, but still continue to draw them back again and again, as they uncover more in the multilayered stories. So without further ado, here are the Fitzgerald family's Top 5 Wordless Books.

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Three of the books in The Children's Book Review's best selling picture books list for July fall under the category of American history. Each of the books are deliciously rich in visual cues.

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There's a fine art to turning a great life into something digestible for a child. The art lies in finding the essence, an almost haiku-like writing that condenses, getting only the most salient details on the page. Each of the following biographies rises to that fine art.

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Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Books. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from ALA Midwinter.

The Plot: Finn, seventeen, is a prisoner in Incarceron. A prison created generations ago, a prison that runs itself so needs no guards, a prison so large that no one knows all its secrets. Rumors and myths exist of one person, Sapphique, who escaped to Outside.

Claudia is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. The technology that created Incarceron is almost lost, because of the Protocol to create a Tudorish time period for the world to live in and freeze time at that moment. She is to marry the heir to the kingdom, but finds that the politics and machinations of her world includes lost heirs and conspiracies she doesn't fully understand.

Finn finds a Key. Claudia finds a Key. He wants a way Outside; and she is looking for answers in Incarceron.

The Good: Catherine Fisher does not disappoint!

The dual stories of Finn and Claudia twin each other; both prisoners, Finn literally, and Claudia a prison to her familial expectations. Both have pasts they don't quite understand. Finn is "cell born," with no true memories of his life before three years past when he awoke in a cell. Claudia is the Warden's daughter, with a mother never mentioned; she has been groomed to wed the Prince, the heir to the kingdom.

And Incarceron -- a prison unlike any other. Prisoners, descendants of those who first were condemned to Incarceron, live knowing Incarceron is always watching; it needs no guards. Sometimes the inmates are left to their fights and schemes and battles, other times it interferes to keep some type of order. Imagine dumping criminals into a prison and locking the door? Yes, it turns out about as well as you would imagine. Interestingly enough, Incarceron was created to be a paradise, to contain those the world did not want but not to punish. Whether it's peoples natures that cannot be changed, or that Incarceron operates outside its initial programming, the fact remains -- Incarceron is a hell of survival and brutality.

The Outside world is "frozen" in time, under the belief that somehow, by stopping progress, by removing fear of future, all will be well. While Fisher names no specific time, the descriptions seem to be that of the Tudor world, including the politics and double dealing of the Tudor court. One wonders if the person who selected that time only looked at paintings of castles and lush outfits and ignored the history of double-dealings, betrayals, and constant struggle for power.

Because there are two narratives, two stories, there is a fairly large cast of characters. Each one is fully drawn; very real; and I have to say, while Finn and Claudia are the main charactes, the two I really love are Finn's oathbrother, Keiro, and another of his companions, Attia. Keiro is charming and brutal, yet dedicated and loyal to Finn. Oh, I'll just admit it.... Keiro is the ultimate bad boy! And while Finn asserts some bad boy

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The blurb:
Danny Dragonbreath knew girls were trouble. But the new foreign exchange student, Suki the Salamander, is beyond trouble. Not only has she reduced his best friend, Wendell, to a blithering, lovesick tadpole, but she’s apparently the object of an elaborate ninja frog kidnapping plot. Danny is never one to pass up an adventure (especially one involving ninja frogs), and so he and Wendell and Suki set out on a dangerous quest through the mythical Japanese bamboo forests to find out what these fearsome frogs want. Danny may not be able to breathe fire like a normal dragon, but he and Wendell have watched lots of kung fu movies and can totally take on a bunch of ninja frogs. Or, um, so he hopes . . .

Using her trademark hybrid style of comic-book panels and text, Ursula Vernon has packed this second book in the hilarious Dragonbreath series with lots of kung fu, a little bit of loooove, and plenty of everyday school drama.

Review:

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs is a funny, action-packed book for young readers. Three middle school friends find themselves roped into an unexpected undertaking in Ancient Japan with ninjas, dragons, unicorns, and other magical creatures. While our lead character, Dragonbreath, is a dragon, he is equally a bored middle schooler who dreams of ninjas, martial arts and battling danger.

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs is a witty adventure book sure to appeal to young readers.

ISBN-10: 0803733658 - $12.99Publisher: Dial; Ill edition (February 4, 2010), 208 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of Amazon:
Ursula Vernon is the author and illustrator of "Nurk," "Digger," "Dragonbreath" and a number of other projects. The daughter of an artist, she spent her youth attempting to rebel and become a scientist, but eventually succumbed to the siren song of paint (although not before getting a degree in anthropology, because life isn't complete without student loans, right?). Her work has been nominated for an Eisner award, "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" and a number of Webcomics Choice Awards.

Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, went to college at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.

Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist, writer, and creator of oddities. She lives with her boyfriend, his beagle, a small collection of cats, and a large collection of Indonesian masks, all of which mostly contrive to keep her out of trouble. Thank you to Ursula Vernon and Penguin Group for this review opportunity!

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copyright © 2009 Stéphane Jorisch

April Halprin Wayland is part of the amazing community of children’s writers in Southern California. I was delighted to discover April had written a book about Tashlich, a wonderful ritual that occurs during Rosh Hashana. According to Jewish tradition, the community journeys together to a body of water and cast bead crumbs that represent regretful deeds committed during the year. Before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, apologies must be made to those we have hurt. NEW YEAR AT THE PIER is a thoughtful, tender story that beautifully represents Tashlich. The book received a starred review in Publishers Weekly.

April Halprin Wayland is a farmer turned folk musician turned author. Her novel in poems, picture books, and poetry have garnered numerous awards including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor Award for Children’s Poetry, the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry, and MommyCare's Book of the Year. Her work has been called “dazzling”, “honest, heartfelt, poignant”, and “utterly fresh and winning”. She’s been an instructor in UCLA Extension’s Writers Program for over a decade and teaches workshops in schools all over the world. She lives near the beach in Southern California where she tosses bread off a pier each New Year.

I’m excited to welcome April and learn about the creation of NEW YEAR AT THE PIER.

NEW YEAR AT THE PIER is clearly inspired by your own celebration of Tashlich. Did you have an "aha" moment when you had the idea of turning the experience into a book?

One of my editors asked me if I had any Jewish stories in me. When I thought about what Jewish story I wanted to tell, Tashlich popped up because it’s my favorite Jewish celebration. I’ve dragged many friends to the pier so they could taste the poetry of this ritual. I wanted them to feel the wind, hear the gulls, experience the relief of tossing each piece of bread. How could I not share this in a picture book?

Was it a challenge to find a home for a book about a lesser known Jewish holiday?

Yes and no. The editor who originally coaxed me to write it rejected the manuscript. *Sigh*…all in the life of an author! But when I called my other editor and asked if she’d be interested, she just happened to have come out of a meeting in which they asked the editors to look for Jewish-themed picture books. It was amazing synchronicity—or luck. Or the universe really wanted this book out! I like the saying, “Coincidence is a long way of spelling God.”

What was your response when you first saw the illustrations?

From the first time I saw the cover, I was smitten. It didn’t surprise me to learn that Stéphane grew up on the water. I can feel the roll of the waves in his pictures—they’re that real. I also love the fact that some of his Jewish characters appear to be Asian. I haven’t asked him if this was intentional, but it’s a true snapshot of many congregations today.

The best thing about his illustrations is the amount of emotion with which he imbues each character. I fell in love with him for his illustrations of Pat Brisson’s I REMEMBER MISS PERRY, the story of a beloved elementary school teacher who dies mid-year. His ability to show the full range of emotions in this book is stunning.

I didn’t know that Stéphane had received the highest award for a children’s illustrator in Canada (Governor General's Literary Award winner)—four times. He also received the 2008 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for the most distinguished French-language book of the year, which includes one of the largest cash prizes for children's literature. Heavens - my book has been illustrated by royalty!

Stéphane’s a very nice guy.

What did you learn from writing NEW YEAR AT THE PEIR?

How much an illustrator can add to the emotional heft of a story.
How to sincerely apologize without expecting anything in return.
More about Tashlich…and my own spirituality.
How exciting it is to be swimming in this stream of Jewish books. It makes me want to write more!
One more thing I’ve learned:About Mazon http://www.mazon.org/ , the Jewish response to hunger, to which I’m donating a portion of the profits of this book. What a wonderful organization!

Will you be at the pier this year?

You betcha.

What are some fun facts about you?

1) We have a cat named Snot.
2) Although writing is my solace and gives me a natural high, sometimes writing terrifies me. Can anyone relate to this?
3) When I was six-years-old I learned to drive. I was so small you couldn’t see me, so it looked as if the truck was bumping down the farm road by itself.
4) One day I’m going to build a trout stream in our backyard.
5) I admire: my husband, people who take a stand, people who tell jokes well, Christopher Reeve, folk singers, songwriters, my friend “singer—songfighter” Ross Altman http://www.rossaltman.net/, anyone who can plot a story, world peacemakers, local troublemakers, and people whose hair always looks nice (can someone please teach me how?)
6) All of my favorite people are generous—they truly work to repair the world. They are also kind. And funny.
7) My best friend (besides my husband) is author Bruce Balan http://www.brucebalan.com/ who lives on a boat, sailing around the world.
8) When life really gets you down, get a kitten. Works every time. See # 1, above.

April, thank you for sharing your thought so generously. NEW YEAR AT THE PIER is destined to be a classic in Jewish communities everywhere! To learn more about April and her books, please visit http://www.aprilwayland.com/

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