Recommended for Kids

These recommendations appear in the Sunday edition
of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

• Sunday, January 29
  Ages 3 to 7 - Stars by Mary Lyn Ray.
  Explores the wonder of stars, whether they are in the night sky, on a plant as a promise of fruit to come, or in one's pocket for those days when one does not feel shiny.
  Ages 10 to 14 - The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis.
  With love and determination, twelve-year-old Deza Malone, her older brother Jimmie, and their parents endure tough times during the Great Depression.

• Sunday, January 22
  Ages 4 to 8 - Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman.
  This book of poetry explores the beauty and usefulness of spirals in plants, animals, the sea, and other elements of nature.
  Ages 10 and up - Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham.
  A top notch Boy Scout named Max doesn’t know how he came to be in a strange forest, but soon he and three talking animals are on the run from the Blue Cutters, hunters who will alter the foursome's essence if they can catch them.

• Sunday, January 15
  Ages 3 to 7 - I'm Here by Peter H. Reynolds.
  Alone on a crowded playground, a boy makes an airplane out of a piece of paper carried to him by a gentle breeze, sends it on its way, and watches a new friend bring it back to him.
  Ages 9 to 12 - The Other Felix by Keir Graff.
  Fourth-grader Felix, who is worried about the bully at school and his father losing his job, has terrifying dreams every night of a monster-filled forest where he meets the Other Felix, who looks just like him.

• Sunday, January 8
  Ages 4 to 8 - What Animals really Like by Fiona Robinson.
  When the National Animal Chorus gathers to perform the new song of Mr. Herbert Timberteeth, the performance doesn't go as planned due to certain expectations of what animals like to do.
  Ages 8 to 11 - Spunky tells All by Ann Cameron.
  Called a troublemaker by his human family, a reflective dog defends himself and relates the adoption of an aristocratic but incompetent cat who gives Spunky a new way of looking at his world.

• Sunday, January 1
  Ages 5 to 9 - Perfect Snow by Barbara Reid.
  The first snowfall of winter is perfect for building snowmen and forts during recess.
  Ages 9 to 14 - Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes.
  A series of poems describes all the baffling changes at home and at school in twelve-year-old Joylin's transition from tomboy basketball player to not-quite-girly girl.

• Sunday, December 25
  Ages 3 to 8 - One Starry Night by Lauren Thompson.
  Various animal mothers watch over their young on the special night when Jesus is born.
  Ages 5 to 10 - The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve.
  Virginia, whose father is the Episcopal priest in their village on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, desperately hopes she will receive a new coat for Christmas when the boxes of used clothing arrive from churches in the East.

• Sunday, December 18
  Ages 4 to 7 - Everything Goes: On Land by Brian Biggs.
  A young boy learns about land vehicles from bicycles to subways and trolleys as he and his father travel to the train station.
  Ages 8 to 12 - Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck.
  In 1887, the Cranstons travel from New York to London, secretly accompanied by a mouse named Helena and her siblings, for whom the journey is terrifying and wondrous when they meet an array of humans despite their best efforts at remaining hidden.

• Sunday, December 11
  All ages - Dot by Patricia Intriago.
  All kinds of dots demonstrate the unique characteristics of dots.
  Ages 6 and up - Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists.
  Presents fifty traditional nursery rhymes in comic book format, with illustrations by well-known cartoonists.

• Sunday, December 4
  Ages 4 to 6 - An Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner.
  When Adelaide annoys Bailey, their entire preschool class gets upset, one child after another, until Zelda zaps Adelaide and a round of apologies begins.
  Ages 10 and up - The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric.
  In 1899, eleven-year-old Teo goes to Venice, Italy, with her scientist parents and is drawn into a web of mysterious adventures involving mermaids, an ancient prophecy, and the possible destruction of the city itself.

• Sunday, November 27
  Ages 3 to 6 - Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker.
  At sunset, when their work is done for the day, a crane truck, a cement mixer, and other pieces of construction equipment make their way to their resting places and go to sleep.
  Ages 9 to 13 - With a Name like Love by Tess Hilmo.
  Thirteen-year-old Olivene Love gets tangled up in a murder mystery when her family moves to the small town of Binder, Arkansas in 1957.

• Sunday, November 20
  Ages 5 to 8 - At this Very Moment by Jim Arnosky.
  While readers go about their daily lives, animals in their natural habitat go about theirs.
  Ages 9 to 12 - Ten Rules for Living with my Sister by Ann M. Martin.
  Nine-year-old Pearl learns to get along with her thirteen-year-old sister, Lexie, when their grandfather moves in and the girls have to share a bedroom.

• Sunday, November 13
  Ages 3 to 6 - Betty Bunny loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan.
  From her first bite, young Betty Bunny likes chocolate cake so much that she claims she will marry it one day, and she has trouble learning to wait patiently until she can have her next taste.
  Ages 10 to 13 - Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.
  Twelve-year-old Elise finds eight keys to long-locked rooms and messages, left by her father who died when she was three, that help her learn about her family and face the challenges of middle school.

• Sunday, November 6
  Ages 4 to 8 - Ferret Fun by Karen Rostoker-Gruber.
  Two nervous pet ferrets named Fudge and Einstein try to convince a visiting cat that they are not mouth-watering rats.
  Ages 9 to 12 - The Cheshire Cheese Cat: a Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy.
  A community of mice and a cheese-loving cat form an unlikely alliance at London's Cheshire Cheese, an inn where Charles Dickens finds inspiration and Queen Victoria makes an unexpected appearance.

• Sunday, October 30
  Ages 4 to 8 - Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann.
  Although devastated when his pet dog dies, a young boy goes trick-or-treating and receives a timely visit from an old friend during a scary encounter with graveyard skeletons.
  Ages 9 to 12 - The Flint Heart by Katherine and John Paterson.
  A magical amulet brings power and despair to those who touch it.

• Sunday, October 23
  Ages 4 to 8 - Detective Blue by Steve Metzger.
  Little Boy Blue, now grown up and working as a detective, seeks help from his friends in other nursery rhymes to solve the mystery of the missing Miss Muffet.
  Ages 8 to 12 - Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu.
  When Hazel’s only friend, Jack, disappears after she pelts him with a snowball, she enters the Minnesota woods in search of him and encounters an enchanted world and a woman who resembles the Snow Queen.

• Sunday, October 16
  Ages 3 to 7 - Who has these Feet? by Laura Hulbert.
  Identify animal feet and the special features that help them survive in their unique environments.
  Ages 12 and up - Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth.*
  Fifteen-year-old Baxter Green, who remembers absolutely everything that has happened since he was three, moves with his mother to Wellington, Minnesota where he hopes to reconnect with Halle, a girl he has been thinking about since kindergarten.

• Sunday, October 9
  Ages 3 to 5 - Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey.
  Animals in a variety of fanciful vehicles, including a snail on a skateboard and rabbits in a carrot-car, race over a difficult course with a suspenseful and surprising outcome.
  Ages 9 to 12 - The Unforgotten Coat by Frank Cottrell Boyce.
  When two Mongolian brothers join her sixth grade class in a British school, Julie becomes their new friend and guide, navigating them through soccer, school uniforms, and British slang.

• Sunday, October 2
  Ages 2 to 4 - Mine! by Shutta Crum.
  Chaos ensues when a baby, a toddler, and a puppy are left alone with a pile of toys -- and the dog’s water dish is within reach.
  Ages 9 to 12 - Hound Dog True by Linda Urban.
  Mattie, a shy fifth-grader, wants to hide out at her new school by acting as apprentice to her Uncle Potluck, the custodian, but her plan falls apart when she summons the courage to speak about what matters most and finds a true friend.

• Sunday, September 25
  Ages 5 to 9 - Grandpa Green by Lane Smith.
  A child explores the ordinary life of his extraordinary great-grandfather, as expressed in his topiary garden.
  Ages 10 to14 - Wonderstruck: a novel in words and pictures by Brian Selznick.
  Twelve-year-old Ben, who lost his mother and his hearing, leaves his Minnesota home for New York City to seek the father he never knew and there meets Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life.

• Sunday, September 18
  Ages 4 to 9 - This Plus That: Life's Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
  Simple arithmetical equations show how big and small moments add up in life.
  Ages 9 to 13 - Wildwood by Colin Meloy.
  When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, Prue, age 12, ventures into a dangerous and magical forest called the Impassable Wilderness, and finds herself involved in the combat between the inhabitants of the forest.

• Sunday, September 11
  Ages 3 to 7 - The Queen of France by Tim Wadham.
  Rose, who wakes up one morning feeling royal, dons jewels and a crown and transforms into the Queen of France, complete with faithful subjects who are also known as Rose’s father and mother.
  Ages 10 to 12 - The Ogre of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson.
  When the Hag of Dribble, an orphan boy, and a troll called Ulf are sent to rescue a princess from an ogre, their magical mission turns out to be far from the routine one they expect.

• Sunday, September 4
  Ages 2 to 6 - Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray.
  A tantalizing apple pie proves to be an overwhelming temptation for a hungry dog in this story told using an alphabetical format.
  Ages 8 to 11 - The Clueless Girl's Guide to being a Genius by Janice Repka.
  When a thirteen-year-old, Harvard-educated mathematics genius returns home to teach remedial math to middle school students, she and her students get unexpected lessons.

• Sunday, August 28
  Ages 3 to 5 - The Loopy Coop Hens by Janet Morgan Stoeke.
  Chickens Pip, Midge, and Dot admire Rooster Sam and his ability to fly up to the barn roof, but when they spy on him to see how he does it, they get a big surprise.
  Ages 9 to 12 - The Girl behind the Glass by Jane Kelley.
  Moving to a rental house in the country strains the relationship between identical twins Hannah and Anna, especially when they discover the ghost of a girl who is trapped in the house because of problems with her own sister years before.

• Sunday, August 21
  Ages 2 to 5 - Leap Back Home to Me by Lauren Thompson.
  A little frog makes increasingly bold leaps out into the world, and then comes back to his mother after each excursion.
  Ages 9 to 12 - The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill.
  When Jack’s parents divorce, they send him to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his odd aunt and uncle, where he becomes the center of attention and is drawn into the mysterious disappearance of the children in the town.

• Sunday, August 14
  Ages 3 to 6 - Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley.
  After reading "Puss in Boots," an adventurous dog sets out to find the perfect pair of shoes to suit his every need.
  Ages 10 to 14 - The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean.
  When a diphtheria outbreak forces twelve-year-old Cissy to leave her hometown in the 1890s, she embarks on a wild adventure down the Missouri River with her teacher and a team of traveling actors.

• Sunday, August 7
  Ages 5 to 8 - Look! A Book! by Bob Staake.
  Easy-to-read, rhyming text invites the reader to search for items on a different theme on each page, while celebrating the wonder of a picture book.
  Ages 10 to 14 - The Wikkeling by Steven Arntson.
  When Henrietta and her pals have headaches with an unknown cause and experience other strange incidents, including the appearance of a threatening creature called the Wikkeling, they are hopeful that an ancient bestiary can help solve these mysteries.