This is by category, and some of them overlap (like fantasy and historical fiction with MG and YA). But here are SOME of the titles I'm really psyched to read this year. And I'm 100% certain I've left some books I desperately want to read off of here because I'm still brain-addled from my time at ALA. Really.



Board Books:

Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins, out from Candlewick in February
My Animals by Xavier Deneux, out from Walker Books in May

Fantasy:

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, out in March from Arthur A. Levine Books
Dark Whispers by Bruce Coville, out in July from Scholastic
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, due out in September from HarperCollins
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, out in May from Houghton Mifflin. Because I loved Dairy Queen and The Off-Season, and I’m interested to see her write in another genre
Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy, out in May from HarperCollins
Spellbound by Anna Dale, out in July from Bloomsbury (because I so loved Whispering to Witches).
Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris, out in May from Harcourt

Graphic Novels:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, out in October from Classical Comics
Coraline by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by P. Craig Russell, out in June from HarperCollins
Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci, illustrated by Jim Rugg, out sometime this year (allegedly)
Kaput and Zösky by Lewis Trondheim, out in April from :01
Little Vampire by Joann Sfar, out in May from :01
Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria & Warren Pleece, out in May from :01

Historical Fiction:

The Floating Circus by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, out in August from Bloomsbury
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner, out in May from Penguin

Middle Grade Novels:

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park, out in March from Clarion
Mokie and Bik Go to Sea by Wendy Orr, illustrated by Jonathan Bean, out in August from Henry Holt & Co.
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall, out in April from Knopf

Novelty Book:

Fairies and Magical Creatures by Matthew Reinhart & Robert Sabuda, out in July from Candlewick.

Picture Book:

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Gris Grimly, out from HarperCollins in April
Frankenstein Takes the Cake: Which is Full of Stuff Like Rotting Heads and Giant Gorillas and Zombies Dressed Like Little Girls and Edgar Allen Poe. The Book, We Mean, Not the Cake. by Adam Rex
Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex, out from Putnam in August. I read this one at ALA Midwinter and laughed out loud at several points. The best part? Kids who know the original, Goodnight Moon will totally "get" the humor here.
Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Tavares, from Candlewick in May
Moonpowder by John Rocco, out in June from Hyperion. I loved last year’s Wolf! Wolf!, and I love this even more. Check out the book trailer at John’s site (amazing, as one would expect from a former Disney/Dreamworks animator).
Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jim Burke, out in June or early July from Philomel. I’ve got the f&g and it is spectacular - it tells two stories simultaneously. On the even (left) pages, it tells the tale of Gitl and her family who are coming to America to escape the pogroms; on the right (odd) pages, it tells the story of the creation of the Statue of Liberty.
On the Farm by David Elliott, illustrated by Holly Meade, out in March from Candlewick

Wave by Suzy Lee, out in April from Chronicle. If you read my ALA posts, you know that I adore this book, which is a wordless story rendered in simple drawings that are black and white and blue all over. Not to be missed.


Poetry:

America at War: Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
Black Stars in a White Night Sky by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Sherwin Taja, out in spring from Wordsong
Falling Down the Page, edited by Georgia Heard, out from Roaring Brook Press in March
The Monarch’s Progress: Poems with Wings by Avis Harley, out from Wordsong sometime this spring.

Young Adult:

Bringing the Boy Home by Nina Nelson, due out in July from HarperCollins
Girl, Hero by Carrie Jones, out in July from Flux
Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) by Carrie Jones, out March 1st from Flux (it’s Carrie’s birthday, too!)
The Squad: Killer Spirit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, out April 8th from Random House
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr, out in March from Little, Brown

There are more books, I'm certain, but I've gone on long enough.

Check out Colleen Mondor's list (and links to other lists)today at Chasing Ray.