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Best Children's Books of 2012 (page 4)

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Cover art for STEP GENTLY OUT
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 13, 2012
Kirkus Star STEP GENTLY OUT
by Helen Frost, photographed by Rick Lieder
"A dazzlingly poetic photo album of the insect world for tots on up. (Picture book. 2 & up)"
Breathtaking photos and an exquisite poem capture a bug's-eye view of nature. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE WILD BOOK
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Star THE WILD BOOK
by Margarita Engle
"A beautiful tale of perseverance. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)"
A young girl tackles a learning disability and the uncertainty of daily life in early-20th-century Cuba. Read full book review >
Cover art for SADIE AND RATZ
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Star SADIE AND RATZ
by Sonya Hartnett, illustrated by Ann James
"A real slice of family life, the sweet with the bitter. (Fiction. 5-8)"
Sadie and Ratz, Hannah's menacing hands, help her to handle her sibling rivalry in this piercingly intelligent foray into chapter books by much-awarded teen author Hartnett. Read full book review >
Cover art for GREEN
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Star GREEN
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
"In all, lovely, inventive, engrossing and interactive. (Picture book. 2-6)"
In lush paintings outfitted with cleverly positioned die cuts, Seeger's latest explores the color green. Read full book review >
Cover art for CHUCK CLOSE: FACE BOOK
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2012
Kirkus Star CHUCK CLOSE: FACE BOOK
by Chuck Close
"Art lovers of all ages will revel in this vivid, wonderfully affecting book, which is almost as ingenious and memorable as Close himself. (timeline, glossary, list of resources and illustration credits) (Nonfiction. 8-12)"
A magnificent interactive "face book" portrait of the artist. Read full book review >
Cover art for IT JES' HAPPENED
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2012
Kirkus Star IT JES' HAPPENED: WHEN BILL TRAYLOR STARTED TO DRAW
by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
"An important picture-book biography that lovingly introduces this "outsider" artist to a new generation. (source notes, afterword) (Picture book/biography. 6-11)"
Tate and Christie capture the spirit behind the work of Bill Traylor, "one of the most important self-taught American folk artists of the twentieth century." Read full book review >