Best Books of the MonthI'm NotSnow Rabbit, Spring RabbitThe Secret RiverMy Farm FriendsYoung FredleJust Grace and the Terrible TutuEliza's Freedom RoadWheels of ChangeAcross the UniverseSapphiqueRunning DreamOther Words for Love

Best Books of the Month for Young Readers: January 2011

Each month our editors select an even dozen of the best books for young readers--see below for this month's favorites in Picture Books, books for Middle Grade readers, and books for Teens.

January 2011 is jam-packed with exciting books to ring in the new year--from the lavish illustrations of a picture book like The Secret River to the daring middle grade adventures of Young Fredle or the teenage space odyssey, Across the Universe, we have handpicked a selection of books to enchant young readers this month.

Looking for more? Check out our favorites from 2010 and this month's Best Books of the Month for Adults.


1. I'm Not.
I'm Not.
by Pam Smallcomb
Avg. Customer Review:
3.6
In Stock
Schwartz & Wade
December 28, 2010
Hardcover

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List Price:$15.99
Price:$12.47
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2011: In I’m Not. two friends with very different personalities and talents celebrate the activities they each do well, and the one that matters most--being a true blue friend. Without becoming cliché, I'm Not. demonstrates that whether we ... Read more

2. Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons
by Il Sung Na
Avg. Customer Review:
3.6
In Stock
Knopf Books for Young Readers
January 11, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$15.99
Price:$12.79
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From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-Rabbit's coat goes white in winter, and the author reflects on how other animals spend the cold months. Bears hibernate. Birds fly south. Sheep have their woolly coats to keep them warm. Turtles swim to warmer waters. Then bright colors appear on... Read more

3. The Secret River
The Secret River
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Avg. Customer Review:
4.9
In Stock
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
January 4, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$19.99
Price:$13.59
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From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 3–5—Rawlings penned what she called a "child's story" in 1947 to accompany paintings by Robert Camp. Found in her papers after her death, The Secret River was finally published in 1955; it posthumously received a 1956 Newbery Honor. Originally illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, the 55-page story ... Read more

4. My Farm Friends
My Farm Friends
by Wendell Minor
Avg. Customer Review:
5.0
In Stock
Putnam Juvenile
January 20, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$16.99
Price:$13.25
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From School Library Journal
PreS-K-The award-winning illustrator brings his flair for vibrant, large-scale figures to this introduction to various farm animals. "Furry ones,/feathered ones, woolly ones too/Some things they do/Just might surprise you!" Even older children may not know... Read more

5. Young Fredle
Young Fredle
by Cynthia Voigt
Avg. Customer Review:
4.2
In Stock
Knopf Books for Young Readers
January 11, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$16.99
Price:$13.06
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2011: Award-winning author Cynthia Voigt's brave little mouse, Fredle, embarks on a remarkable journey of self discovery after he is pushed out of the house and must go it alone in the great outdoors. Fredle's whole world is new and its strangeness ... Read more

6. Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu (The Just Grace Series)
Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu (The Just Grace Series)
by Charise Mericle Harper
Avg. Customer Review:
4.3
In Stock
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
January 17, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$15.00
Price:$11.73
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From Booklist
This sixth offering in the Just Grace series finds Grace and Mimi working as mother... Read more

7. Eliza's Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary
Eliza's Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary
by Jerdine Nolen
Avg. Customer Review:
4.2
In Stock
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
January 4, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$14.99
Price:$12.98
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From School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-As she turns 12, Eliza is a Virginia house slave, increasingly responsible for the care of the ailing mistress who taught her to read and write. Since Sir sold her mother a year earlier, Eliza has only motherly cook Abbey, the discarded diary Abbey ... Read more

8. Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)
by Sue Macy
Avg. Customer Review:
4.8
In Stock
National Geographic Children's Books
January 11, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$18.95
Price:$13.64
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Amazon.com Review
Take a lively look at women's history from aboard a bicycle, which granted females the freedom of mobility and helped empower women's liberation. Through vintage photographs, advertisements, cartoons, and songs, ... Read more

9. Across the Universe
Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
Avg. Customer Review:
4.2
In Stock
Razorbill
January 11, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$17.99
Price:$10.98
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2011: As the spaceship Godspeed travels toward a new earth, the lives of 100 cryogenically frozen settlers hang in the balance after someone endeavors to quietly murder them. The other passengers aboard the ship have never known life outside its walls and ... Read more

10. Sapphique (Incarceron)
Sapphique (Incarceron)
by Catherine Fisher
Avg. Customer Review:
3.7
In Stock
Dial
December 28, 2010
Hardcover

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List Price:$17.99
Price:$10.98
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Catherine Fisher In the dark Prison of Incarceron, the prisoners tell tales of a legendary man – Sapphique, the only inmate ever to escape. There are hundreds of tales of his exploits, but are any of them true? ... Read more

11. The Running Dream
The Running Dream
by Wendelin Van Draanen
Avg. Customer Review:
4.9
In Stock
Knopf Books for Young Readers
January 11, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$16.99
Price:$10.98
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From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Jessica has run her personal best at a track meet-then there's a tragic bus accident and the high school junior loses her leg as well as her future dreams. From waking up in the hospital and coping with the trauma, to her return home, then school, ... Read more

12. Other Words for Love
Other Words for Love
by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Avg. Customer Review:
4.5
In Stock
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
January 11, 2011
Hardcover

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List Price:$17.99
Price:$14.39
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From Booklist
In this first novel, Rosenthal, like Judy Blume long before her, makes the case that first love need not be forever, nor is its demise the end of the world. Ari, a talented artist, is the focus of her mom... Read more