THE BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF 1998

Here, in the judgment of the children’s department of the Los Angeles Public Library, are our favorite new books released in 1998.

INSECTLOPEDIA; By Douglas Florian; (Harcourt: 48 pp., $16)

This collection of poems about treehoppers, ticks and other arthropods will be the perfect choice for fans of “A Bug’s Life” and “Antz.” Florian’s elegant poems and watercolor collages are a treat. (Ages 7-12)

HOLES; By Louis Sachar; (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux: 234 pp., $16)

Sentenced for a crime he did not commit, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a youth detention camp in the Texas desert. While digging holes, Stanley finds new friends and answers to family mysteries. In a significant departure from his “Wayside School” stories, Louis Sachar creates a puzzle that readers will delight in solving. (Ages 10 and up.)

THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE OF GROWN-UPS; By David Wisniewski; (Lothrop: 48 pp., $16)

Paper artist and 1997 Caldecott winner for “Golem,” David Wisniewski reveals the “truth” behind the rules every parent tries to enforce. The official reason for not picking your nose is that it is gross and disgusting but the true reason, according to Wisniewski, is that it it might make your brain deflate. Officially, you’re supposed to drink milk because it’s good for you, but in Wisniewski’s world, you do it to stop the atomic cows from exploding. (Ages 8 and up)

TEN MINUTES TILL BEDTIME; By Peggy Rathmann; (Putnam: 48 pp., $16.99)

Dad doesn’t notice what happens when he calls out the bedtime warning, but his hapless son is frantically trying to keep ahoard of hamsters under control. 1996 Caldecott winner Rathmann will keep everyone laughing until bedtime. (Ages 3 to 7.)

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE; By J.K. Rowling; (Scholastic: 310 pp., $16.95)

Abused orphan Harry Potter, raised by the most terrible uncle and aunt this side of Roald Dahl, discovers that he is a legend among the world’s witches and wizards. So off he goes to a boarding school to learn the magic arts in this fantasy adventure. (Ages 10 and up)

NO PRETTY PICTURES: A Child of War; By Anita Lobel; (Greenwillow: 208 pp., $16)

Born in the wrong place at the wrong time, Lobel simply and powerfully recounts her experiences as a Jewish child in Poland during World War II--first in hiding, then as a Nazi prisoner and after the War learning to live a normal life. (Ages 10 and up.)

SQUIDS WILL BE SQUIDS: Fresh Morals, Beastly Fables; By Jon Scieszka; Illustrated by Lane Smith; (Viking: 48 pp., $17.99)

The duo that brought us “The Stinky Cheese Man” has taken fables and turned them inside out and upside down. Their morals for a better life include: “Don’t ever listen to a talking bug” and “Just because you have a lot of stuff, don’t think you’re so special.” (All ages.)

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON: Verses from Ecclesiastes; Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon; (Scholastic: 36 pp., $15.95)

The Dillons, two-time winners of the Caldecott, illustrate each phrase of this Bible verse with dramatic art representing world cultures from prehistoric to present times, from Egyptian hieroglypics to Aborignal bark paintings to Russian icons. (All ages.)

LOOK-ALIKES; By Joan Steiner; (Little Brown: 32 pp., $12.95)

Look closely to find all of the household objects embedded in the illustrations as you journey through an amazing three-dimensional world. (Ages 3 and up.)

PETE’S A PIZZA; By William Steig; (HarperCollins: 32 pp., $13.95)

Rainy day blues are conquered when Dad decides that grumpy Pete is a pizza and proceeds to “knead, toss and bake” his son until the clouds disappear and the laughing boy can go outside and play. (Ages 3 to 7.)