Children and young adults
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Absolute Midnight
Clive Barker
Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins, $24.99, ages 13 and up
In the third installment of this lavish series, a teen girl is menaced by a powerful sorceress in a mystical fantasy world.
The Annotated Peter Pan
J.M. Barrie, edited with an introduction by Maria Tatar
W.W. Norton, $39.95, all ages
The tale of a forever youthful boy and his friends in a handsome edition edited by an authority on classic fairy tales.
The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster, Leonard S. Marcus, illustrations by Jules Feiffer
Random House, $29.99, ages 8 and up
Illuminating notes, drafts, insights and background on the book’s publication such as how Juster and Feiffer met as young neighbors in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Balloons Over Broadway
The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99, ages 4-8
Collage illustrations tell the story of puppeteer Tony Sarg and how his helium balloons would become the trademark of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Chanukah Lights
Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Robert Sabuda
Candlewick, $34.99, ages 5 and up
A pop-up book celebrating the Festival of Lights in a variety of settings — on a kibbutz, on a ship, in the desert and in the big city — from around the world.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
With Sounds and Music
Charles M. Schulz
R.P. Kids, $22.95, ages 4 and up
Here’s the first prime-time TV outing of the Peanuts gang, in storybook form, along with interactive elements — music and character voices (including Linus’ recitation from Luke’s Gospel) — from that hit program.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Pop-Up Book
Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake
Penguin, $29.99, ages 7 and up
The magical world of Willy Wonka includes golden tickets, gobstoppers and a river of chocolate, but does it have lickable wallpaper?
Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite
Anna Harwell Celenza, Illustrated by Don Tate
Charlesbridge, $19.95, ages 6-9
Duke Ellington’s band transforms the classical ballet into a cool-cat jazz number with Vegas glitz and Hollywood glamour. A CD recording of the Ellington/Billy Strayhorn composition is included.
The Great Global Puzzle Challenge With Google Earth
Clive Gifford, illustrated by William Ings
Kingfisher, $15.99, ages 8 and up
A puzzle hunt using Google Earth (with instructions on how to download the free program) that sends young readers on a search using coordinates to visit some of the most fascinating sights around the globe.
If You Give a Dog a Donut
Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond
Balzer & Bray, $16.99, ages 3-7
Numeroff continues her hit “If You Give …” series looking at the mischief caused by a pooch with a real sweet tooth.
In Search of Sasquatch
Kelly Milner Halls
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99, ages 9 and up
The author interviews cryptozoologists, linguistics experts, anthropologists to discover whether Bigfoot really does exist.
Inheritance
Christopher Paolini
Knopf Books for Young Readers, $27.99, ages 12 and up
The fate of Alagaësia rests on the shoulders of Eragon and his dragon, who must confront the evil Galbatorix in this concluding book in the “Inheritance” cycle.
A Little History of the World
Illustrated Edition
E.H. Gombrich
Yale University Press, $29.95, all ages
This edition of the author’s popular history book for children is supplemented by art, maps and photographs illustrating the advances and conflicts of human history.
Never Forgotten
Patricia C. McKissack, artwork by Leo and Diane Dillon
Schwartz & Wade Books, $18.99, all ages
An African blacksmith calls upon the powers of the earth, fire, water and wind to return his son, captured by slavers and taken far away.
Neville
Norton Juster, Illustrations by G. Brian Karas
Random House, $17.99, ages 4 and up
New to the neighborhood, a little boy finds a unique way to make friends.
One Love
Based on the Song by Bob Marley
Cedella Marley, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Chronicle, $16.99, ages 5-8
The first child of the late singer-songwriter recasts her father’s hit song as a vivid message about community and sharing.
The Phantom Tollbooth
The 50th Anniversary Edition
Norton Juster, illustrations by Jules Feiffer
Alfred A. Knopf, $24, ages 8 and up
The improbable adventure of Milo in the Lands Beyond comes with appreciative essays by Suzanne Collins, Philip Pullman and others. Also in an annotated version ($29.99) from the same publisher.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark
Candlewick, $16.99, ages 5 and up
A retelling by the author of “War Horse” of the classic story of a town besieged by rats and the magical figure who solves the problem — and cures the town’s other ills as well.
Puff the Magic Dragon
Pop-Up Book
Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton with paintings by Eric Puybaret and paper engineering by Bruce Foster
Sterling, $26.95 with CD, ages 6 and older
The adventures of a classic song come to life in this storybook version with three-dimensional and interactive features.
Steampunk!
An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
Edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
Candlewick Press, $22.99, ages 14 and older
A baker’s dozen of stories set in gaslit, steam-powered worlds.
Strega Nona’s Gift
Tomie dePaola
Penquin, $16.99, ages 5-8
Share in the Italian holiday traditions such as the Feast of San Nicola, when the children choose the food, and the Feast of Epiphany.
Tiger’s Voyage
A Novel
Colleen Houck
Splinter, $17.95, ages 12 and up
The third book in the “Tiger’s Curse” series has heroine Kelsey struggling to find a way to help her beloved Ren regain his memory — and remember her.
The White Ballets
Rajka Kupesic
Tundra, $19.95, all ages
Love and dance abound in a retelling of the classic white ballets “Giselle,” “La Bayadère” and “Swan Lake.”
The Wild Soccer Bunch
Book 1: Kevin, the Star Striker
Joachim Masannek, illustrations by Jan Birck
Sole Books, $12.95, ages 9 and up (also available: Books 2 and 3)
When the Wild Bunch players find another team claiming their field, they challenge the squad to a soccer battle for rights to the field in a story taken from the author’s experience as a soccer coach.
Wonderstruck
Brian Selznick
Scholastic, $29.99, ages 9 and up
From the author of “Hugo Cabret”: two alternating stories, 50 years apart and both leading to the American Museum of Natural History.More to Read
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