The Autumn 2003 Children's Book Sense 76 Top Ten

Here are the top ten titles as tallied from hundreds of nominations from independent booksellers around the country for the Autumn 2003 Children's Book Sense 76.

The full Children's Book Sense 76 -- with booksellers' quotes -- will be in next week's Bookselling This Week.

E-mail your nominations for future 76s to Dan Cullen at [email protected], or go to www.bookweb.org/read/4264 for an online nomination form. Here are deadlines for the remainder of 2003:

September 26 - November/December Book Sense 76
October 3 - Winter Children's Book Sense 76
November 21 - January/February 2004 Book Sense 76

1. ERAGON: The Inheritance, Book I, by Christopher Paolini (Knopf, $18.95, 0375826688) "Eragon is a guaranteed hit for any reader who loves fantasy. Drawing on the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip Pullman, and other great fantasists, Christopher Paolini has woven together an exciting suspense-filled adventure of one young man coming of age in partnership with the first dragon born in over a century. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy." --Peter Glassman, Books of Wonder, New York, NY Also a listening Library Audio (0807219622, Unabridged)

2. INKHEART, by Cornelia Funke (Chicken House/Scholastic, $19.95, 0439531640, October) "Inkheart is a wonderfully told fairy tale and adventure that will be enjoyed by both young and old alike. Cornelia Funke is a remarkable storyteller, who holds you spellbound until you've read every word. I will be treasuring and handing this story down to my children and, I hope, to their children one day." --Lee Musgjerd, Lee's Book Emporium, Glasgow, MT Also a Listening Library Audio (0807219509, Unabridged)

3. GRANNY TORRELLI MAKES SOUP, by Sharon Creech (Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins, $15.99, 0060292903) "This may be master storyteller and Newbery Medal-winner Sharon Creech's finest offering to young readers yet. Over zesty Italian cooking, Granny Torrelli offers insight to Rosie by telling tales of her own childhood friend Pedro. It is simple wisdom told with brilliant charm." --Mary Brice, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO Also a Harper Children's Audio (0060564326, Unabridged)

4. THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, by Kate DiCamillo; Timothy Basil Ering (Illus.) (Candlewick, $17.99, 0763617229) "I'll confess: I've got a thing for books about mice. The Tale of Desperaux definitely twitched my whiskers. Kate DiCamillo again proves herself to be a master of narration, creating characters who practically whisper in the ears of her readers, drawing us ever closer to the marvelous worlds of her oh-so-imaginative invention." --Alison Morris, Wellesley Booksmith, Wellesley, MA Also a Listening Library Audio (0807219479, Unabridged)

5. THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND: Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 1, by Jonathan Stroud (Miramax, $17.95, 078681859X, October) "Jonathan Stroud's The Amulet of Samarkand is a superb magical adventure story. Replete with an intriguing array of supernatural creatures, the book tells the tale of Nathaniel, an ambitious teenage magician whose thirst to avenge an insult from a much more powerful mage leads to a harrowing crisis. This is a funny, tense, elegantly written fantasy adventure, highly recommended." --Dennis Fitzgerald, All for Kids Books & Music, Seattle, WA Also a Listening Library Audio (0807219533, Unabridged)

6. BIRDLAND, by Tracy Mack (Scholastic, $16.95, 0439535905, October) "Tracy Mack creates power in her words, setting, and characters. As best buds Jed and Flyer film a documentary of their neighborhood for a school project, we feel the rhythm, beat, and heart of loss, family, and friendship." --Jonatha Foli, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, CA

7. GASPARD AND LISA Friends Forever, by Anne Gutman; Georg Hallensleben (Illus.) (Knopf, $9.95, 0375822534) "The Gaspard and Lisa books are a complete delight -- funny, exciting, and teaching interesting lessons. And I absolutely adore the illustrations, which are bright, cute, and certainly age-appropriate to the text. I can't say enough about them. To me, they're just perfect, some of my very favorite books." --Carrie Graves, The Happy Bookseller, Columbia, SC

8. LEON AND THE SPITTING IMAGE, by Allen Kurzweil; Bret Bertholf (Illus.) (Greenwillow, $15.99, 0060539305) "What could be so difficult about passing fourth grade? For Leon, who is known to have poor fine motor skills, having to sew everyday for a teacher who herself seems to be patched together is surefire torture. The characters -- from the school bully, to Leon's best friends, to an outrageous taxi driver -- all make this a real page-turner. Mystery, fantasy, and comedy, all mixed with pure magic -- this book has it all." --Marilyn Smith, Hawley-Cooke Booksellers, Louisville, KY Also a Harper Children's Audio (0060564334, Abridged)

9. M IS FOR MAJESTIC: A National Parks Alphabet, by David Domeniconi; Pam Carroll (Illus.) (Sleeping Bear Press, $17.95, 1585361380) "This is a wonderful addition to Sleeping Bear Press' alphabet series. Great rhyming text for little ones and detail boxes for older children -- plus large colorful illustrations -- bring learning about America's national treasures to life." --Lisa Fabiano, Hearts & Stars Bookshop, Canton, MA

10. THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS, by Neil Gaiman; Dave McKean (Illus.) (HarperCollins, $16.99, 038097827X) "Before Neil Gaiman became well-known and widely appreciated as a novelist, he and illustrator Dave McKean worked some real magic in the graphic novel/comics field. McKean combines scratchy, primitive lines with photographs and computer-treated images to create a stirring visual narrative that accompanies and complements Gaiman's subtly layered story. Now that's a kids' book for adults." --Michael F. Russo, St. Mark's Bookshop, New York, NY