Kids' Book Review: Announcing the Shortlist for KBR's Favourite Books of 2010!

We are delighted to announce the inaugural...

KBR Favourite Books 2010!

We love children’s books so much that we go all weak at the knees when we read a great one. And we want to share the books that made us especially wobbly during 2010.

What are the criteria for selecting our Favourites?

1. The books must have been reviewed by us in 2010.

2. They must have been released during 2010, and authors and illustrators should have been published in 2010.

3. The books must catch our attention amongst the hundreds we read during the year; by being unique, insightful or just plain fun.

4. The books, authors and illustrators we choose are people whose talent we really admire, and whose work we want to look out for in the future.

So, without further ado, we give you shortlists in several categories for the KBR Favourite Books for 2010…

Book for Littlies

Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg (Workman Press)

Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett (Pan Macmillan)

Itsy-Bitsy Babies by Margaret Wild (Little Hare)

My Circus by Xavier Deneux (Bloomsbury)

Something Beginning with Blue
by Sally Symes (Walker Books)

Spot’s Birthday Balloon by Eric Hill (Penguin)

Eye-Popping Picture Book

Feathers for Phoebe by Rod Clement
(Angus and Robertson)

Hullabazoo! by Lisa Hollier and Tracey Roper (Penguin)

It’s a Book! by Lane Smith (Walker Books)

The Legend of the Golden Snail by Graeme Base (Penguin)

Mirror by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books)

The Wrong Book by Nick Bland (Scholastic)

Mesmerising Early Reader

Battle Boy: Aztec Attack by Charlie Carter (Pan Macmillan)

The Cat on the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths (Pan Macmillan)

Pen Pals Forever: Summer Days by Lenny Pelling
(Random House)

Skoz the Dog: All at Sea by Andrew Daddo (HarperCollins)

Toppling by Sally Murphy (Walker Books)

Violet Mackarel's Brilliant Plot by Anna Branford
(Walker Books)

Enthralling Junior Fiction Book

Alice-Miranda at School by Jacqueline Harvey

(Random House)

Grimsdon by Debora Abela (Random House)

Madame Pamplemousse and the Enchanted Sweet Shop by Rupert Kingfisher (Bloomsbury)

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)

Samurai Kids: Fire Lizard by Sandy Fussell (Walker Books)

The Song of the Winns by Frances Watts (HarperCollins)

Cool Fact Book

101 Things to do on the Holidays by Anna O'Donnell and Tessa Wilson (Hardie Grant)

The Amazing Bike Ride by Lorin Nicholson (Wombat Books)

Find Your Tribe by Rebecca Sparrow
(University of Queensland Press)

Pop-Up: A Paper Engineering Masterclass by Ruth Wickings (Walker Books)

Who Do you Think You Are: Be A Genealogy Detective
by Dan Waddell (Walker Books)

Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors by Alison Lloyd (Puffin)

Intriguing Young Adult Read

Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams (Penguin)

Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James (Allen and Unwin)

Beautiful Monster by Kate McCaffrey (Fremantle Press)

Spinner by Ron Elliott (Fremantle Press)

Trash by Andy Mulligan (Random House)

Wavelength by AJ Betts (Fremantle Press)

That 'Something Extra Special' Book

The Black Book of Colours by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria (Walker Books)

Dogs by Emily Gravett (Pan Macmillan)

Farther by Grahame Baker Smith (Templar)

I Don’t Believe in Dragons by Anna Walker (Scholastic)

Leaf by Stephen Michael King (Scholastic)

Mr Elephanter by Lark Pien (Candlewick Press)

Favourite Author of the Year

Deborah Abela
AJ Betts
Davide Cali
Peter Carnavas
Jacqueline Harvey
Frances Watts

Favourite Illustrator of the Year

Grahame Baker Smith
Rod Clement
Oliver Jeffers
David Miller
Tracey Roper
Anna Walker

Favourite Book of the Year

Feathers for Phoebe by Rod Clement
(Angus and Robertson)