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Best Books of 2010

Enjoy the Best Books of 2010, as chosen by the Materials Selection Team at the King County Library System.


Children’s Picture Books | Children's Easy Readers | Children's Fiction | Children's Non-fiction
Teen Fiction | Teen Non-fiction | Adult Fiction | Adult Non-fiction


Children’s Picture Books (ages 4-8 yrs)

City Dog, Country FrogCity Dog, Country Frog
by Mo Willems, illustrated by Jon J Muth
The dog and frog become friends over the course of three seasons, but when the dog returns in winter, the frog is not to be found. This is a poignant tale of friendship that goes through the enthusiastic first encounter to contented companionship to the heartbreak of loss and eventual emotional renewal. 

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected DiversionKnuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion
by Mo Willems
While traveling with her family to Holland to visit her grandparents, Trixie once again loses her beloved Knuffle Bunny. The final book in the Knuffle Bunny trilogy celebrates the joys and sorrows of growing up.

Art and MaxArt and Max
by David Wiesner
A pair of lizard friends with different levels of painting expertise share an exciting journey through various artistic media, with unexpected consequences.

The Boss BabyThe Boss Baby
by Marla Frazee
Starring an imperious infant outfitted with a suit and briefcase and a permanent scowl, this witty picture book explores the effect of one family's very unusual new arrival.   

My GardenMy Garden
by Kevin Henkes
A young girl helps her mom with their garden. Afterwards, she imagines her dream garden complete with jellybean bushes, chocolate rabbits, seashells, tomatoes the size of beach balls and flowers that change color.

The Boy in the GardenThe Boy in the Garden
by Allen Say
A reimagining of the Japanese folktale "The Crane Wife" finds young Jiro remembering a story read to him by his mother when he sees a crane in Mr. Ozu's garden, an encounter that prompts his surprise journey to a fantasy world.

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Children’s Easy Readers

Benny and Penny in The Toy BreakerBenny and Penny in The Toy Breaker
by Geoffrey Hayes
Benny and Penny try to hide their toys from cousin Bo so he will not break them, but the trio then struggle to find something fun to do.

Buzz Boy and Fly GuyBuzz Boy and Fly Guy
by Tedd Arnold
Buzz creates a comic book that features Buzz Boy and Fly Guy as the superheroes.

Can I Play Too?Can I Play Too?
by Mo Willems
Elephant and Piggie learn to play catch with their new friend Snake.

Fancy Nancy: My Family HistoryFancy Nancy: My Family History
by Jane O’Connor
Nancy writes a report for school about her great-grandfather, making things up so he seems less ordinary, but when she learns that Grandpa will be there to hear her read the report aloud she realizes she was dishonest.

Time to Sleep Sheep the Sheep! Time to Sleep Sheep the Sheep!
by Mo Willems
Cat the Cat rounds up her animal friends when it is time to go to sleep--except for Owl.

Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My HomeworkZig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework
by Nadja Spiegelman and Trade Loeffler
Zig and Wikki arrive on earth to search for a pet for Zig's class assignment.



Children's Fiction

Adventures of Ook and Gluk Kung-fu Cavemen from the FutureAdventures of Ook and Gluk Kung-fu Cavemen from the Future
by George Beard
Silly caveboys Ook and Gluk travel to the future where they meet a martial artist who teaches them kung fu so they can return to their prehistoric time and fight an evil corporation that is endangering the past.

The Adventures of Nanny PigginsThe Adventures of Nanny Piggins
by R. A. Spratt
Nanny Piggins answers stingy Mr. Green's ad for a nanny and takes on his three children, filling their days with fun, adventure, sweets, and love.

Agent Q, Or the Smell of Danger! Agent Q, Or the Smell of Danger!
by M. T. Anderson 
9781416986409
Lily, Katie and Jasper are headed home from their Delaware adventure when Awful Autarch's spies and goons show up to make life difficult.

Griff Carver, Hallway PatrolGriff Carver, Hallway Patrol
by Jim Krieg
Legendary Griff Carver joins the Rampart Middle School Hallway Patrol and with the help of his new friends, solves the case of counterfeit hall passes.

Guys Read: Funny BusinessGuys Read: Funny Business
by Jon Scieszka
A collection of humorous stories featuring a teenaged mummy, a homicidal turkey and the world's largest pool of chocolate milk.

The Night FairyThe Night Fairy
by Laura Amy Schlitz
When Flory the night fairy's wings are accidentally broken and she cannot fly, she has to learn to do everything differently.

This Isn't What It Looks LikeThis Isn't What It Looks Like
Pseudonymous Bosch
Cass finds herself alone and disoriented in a dream-like world, while back at home she is in the hospital in a coma with Max-Ernest desperately searching for a way to awaken her.

The Treasure of Dead Man's Lane and Other Case FilesThe Treasure of Dead Man's Lane and Other Case Files
by Simon Cheshire
Saxby Smart, a young detective who solves cases from a tool shed, deals with a case of stolen comics as well as neighborhood intruders while sharing clues to allow the reader to help solve the mysteries..

The Unsinkable Walker BeanThe Unsinkable Walker Bean
by Aaron Renier
Walker Bean is happiest when he gets to spend time tinkering on his inventions in his grandfather's workshop, but when his grandfather acquires a curse, Walter must embark on dangerous quest to return a pearl skull to the witches who made it.

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Children's Non-Fiction

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian SpringBallet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring
by Jan Greenberg
Tells the story behind the creation of "Appalachian Spring," describing Aaron Copland's composition and Martha Graham's intense choreography.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible VerseMirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse
by Marilyn Singer
A collection of short poems which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.

UbiquitousUbiquitous
by Joyce Sidman
Collects poems that examine survival in nature, and includes information about a number of plants and animals.

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria MerianSummer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian
by Margarita Engle
A young girl goes against medieval beliefs that insects are evil and secretly observes caterpillars as they form cocoons and are reborn as butterflies and moths.

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Teen Fiction

A Conspiracy of KingsA Conspiracy of Kings
by Megan Whalen Turner
Sophos, prince of Sounis, is kidnapped by rebel barons. Unwilling to accept his fate, he tries to save his country from being destroyed by rebellion and exploited by the conniving Mede empire.

IncarceronIncarceron
by Catherine Fisher
Incarceron is a vast prison that contains not only cells, but also metal forests, cities and vast wilderness. Finn, a 17-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside.  He finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl who claims to live on the Outside.

Finnikin of the RockFinnikin of the Rock
by Melina Marchetta
Surviving a usurper's attack that killed the Lumatere royal family, young Finnikin teams up with an enigmatic young novice who claims that her dark dreams will lead them a way to regain the throne.

Heart of a Samurai: based on the true story of Nakahama ManjiroHeart of a Samurai: based on the true story of Nakahama Manjiro
by Margi Preus
In a fascinating work of historical fiction based on a true story of the first Japanese person to enter the United States, 14-year-old Manjiro, who dreams of becoming a samurai, is rescued in 1841 by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions stranded on a remote island.

RevolutionRevolution
by Jennifer Donnelly
An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France.

The Curse of the WendigoThe Curse of the Wendigo
by William James Henry, edited by Rick Yancey
While attempting to disprove that "Homo vampiris," the vampire, could exist, Dr. Warthrop is asked by his former fiancé to rescue her husband from the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh.

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Teen Non-fiction

Sir Charlie Chaplin: The Funniest Man in the WorldSir Charlie Chaplin: The Funniest Man in the World
by Sid Fleischman
Chronicles the life and accomplishments of Charlie Chaplin, describing the silent film star and director's impoverished childhood in London and his rise to fame in Hollywood and within the film industry.

They Called Themselves The K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist GroupThey Called Themselves The K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
by Susan Bartoletti
Documents the history and origin of the Ku Klux Klan from its beginning in Pulaski, Tennessee, and provides personal accounts, congressional documents, diaries, and more.

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi RefugeesChildren of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
by Deborah Ellis
Twenty Iraqi children discuss how the War on Terror has affected their lives.

The War to End All Wars: World War IThe War to End All Wars: World War I
by Russell Freedman
A narrative history of World War I for young readers that features archival photographs, and describes how advanced military weaponry impacted the course of the war.

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Adult Fiction

The Glass Rainbow : A Dave Robicheaux NovelThe Glass Rainbow : A Dave Robicheaux Novel
by James Lee Burke
Perhaps the best novel in the Robicheaux series, set against the backdrop of an Edenic paradise threatened by pernicious forces, our hero finds himself dealing with a level of evil that is greater than any enemy he has confronted in the past.

Parrot and Olivier in AmericaParrot and Olivier in America
by Peter Carey
From the two-time Booker Prize–winning author: an irrepressibly funny new novel set in early-nineteenth-century America.

The PassageThe Passage
by Justin Cronin
A security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment that only six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte can stop.

RoomRoom
by Emma Donoghue
A five-year-old narrates a story about his life growing up in a single room where his mother aims to protect him from the man who has held her prisoner for seven years since she was a teenager.

FreedomFreedom
by Jonathan Franzen
From the National Book Award-winning author of The Corrections comes a darkly comedic novel about family.

Faithful PlaceFaithful Place
by Tana French
A Dublin murder investigator learns the girl who got away didn’t when her suitcase turns up 22 years later, drawing him back to the community he left behind and its tangled relationships.

The Widower's TaleThe Widower's Tale
by Julia Glass
The author plumbs the human heart brilliantly, dramatically, and movingly in a captivating story about the loyalties, rivalries, and secrets of a very particular family.

Love and ObstaclesLove and Obstacles
by Aleksandar Hemon
The linked stories of "Love and Obstacles" center around a young man from Yugosalvia who immigrates to America. In dazzling prose, Hemon (himself an immigrant from Yugoslavia) portrays the complications, "the obstacles," of growing up in a Communist but cosmopolitan country.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A NovelSaving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel
by Beth Hoffman
Shipped off to live with her great-aunt in Savannah after her beauty queen mother dies, Cecelia gets to know an extraordinary group of women.

House Justice: A Joe DeMarco ThrillerHouse Justice: A Joe DeMarco Thriller
by Mike Lawson
In his thrillers starring Joe DeMarco Bremerton author Mike Lawson has made a name for himself as one of the most entertaining and insightful writers focusing on the dirty games played in our nation’s capital.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet: A NovelThe Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet: A Novel
by David Mitchell
An exquisitely rendered, epic tale of love and honor set in a Japanese outpost of the Dutch East Indies Company in 1799.

Skippy Dies: A NovelSkippy Dies: A Novel
by Paul Murray
Why Skippy dies and what happens next is a mystery that links the boys of Seabrook College to their parents and teachers in ways nobody could have imagined.

What is Left the DaughterWhat is Left the Daughter
by Howard Norman
Seventeen-year-old Wyatt Hillyer moves in with his uncle’s family following the suicides of his parents in wartime Nova Scotia in this stirring, layered story of human character.

Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
by Louise Penny
As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive the terrible event of his own past before he can bury his dead.

The Imperfectionists: A NovelThe Imperfectionists: A Novel
by Tom Rachman
This wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep it—and themselves—afloat.

Super Sad True Love Story: A NovelSuper Sad True Love Story: A Novel
by Gary Shteyngart
A deliciously dark tale of America’s dysfunctional coming years—and the timeless and tender feelings that just might bring us back from the brink.

Major Pettigrew’s Last StandMajor Pettigrew’s Last Stand
by Helen Simonson
Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired) leads a quiet life in the village of St. Mary, England, until his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina  Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village.

Still MissingStill Missing
by Chevy Stevens
An interwoven narrative of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, and a recounting of events following her escape.

InnocentInnocent
by Scott Turow
In a follow-up to his #1 best-seller Presumed Innocent, the author presents the continuing story of Rusty Sabich, who now, 20 years after the events of the first novel, is a judge on an appellate court and must again try to exonerate himself when his wife is found dead.

Think of a Number: A NovelThink of a Number: A Novel
by John Verdon
An unforgettable, propulsive masterpiece of suspense and an absorbing immersion in the lives of characters so real we seem to hear their heartbeats.

The Lonely PolygamistThe Lonely Polygamist
by Brady Udall
Golden Richards, a polygamist with four wives and twenty-eight children, has a midlife crisis affair that threatens to destroy his family's future.

AnthillAnthill
by E. O. Wilson
Astonishing, inspirational, even magical: a naturalist's novel about an Alabama boy who heroically tries to save a sacred forest.

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Adult Non-Fiction

The PossessedThe Possessed
by Elif Batuman
An award-winning Stanford University literary professor documents the stories of individuals who have dedicated their lives in occasionally absurd ways to pay tribute to Russian classics.

At Home: A Short History of Private LifeAt Home: A Short History of Private Life
by Bill Bryson
Explores the ways in which homes reflect history, from a bathroom's revelations about medicine and hygiene to a kitchen's exposure of the stories of trade and nutrition.

Washington: A LifeWashington: A Life
by Ron Chernow
From National Book Award-winner Chernow comes a landmark biography of George Washington--a richly nuanced portrait of the father of the nation.

The Grand DesignThe Grand Design
by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
A new study of the cosmos that will blow peoples' minds, presented in clear, concise language this is easy to understand.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and RedemptionUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
An unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, this is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American HistoryCharlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History
by Yunte Huang
Fiction and reality collide head-on in this groundbreaking biography of a real Honolulu detective turned American movie icon.

Secret Lives of Somerset MaughamSecret Lives of Somerset Maugham
by Selina Hastings
Draws on exclusive access to the literary master's private papers and interviews with his daughter to share insights into such topics as his work as a British spy and private homosexuality.

Cleopatra: A LifeCleopatra: A Life
by Stacy Schiff
A biography that separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life filled with intrigue.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely.

The Warmth of Other SunsThe Warmth of Other Suns
by Isabel Wilkerson
An epic history covering the period from the end of World War I through the 1970s chronicles the decades-long migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West through the stories of three individuals and their families.

 

Last Updated: March 12, 2012