Best of the Year, #1

It's only three days after Thanksgiving, and some folks have strung the holiday lights, bought their Christmas trees, and compiled their Best Books of the Year lists. Sheesh. Am I behind. And no, I didn't storm Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. on Friday morning, either.

Luckily, as I said, others are on top of their game. Here are the best children's books of the year from Black Issues Book Review, which covers books by black authors. (Scroll down on the BIBR page; the list and capsule descriptions come after the adoption books and the bookstore bestsellers.) The audiobooks sound good, too.

• A Wreath for Emmett Till, by Marilyn Nelson; illustrations by Philippe Lardy
• Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life, by Jerdine Nolen; illustrations by Kadir Nelson
• Growing Up in Slavery: Stories of Young Slaves as Told by Themselves, edited by Yuval Taylor and illustrated by Kathleen Judge
• Hot Jazz Special, written and illustrated by Jonny Hannah