#5. Great Joy
Written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

On the other end of the spectrum from Iggy Peck's hipster tale, this tale of a child's warm heart on a cold Christmas night could not be more old-fashioned, and we mean that as a compliment. Set in an era when there were still organ grinders and monkeys and illustrated in a similar vein, it makes none of the clumsy passes at p.c.ness or postmodernism that are jammed hamfistedly into so many children's books. It trusts that its moral, and yes, it has one, is timeless and moving enough to be told straight.