September began my 8th year of reviewing children’s books - 7 years for the Columbia Daily Tribune. I thought it would be appropriate to go back over my many reviews and select my top favorites. This was very difficult, as I only pick the best books to review anyway. However, after much deliberation, I came up with a good mix of genres.

“Dolphin Adventure”, by Wayne Grover, is a small sized chapter book about an exciting adventure that actually happened to the author. After deep sea diving, Mr. Grover encounters a family of dolphins. What awaits him will take your breath away!

“Lincoln - A Photobiography”, by Jim Murphy, takes you through President Lincoln’s life, especially during his presidency. The photos throughout are amazing, especially the pictures showing the stress on the President’s face during the Civil War.

All of the “Harry Potter” books by J.K. Rowling. Rarely have I come across a writer better able to weave a mystery inside a fantasy that is also rich in language for all to enjoy.

“Seedfolks”, by Paul Fleischman, begins with one child planting a seed in an overgrown and dumpy area in a city. What you soon discover is that each chapter, even though they are about different tenants, become intertwined, like the seeds they plant.

“Holes", by Louis Sacchar, is such an outstanding mystery. Too bad they made a movie based on it because now many won’t want to read it.

“Insectlopedia”, written and illustrated by Douglas Florian, is an ingenious poetry book where many of the poems become the shape of the insect.

“A Picnic in October", by Eve Bunting, is a beautiful picture book about a family coming to Ellis Island each October to commemorate their ancestors' arrival to America.

“Forgotten Fire”, by Adam Bagdasarian, is about the author’s relatives and his struggle with a little known history: the extermination of the Armenians in Turkey during WWII.

“Guts”, by Gary Paulsen, is an autobiographical account of this famous adventurer/author and his incredible experiences of which he wrote about in many of his books.

“Shipwreck At the Bottom of the World”, by Jennifer Armstrong, is the non-fictional account of Ernest Shackleton in 1914, and the ship Endurance, and how he and his crew barely survived while trying to be the first to circumvent the South Pole.

“Inkheart”, by Cornelia Funk, is another mystery fantasy by an author comparable with Rowling. This story not only celebrates reading, but has the characters come to life as well as main characters falling inside the pages.

“The Water Hole”, by Graeme Base, is an extraordinary picture book that begins with a large African pool of water that’s cut out in the book. Each page has animals from different environments drinking and the hole becomes smaller and smaller as you read the book.

“Rocks in His Head”, by Carol Ois Hurst, is based on her father’s life. This is an inspiring picture book about how a man who lost everything during the Great Depression rose above and beyond anyone’s expectations.

“Hachiko Waits”, by Leslea Newman, tells the true story of a dog who waits in a train station for his owner to return for seven years - even after the owner dies.

“Dinosaur - Encyclopedia Prehistorica”, by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, is one of the best pop-out books ever published. There are more pop-outs and information on every page than you can imagine!