Once again it's been an absolutely stunningly good year for children's books and every week we've struggled with the dilemma of which to choose as our "Book of the Week".
Our Top 50 Children's Books of the Year aren't necessarily books that have been released in 2013, but are the books that we just couldn't put down, that were demanded again and again, and quite rightly ended each week in the supreme top slot of Book of the Week. We'll still be carrying on this tradition in 2014 when the blog has a bit of a reboot, but here's our fabulous fifty, listed by month and linking through to the original reviews.
Phew, it's a huge list! On with the show!
January
Beauty and the Beast by Ursula Jones and Sarah Gibb (Orchard Books)
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (Andersen Children's Books)
Our Big Blue Sofa by Tim Hopgood (Macmillan Children's Books)
The Princess and the Peas by Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton (Nosy Crow)
February
Eric by Shaun Tan (Templar Books)
Monkey Nut by Simon Rickerty (Simon and Schuster)
The Rescue Princesses - The Secret Promise by Paula Harrison (Nosy Crow)
I Really Want to Eat a Child by Sylviane Donnio and Dorothee De Monfried (Hodder)
The King of Space by Jonny Duddle (Templar Books)
March
Ding Dong Gorilla by Michelle Robinson and Leonie Lord (Orchard Books)
The Dark by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen (Orchard Books)
La Sirenita by Oriol Izquerdo and Max (Chronicle Books)
The Cloud by Hannah Cumming (Child's Play)
Sidney, Stella and the Moon by Emma Yarlett (Templar Books)
Red Butterfly by Deborah Noyes and Sophie Blackall (Candlewick Press)
April
Zephyr Takes Flight by Steve Light (Candlewick Press)
Cozy Classics by Jack and Holman Wang (Simply Read Books)
Bubble and Squeak by James Mayhew and Clara Vulliamy (Orchard Books)
May
Gum Girl Volume 1 by Andi Watson (Walker Books)
Hildafolk by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)
Monsters and Legends by Davide Call and Gabriella Giandelli (Flying Eye Books)
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen (Penguin USA)
Zed the Zebra (64 Zoo Lane) by An Vombraut (Hodder Children's Books)
Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)
June
Father and Daughter Tales by Josephine Evetts-Secker and Helen Cann (Barefoot Books)
Splash! Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia (Walker Books)
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Wild by Emily Hughes (Flying Eye Books)
July
Mixed Up Nursery Rhymes by Hilary Robinson and Liz Pichon (Hodder Children's Books)
The Storm Whale by Benji Davies (Simon and Schuster)
Laika the Astronaut by Owen Davey (Templar Publishing)
Little Red Riding Hood by Alison Jay and Katie Cotton (Templar Publishing)
Help a Hamster by Hilary Robinson and Mandy Stanley (Copper Tree Books)
August
Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (Macmillan Children's Books)
I Hate Picture Books by Timothy Young (Schiffer Publishing Ltd)
Hey Presto by Nadia Shireen (Jonathan Cape PB Ltd)
September
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew DeWalt and Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Dixie O'Day in the Fast Lane by Shirley Hughes and Clara Vulliamy (Bodley Head)
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Beware of Girls by Tony Blundell (Picture Puffin)
Walking your Octopus by Brian Kesinger (Baby Tattoo)
October
The Opposite by Tom Macrae and Elena Odriozola (Andersen Children's Books)
Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space by Dr Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman (Flying Eye Books)
The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat by Coral Rumble and Charlotte Cooke (Parragon Books)
My Mum Has X-Ray Vision by Angela McAllister and Alex T. Smith (Scholastic Books)
November
Sir Mouse to the Rescue by Dirk Nielandt and Marjolein Pottie (Book Island)
Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)
Isabel's Noisy Tummy by David McKee (Andersen Children's Books)
The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)
Have You Seen Who's Moved In Next Door to Us by Colin McNaughton (Walker Books)
December
Murilla Gorilla and the Lost Parasol by Jennifer Lloyd and Jacqui Lee (Simply Read Books)
The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara (Macmillan Children's Books)
Aunt Amelia by Rebecca Cobb ()
