Children's Books: Robert Dunbar picks his Top 30 children's titles of 2005
A Horse Called El Dorado By Kevin Kiely (O'Brien, €7.95) 13-year-old Pepe and his horse embark on the hazardous journey from Colombia to Ireland: a story of dreams and our need to fulfil them. (Age range: 10)
A Kick in the Head Edited by Paul B Janeczko (Walker, £12.99) Colourful anthology of some 30 "poetic forms", with a stunning variety of illustrations and a range of contemporary poetry. (All ages)
Bloodsong By Melvin Burgess (Andersen, £12.99) Scandinavian saga and futuristic fantasy combine in a frightening, explicit novel of scientific "progress" and human vulnerability. (14)
Candy by Kevin Brooks (Chicken House, £12.99) An encounter between Joe and Candy, two teenagers, leads to the boy's attempts to rescue the girl from the world of drugs and prostitution. (14)
Charlie Cook's Favourite Book By Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler (Macmillan, £10.99) Clever, rhyming text and vibrant illustrations celebrate story, books and reading. (4-7)
Divided City By Theresa Breslin (Doubleday, £10.99) Two Glasgow teenagers sharing a love of football are "divided" by tribal and religious loyalties. (12)
Don't Cook Cinderella By Francesca Simon (Orion, £4.99) Fairy tale characters play wicked games of "goodie" and "baddie", creating chaos for their teachers. (8)
Fallen Star By Joan O'Neill (Hodder, £5.99) Ireland in the I950s is the setting for this novel of a teenage pregnancy and its heroine's enforced stay in a Magdalen Laundry. (14)
Fig's Giant By Geraldine McCaughrean (Oxford, £12.99) Endearing story of a little girl's need for friendship and her encounter with it thanks to a giant she finds on the beach. (8)
Framed By Frank Cottrell Boyce (Macmillan, £9.99) Heart-warming story of a boy's admiration for art and for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: by turns poignant and hilarious; now on the shortlist for the Children's Whitbread Award. (10)
Hitler's Canary By Sandi Toksvig (Doubleday, £8.99) The citizens of Copenhagen - and Barnse's theatrical family in particular - resist their Nazi oppressors, in a story which unforgettably celebrates the human spirit. (10)
Infernal Devices By Philip Reeve (Scholastic, £12.99) A visit to teenage girl Wren from the Lost Boys hoping to find the mysterious "Tin Book" is the starting point for some brilliantly realised futuristic escapades. (12)
Ingo By Helen Dunmore (HarperCollins, £12.99) Set in Cornwall, Dunmore's elegiac novel plays interesting variations on the theme of human encounters with mermaids: loss and landscape are poetically blended. (14)
Ithaka By Adele Geras (David Fickling, £12.99) Convincing reconstruction of the ancient world, seen principally through female eyes, as Penelope awaits Odysseus's return and fends off would-be suitors. (14)
Lost and Found By Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins, £10.99) A little boy and a penguin row to Antarctica to restore the penguin to its native environment: but is this really what the penguin wants? (4)
Operation Red Jericho By Joshua Mowll (Walker, £12.99) Set in 1920s China, this madcap adventure story, with all its extra artefacts, is also a beautifully designed introduction to book-making itself. (12)
Snakes' Elbows By Deirdre Madden (Orchard, £9.99) Quirky and delightfully humorous story of some strange goings-on in a small town, featuring a cast of eccentric characters, including two millionaires. (10)
Stan and his Gran By Sarah Garland (Orchard, £10.99) A subtle, moving story of love across the generations as Stan and baby sister Annie enjoy everyday life at Gran's. (4)
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips By Michael Morpurgo (HarperCollins, £10.99) Lily grows up in second World War Devon, and, focusing mainly on her cat, Adolphus, records her adventures in her diary. (10)
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle By Eva Ibbotson (Macmillan, £12.99) Falling numbers of visitors to Clawstone Castle can only increase if "ghosts" are specially created; hilarious consequences result. (8)
The Dancing Tiger By Malachy Doyle (Simon & Schuster, £10.99) Lyrical verse text and atmospheric illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher beautifully evoke a little girl's night-time adventures with her "dancing tiger". (6)
The Innocent's Song By Nicky Singer (Oxford, £12.99) Topical novel in which 13-year-old Cassina, victim of a suicide bombing, enters the minds of others - including her "killer". (12)
The Merrybegot By Julie Hearn (Oxford, £5.99) Witchcraft in the 17th century serves as backdrop for powerfully told atmospheric novel, juxtaposing natural and supernatural worlds. (12)
The New Policeman By Kate Thompson (Bodley Head, £10.99) The Ireland of ancient legend and of today unite in a story which, helped by traditional Irish music, gradually exposes family secrets; also on the Whitbread shortlist. (12)
The Princess and the Pea: after the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen Lauren Child, captured by Polly Borland (Puffin, £12.99) Celebrate the Andersen bicentenary with this gloriously original version (miniature dolls' houses, delightful interiors and exteriors) of one of his best known stories. (4)
The White Darkness By Geraldine McCaughrean (Oxford, £12.99) Dazzlingly written novel about a teenage girl's travels with "Uncle Victor" to Antarctica: her discoveries about him (and herself) provide a fascinating read; now also on the Whitbread shortlist. (14)
The Wrong Hands By Nigel Richardson (Oxford, £12.99) Teenager Graham's oversized hands constitute a "secret" for the boy, leading to misunderstandings and misadventures: an original novel, with excellent dialogue. (14)
This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn By Aidan Chambers (Bodley Head, £14.99) Cordelia, almost 20, awaits her child's birth and reviews her experiences of life, love and, pre-eminently, loss. (15)
Traction Man Is Here By Mini Grey (Cape, £10.99) Cartoon-style illustrations provide a wonderful commentary on Traction Man's confrontations with the world's wickedness. (6)
Wolves By Emily Gravett (Macmillan, £10.99) Deceptively simple story of Rabbit and his library book about "wolves": the artwork is appropriately allusive and oblique. (4)
Robert Dunbar is a commentator on children's books and reading