The Big Reads: From A to Z (nearly): Robert Dunbar lists his favourite books of 2004
Annan Water
Kate Thompson (Bodley Head, £10.99)
An ancient ballad provides an atmospheric backdrop to a totally compelling story of young love: tragic, mysterious and mesmeric, the narrative effortlessly winds its way into our sympathies. (Age group: 13)
Apocalypse
Tim Bowler (Oxford, £12.99)
15-year-old Kit, his parents and their boat are grounded on an eerie, unwelcoming island: their endurance, sanity and understanding of good and evil are rigorously tested. (14)
Belonging
Jeannie Baker (Walker, £10.99)
A story, without words, of a neighbourhood and of the room of a girl who lives there: environmental change, conveyed in magnificent collages, accompanies her growth to maturity. (5)
Boy Kills Man
Matt Whyman (Hodder, £10.99) Powerfully written novel, set in contemporary Colombia, where young boys, with the help of guns, are forced to abandon their childhoods early to survive in a world of adult corruption. (14)
Daisy Chain Days
Joan O'Neill (Hodder, £5.99)
Alexandru, a Bosnian refugee, arrives in Dún Laoghaire; for 15-year-old Beth this will be a significant event in her growing up and her sense of developing sexuality. (14)
Frozen Billy
Anne Fine (Doubleday, £10.99)
Essentially warm-hearted story of Victorian brother and sister struggling against their circumstances: the music hall setting and, especially, its ventriloquial dimension add colour to the tale. (7)
Hanging on to Max
Margaret Bechard (Hodder, £5.99) Unusual angle on the "teenage pregnancy" theme, in which 17- year-old Sam assumes responsibility for bringing up his son; a reassessment of his relationship with his own father results. (14)
How I Live Now
Meg Rosoff (Penguin, £10.99)
Set in the near future, this stylish novel details the visit of American teenager Daisy to her unconventional English cousins, her falling in love and her first intimations of death and destruction. (14)
Into the Forest
Anthony Browne (Walker, £12.99)
A boy makes his way through a scary forest to bring a cake to his grandmother and finds a most welcome surprise awaiting him: spot the fairy tale references! (4)
Jonathan Swift's Gulliver
Re-told by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Riddell (Walker, £14.99)
Extremely handsome volume re-telling all four of Lemuel's voyages and retaining much of the tone of the original: the highlight, though, is Riddell's mischievous and satirical artwork. (9)
Kate, the Cat and the Moon
David Almond & Stephen Lambert (Hodder, £10.99)
Almond's gentle and poetic text is the perfect medium for exploring a little girl's dreams and, especially, her adventures as a cat; Lambert's art enhances the magic realism of the story. (4)
Kissing the Rain
Kevin Brooks (The Chicken House, £12.99)
Has 15-year-old Moo really seen a murder? A superbly paced psychological thriller, remarkable for Brooks's creation of a totally original moody and introspective voice. (13)
Millions
Frank Cottrell Boyce (Macmillan, £9.99)
Brothers Anthony and Damian confront the problem of how to spend loads of sterling before Britain finally accepts the euro: hilarious story, complete with wonderful supporting cast of saints. (9)
Not the End of the World
Geraldine McCaughrean (Oxford, £10.99)
Not a mere re-telling, but a complete re-imagining of the legend of Noah's ark; the result is an outstanding rebuttal of conventional and facile interpretations. (10)
Other Echoes
Adele Geras (David Fickling, £9.99)
Atmospheric re-creation of a 1950s childhood in North Borneo, where 10-year-old Flora has her first insights into the often puzzling mores of an adult world. (13)
Something Beginning With P
Edited by Seamus Cashman (O'Brien, €27.95) Just over 100 Irish poets combine their talents to give us this exquisitely produced anthology, with dazzling illustrations by Corrina Askin and Alan Clarke: poems playful, poems profound. (All ages)
Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf
Sonia Hartnett (Walker, £5.99)
An Australian story of survival, focusing on a young man called Satchel and the decision to be made about his future following the discovery of a creature formerly thought extinct. (13)
Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Translated by Naomi Lewis, illustrated by Joel Stewart (Walker, £14.99)
Sumptuous selection of Andersen's stories, blending their author's pessimism and self-doubt with a redeeming sense of humour: the illustrations offer fresh insights into even the best known of the tales. (7)
The Conquerors
David McKee (Andersen, £10.99)
Large countries, small countries, conquests, submissions, generals and soldiers: all combine in a fascinating and topical parable. The childlike art enhances the story's significance. (4)
The Defender
Alan Gibbons (Orion, £4.99)
A powerful thriller which demonstrates how, in the stories of 14-year-old Ian Moore and his father's Belfast past, "the troubles had stolen all the wee boys' childhoods". Many layers, no simplifications (13)
The Gift Boat
Peter Dickinson (Macmillan, £9.99)
How will the beautiful relationship between 11-year-old Gavin and his grandfather develop when the latter has a stroke? A stunning novel of inter-generational love, that is not afraid to tackle sad realities. (9)
The Harvest Tide Project: The Archisan Tales
Oisin McGann (O'Brien, 7.95)
Inventive comic fantasy in which Lorkrin and his sister Taya become involved in saving their tribe from the clutches of power-crazy neighbours: some wonderfully weird secondary characters. (11)
The Little Gentleman
Philippa Pearce (Puffin, £9.99)
A little girl encounters a 300-year-old talking mole: their friendship brings revelations of the creature's exciting and colourful history - and indications of how the friendship must inevitably end. (7)
The Printer's Devil
Paul Bajoria (Simon & Schuster, £12.99) Picaresque story of 19th-century printer's apprentice in search of his true identity: the London East End setting, and especially its criminal underworld, provides a vibrant background. (12)
The Rainbow Bridge
Aubrey Flegg (O'Brien,9.95)
Absorbing and romantic novel, in which Louise Eeden, the "mysterious girl in green", emerges from the frame of her portrait to become the companion and confidante of a young hussar in 1790s France. (12)
The Scarecrow and His Servant
Philip Pullman (Doubleday, £10.99)
Delightful story, in the folk-tale tradition, of the travels of a scarecrow and a boy called Jack: unusual and entertaining, with strong ecological interest. (8)
The Star of Kazan
Eva Ibbotson (Macmillan, £12.99) 19th-century Vienna is the setting for the story of how a young girl, abandoned as a baby, dreams of finding her mother: the reunion brings many surprises. (11)
The Summerhouse
By Alison Prince (Walker, £5.99)
Some young people help out a writer in need of ideas for his forthcoming children's novel: in creating their own fiction they learn a great deal about themselves. (12)
The Tale of Despereaux
By Kate DiCamillo (Walker, £6.99)
It has been a good year for mice stories and this one stands out for its wit and panache: have fun tracing the literary parallels as Despereaux pursues his romantic quests. (8)
Una and the Sea-Cloak
Malachy Doyle & Alison Jay (Frances Lincoln, £10.99)
When a girl emerges from the waves, her cloak in tatters, Martin sets out to repair it. Doyle's text and Jay's illustrations combine harmoniously in a tale of gentle enchantment. (6)
Robert Dunbar is Head of English at the Church of Ireland College of Education, Rathmines, Dublin