And just in time for the Christmas shopping season, the Toronto Public Library has announced its inaugural “First & Best” booklist, which is a list of the top 10 books of 2007 for children under the age of five. As Ken Setterington, Child and Youth Advocate for Library Services at the TPL, explains in a press release, “The books meet all the usual standards for excellence in children’s literature, but in addition, we’re recommending them as the best of the year for building reading readiness.”

The list is as follows:

• Eats by Marthe Jocelyn, illustrated by Tom Slaughter, Tundra Books (letter knowledge)

• Goodnight, Sweet Pig by Linda Bailey, illustrated by José Masse, Kids Can Press (vocabulary)

• Grumpy Bird written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard, Scholastic Press (narrative skills)

• Lickety-Split by Robert Heidbreder, illustrated by DuÅ¡an Petri, Kids Can Press (print awareness)

• Out Came the Sun: A Day in Nursery Rhymes illustrated by Heather Collins, Kids Can Press (phonological awareness)

• Please, Louise! by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, Groundwood Books (print awareness)

• Shoe Shakes by Loris Lesynski, illustrated by Michael Martchenko, Annick Press (phonological awareness)

• Sing a Song of Mother Goose illustrated by Barbara Reid, Scholastic Press (board book – vocabulary)

• Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns by Richard Van Camp, Orca Books (board book – print motivation)

• What Am I? by Linda Granfield, illustrated by Jennifer Herbert, Tundra Books (narrative skills)