Robert Dunbar, commentator on children's books and reading, picks his Top 30 titles of the past 12 months, in random order
1 A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens, illustrated by PJ Lynch. Walker, £14.99
The classic Christmas text lives once more in Lynch's richly evocative interpretation of the Dickens world and its characters. (Age range: 10)
2 Alone on a Wide Wide Sea By Michael Morpurgo HarperCollins, £12.99
A British orphan shipped to Australia in the 1940s sets his heart on a reunion with his long-lost sister. (Age: 12)
3 A Swift Pure Cry By Siobhan Dowd David Fickling, £12.99
A repressive rural Ireland of the early 1980s is the environment where 15-year-old Shell confronts the consequences of her pregnancy. (Age: 14)
4 Dream Chaser By Joan O'Neill Hodder, £5.99
A 14-year-old girl emigrates to America from the Ireland of the 1920s and finds that not all of her dreams can be immediately realised. (Age: 14)
5 Exchange By Paul Magrs Simon & Schuster, £9.99
A teenage boy and his grandmother pursue their journeys, via their shared love of reading, to fuller understandings of life and literature. (Age: 14)
6 Frozen Fire By Tim Bowler Oxford, £12.99
Set against a dazzling snowy background, this gripping thriller sees its teenage heroine set out to conquer her fears and uncertainties. (Age: 14)
7 I'm A Happy Hugglewug By Niamh Sharkey Walker, £5.99
With "twirly whirly horns and spikey spikey hair", the hugglewug and colourful family dance and prance through their fun-filled activities. (Age: four)
8 Inexcusable By Chris Lynch Bloomsbury, £6.99
This candid, challenging novel deals with teenage sexual assault: "The way it looks is not the way it is" - or is it? (Age: 16)
9 In the Claws of the Eagle By Aubrey Flegg O'Brien, €9.95
This poignant and humane novel follows the destinies of Izaac and Erich, two Austrians from contrasting backgrounds and childhoods, to their eventual reunion in the concentration camps of Terezin and Auschwitz. (Age: 13)
10 Irish Tales of Mystery and MagicBy Eddie Lenihan, illustrated by Alan Clarke. Mercier, €20
Clarke's stunning illustrations wonderfully complement the storyteller's art as he tells seven spooky stories. (Age: eight)
11 Just in Case By Meg Rosoff Puffin, £10.99
Fifteen-year-old David engages with "that bastard Fate" in this quirkily observant story of adolescent self-doubt and survival. (Age: 15)
12 Larklight By Philip Reeve Bloomsbury, £12.99
Fantasy and history are most entertainingly combined in this ingenious and inventive story of Victorian space travel, "decorated throughout" by David Wyatt. (Age: 10)
13 Looking for Alaska By John Green HarperCollins, £6.99
With its fascinating heroine and the devastating effect she has on teachers and friends, this is a remarkable addition to the ranks of American school fiction. (Age: 16)
14 Mario's Angels By Mary Arrigan, illustrated Gillian McClure. Frances Lincoln, £11.99
A little boy helps master painter Giotto as he works on his nativity fresco: McClure's playful pictures enhance the text. (Age: six)
15 Moon Man By David Donohue Egmont, £4.99
Walter Speazlebud returns to the 1969 moon landing (did it happen or not?) and provides lots of imaginative fun en route. (Age: eight)
16 Peter Pan in Scarlet By Geraldine McCaughrean Oxford, £12.99
The "lost boys" have grown up, Neverland is not what it was - but the poignancy of Barrie's original story remains. (Age: 10)
17 Silly Mummy, Silly Daddy By Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick Frances Lincoln, £9.99
Toddler tantrums are wittily observed in an attractively designed combination of word and picture. (Age: four)
18 Small-Minded Giants By Oisin McGann Doubleday, £12.99
Set "in what had been the South Pacific", this compelling futuristic thriller centres on a 16-year-old boy's efforts to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance and, in the process, to confront the sinister corruption of his environment. (Age: 13)
19 Something Invisible By Siobhán Parkinson Puffin, £4.99
This exquisitely written story tells - in the simplest of language - of the complexities of life and loss as experienced by 11-year-old Jake: the year's most striking Irish children's novel. (Age: 10)
20 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas By John Boyne David Fickling, £10.99
In this unforgettably moving Holocaust tale, nine-year-old Bruno is witness to events devastating in their tragedy. (Age: 12)
21 The Emperor of Absurdia By Chris Riddell Macmillan, £10.99
A little boy dreams himself into a surreal topsy-turvy world where his everyday activities are riotously transformed. (Age: four)
22 The Fourth Horseman By Kate Thompson. Bodley Head, £10.99
The ethics of scientific research provide the complex moral background for an ambitious novel linking realistic and supernatural worlds. (Age: 12)
23 The Incredible Book Eating Boy By Oliver Jeffers HarperCollins, £10.99
Fun - both literary and visual - abounds in this colourful and clever tribute to reading and its rewards. (Age: six)
24 The Palace of Laughter By Jon Berkeley Simon & Schuster, £8.99
The Circus Oscuro arrives in town and two children are soon involved in an adventurous quest to rescue friends from its sinister proprietors. (Age: 10)
25 The Penalty By Mal Peet Walker, £5.99
A star South American footballer disappears, a journalist sets out on his trail and on the way uncovers a seedy and corrupt world. (Age: 12)
26 The Road of Bones By Anne Fine Doubleday, £10.99
This grim but beautifully written novel explores its male teenage hero's struggle for survival in a totalitarian state. (Age: 13)
27 The Road of the Dead By Kevin Brooks The Chicken House, £8.99
Two teenage brothers set out to solve the mystery of their sister's murder, encountering some nasty opposition in the process. (Age: 14)
28 The Silver Donkey By Sonya Hartnett Walker, £7.99
Two sisters encounter a blind soldier in the French woods and listen as he tells them stories linked by his silver donkey lucky charm. (Age: eight)
29 The Year the Gypsies Came By Linzi Glass Penguin, £10.99
The apartheid world of 1960s Johannesburg is the setting for this powerful, poignant novel of family and political breakdown. (Age: 13)
30 While You Are Sleeping By Alexis Deacon Hutchinson, £10.99
The children sleep but the toys are awake in this tender story, perfect for bedtime reading. (Age: four)