"Read This Book!" Featuring Lisa Von Drasek

In a series of episodes of "Read This Book!" Lisa Von Drasek discusses her favorite children's books for 2013.

Young Adult

* "Indenpendent Study" (Testing Trilogy #2) by Joelle Charbonneau

* "Uncrashable Dakota" by Andy Marino

* "Romeo and Juliet" by Gareth Hinds

* "Dark Triumph" by Robyn LaFevers

Chapter Books

* "Anna Was Here" By Jane Kurtz

* "The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp" by Kathi Appelt

* "The Thing About Luck" by Cynthia Kadohata

* "Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo

Interactive Books

* "Nighty Night Little Green Monster" by Ed Emberly

* "Animal Opposites" by Petr Horacek

* "Flora and the Flamingo" by Molly Idle

* "Bugs: A Stunning Pop-Up Look at Insects, Spiders, and Other Creepy Crawlies" by George McGavin

Best Books for Emerging Readers

* "Gossie and Gertie" by Olivier Dunrea

* "The Big Wet Balloon" by Ricardo Liniers

* "Twinky the Dinky Dog" by Kate Klimo

Best Picture Books

* "Friends" by Mies Van Hout

* "The Silver Button" by Bob Graham

* "Maria Had a Little Llama" by Angela Dominguez

* "Once Upon a Memory" by Nina Laden

Von Drasek is the curator of the Children's Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Read more from Von Drasek's blog, "Early Word Kids."