Jen Robinson's Book Page is a popular destination for anyone looking for information on kid's books and literacy. She reviews a ton, while also actively participating in Readergirlz, the Cybils and the SBBT & WBBT. Jen has also started a new email newsletter, "Growing Booksworms" which distills a lot of the information from blog in handy dandy format for occasional visitors. If you're looking for reading recommendations for the younger set, Jen's site is a must see. Here's what she had to say about reading in 2007 (all of these books were reviewed at her site; you can read those reviews via her "Books Read in 2007" page):

I've read many wonderful books this year. These are just a few that stand out as personal favorites, books that I want to keep on my shelves. I'm not saying that these are the "best books" of 2007 (some of them are actually from 2006 or 2008). I'm saying that these are some children's and young adult titles that I first read this year that resonated with me personally. There are many others that I loved, too, including some re-reads, but I tried to keep the list to manageable proportions.

Picture Books*:
The House Takes a Vacation by Jacqueline Davies (ill. Lee White)
The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan
Hugo and Miles in I've Painted Everything by Scott Magoon
Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt (and the sequel, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend)

Middle Grade (in age order):
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (ill. Marla Frazee) (and the sequel, The Talented Clementine)
Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (ill. Carson Ellis)
Heat by Mike Lupica
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (I don't have a review on my site for this one because I originally listened on audio, and I find it harder to write those reviews, but I thought that The Titan's Curse absolutely held up to the promise of the earlier books in the series.)

Young Adult:
Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor (Read Jen's recent review.)
Nothing but the Truth and a Few White Lies by Justina Chen Headley
Dairy Queen and The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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I am a fan of so many of these books - Dairy Queen and Nothing but the Truth are two particular favorites, especially for teen girls who like their literary heroines smart, funny and willing to take a chance or two. I also enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society - I'm still not sold on it being as good as it could have been, but it was a page-turner and perfect for kids looking for secret societies, deep mysteries and creepy bad guys (who get what they deserve of course.)

Jen is one of the few reviewers I've found who is just as capable (and knowledgeable) when it comes to picture books as teen fiction (and she discusses a fair amount of adult titles on her site as well). If she recommends a book, you can bet it has merit. Thanks so much for stopping by Jen! Tomorrow brings mystery writer Matt Beynon Rees.

*As Jen provides links to reviews and amazon for every one of these books, I'm not going to link to them here - just peruse her Books Read in 2007 page!