On to 2005 in my tenth anniversary retrospective.  It’s a year which also saw some amazing reads!  Here are my Top Ten 30 reads of 2005:

  

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan (reviewed February 17, 2005)

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci (reviewed April 12, 2005)

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (reviewed August 20, 2005)

  

A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper (reviewed September 3, 2005)

Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen (reviewed March 4, 2005)

Hungry Hen by Richard Waring, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church (reviewed March 8, 2005)

  

If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty, illustrated by Steven Kellogg (reviewed September 8, 2005)

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner (reviewed December 2, 2005)

Inexcusable by Christopher Lynch (reviewed December 12, 2005)

  

Invisible by Pete Hautman (reviewed July 8, 2005)

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (reviewed August 21, 2005)

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (reviewed August 23, 2005)

  

Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier (reviewed October 2, 2005)

Magyk by Angie Sage (reviewed June 12, 2005)

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (reviewed October 15, 2005)

  

Mimus by Lilli Thal (reviewed September 7, 2005)

The Minister’s Daughter by Julie Hearn (reviewed October 5, 2005)

Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (reviewed July 7, 2005)

  

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (reviewed October 28, 2005)

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (reviewed April 29, 2005)

Rhianna and the Wild Magic by Dave Luckett (reviewed August 21, 2005)

  

A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (reviewed July 12, 2005)

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein (reviewed April 15, 2005)

The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble (reviewed December 17, 2005)

  

The Safe-Keeper’s Secret by Sharon Shinn (reviewed March 16, 2005)

A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom (reviewed September 14, 2005)

Traction Man Is Here! by Mini Grey (reviewed August 22, 2005)

  

Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples (reviewed August 9, 2005)

Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce (reviewed July 14, 2005)

Wrecked by E. R. Frank (reviewed July 19, 2005)

Continuing the celebration of the 10th anniversary of this blog, here are my Top Ten 30 Reads for 2004. 

  

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (reviewed August 6, 2004)

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper (reviewed February 8, 2004)

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini (reviewed October 13, 2004)

   

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith (reviewed June 5, 2004)

Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja (reviewed February 25, 2004)

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (reviewed June 6, 2004)

  

Colibri by Ann Cameron (reviewed April 7, 2004)

A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence (reviewed September 11, 2004)

The Crying Rocks by Janet Taylor Lisle (reviewed May 30, 2004)

  

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin (reviewed April 23, 2004)

A Fast and Brutal Wing by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson (reviewed December 22, 2004)

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (reviewed February 29, 2004)

  

The Game of Sunken Places by M. T. Anderson (reviewed July 30, 2004)

Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (reviewed May 3, 2004)

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (reviewed March 30, 2004)

  

Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan (reviewed September 30, 2004)

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (reviewed March 17. 2004)

Inside Out by Terry Trueman (reviewed August 19, 2004)

  

Keesha’s House by Helen Frost (reviewed February 15, 2004)

Messenger by Lois Lowry (reviewed April 20, 2004)

No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia (reviewed April 26, 2004)

  

Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsburg (reviewed April 22, 2004)

A Perilous Power by E. Rose Sabin (reviewed July 5, 2004)

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta (reviewed November 2, 2004)

  

Secrets in the Fire by Henning Mankell (reviewed March 5, 2004)

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson (reviewed December 9, 2004)

Target by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson (reviewed February 22, 2004)

  

Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco (reviewed October 26, 2004)

Truesight by David Stahler, Jr. (reviewed September 17, 2004)

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (reviewed June 3, 2004)

To celebrate blogging for ten years, here are my Top Ten Twenty books from 2003:

  

Alchemy by Margaret Mahy (reviewed September 20, 2003)

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (reviewed November 23, 2003)

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (reviewed September 28, 2003)

  

A Cool Moonlight by Angela Johnson (reviewed December 26, 2003)

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles (reviewed September 2, 2003)

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin (reviewed September 6, 2003)

  

The Dream Bearer by Walter Dean Myers (reviewed September 29, 2003)

East by Edith Pattou (reviewed December 14, 2013)

Eragon by Christopher Paolini (reviewed October 7, 2003)

  

Feed by M. T. Anderson (reviewed October 18, 2003)

Friction by E. R. Frank (reviewed December 1, 2003)

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell (reviewed August 26, 2003)

  

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (reviewed August 19, 2003)

Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes (reviewed October 31, 2003)

The River Between Us by Richard Peck (reviewed November 14, 2003)

  

Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee (reviewed September 15, 2003)

Saffy’s Angel by Hilary McKay (reviewed October 18, 2003)

Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell (reviewed December 4, 2003)

 

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (reviewed November 3, 2003)

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (reviewed October 26, 2003)

1. First Real Post

Linked to the CCBC’s 40 Books About… bibliographies.  I love the CCBC, which is one of the jewels in our University of Wisconsin.  The link is now broken (since it is 10 years old) but CCBC still offers great bibliographies and book lists, including their amazing CCBC Choices every year.

2. First Book Reviewed:

The Treekeepers by Susan McGee Britton (The link is to my review.  My hope is that my writing improved over the last decade.)

3.  First comment:

On August 24, 2003 on The Treekeepers review in #2.  Yup, made no sense back then and doesn’t now either. 

4. First Link to a News Article:

Was a link to a Boston Globe article on celebrities writing children’s books.  Sigh.  Nothing has changed, has it?

5.  First Link to Another Children’s Lit blog:

I only knew of one other children’s lit blog when I started a decade ago: Mrs. Rabbitt’s Bookbag, now defunct.  I certainly didn’t see the future coming with such a robust and diverse group of people blogging about children’s lit.

6.  First Link to an Author’s Website:

Amazingly, the link still works and Ellen Jackson still has a section on her rejection letters that charmed me ten years ago. 

7. First Teen Book Review:

Since I was making this up as I went along, I never really focused my blog on one age.  Looking back, I probably should have since then, but I so enjoy reading the wide span of children and teen books.  The first teen book I reviewed was Dark Waters by Catherine MacPhail.

8. First Awards Announcements:

The Children’s Book Council of Australia winners of 2003.  I’m looking forward to the announcement of the 2013 winners!

9.  First Apology (and not the last!)

On August 17, 2003, my email went down for quite a period of time, leaving me unable to respond to comments. 

10.  First (and Last) Name Change:

All of the others were during August of 2003, but one big event that can’t miss this list was when my blog moved to its own domain and completely changed its name.  It used to have the very catchy title of Kids Lit.  Even I could never remember if it was one or two words.  I quite prefer Waking Brain Cells.