Off on vacation for the week, so won’t be posting much. Will return refreshed and ready to post next Monday.

Jen has posted the list of Young Adult Fiction Nominees for the 2006 Cybils Awards.  80 books were nominated!  I don’t envy the Nominating Committee working their way through that many titles in a short amount of time.  But I am thrilled to be on the Judging Committee and happy to read the five nominated titles in January. 

I am trying to read as many of the nominated titles as possible hoping that I will have read at least a couple of the final five titles before I am called upon to judge them.  There has been such a crop of great YA titles this year, that narrowing it to five will be tough and then selecting one will be an amazing feat. 

To see the nominees for the other Cybil Award categories, go to the official website.

This meme is all over the kidslitblogosphere, and I have some time on a Friday to participate!  This is a list of the top books of all time for children (I think, though I don’t know for sure.  Certainly they have included some of my top books.)  The ones in bold are the ones I have read.  Then the ones with a star are the ones I liked.  Let’s see…  Looks like my score is 94!  Holy cow!  Now admittedly, a lot of these are from my reading to my own children, not from my childhood.  I would have scored far lower without two boys who love picture books.

*Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
* The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
* Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
* The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
*Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
* The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
*The Mitten by Jan Brett
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
*Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
* The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
* Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
*Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
*Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
*Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
* How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
*The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
* Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
*Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
*The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
*Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
*Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
* Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The BFG by Roald Dahl
*The Giver by Lois Lowry
*If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
*James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
*Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
*The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
*The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
*Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
*The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
*Corduroy by Don Freeman
*Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
*Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
*Matilda by Roald Dahl
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
*Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
*Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
*The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
*Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
*The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
*Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
*One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
*The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
*The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
*The Napping House by Audrey Wood
*Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
*The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
*Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
*Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titus
*The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
*Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
*Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
*Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
*The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
*Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
*Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
*Sideways Storiesfrom Wayside School by Louis Sachar
*Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
*Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
* A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
*Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater (don’t remember)
*My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
*Stuart Little by E. B. White
*Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
*The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
* The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
*Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
*Heidi by Johanna Spyri
*Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
* The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsc

Gregory K. at GottaBook has a great post on reading aloud to children: A little library business. I completely recognize the incredible feeling when a group of children are all listening as hard as they can, caught up in the story being told. It is quite a rush to realize not only the power of the reader but the power of the read-aloud.
A large part of this tingle and success is picking the right book for the right crowd at the right time. Another part is being a good reader. Now I love to read aloud to children, make silly voices, ask them to be silly too, sing along, and much more. But when I see a great reader I know that I am only a pretender. They can capture children with the wrong book, at the wrong time. They can make words that would be stilted in my mouth come out dancing.
But never fear! You need not be a master reader to be a success. You can be like me, a fairly good reader who really enjoys children and books and doesn’t fear being a fool. That is enough to create that magical tingle that those master readers can pull from nothing and we must wait for that perfect melding of audience and book. But what a tingle it is, definitely worth striving for.

Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos.

Donnie has always had his sister to rely on.  Through their parents’ fighting, through his unpopularity at school, and through his loneliness.  But when his sister develops an eating disorder, it is Donnie that starts to look out for everyone, even though as he does it he loses himself, turning invisible in school and at home. 

This is a stark, vivid portrayal of an eating disorder from the point of view of a sibling who is also damaged by the disease.  The writing pulls you into Donnie’s world filled with loneliness and confusion.  Even as you realize that Donnie is disappearing, you are struck by the quality of the writing that can create a main character who is becoming nearly invisible.  Yet Donnie’s voice and point of view are never compromised.  Karen, the sister, is equally well-written as the reader and Donnie both continue thinking, hoping that she has defeated her demons and overcome her disorder.  The author has created a book with a unique perspective that is one of the best eating-disorder novels for teens that I have ever read. 

This book will be an easy sell with teens who enjoy problem novels or books about eating disorders.  But it will also be enjoyed by boys who may not usually pick up problem novels.  It is a searing look at a serious issue, so boys looking for reality books will enjoy it.

Shug by Jenny Han.

Shug is a charming story about the perils of being a twelve-year-old girl.  Shug, also known as Annemarie, struggles with her family where her mother is a distant drinker, her father is in and out of her life, and her older sister is focused more on leaving for college than in her younger sister.  When Shug realizes that she has suddenly fallen for her best friend, Mark, she no longer knows how to act around him, and the distance between the two of them grows.  Starting junior high as a non-popular girl is also a challenge as she tries to navigate between being herself and still having friends.  As her best girl friend Elaine is courted by the popular crowd, Shug finds another friend in the very last place she expected to.

The writing in this book is sparklingly clean and clear, making it easy and very pleasurable reading.  The characters face challenges that are not easily solved and the world of junior high is as confusing and amazing as it was when I was that age.  I truly appreciate someone writing a great book for girls at this age, before they are teenagers but at the same time that so many confusing things are happening with their emotions and their bodies.  The character Annemarie or Shug is so well-developed that she becomes real. 

Recommend this to preteens as well as teenagers.  This is a true tween book, and you know where to find the exact girls for it.  Additionally, it is a great book for mothers to share with daughters and have a conversation about the new challenges of becoming a teen and the world of junior high.

Mama, I’ll Give You the World by Roni Schotter and S. Saelig Gallagher.

Simply gorgeous, this picture book will tug at your heart and take you into a precious world.  After school, Luisa spends her time at her mother’s place of work, Walter’s World of Beauty.  There she watches her mother cutting, coloring and curling hair.  But her mother no longer dances now that her father is gone.  Luisa spends her time creating her own hair creations from colored paper and hatches a plan for her mother’s birthday that will give her mother the world.

The writing in this book is lovely, filled with great language that reveals the beauty of Luisa’s life.  The illustrations are equally evocative, capturing the warmth and liveliness of the beauty shop and the many characters that frequent it.  One of my favorite aspects of the book is that this is a single mother and child and their lives are not easy, but Luisa is more concerned with her mother than with her missing father.  They are a complete unit, not grasping for a father figure to fill a hole in their lives.  It is a lovely portrayal that single-parent children will recognize and relate to. 

This is a book about the love between parent and child.  It is perfect for curling up with your own children, but would be equally welcome in a Kindergarten or first grade class when talking about parents or families. 

The Great Race: the story of the Chinese zodiac by Dawn Casey, illustrated by Anne Wilson.

This trickster tale tells the story of the creation of the Chinese zodiac calendar.  The Jade Emperor decides to create a calendar and name each year after an animal.  In order to decide what order the animals should be in, he decides to have them race.  Rat is the smallest of the animals and worries that he will come in last and not have a place on the calendar.  But then Rat gets an idea that just might have him come in first!

The book is great fun with clever ideas and tricks.  The art conveys a strong sense of place while at the same time being whimsical and light-hearted.  Appended at the end is the zodiac calendar where children can find their own year of birth and see what their animal sign means. 

This is a lovely multicultural title that can be shared at any time of the year.  It is a great way to introduce elementary students to the concept of the zodiac and alternate calendar systems. 

Oh, I am the loving and tender-hearted Sheep, married to a happy Monkey, mother to both an honest Ox and a wise Snake. 

The Horn Book has a nice collection of reviews of great new children’s holiday titles:  Holiday High Notes.  There are certainly enough titles here to fill up a sleigh and keep a whole bunch of naughty or nice children happy for hours.