The American Booksellers Association has announced the finalists for their awards. Their awards celebrate the books that make indie booksellers great. Winners will be announced on April 18th.
FINALISTS FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR – YOUNG ADULT
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz
Every Day by David Levithan
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
The American Booksellers Association has announced the finalists for their awards. Their awards celebrate the books that make indie booksellers great as well as the great read aloud books. Winners will be announced on April 18th. There will be one winner in each category except the Picture Book Hall of Fame below where three books will be inducted.
PICTURE BOOK HALL OF FAME FINALISTS
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobokina
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith
The Garden of My Imaan by Farhana Zia
Aliya is different than the other kids in her class because she’s Muslim. She does all she can to fit in, but that means she doesn’t stand up to the kids who pick on her or even talk to the cute boy she likes. Then Marwa moves to their town and she is in the same grade as Aliya. Marwa is also Muslim and wears the hijab or head scarf. Marwa also does not just put up with the teasing of others and appears to Aliya to be much more confident than Aliya personally feels. Aliya starts to write letters to Allah which start out as just complaints at first and then lead to something more: action. As Aliya begins to deal with her own insecurities, she discovers that the world is much more accepting of differences if they are handled with confidence.
Zia has created a universal story with a Muslim heroine. Children of all faiths will recognize themselves in these pages. They will have struggled with teasing and bullying, they will have tried too hard to fit in, they will have not liked someone at first and then learned to like them. Zia incorporates details about Zia’s Indian culture, her faith, and her family traditions with great skill, handily defining things with skill and ease.
It is wonderful to see a young heroine whose life includes cute boys but is not driven by it. Faith, family and friendship are really at the heart of this novel, but Aliya is definitely a young girl too. She struggles with issues in a way that shows definite growth in a natural way. Zia writes with a wonderful lightness that makes this book an effortless read.
Filled with giggles between girlfriends, this book reveals the warmth of family and faith in a completely approachable and joyful way. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Laszlo is scared of the dark. You know, that darkness that is always there, hiding in corners and behind the shower curtain, and especially the dark that lives down in the basement. At night the dark would spread around the entire old creaky house and all of its staircases, but in the day it retreated to the basement. Laszlo would visit the dark every morning, from the top of the steps into the black basement. He would say hi, thinking that maybe then the dark wouldn’t feel the need to visit him in his room at night anymore. But that didn’t work, the dark still came at night. Luckily Laszlo slept with a flashlight on his pillow and a nightlight on the wall, so the dark stayed away. That is until one night when his nightlight burned out and the dark started talking to Laszlo.
I can’t think of a stronger author and illustrator match than this one. Snicket turns on the creep factor in this book in a way that will have children leaning in closer, cuddling tighter, and listening to every single word. There are the noises of the house, the scary basement, and the series of staircases. But mostly there is the darkness itself, a second character in the book and written about with almost poetic phrasing. This is one beautifully written book.
Klassen plays so much with light and shadow here. He uses the darkness beautifully as both a frame for his images but also as the thick lines of objects. Then there are the pictures of the cool daylight and the fierce warmth of the nightlight that burns almost like a flame. This is one beautifully illustrated book.
One of my favorite picture books of the year, this book reads aloud perfectly, the tension growing and growing until it’s almost explosive. One can almost hear the dark chuckling along. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from library copy.
The American Booksellers Association has announced the finalists for their awards. Their awards celebrate the books that make indie booksellers great as well as the great read aloud books. Winners will be announced on April 18th.
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD FINALISTS – MIDDLE READER
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Neilsen
The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles of Kazam, Book 1 by Jasper Fforde
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by Patricia Castelao
Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Wonder by RJ Palacio
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD FINALISTS – PICTURE BOOK
Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin Stead
Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Oh, No! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Too Tall Houses by Gianna Marino
Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Little Cub by Olivier Dunrea
The author of the Gossie books returns with this companion book to Old Bear and His Cub that explains the way that Old Bear and Little Cub met. Little Cub lived all alone near the forest with ono one to take care of him. He was often hungry and slept alone and cold outside. Old Bear lived alone too. He had plenty to eat and a warm place to live, but no one to share it with. Then one day, Old Bear heard odd noises coming from a pile of rocks. It was Little Cub, trying to sleep curled into a ball. It was Old Bear who named him Little Cub and Old Bear who took him home, gave him food, tucked him into a warm bed, and promised to teach him how to fish. And it was Little Cub who filled up that empty bed so that neither of them had to be alone any more.
This is such a warm story. Showing the way that Little Cub and Old Bear came together to be a family is honey rich. Dunrea takes him time showing the parallels between the two bears’ lonely lives. Though they are different in age, in being able to care for themselves, they are alike at heart and searching for something new.
Dunrea’s writing is simple but also cheery. Though it explores a child alone in the cold wilderness, one doesn’t worry because there is a sense of safety throughout. Children will understand the hunger and chill and also that level of joy that is clear. A large part of this are the illustrations that show blustery winds but also have the security and solidity of Old Bear right there too. He is the hope for Little Cub, one that radiates across the pages.
Fans of Dunrea will enjoy this new series and those who read the first in the series will cheer to see Old Bear and Little Cub return. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from copy received from Philomel.
A poll to help celebrate International Children’s Book Day sees some intriguing results. Both children and parents were able to vote:
Children selected Harry Potter as their favorite character with 38% of the kid vote. The Gruffalo got 34% and the Cat in the Hat received 28%.
But Rowling did not get selected as best ever children’s author, Roald Dahl won that category for both children and parents. In the children’s vote Rowling came in second with Beatrix Potter taking third. Something I am completely charmed by. The parental vote had Enid Blyton second with Rowling third.
Perhaps my favorite result of the survey are that more than half of the parents polled said that their children are reading the same books as they did as children. Now that’s a great family tradition!
TES Magazine in the UK surveyed teachers to find out what their favorite books are. 500 primary and secondary teachers participated in the survey and the result is a list of 100 top books. It’s a very intriguing mix of classics and popular fiction.
As with any list, there are ones I love and others that I sigh at in despair (Twilight is number 77). Enjoy! And let me know which ones you delight in or sigh at!
THE TOP 100
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
6. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
7. The Lord of the Rings (series) J.R.R. Tolkien
8. The Book Thief Markus Zusak
9. The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien
10. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
11. The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
12. The Hunger Games (series) Suzanne Collins
13. The Time Traveller’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger
14. The Chronicles of Narnia (series) C.S. Lewis
15. Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
16. Birdsong Sebastian Faulks
17. His Dark Materials (series) Philip Pullman
18. The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
19. The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
20. Life of Pi Yann Martel
21. Tess of the d’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy
22. Rebecca Daphne du Maurier
23. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon
24. Lord of the Flies William Golding
25. Matilda Roald Dahl
26. Catch-22 Joseph Heller
27. Millennium (series) Stieg Larsson
28. Animal Farm George Orwell
29. The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
30. Persuasion Jane Austen
31. One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
32. Kensuke’s Kingdom Michael Morpurgo
33. Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian
34. The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
35. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
36. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne
37. Little Women Louisa May Alcott
38. One Day David Nicholls
39. We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
40. The Twits Roald Dahl
41. Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel
42. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
43. The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
44. Frankenstein Mary Shelley
45. Great Expectations Charles Dickens
46. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin Louis de Bernieres
47. George’s Marvellous Medicine Roald Dahl
48. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
49. Room Emma Donoghue
50. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
51. Atonement Ian McEwan
52. Emma Jane Austen
53. Middlemarch George Eliot
54. The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon
55. The Color Purple Alice Walker
56. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
57. Brave New World Aldous Huxley
58. Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen
59. The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
60. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
61. Charlotte’s Web E.B. White
62. Dracula Bram Stoker
63. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
64. A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving
65. The Secret History Donna Tartt
66. The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery
67. Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky
68. The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
69. Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy
70. Skellig David Almond
71. The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
72. Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell
73. Game of Thrones (series) George R.R. Martin
74. David Copperfield Charles Dickens
75. Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro
76. Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak
77. Twilight (series) Stephenie Meyer
78. Beloved Toni Morrison
79. The Help Kathryn Stockett
80. Sherlock Holmes (series) Arthur Conan Doyle
81. Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
82. Moneyball Michael Lewis
83. My Family and Other Animals Gerald Durrell
84. Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
85. On the Road Jack Kerouac
86. Cloud Atlas David Mitchell
87. Wild Swans Jung Chang
88. Anne of Green Gables L.M. Montgomery
89. Les Miserables Victor Hugo
90. Room on the Broom Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
91. Private Peaceful Michael Morpurgo
92. Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman
93. Cider with Rosie Laurie Lee
94. Danny the Champion of the World Roald Dahl
95. Down and Out in Paris and London George Orwell
96. The Magic Faraway Tree Enid Blyton
97. The Witches Roald Dahl
98. The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy
99. Holes Louis Sachar
100. The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
I must say that it does my heart good to see Holes right next to The Picture of Dorian Gray. I think that summarizes the list quite nicely.
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts this week that you might find interesting:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Encouraging Lifelong Reading with Great Children’s Books | NEA Today http://buff.ly/16w0Ma8
Fathers, read aloud to your kids http://buff.ly/Yr78WE
Librarian Nancy Pearl records first children’s audio book http://buff.ly/YqArJ1
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald’s top 10 books featuring grandparents | Children’s books http://buff.ly/XRWSqY
w00t! 30 Poets/30 Days is off and running, leading off this year with @MaryLeeHahn – http://bit.ly/YXBK4u #poetry #kidlit
EBOOKS
Ebooks are actually not books—schools among first to realizing this fact | Digital Book World http://buff.ly/ZD9GyL
LIBRARIES
6 Bookless Libraries – iLibrarian http://buff.ly/YtwSBQ
The 12 Technologies Forever Changing School Libraries | Edudemic http://bit.ly/YXCXSB
Civic Art Cleveland – Abandoning Our Historic Character and the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library – http://buff.ly/160YeyO
Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, Susan Sontag, Harper Lee, and Other Literary Greats on Censorship | Brain Pickings http://buff.ly/PKQZob
Libraries in Lock-Up » Public Libraries Online http://buff.ly/YkFoTB
Library helps local youth learn to design video games | TechSoup for Libraries http://buff.ly/YqLpOG
Philly Free Library Debuts Virtual Collection at Suburban Station http://buff.ly/YqLK3S
Will Librarians Still Use Goodreads? http://buff.ly/16wGP3a
PRIVACY
California Wants Companies to Disclose Everything They Know About You http://on.mash.to/XYgjKm
PUBLISHING
Arthur Frommer reacquires travel book brand from Google | Internet & Media|CNET News http://buff.ly/16yI16f
Michael Wolff: Why Paywalls Won’t Solve Newspapers’ Larger Issues – PSFK-PSFK http://buff.ly/16kdk2v
TECHNOLOGY
Amazon snaps up book recommendation site Goodreads | Digital Trends http://buff.ly/YjXaGD
The Best Applications For Creating Free Email Newsletters | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… http://buff.ly/164sY1N
Blogs still more influential than Twitter, says study | The Wall Blog http://buff.ly/YPCTrV (Chart below)
Delicious Becomes A Bit More Social Again, Adds Twitter And Facebook Logins | TechCrunch http://buff.ly/163LyY4
Free Technology for Teachers: Create Your Own iPad Magazine on Flipboard http://buff.ly/16iS5y3
Google’s Secrets Of Innovation: Empowering Its Employees – Forbes http://buff.ly/YPSeFU
In South Korea, wifi movie posters offer the connectivity to access extra content | Springwise http://buff.ly/Yf8Av6
I’ve Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here’s Why It’s Actually Amazing http://buff.ly/Yt4Shs
Music Fans Aren’t Owners? Court Finds Redigi Music Resale Service Infringes Copyright | EFF http://buff.ly/16isJQX
The Simple Reason Why Goodreads Is So Valuable to Amazon – Jordan Weissmann-The Atlantic http://buff.ly/YXlsm4
Stop Reacting to Robots: A Path to Mindful Work – 99U http://buff.ly/11PC2Hq – How distracted are you by your own digital habits?
TEEN READS
The Guardian – My transgender novel is too personal to be propaganda | Books http://buff.ly/16iSTTG
Michael Grant’s top tips for writing YA | Children’s books http://buff.ly/16w0eBl
The tide swings toward #middlegrade at #Bologna13: via @publisherswkly http://ow.ly/jxH9C
