Friday, December 29, 2017

Spotlight Friday: my favorite 2017 picture books



The coming of the end of a calendar year always surprises me for some reason.  It comes too quickly and with the holidays everything seems so rushed.  I'm always happy to slow down and reflect on the year.  It's always fun to look back on the reading year and reminisce about your favorites!  Here are some of the books I enjoyed this past year.  As I make the lists, I keep noticing books I left off because I forgot to write them down somewhere.  So this may not be a comprehensive list!  They may or may not have been published in the United States.  They may or may not have been published in 2017.  But they were all enjoyed!  Today I'm celebrating some of my favorite picture books.


Wolf in the Snow
Wolf in the Snow
by Matthew Cordell

This House, Once
This House, Once
by Deborah Freedman

Not Quite Narwhal
Not Quite Narwhal
by Jessie Sima

Bob, Not Bob!: *to be read as though you have the worst cold ever
Bob, Nob Bob!
written by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernik
illustrated by Matthew Cordell

Little Fox in the Forest
Little Fox in the Forest
by Stephanie Graegin

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet!
The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet
written by Carmen Agra Deedy
illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

Moo Moo in a Tutu
Moo Moo in a Tutu
by Tim Miller

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
written by Drew Daywalt
illustrated by Adam Rex

Be Quiet!
Be Quiet!
by Ryan T. Higgins

Jabari Jumps
Jabari Jumps
by Gaia Cornwall

Claymates
Claymates
written by Dev Petty
illustrated by Lauren Eldridge

Nerdy Birdy Tweets
Nerdy Birdy Tweets
written by Aaron Reynolds
illustrated by Matt Davies

Super Manny Stands Up!
Super Manny Stands Up
written by Kelly DiPucchio
illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Creepy Pair of Underwear!
Creepy Pair of Underwear!
written by Aaron Reynolds
illustrated by Peter Brown

The Scariest Book Ever
The Scariest Book Ever
by Bob Shea

La La La: A Story of Hope
La La La: A Story of Hope
by Kate DiCamillo

Red and Lulu
Red and Lulu
by Matt Tavares

The Thing Lou Couldn't Do
The Thing Lou Couldn't Do
by Ashley Spires

The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse
The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse
written by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Jon Klassen

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
written by Derrick Barnes
illustrated by Gordon C. James

After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again
After the Fall
by Dan Santat

Flashlight Night
Flashlight Night
written by Matt Forrest Esenwine
illustrated by Fred Koehler

It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk
It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk
written by Josh Funk
illustrated by Edwardian Taylor

This is Not a Normal Animal Book
This is Not a Normal Animal Book
written by Julie Segal Walters
illustrated by Brian Biggs

Malala's Magic Pencil
Malala's Magic Pencil
written by Malala Yousafzai
illustrated by Kerascoët

Winter Dance
Winter Dance
written by Marion Dane Bauer
illustrated by Richard Jones


I bet some of these fall in your favorites!  Did I miss others?  What did you love this year?

Did you catch my other favorites posts?
Favorite 2017 early readers/early chapter books/transitional chapter books
Favorite 2017 nonfiction picture books
Favorite 2017 middle grade novels


See you next week when I look ahead to all of the books I am looking forward to in 2018!

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Final #mustreadin2017 update 12.28.17




I've participated in different meme days, different communities... and there are benefits to all of them.  I am so grateful to be participating in the #mustread community because it encourages me to:
  • be mindful about what I want to read
  • have a community to help me stay on track of my reading
  • have a community that gives me feedback and encouragement
  • get to books I keep meaning to read, but....
As I take this time to reflect on my reading, I see I read at least one book each month that was on my list.  I, yet again, did not finish all of my reading, but I got closer this year!  I think with all of my reading that I do each year, it's sometimes hard to fit in that book that I keep putting off, so sticking with one book a month is helpful.  Something I'll do for next year!

Here's my update since September:

The Testing (The Testing, #1)
The Testing
by Joelle Charbonneau
Wow, I really enjoyed this one!  It's perfect for fans of Hunger Games who are looking for something similar, yet different.  I devoured this one, still need to get to the next two in the series.

Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
This is one of those books that I had heard a lot of buzz over but I'm not sure if it lived up to it for me.  As I said in my review, it started out as a 3.  I didn't love any of the characters at first, I did not understand the Grisha world and I just wasn't falling into the book.  By the time I finished the book, it was a 5.  I got invested in the characters and the plot was nonstop and exciting.  I may just need to put book 2 on my 2018 list!

All Fall Down (Embassy Row, #1)
All Fall Down
by Ally Carter
This one had been on my radar for a long time too.  I enjoyed it, didn't love it.  What I was happy to see was how clean it is - can be placed in middle grade libraries and it will feel like a YA book without any issues.  


I am currently reading:

Truly Madly Guilty
Truly Madly Guilty
by Lianne Moriarty
Oh gosh, I've read many by this author and have loved most of them.  I'm having a real hard time falling into this one.  I have to read about 200 pages each day in order to finish before January 1st, but that's my goal!


How did you do with your list?  Looking forward to seeing what you've read!

Be sure to check back next week to see what I'll be reading in 2018!


Favorite 2017 Middle Grade



The coming of the end of a calendar year always surprises me for some reason.  It comes too quickly and with the holidays everything seems so rushed.  I'm always happy to slow down and reflect on the year.  It's always fun to look back on the reading year and reminisce about your favorites!  Here are some of the books I enjoyed this past year.  As I make the lists, I keep noticing books I left off because I forgot to write them down somewhere.  So this may not be a comprehensive list!  They may or may not have been published in the United States.  They may or may not have been published in 2017.  But they were all enjoyed!  Today I'm celebrating some of my favorite middle grade reads.

Bubbles
Bubbles
by Abby Cooper

Amina's Voice
Amina's Voice
by Hena Khan

The Ethan I Was Before
The Ethan I Was Before
by Ali Standish

Braced
Braced
by Alyson Gerber

Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire
Cilla Lee-Jenkins Future Author Extraordinaire
by Susan Tan

Georgia Rules
Georgia Rules
by Nanci Turner Steveson

14 Hollow Road
14 Hollow Road
by Jenn Bishop

Halfway Normal
Halfway Normal
by Barbara Dee

The Explorer
The Explorer
by Katherine Rundell

Walking with Miss Millie
Walking With Miss Millie
by Tamara Bundy

Wishtree
Wishtree
by Katherine Applegate

Tumble & Blue
Tumble and Blue
by Cassie Beasley

Patina (Track, #2)
Patina
by Jason Reynolds

Spirit Hunters
Spirit Hunters
by Ellen Oh

The Countdown Conspiracy
The Countdown Conspiracy
by Katie Slivensky

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
by Lindsay Currie

Refugee
Refugee
by Alan Gratz

Things That Surprise You
Things That Surprise You
by Jennifer Maschari

Forget Me Not
Forget Me Not
by Ellie Terry

Attack of the Not-So-Virtual Monsters (Gamer Squad #1)
Gamer Squad: Attack of the Not-S0-Virtual Monsters
by Kim Harrington

The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City
The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City 
by Jodi Kendall

The Losers Club
The Losers Club
by Andrew Clements

The First Rule of Punk
The First Rule of Punk
by Celia Perez

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
by Dusti Bowling

Posted
Posted
by John David Anderson

Cyclone
Cyclone
by Doreen Cronin

The Way to Bea
The Way to BEA
by Kat Yeh

Greetings from Witness Protection!
Greetings From Witness Protection
by Jake Burt

EngiNerds
EngiNerds
by Jarrett Lerner


and don't miss in 2018:

Smart Cookie
Smart Cookie
by Elly Swartz
1.30.18

Wizardmatch
Wizardmatch
by Lauren Magaziner
3.06.18

The Problim Children
The Problim Children
by Natalie Lloyd
1.30.18

Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava #1)
Aru Shah and the End of Time
by Roshani Chokshi
3.27.18

A Dash of Trouble (Love Sugar Magic, #1)
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble
by Anna Meriano
1.02.18

Checked
Checked
by Cynthia Kadohata
2.06.18

Fenway and Hattie Up to New Tricks (Fenway and Hattie #3)
Fenway and Hattie: Up to New Tricks
by Victoria Coe
1.02.18


What were your favorite middle grade reads?  There were some great books this year, and as you can see, even more in 2018!

Did you catch my other favorites posts?
Favorite 2017 early readers/early chapter books/transitional chapter books
Favorite 2017 nonfiction picture books
Favorite 2017 picture books 


See you next week when I look ahead to all of the books I am looking forward to in 2018!