Childrens books I have read in 2018

Trent Reedy challenged us to read 100 books a year. Therefore every year since then I've posted the list of books I have read.  However, this year the list is 11 pages long, so I"m going to post them in two posts.

Here is the list of Children's books I read in 2018.  (adult books in next post)

 Booklist of Books Read in 2018

PICTURE BOOKS: 

 Barnes, Derrick. Crown, an ode to the fresh cut. Illus Gordon James. Chicago:  Bolden, Agate, 

            2017. (FOUR #ALA awards—Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King

             Author Honor, and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor!)

Bauer, Marion Dane. Little Cat’s Luck.  NY: Simon & Schuster Books for young readers, 

            2016.  (Texas Bluebonnet Award)

Bellairs, John. The House with a Clock in Its Walls. Illus. Edward Gorey. NY:  Dial Press, 

            1973.  

Blackall, Sophie. Hello Lighthouse.  NY:  Little Brown & Co., 2018.  (Could have been 

            classified as children’s nonfiction, but CIP shows as Easy Fiction.)

Cordell, Matthew. Wolf in the Snow. NYL Feiwel and Friends, 2017.  

            (Caldecott medal winner 2018)

Dale, Elizabeth.  Nothing can frighten a bear. Illus. Paula Metcalf. Somerville, MA: Nosy Crow, Candlewick Press, 2016.

Dillon, Diane. I can be anything! Don’t tell me I can’t.  NY: Blue Sky Press, Scholastic, 2018.

Fogliano, Julie. When’s my birthday? Illus. Christian Robinson.  NY:  Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, 2017.  (I’m not impressed) 

Higgins, Ryan.  We don’t eat our classmates. NY:  Disney/ Hyperion, 2018.

Hopkinson, Deborah and John Hendrix (illus). Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek a tall, thin tale.  NY: Swartz and wade, 2008.  Fictionalized account of a possible young Lincoln adventure.

Mattick, Lindsay.Finding Winnie, the True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. Illus Sophie Blackall.  NY:Little Brown and Co., 2017.  (2018 Caldicott Winner.)

Phi, Bao  A different Pond. Illus Thi Bui. North Manakato, MN: Capstone Young

             Readers, 2017.  (Caldecott Honor book) (Publisher is claiming it won- it didn’t)

Robinson, Nikki Slade. Anywhere Artist. NY:  Clarion, Books, 2016.  

            (mixture of photographs of nature art with illustrations of sylph like child in a 

            painted landscape. Lovely!)

Tamaki, Jillian. They Say Blue.  NY:  Abrams books for young readers, 2018. 

Teekentrup, Britta.  Moon, a peek-through picture book.  NY: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2017.  (Cut outs show the progression of the moon through its phases. Originally pub in Great Britain. Clunky rhythm and rhyme, which made me think it had been translated from another language – but no.)

Underwood, Deborah. Here Comes Teacher CAT.Illus. Claudia Rueda. NY:  Dial, 2017.

    ….            Here Comes Valentine CAT.  Illus. Claudia Rueda.  NY:  Dial, 2016.

Wallace, Adam.  How to Catch a Leprechaun.  Illus. Andy Elkerton.  Naperville, IL:  

            Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2016.  (very disappointing.  Fulfills the need for a

             St. Paddy’s Day picture book, but with dull poetry – ABCB) and an

             ending that does not scan and left me thinking, “Huh?”)

Wong, Janet.  Apple Pie 4^thof July. Illus Margaret Chodos-Irvine. NY: Harcourt, 2002. 

            (I was told to use this as a great example of page breaks.)

I Can Read

 Arnold, Ted, Martha Hamilton, and Mitch Weiss.  Noodleheads see the future. NY: Holiday House, 2017.  (Geisel honor book)

Butler, Dori Hillestad.  King & Kayla and the case of the missing dog treats. Illus.  Nancy

             Meyers. NY:  Peachtree Publishers, 2017.  (2018 ALA/ALSC Theodor Seuss Geisel

             Honor book.)

Kugler, Tina.  Snail & Worm Again. NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. (2018 Geisel honor book)

Meisel, Paul. I See a Cat.  NY: Holiday House,, 2017.  (2018 ALA/ALSC Theodor Seuss

             Geisel Honor book. A very easy reader but in picture book format.)

Snyder, Laurel. Charlie & Mouse.  Illus Emily Hughes.  San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2017.  (2018  Theodore Seuss Geisel Award winner)

Yoon, Salina.  My Kite is Stuck! And other Stories.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2017. (2018 Geisel honor book. San Diego, CA author/ illustrator – YAY!)

J – FICTION :

 Aronson, Sarah.The Wish List, The worst Fairy Godmother Ever! NY, Scholastic, 2017.

    ….            The Wish List, Keep Calm and Sparkle On!  NY, Scholastic, 2018.

Cartaya, Pablo.  The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora.  NY:  Viking, 2017.  (Pura Belpre author honor book.

Coville, Bruce.  Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.  NY: Houghton Miflin Harcourt, 1991 / 2002. (originally published by Harcourt, edited by Jane Yolen.  One of my favorite books, except this time when I reread it I began noticing various writer techniques which I now must think about.)

    ….            Moongobble and Me – the Mischief Monster. Illus Katherine Coville. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2007.

    ….            The Enchanted Files: Trolled. Illus by Paul Kidby. NY:  Random House 2017. (Book 3 of the Enchanted Files whereby various characters from the land of Enchantment discover themselves in the human world.)

Cowell, Cressida.  The Wizards of Once. (book 1 - Once there was Magic)  NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2017.   (Newbery honor)

Heinlein, Robert. The Rolling Stones. NY: Ballantine books, 1952. (one my favorite books I read as a child and only improves with re-reading.  However, it’s fun at this point to notice the things about the future that he predicted accurately and others that seemed logical, but the modern technology is different.)

Holm, Jennifer.The third mushroom/ believe in the unexpected. NYL Random House, 2018. 

Horvath, Polly.  Mrs. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! By Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath.  NY: Swartz & Wade books, 2012.  (I was wondering how I had missed this lovely book.  But then I noticed the date.  I had retired from library work and that was the year my husband died.)

Houts, Michelle. WinterFrost.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2014.

Johnson, Varian.  The Parker Inheritance. NY: Arthur A, Levine Books, Scholastic, 2018. (a great mystery story jumping back and forth from 1900s life for African Americans to kids today.  I predict  Coretta Scott King author Book award for sure, plus possible Newbery.) (Update – Now is a Boston Globe/ Horn Book award Honor book, the same award I won in 2003.)

Kalmar, Daphne.  A Stitch in Time. NY:  Feiwel and Friends, 2018. (another book I think will be seriously considered for the Newbery and other awards.)

Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello, Universe, some friendships are meant to be.NY: Greenwillow, 2017. (Newbery winner) 

King, Amy Sarig.  Me and Marvin Gardens. NY: Scholastic (Arthur A. Levine Boooks), 2017. (Faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Usually writes YA books)

Landis, Matthew.  The Not so Boring Letters of Private Nobody.  NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018.

McAnulty, Stacy.  The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl.  NY: Random House, 2018.  Another book I predict will win awards, maybe Newbery.

Pla, Sally J.              Stanley will probably be fine.  Illus Steve Wolfhard. NY, Harper, 2018.  (don’t be confused by the illustrator. It’s not a picture book. It’s not a graphic novel. It’s a story about a boy who occasionally draws a comic strip.)  (I predict this one will win quite a few awards during the upcoming award season.)

Riordan, Rick.  The Trials of Apollo, Book One, The Hidden Oracle.  NY: Disney/ Hyperion, 2016.  

    ….            The Trials of Apollo, Book Two, The Dark Prophecy.  NY: Disney/ Hyperion, 2017.  

     ….            The Trials of Apollo, Book Three, The Burning Maze.  NY: Disney/ Hyperion, 2018.  (hmmm.  It looks as if this trilogy is going to continue to 4 or more books)

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes. NY: HarperCollins, 2002.  (short stories about a Native American boy who lives in a city/ town.)

Townsend, Jessica.  Nevermoor, the trials of Morrigan Crow.  NY:  Little Brown and Co., 2017.   (I’ve decided that I really love British fantasies and can’t wait for a sequel.)

Yolen, Jane and Adam Stemple            The Hostage Prince. (The Seelie Wars: Book 1)  NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2013. 

    ….            The Last Changling.  (The Seelie Wars: Book 2)  NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2015. 

    ….            The Seelie King’s War. (The Seelie Wars: Book 1)  NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2016. 

YA Fiction:

 Colfer, Eoin.  Artemis Fowl.  NY: Talk Miramax Books, Hyperion Books for Children. 2001.

Maas, Sarah. A Court of Thorns and Roses.  NY:  Bloomsbury, 2015. 

    ….            A Court of Mist and Fury.  NY:  Bloomsbury, 2016. (more raw sex than a lot of adult novels. Why?) 

    ….            Court of Wings and Ruin.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2017. (series has more raw sex than a lot of adult Science Fiction/ Fantasy books.  Why?) 

    ….            Court of Frost and Starlight. NY:  Bloomsbury, 2018.

Pierce, Tamora.  Tempests and Slaughter, The Numair Chronicles, Book One, A Tortall Legend.  NY:  Random House, 2018.  (Excellent writing style.  I can’t wait for the next few books in this series) 

Putney, M.J.  (Mary Jo)  Dark Mirror.  NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2010.

    ….            Dark Passage.  NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2011.

    ….            Dark Destiny  NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2012.

Reedy, Trent.             Divided we fall.  (Book 1) NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2014.

    ….            Burning Nation. (Book 2) NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2015.

    ….            The Last Full Measure. (Book 3) NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2016.

                                    (Dystopian novels about the breakdown of the USA into multiple countries, plus WW3)

PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHIES:

 JB Bader            Levy, Debbie. I Dissent – Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes her Mark. Illus. Elizabeth

                         Baddeley. NY:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. 

                                    (Orbis Pictus award honor book – and other awards)

JB Burcaw            Burcaw, Shane. Not So Different, what you really want to ask about having a

                         disability – Go Ahead, Ask Me.  Illus. by photographs by Matt Carr.  NY: 

                        Roaring Brook Press, 2017.  (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book   

                                                                       Medal honor book 2018)

JB Chavez            Rau, Dana Meachen. Who was Cesar Chavez?  NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 2017.

JB Choi    Martin, Jacqueline Briggs and June Jo Lee.  Illus Man One. Chef Roy Choi.  Bellevue, Washington: Readers to Eaters, 2017.  (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal honor book 2018)

JB Keats            Pinkney, Andrea Davis. A Poem for Peter, the story of Ezra Jack Keats and the creation of The Snowy Day. Illus. Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson. NY: Viking, 2016. 

JB Key     Bowman, Donna Janell.  Step Right Up, How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness.  NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc, 2016.

JB Newbery            Markel, Michelle. Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books.Illus Nancy Carpenter. San Francisco:  Chronicle Books, 2017.  

JB Santana            Mahin, Michael. When Angels Sing, the story of rock legend Carlos Santana.Illus Jose Ramirez. NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018.

JF Say                Say, Allen.  Silent Days, Silent Dreams. NY: Arthur A Levine Books, Scholastic Inc., 

                        2017.   Catalogued as fiction in San Diego Library, but should have been in 

                        biography.  (Schneider Family Book Award)

JB Tubman            Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Illus. James E. Ransome (husband) Before She was Harriet.  NY: Holiday House, 2017.  (Corretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book)

JB  Waters     Mahin, Michael.  Muddy, the story of blues legend Muddy Waters. Ilus. Evan Turk.  NY:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017.

JB  Wright       Old, Wendie. To Fly, the story of the Wright brothers. NY: Clarion, 2002.

J BIOGRAPHIES:

JB Van Gogh            Heiligman, Deborahs.  Vincent and Theo, the Van Gogh Brothers.  NY: Henry Holt and Co, 2017.

J and YA NONFICTION:

YA323.1196…  Brnimner, Larry Dane. Twelve Days in May, Freedom Ride 1961. Honesdale, PA:  Calkins creek, 2017.  (Robert Sibert  ALA award)

J 551            Hale, Christy. Water Land: land and water forms around the world. NY: Neal Porter book, Roaring Brook Press, 2018.  (cutouts illustrate water and land forms)

J 581.467            Stewart, Melissa. A seed is the start.  Washington, DC: National Geographic Kids, 2018.

J 599.7695            Newman, Patricia. Sea Otter heroes, the predators that saved an ecosystem. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press 2017.  (Robert Sibert honor book)

YA 791.4472            Jarrow, Gail.  Spooked! How a radio broadcast and the War of the Worlds sparked the 1938 invasion of America. Honesdale,PA: Calkins Creek/ Highlights, 2018.  (Perfectly published in the fall, just in time for Halloween.)

J 973.7092            Bowman, Donna Janell. Illus. S.D. Schindler. Abraham Lincoln’s Dueling Words. Atlanta:  Peachtree, 2018.  (a little-known piece of Lincoln history told in second person.)

New Year

2019

I remember

I remember when there were no computers
when the room-sized ones were created (run by punch cards)
when they became smaller, ran on tapes, but still had to be in air conditioned rooms and only computer geeks allowed near them
when they became desktop computers with a foot or more of computer stuff on the back and executives refused to use them because - typing was a secretary's job.
when flat screens came out
when cell phones were a heavy brick
when they became hand held
and now we hold a computer in our hand and call it an iPhone

Tips for the Holidays

Just in time for the holidays--some "sensible" tips  (or not)

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a
holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if
you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving
rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt
scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You

can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares
that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going 
to turn into an egg- nogaholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. 
Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of
gravy. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it
with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk
or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports
car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the
buffet
table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of
shoes. You can't leave them behind. You're not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or,
if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always
have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? 
Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have
some standards, mate.

10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the
party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.
Reread tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless January is just around
the
corner.


By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY

Writer's Quotes - Jane Yolen

Don’t worry about being great or even semi-great; in fact, don't worry about rankings at all. That’s fairy dust. 

You have no control over any of it. 




Just write the damn book, tell the damn story, fiddle the damn poem.

Full interview is here.

Writer's quotes -- Patricia Wrede

Editors don't make house calls.
You've gotta send them out.
               Patricia Wrede

(referring to the fact that you won't get published if your manuscripts just stay in your computer or in drawers/ filing cabinets.)

The President is Missing = a good read

I just finished reading The President is Missing, a Novel by (president) Bill Clinton and James Patterson. For the second time. Yes, it's that good. Also, that's what happens when you live right between two library systems and reserve the book at both of them, letting them race to see which one will get you the book first. And then you go ahead and read it again when the second book is ready for you.
It's a good suspense novel about the possible destruction of the United States by cyber warfare.
But I direct you to especially read the second to last chapter where the president addresses Congress after the bad guys have been captured or killed. It's a terrific speech which directly discusses the problems our country is facing now and how and why we must do better.
So - what are you reading? Picture book. middle grade. YA. adult book.