Since about 2013 I have set a goal for myself to read 100 books. Some years I’ve made it (barely) other years to about 80+ books.
Goodreads helps me keep track of what I have read and what I want to read.
In 2017 I read 115 books in various genres across children’s and young adult books. I think this is the most I’ve read in one year. I kept finding great books after great books. I didn’t pause much in between books like sometimes happens. I dove right in to the next great book.
Now the hardest part of all…finding a new book to read tonight.
(All summaries are from MeL.org; books covers from Goodreads)
My Top 3 of 2017 (sort of)
Picture Books
Balderdash! : John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books by Michelle Markel ; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Summary: This rollicking and fascinating picture book biography chronicles the life of the first pioneer of children’s books—John Newbery himself. While most children’s books in the 18th century contained lessons and rules, John Newbery imagined them overflowing with entertaining stories, science, and games. He believed that every book should be made for the reader’s enjoyment. Newbery—for whom the prestigious Newbery Medal is named—became a celebrated author and publisher, changing the world of children’s books forever. This book about his life and legacy is as full of energy and delight as any young reader could wish.
An A from Miss Keller written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco
Summary: Trisha wants to write something that will please her demanding writing teacher, who is rumored to have never given a student an A.
Six dots : a Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant ; illustrations by Boris Kulikov
Summary: Presents the early life of the nineteenth-century Frenchman who developed the system of raised dots by which blind people read and write.
Elementary Fiction
Cody and the Fountain of Happiness (series) by Tricia Springstubb ; illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Summary: For whimsical Cody, many things are beautiful, especially ants who say hello by rubbing feelers. But nothing is as beautiful as the first day of summer vacation, and Cody doesn’t want to waste one minute of it. Meanwhile, teenage brother Wyatt is moping over a girl, Mom is stressed about her new job as Head of Shoes, Dad is off hauling chairs in his long-distance truck, and even camp has been closed for the summer. What to do? Just when all seems lost, Cody bumps into a neighborhood boy named Spencer who is looking for a runaway cat. With a new friend and a soon-to-be-found cat, Cody is on her way to the fountain of happiness.
Dream on, Amber by Emma Shevah
Summary: Amber’s Japanese father left when she was little, and her sister Bella was just a baby, so now she fills in the frustrating gap in her life with imagined conversations, and writes letters to Bella that seem to come from their father.
Tied with her other book…
Dara Palmer’s Major Drama by Emma Shevah
Summary: Dara Palmer dreams of being an actress, but when she does not get a part in the school play she wonders if it is because of her different looks as an adopted girl from Cambodia, so Dara becomes determined not to let prejudice stop her from being in the spotlight.
Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods
Summary; ” Introverted, daydream-prone Zoe is afraid her real life will never be as exciting as her imaginary one”– Provided by publisher.
Middle School Fiction
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Nikki Demere is an orphan and a kleptomaniac, making her the perfect girl to portray the Trevors’ daughter in witness protection, but she soon learns that the biggest threat to her new family’s security comes from her own past.
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Summary: Although separated by continents and decades, Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl trying to escape the riots and unrest plaguing her country in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart by violence and destruction, embark on harrowing journeys in search of refuge, discovering shocking connections that tie their stories together.
Tied with his other book…
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz
Summary: It is 1943, and thirteen-year-old Michael O’Shaunessey, son of the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany in Berlin, is also a spy for the British Secret Service, so he has joined the Hitler Youth, and pretending that he agrees with their violence and book-burning is hard enough–but when he is asked to find out more about “Projekt 1065” both his and his parents’ lives get a lot more dangerous.
Best. Night. Ever : a Story Told from Seven Points of View by Rachele Alpine, Ronni Arno, Alison Cherry, Stephanie Faris, Jen Malone, Gail Nall, Dee Romito
Summary: On the night of a middle school dance, excitement yields to complications for seven students, some who perform with their rock band, some who attend, and some who have other obligations
The Pants Project by Cat Clarke
Summary: Eleven-year-old Liv fights to change the middle school dress code requiring girls to wear a skirt and, along the way, finds the courage to tell his moms he is meant to be a boy.
Young Adult Fiction
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (This book is going to win so many awards this year!)
Summary: “Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life”– Provided by publisher.
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
Summary: Graduating from their school’s special education program, Quincy and Biddy are placed together in their first independent apartment and discover unexpected things they have in common in the face of past challenges and a harrowing trauma.
Wild Bird by Wenedlin Van Draanen
Summary: 3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right. The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.
Nonfiction
Positive : Surviving my Bullies, Finding Hope, and Living to Change the World : a Memoir by Paige Rawl with Ali Benjamin
Summary: “A teenager’s memoir of the experiences of bullying, being HIV positive and surviving the experiences to become a force for positive change in this world”– Provided by publisher.
Ugly by Robert Hoge ; illustrated by Keith Robinson
Summary: Robert Hoge was born with a tumor the size of a tennis ball in the middle of his face and short, twisted legs, but he refused to let what made him different stand in the way of leading a happy, successful life. This is the true story of how he embraced his circumstances and never let his “ugly” stop him from focusing on what truly mattered.”– Provided by publisher.
The 57 Bus : a True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
Summary: “One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter. One moment that changes both of their lives forever. If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.” — Amazon.com
My Daddy Rules the World : Poems About Dads poems and illustrations by Hope Anita Smith
Summary: “A picture book of poems that celebrate fathers from a two-time Coretta Scott King Honor-winning poet”– Provided by publisher