My Favorite Books of 2013

As it is the end of the year, I thought I would share my favorite books from 2013.  Here are my favorite picture books . . .

Moo! by David LaRochelle
When Cow gets her hooves on the farmer's car, she takes it for a wild ride through the country.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Bored with city life and the proper behavior it requires, Mr. Tiger has a wild idea that leads him to discover his true nature.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett
The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages.

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
After swallowing a watermelon seed, a crocodile imagines a scary outcome.

It's a Dog's Life

Books about dogs are a very popular request at the library.  Whether looking for true information on how to take care of a pet dog or a story featuring a dog, the library can never have enough dog books.  Here are some stories featuring dogs for children . . .

The Chihuahua Chase by A.E. Cannon
Teddy, Addie, and May join forces to try to figure out what happened to Teddy's missing chihuahua, Phantom.

A Dog for Life by L.S. Matthews
When John, who has a special ability to communicate with animals, finds that his dog, Mouse is scheduled to go to the pound, he and Mouse decide to run away and find his uncle who may be able to help them.

The Leanin' Dog by K.A. Nuzum
In wintry Colorado during the 1930s, eleven-year-old Dessa Dean mourns the death of her beloved mother, but the arrival of an injured dog and the friendship they form is just what they need to change their lives forever.

It's Boxing Day!

Sad to say, I do not know the significance behind Boxing Day, a holiday celebrated in Canada, England, and other countries.  And even though I know it has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, that is an image I can not get out of my head.  So here are some teen books featuring boxing in honor of "Boxing Day" . . .

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak
Partly because of their family's poor finances and partly to prove themselves, brothers Ruben and Cameron take jobs as fighters and find themselves reacting very differently in the boxing ring.

The Boxer and the Spy by Robert Parker
Fifteen-year-old Terry, an aspiring boxer, uncovers the mystery behind the unexpected death of a classmate.

Shadow Boxer by Chris Lynch
After their father dies of boxing injuries, George is determined to prevent his younger brother, who sees boxing as his legacy, from pursuing a career in the sport.

Merry Christmas!

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas picture books . . . .

The Three Bears' Christmas by Kathy Duval
A retelling of The Three Bears with Santa in the role of Goldilocks.  I discovered this book this year.  The children love it.  Even though I don't share the cover of the book the children usually figure out that Santa is the visitor a few pages in.

Have You Been Naughty or Nice? by Ethan Long
This is one of the simplest Christmas picture books for kids.  It is very sparse with one line of Duck's dialogue per page.  Yet it punches a lot into its 28 pages.  It also leads to discussion about being good and forgiveness.

Babushka by Sandra Ann Horn
This is a retelling of the Russian folktale Babushka.  It has a different ending that the version I had heard before.  Babushka is a women preoccupied with cleaning.  When she hears of a new baby born in a "dirty" stable without even a blanket to keep him warm she sets out with gifts for the baby.  Along the way she gives away all her gifts yet the mother welcomes her to see the baby forever changing Babushka's life.  This is a great book to share about the Nativity.

Holiday Favorites for Children

I love to read holiday stories.  I have ever since a small child.  That is probably why some of my all-time favorite holiday stories are chapter books for children. 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
I love this story of a white trash family that "ruins" the Christmas pageant and makes it the most memorable and realistic pageant ever put on in town.  I also fondly remember watching the TV movie they made of the book in the 1980s.

The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
I cry every time I read this heartwarming story of a sick girl and her family who want just one more Christmas.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Who doesn't love the story of grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge and his redemption after visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future?

Forever Rose by Hilary McKay
I love Hilary McKay's series of books about the Casson family.  This book focuses on Rose as the Christmas season approaches.

Enchanted, Inc.

I was excited to discover that one of my favorite series is now being continued in e-books.  I read the first four books in the Enchanted, Inc. series when they first came out in print in 2005.  I was saddened to hear after book four that the publisher was no longer going to publish the books.  However, now with the popularity of e-books, the author Shanna Swendson is continuing the series.  So far, she was released three new stories.  I can't wait to download and read them.

Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson - book 1
Katie Chandler moves to New York in order to make her mark in the business world, but is unprepared for the adventures she encounters when she is approached by MSI, a company that deals in magic, spells, and illusions.

Once Upon Stilettos - book 2
Katie finds herself in trouble when her immunity to magic goes awry and men begin falling at her feet, but she begins to wonder whether she has really become irresistible or whether it is the result of her stunning new red shoes.

Damsel Under Stress - book 3
At last, Owen Palmer, the dreamboat wizard at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has conjured up the courage to get Katie Chandler under the mistletoe at the office holiday party. But just when it looks like Katie has found her prince, in pops her inept fairy godmother, Ethelinda, to throw a wand into the works.

Don't Hex with Texas - book 4
Katie Chandler has fled fast-paced Manhattan and returned home to a simpler life, working at her family's feed-and-seed store in Cobb, Texas. But now magic is invading the town and Owen Palmer appears to investigate.

Stories on the Go

With the holidays fast approaching, many families will be traveling.  So I thought I would share some stories "On the Go" . . . .

Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen
Young Violet's only friend is her dog, Orville, until one of her homemade flying machines takes her to the rescue of a Boy Scout troop in trouble.

Tulip Sees America by Cynthia Rylant
A young man and his dog drive west from Ohio and marvel at the farms of Iowa, the skies of Nebraska, the wind in Wyoming, the mountains of Colorado, the desert in Nevada, and the ocean in Oregon.

Titanicat by Marty Crisp
A boy who has signed on as cabin boy aboard the Titanic helps ready the ship for its maiden voyage, but when it is time to set sail and he cannot find the ship's cat on board, he leaves the vessel to search for her.

How to Train a Train by Jason Eaton
A whimsical guide to training a "pet train" instructs young enthusiasts about important issues including where trains live, what they like to eat, and how to get them to perform the best train tricks.

Books So Good . . . They Won an Award

The following books are considered some of the greatest children's books of all time.  They are all Newbery Award winners and several have won other awards as well.  Check them out!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

Holes by Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.

Teenage Assassins

This past weekend I watched the movie Hanna about a teen girl who was trained by her father to assassinate the woman who killed her mother.  This led me to thinking how many teen books feature teen assassins.  Here's just a few of them . .  .

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
Sixteen-year-old Boy Nobody, an assassin controlled by a shadowy government organization, The Program, considers sabotaging his latest mission because his target reminds him of the normal life he craves.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Grave Mercy by Robin La Fevers
In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts--and a violent destiny.

Interactive Books for Young Children

There is a trend that is growing of picture books that are interactive with the children reading them.  The books address the readers directly and instruct them to do certain activities or actions.  Check out these great examples of interactive picture books . . .

Press Here by Herve Tullet
Instructs the reader on how to interact with the illustrations to manipulate yellow, blue, and red dots.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett
The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages.

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas
A ladybug invites the reader to play a game of "let's pretend."

Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj
Important secrets about how best to live a cat's life will be revealed only to those who can prove that they are genuine cats.

The Big Blue Spot by Peter Holwitz
A spot realizes that it is lonely and asks the reader of the book to help it find a friend.

We Remember . . . The Holocaust

The Holocaust is one of the most disturbing and upsetting events that has occurred in history.  I believe that children should be taught about this horrific time so that history does not repeat itself -- so that nobody has to live in fear because of their beliefs, background, or ethnicity. 
The following are some books that tell of the Holocaust for children . . .

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland's Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.

Emil and Karl by Jacob Glatstein
In Vienna, Austria, in 1940, two nine-year-old boys, one Jewish and one Aryan, are classmates and best friends when events of the Nazi occupation draw them even closer together as they fight to survive and escape together.

Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs
In an attempt to save his daughter's life, Eva's father sends her from Poland to a labor camp in Czechoslovakia where she and her sister survive the war.

The Shadow Children by Steven Schnur
While spending the summer on his grandfather's farm in the French countryside, eleven-year-old Etienne discovers a secret dating back to World War II and encounters the ghosts of Jewish children who suffered a dreadful fate under the Nazis.

Happy Hanukkah, Part 2

On this final day of Hanukkah, I thought I would share some books for teens featuring Jewish characters . . .

Me & Earl & the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia.

Strange Relations by Sonia Levitin
Fifteen-year-old Marne is excited to be able to spend her summer vacation in Hawaii, not realizing the change in her lifestyle it would bring staying with her aunt, seven cousins, and uncle who is a Chasidic rabbi.


Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
Eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg dreams of fighting dragons and spends her days honing her skills, even though there are no dragons in her Orthodox Jewish community, but when she accepts a challenge form a mysterious witch, Mirka just might win her dragon-fighting sword after all.

Happy Hanukkah!

Check out these great books for Hanukkah . . .

Hanukkah Bear by Eric Kimmel
On the first night of Hanukkah, Old Bear wanders into Bubba Brayna's house and receives a delicious helping of potato latkes when she mistakes him for the rabbi.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen
Illustrations and rhyming text present some of the different ways a well-behaved dinosaur can celebrate the eight days and nights of Chanukah.

Hanukkah Lights by David Martin
Simple text and illustrations depict the traditions associated with Hanukkah, including lighting a menorah, spinning a dreidel, and more.

A Confused Hanukkah: An Original Story of Chelm by Jon Koons
The villagers of Chelm, in the rabbi's absence, send a messenger to a nearby village in order to be reminded how to prepare for the coming Hanukkah.

It's a Miracle! A Hanukkah Storybook by Stephanie Spinner
Every night of Hanukkah Grandma tells a story at bedtime. Includes the Hanukkah legend, blessings, and a glossary.