Some Favorite Reading Material from the Past Year

Favorite Grown Up Books

Keeping the House by Ellen Baker– I actually just finished this book late at night on New Years Eve, and I loved it.  Historical fiction spanning some of my favorite times in history (1890-1950), characters that were extremely intriguing, a setting that includes a Victorian house in a small lumber town in Northern Wisconsin that I could clearly picture made this a page turner for me.  In fact, after reading a third of the way through the book, I read the ending, and then spent the rest of the day reading to the end, and even though I knew the end, I was still surprised when I got there, and about everything else in between.  I highly recommend this one!

Splitting an Order by Ted Kooser — This was my very favorite poetry book this last year.  Kooser has always been one of my favorite poets, and this is an amazing collection of poems.  I loved nearly every single poem in the book, and marked so many with sticky notes to read to my family at supper that the book looked like a colorful porcupine. I gifted a copy to Dot at Christmas, and she loved it too.

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist– This was an unusual read for me in so many ways, and it ended up being a wonderful surprise.  The book is almost like a series of essays built on recipes.  I’m not a cook.  I don’t usually read about recipes, but this book had so much to say that I needed to read about family and community and transparency, and even wearing a swimsuit.

Favorite Young Adult Literature

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler — I love a book with good characters, and the family of the protagonist in this book is wonderful.  I loved reading about a girl wrestling with a parent with dementia.

Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs —  It’s just a great story.  And the characters were so smart.

Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks — This book didn’t get a lot of press, and I don’t think it’s very well known, but it is terrific.  YaYa loved it too, and it happens to be one of her favorite books as well.  I learned so much about tuberculosis reading this excellent piece of historical fiction set on the Canadian Prairie..  Best of all, it was just a good, clean book.  I could recommend it to anyone, and I do!  Read it for sure!

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein — Another excellent book by the author of Code Name Verity.  This novel is set in the same time and sort of the same place, and some of the characters overlap.  It’s positively gripping.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson– This book has gotten a a lot of attention, and for good reason.  It’s about an important subject matter, and it’s very well done.

Favorite Children’s Chapter Books

The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Ayla by Jane Kelley — It’s an engaging story about a wonderful African grey parrot.

Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Voirst– We love Lulu at our house.  She’s magnificently entertaining in a most exaggerated fashion.

Favorite Children’s Picture Books

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett — It’s absolutely perfect in every way.  Every kidlet in the house has engaged with this book.  If I was in charge of the Calcedott, this would be it!

Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed — Dot sent me a copy of this because she thought I would love it, and I DO!

Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal — Because who thinks to write a picture book about a spoon?  Only this author could pull it off.  So often I completely empathized with the eating utensil while reading this book.  That’s talent.

Shoe Dog by Megan McDonald — This was a big favorite here.  It’s been checked out from the library at least three times.  The dog really is irresistible.

The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson — Mr. TOF loves this book so much he chose to be photographed with it on our Christmas card picture.  He spends vast quantities of time pretending to be a baddie and a beast, the Highway Rat himself.  This book is absolutely hilarious to me because it’s a parody on the famous narrative poem “The Highwayman,” which is a poem that anyone who has been in and/or coached speech has heart approximately eight thousand times.

Superworm by Julia Donaldson — Another big time favorite to read out loud here, there is a lot of drama to be played up in this book.  Also, what four year old boy doesn’t love a good superhero?  I’m not always a fan of rhyming texts, but I love this one.

Mo’s Mustache by Ben Clanton — I happen to think these creatures are adorable, and this book is great for a discussion about what is great about being unique, and why copy cats can be frustrating.

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak — Uproarious.  That all I have to say.

Poor Doreen by Sally Lloyd Jones — I love the voice of the narrator.

Go!  Go!  Go! Stop! by Cherise Mericle Harper — Very Clever, the perfect book for boys who love construction vehicles and traffic.

More than any other year, I probably have read more not-s0-noteworthy books this year that left me feeling under impressed.  But, I loved all of these.