They're coming fast and furious now.
Horn Book has a nice little spread, including a couple I haven't heard of yet.
The New York Times mentions these notable books.
And from waaaaaaaaaay across the really big pond, an Australian blog nominates some of Oz's faves.
Thanks to Chicken Spaghetti for the links!
Showing posts with label Best Books 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best Books 2007. Show all posts
Monday, December 03, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
NYT nominates the Best Illustrated Children's Books 2007
You guys, I've just started writing 2007 on my checks and now they're doing best book round-ups. Dang it.
Anyway, here's another one from the New York Times, this time of the Best Illustrated Children's Books. Notice that canny wording? That's so they can slip in stuff like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Peter Sis's The Wall, and Shaun Tan's The Arrival. Good choices all, just not the preschool-oriented fare that the words "picture book" imply.
And as Fuse #8 noted, they messed up a little by including my favorite-ever Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, which was actually published 2006. I'm not going to say anything though, because the more publicity for one of my favorite bunnies, the better.
ETA: I don't know how they did it last year, but kudos to the NYT for taking advantage of a slideshow format and showing us the marvy illustrations that are the reason these books are on the list in the first place.
Anyway, here's another one from the New York Times, this time of the Best Illustrated Children's Books. Notice that canny wording? That's so they can slip in stuff like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Peter Sis's The Wall, and Shaun Tan's The Arrival. Good choices all, just not the preschool-oriented fare that the words "picture book" imply.
And as Fuse #8 noted, they messed up a little by including my favorite-ever Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, which was actually published 2006. I'm not going to say anything though, because the more publicity for one of my favorite bunnies, the better.
ETA: I don't know how they did it last year, but kudos to the NYT for taking advantage of a slideshow format and showing us the marvy illustrations that are the reason these books are on the list in the first place.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Publisher's Weekly's Best Books of 2007
Publisher's Weekly has already picked the best books of 2007. If you're published in November or December, you are just SOL, apparently.
That said, I do agree with some of their picks. For instance, Knuffle Bunny Too and Emily Gravett's Orange Pear Apple Bear in the picture book category.
But let's have a look at the "children's fiction" section, and count how many you wouldn't give to your eight-year-old.
I'll give you a minute.
Not that I don't want to sing the praises of Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, or Catherine Jinks' Evil Genius. They deserve all the champagne and truffles they can get.
But come on, PW, just make a separate YA section already, and give up more space in children's! Where the hell is the love for The Talented Clementine, huh? You have every genre known to adultkind up there, but you can't be arsed to sacrifice a few more inches to tell parents about books like Margaret Peterson Haddix's Dexter the Tough?
I love YA. You people know this. But there's a teeming underworld of marvelous children's books that don't get any attention from mainstream media, and this is where it starts. Because if PW doesn't consider them worth a mention, why should anybody else?
I gotta go breathe into a paper bag now.
Thanks to Fuse #8 for the heads-up.
That said, I do agree with some of their picks. For instance, Knuffle Bunny Too and Emily Gravett's Orange Pear Apple Bear in the picture book category.
But let's have a look at the "children's fiction" section, and count how many you wouldn't give to your eight-year-old.
I'll give you a minute.
Not that I don't want to sing the praises of Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, or Catherine Jinks' Evil Genius. They deserve all the champagne and truffles they can get.
But come on, PW, just make a separate YA section already, and give up more space in children's! Where the hell is the love for The Talented Clementine, huh? You have every genre known to adultkind up there, but you can't be arsed to sacrifice a few more inches to tell parents about books like Margaret Peterson Haddix's Dexter the Tough?
I love YA. You people know this. But there's a teeming underworld of marvelous children's books that don't get any attention from mainstream media, and this is where it starts. Because if PW doesn't consider them worth a mention, why should anybody else?
I gotta go breathe into a paper bag now.
Thanks to Fuse #8 for the heads-up.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Best Books 2007: Ze Grande Liste!
So MotherReader posted her final list of Best Books of 2007, as nominated by bloggers all over the kidlitosphere. And it only took me, ummm, a week to post it? Go me. Clearly on top of things. In my own defense it took me that long to write down all those titles in my Blue Journal of Stuff I Gotta Read Before I Die.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
The Best Books of the Year (So Far): Elementary School
The Best Elementary Book of the Year (So Far):
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret is convinced that his clockmaker father left him a message in a clockwork man. But it needs to be fixed first. He lives secretly in the walls of a Paris train station, stealing bits and pieces from a toymaker to repair his father's legacy. However, Hugo's not the only one with secrets around here . . .
Possibly the neatest thing about this book is its design. Half traditional novel, half graphic novel, Selznick riffs on his silent-movie theme by interspersing chunks of wordless illustrations with regular narration. Illustration, in fact, may be the wrong word, because that connotes words that explicate the text, and that's not the case here. Instead, the storytelling medium moves gracefully from words to pictures and back to words, trusting in both to tell the story.
It could just be a gimmick book, except that Selznick's got the storytelling chops to draw us into this story of 20th-century Paris and the world of silent film. In the end, we barely notice the transition because the story has enveloped us.
This one might be a hand-sell for librarians everywhere because of its intimidating bulk (550 pages!), but I guarantee, the minute you flip it open to the first of Selznick's black-and-white illustrations, that book will be out of your hands and on the checkout counter.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret is convinced that his clockmaker father left him a message in a clockwork man. But it needs to be fixed first. He lives secretly in the walls of a Paris train station, stealing bits and pieces from a toymaker to repair his father's legacy. However, Hugo's not the only one with secrets around here . . .
Possibly the neatest thing about this book is its design. Half traditional novel, half graphic novel, Selznick riffs on his silent-movie theme by interspersing chunks of wordless illustrations with regular narration. Illustration, in fact, may be the wrong word, because that connotes words that explicate the text, and that's not the case here. Instead, the storytelling medium moves gracefully from words to pictures and back to words, trusting in both to tell the story.
It could just be a gimmick book, except that Selznick's got the storytelling chops to draw us into this story of 20th-century Paris and the world of silent film. In the end, we barely notice the transition because the story has enveloped us.
This one might be a hand-sell for librarians everywhere because of its intimidating bulk (550 pages!), but I guarantee, the minute you flip it open to the first of Selznick's black-and-white illustrations, that book will be out of your hands and on the checkout counter.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Best Book of the Year So Far: Middle School
Looking at my two picks tonight, I realized I had two distinct types represented: "Suitable for Middle School Readers" and "Tween."
The Bibliovore's Best Middle School Book of the Year (So Far)
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landry
I must have heard about this book from six or seven different bloggers. I thought for sure it couldn't be that good. I was wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of this book. (No pun intended.)
At thirteen years old, Stephanie has inherited an entire house. Unfortunately, the person she inherited it from was murdered . . . and she might be next. Lucky thing she's got the walking, talking skeleton on her side.
Tongue firmly in cheek, Landry takes us through a roller-coaster adventure with a sensible, gutsy heroine and a seen-it-all-and-done-more hero. Possibly the best example of why this book was so much fun can be contained in this quote from Stephanie, after Skulduggery Pleasant gives a long-winded and confusing explanation of something or other.
"Wait, I think I almost understood that . . ." The car went over a bump. "No, it's gone now."
I hope this blog isn't the first place you've heard about Skulduggery Pleasant, but if it is, run out and pick up your copy today.
Honorable Mention
The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt
Devon Delaney's in trouble. See, while visiting her grandmother over the summer, she told her new friend Lexi all about her wild popularity and her cuter-than-cute boyfriend. Only problem? It was all a lie.
It seemed safe enough when Lexi didn't even go to her school, but guess who moved just before school started? Watch the feathers fly as Devon scrambles to make the facade real. The harder she works, though, the more she wonders if it's all worth it.
Tween books are strange animals. (Almost as strange as tweens.) There's a temptation to dismiss them as watered-down YA, but they are about a very specific period in a kid's life, not so much an age as a dividing line between child and teenager. Most kids trip over it. The best tween books, like The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, show the trip, the splat, and the getting up again in brilliant 3-D.
The Bibliovore's Best Middle School Book of the Year (So Far)
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landry
I must have heard about this book from six or seven different bloggers. I thought for sure it couldn't be that good. I was wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of this book. (No pun intended.)
At thirteen years old, Stephanie has inherited an entire house. Unfortunately, the person she inherited it from was murdered . . . and she might be next. Lucky thing she's got the walking, talking skeleton on her side.
Tongue firmly in cheek, Landry takes us through a roller-coaster adventure with a sensible, gutsy heroine and a seen-it-all-and-done-more hero. Possibly the best example of why this book was so much fun can be contained in this quote from Stephanie, after Skulduggery Pleasant gives a long-winded and confusing explanation of something or other.
"Wait, I think I almost understood that . . ." The car went over a bump. "No, it's gone now."
I hope this blog isn't the first place you've heard about Skulduggery Pleasant, but if it is, run out and pick up your copy today.
Honorable Mention
The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt
Devon Delaney's in trouble. See, while visiting her grandmother over the summer, she told her new friend Lexi all about her wild popularity and her cuter-than-cute boyfriend. Only problem? It was all a lie.
It seemed safe enough when Lexi didn't even go to her school, but guess who moved just before school started? Watch the feathers fly as Devon scrambles to make the facade real. The harder she works, though, the more she wonders if it's all worth it.
Tween books are strange animals. (Almost as strange as tweens.) There's a temptation to dismiss them as watered-down YA, but they are about a very specific period in a kid's life, not so much an age as a dividing line between child and teenager. Most kids trip over it. The best tween books, like The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, show the trip, the splat, and the getting up again in brilliant 3-D.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Best Books of the Year (So Far): High School
Hey, I'm back! It's been a wild summer, but I lived through it, and they tell me they can take the straitjacket off just as soon as I stop talking to my toenail clippings.
Anyway, I thought my first real review back should be a good one. I have many saved up, but not one quite special enough. What to do? Then MotherReader, who is the champion of kidlitosphere challenges, offered up another one.
Well, okay then. I'm starting today with my pick for best High School book of 2007. Drumroll please!
The Bibliovore's Best High School Book of 2007 (So Far): Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
I've already blogged this, so I'll just point you at that entry: Story of a Girl Bibliovore Review
Honorable Mention: The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
This was a photo finish, folks. You should have seen the wailing and tearing of hair here at Casa de Bibliovore. This sequel to Dairy Queen, which I also blogged last year, is the second story in the life of D.J. Schwenk, where Catherine Gilbert Murdock takes on all the untold stories from the first book. We get to know both the estranged brothers (Win and Bill) better, and DJ's relationship with Brian Nelson takes some unexpected turns. Murdock continues what I loved about the first book: DJ's frank, colloquial voice and the focus on interpersonal relationships. Without giving too much away, she diverges from the obvious story and talks about what's really going on in this family and this young woman. More, please? Maybe?
Coming tomorrow: Middle School!
Anyway, I thought my first real review back should be a good one. I have many saved up, but not one quite special enough. What to do? Then MotherReader, who is the champion of kidlitosphere challenges, offered up another one.
If you want to join in, starting after Labor Day, post your "Best Books of 2007 (So Far)" in any or all of the categories: Picture Books, Early Elementary, Elementary, Middle School, High School. Mix in your nonfiction or graphic novels by the age categories.
Well, okay then. I'm starting today with my pick for best High School book of 2007. Drumroll please!
The Bibliovore's Best High School Book of 2007 (So Far): Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
I've already blogged this, so I'll just point you at that entry: Story of a Girl Bibliovore Review
Honorable Mention: The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
This was a photo finish, folks. You should have seen the wailing and tearing of hair here at Casa de Bibliovore. This sequel to Dairy Queen, which I also blogged last year, is the second story in the life of D.J. Schwenk, where Catherine Gilbert Murdock takes on all the untold stories from the first book. We get to know both the estranged brothers (Win and Bill) better, and DJ's relationship with Brian Nelson takes some unexpected turns. Murdock continues what I loved about the first book: DJ's frank, colloquial voice and the focus on interpersonal relationships. Without giving too much away, she diverges from the obvious story and talks about what's really going on in this family and this young woman. More, please? Maybe?
Coming tomorrow: Middle School!
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