Sonderbooks

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January 1, 2022

Announcing my 2021 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

These are personal favorites -- books that made me happy. I hope they'll make you happy, too!

You can find out about my 2021 Reading Year on my blog.

Happy Reading!

—Sondra Eklund




Nonfiction
Stamped from the Beginning
  1. Stamped from the Beginning:
    The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
    2. by Ibram X. Kendi

  2. Intimate Conversations with the Divine:
    Prayer, Guidance, and Grace
    3. by Caroline Myss

  3. Every Thing Is Sacred:
    40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ
    4. by Richard Rohr and Patrick Boland

  4. The Art of Bible Translation
    5. by Robert Alter

  5. Two Trains Leave Paris:
    Number Problems for Word People
    6. by Taylor Marie Frey
    and Mike Wesolowski

  6. Subpar Parks:
    America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors
    7. by Amber Share



Children's Nonfiction
Unspeakable
  1. Unspeakable:
    The Tulsa Race Massacre
    2. by Carole Boston Weatherford
    illustrated by Floyd Cooper

  2. Boardwalk Babies
    3. by Marissa Moss
    illustrated by April Chu

  3. Born on the Water:
    The 1619 Project
    4. by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson
    illustrated by Nikkolas Smith

  4. Hear My Voice:
    The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States
    5. compiled by Warren Binford for Project Amplify

  5. The Great Stink
    6. by Colleen Paeff
    illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

  6. Geometry Is as Easy as Pie
    7. by Katie Coppens

  7. Code Breaker, Spy Hunter:
    How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars
    8. by Laurie Wallmark
    art by Brooke Smart

  8. A Sporting Chance:
    How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games
    9. by Lori Alexander
    illustrated by Allan Drummond

  9. The Pig War:
    How a Porcine Tragedy Taught England and America to Share
    10. by Emma Bland Smith
    illustrated by Alison Jay

  10. Maryam's Magic:
    The Story of Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani
    11. by Megan Reid
    illustrations by Aaliya Jaleel


Fiction
The Jane Austen Society
  1. The Jane Austen Society
    2. by Natalie Jenner
    read by Richard Armitage

  2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
    3. by V. E. Schwab
    narrated by Julia Whelan

  3. A Deadly Education
    4. by Naomi Novik

  4. Cloud Cuckoo Land
    5. by Anthony Doerr

  5. The House in the Cerulean Sea
    6. by T. J. Klune
    read by Daniel Henning

  6. The Hidden Palace
    7. by Helene Wecker

  7. The Jane Austen Project
    8. by Kathleen A. Flynn
    performed by Saskia Maarleveld

  8. This Is How It Always Is
    9. by Laurie Frankel
    read by Gabra Zackman

  9. Longbourn
    10. by Jo Baker
    read by Emma Fielding

  10. The Last Graduate
    11. by Naomi Novik

  11. Unmarriageable
    12. by Soniah Kamal

  12. A Song of Flight
    13. by Juliet Marillier



Children's Fiction
Pony
  1. Pony
    2. by R. J. Palacio
    read by Ian M. Hawkins

  2. Just Like That
    3. by Gary D. Schmidt

  3. Amber & Clay
    4. by Laura Amy Schlitz
    with illustrations by Julia Iredale

  4. Long Road to the Circus
    5. by Betsy Bird
    illustrations by David Small

  5. Starfish
    6. by Lisa Fipps

  6. Pax
    Journey Home
    7. by Sara Pennypacker

  7. The Beatryce Prophecy
    8. by Kate DiCamillo

  8. In the Red
    9. by Christopher Swiedler

  9. Merci Suárez Can’t Dance
    10. by Meg Medina


Teen Fiction
Firekeeper's Daughter
  1. Firekeeper's Daughter
    2. by Angeline Boulley
    read by Isabella Star LaBlanc

  2. The Girls I've Been
    3. by Tess Sharpe
    read by the author

  3. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
    4. by Holly Black
    illustrated by Rovina Cai

  4. Everything Sad Is Untrue
    5. by Daniel Nayeri

  5. Blackout
    6. by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

  6. Winterkeep
    7. by Kristin Cashore

  7. Beasts and Beauty
    8. by Soman Chainani
    illustrated by Julia Iredale

  8. Terciel & Elinor
    9. by Garth Nix


Picture Books
Watercress
  1. Watercress
    2. by Andrea Wang
    pictures by Jason Chin

  2. The Passover Guest
    3. by Susan Kusel
    illustrated by Sean Rubin

  3. Seven Golden Rings
    4. by Rajani LaRocca
    illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan

  4. Fred Gets Dressed
    5. by Peter Brown

  5. The Little Blue Bridge
    6. by Brenda Maier
    pictures by Sonia Sánchez

  6. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess
    7. by Tom Gauld

  7. Simon at the Art Museum
    8. by Christina Soontornvat
    art by Christine Davenier

  8. Milo Imagines the World
    9. by Matt de la Peña
    pictures by Christian Robinson

  9. Luna's Yum Yum Dim Sum
    10. by Natasha Yim
    illustrated by Violet Kim

  10. Lia & Luís
    11. Who Has More?
    by Ana Crespo
    illustrated by Giovana Medeiros