Announcing the 2014 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

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Happy New Year!

I always wait until the year is completely over to decide my favorite books of the year — I always hope to squeeze in a few more books read.

New Year’s Day is also when the Cybils Finalists are announced. This past year I served on the panel to choose the Finalists in Speculative Fiction for Elementary and Middle Grades. The Cybils Finalists are distinctive in that each panel tries to create a balanced list with literary excellence and child appeal. Our hope is that something on the list will appeal to every reader in our target age range. To come up with such a list, we discuss the books and weigh the other opinions in the panel.

Sonderbooks Stand-outs are not like that. These are simply my favorite books from my year of reading. I don’t attempt to evaluate “literary excellence” or which books are most worthy of an award. I don’t count books reread, but other than that I don’t worry about publication year. If I read it in 2014, it’s eligible. These are the books that stood out in my mind after a year of reading, ranked according to how much I personally enjoyed them.

Of course, all the books are highly recommended. Refer to the review to find out more.

As I’m first posting this, I don’t have reviews posted yet of every book on the list. I hope to rectify that soon and catch up on posting all the reviews I’ve written this year. (And I’ve promised myself that if I haven’t caught up by the end of January, I’ll just post the reviews on the blog and not on the main site.) Tonight I don’t yet have the 2014 Stand-outs page on my main site, but that will also follow soon.

Without further ado, here are the 2014 Sonderbooks Stand-outs:

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Children’s Fiction:
1. The Winter Horses, by Philip Kerr
2. The Castle Behind Thorns, by Merrie Haskell
3. Greenglass House, by Kate Milford
4. The Whispering Skull, by Jonathan Stroud
5. The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier
6. The Interrupted Tale, by Maryrose Wood
7. Jinx’s Magic, by Sage Blackwood
8. The Great Greene Heist, by Varian Johnson
9. Lulu and the Rabbit Next Door, by Hilary McKay
10. Constable & Toop, by Gareth P. Jones
11. The Swallow, by Charis Cotter

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Teen Fiction:
1. Mortal Heart, by Robin LaFevers
2. Impossible, by Nancy Werlin
3. All the Truth That’s In Me, by Julie Berry
4. The Caller, by Juliet Marillier
5. Unthinkable, by Nancy Werlin
6. The Shadow Hero, by Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew
7. Chasing Power, by Sarah Beth Durst
8. Extraordinary, by Nancy Werlin

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Fiction for Adults:
1. You Should Have Known, by Jean Hanff Korelitz
2. Chestnut Street, by Maeve Binchy
3. The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen
4. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin
5. Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple

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Nonfiction:
1. Tiny Beautiful Things, by Cheryl Strayed
2. Her Gates Will Never Be Shut, by Bradley Jersak
3. Daring Greatly, by Brené Brown
4. Trees Up Close, by Nancy Ross Hugo and Robert Llewellyn
5. How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk, by John van Epp
6. Quiet, by Susan Cain
7. Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes, by Ken Libbrecht
8. Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing, by Megan Smolenyak
9. Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth
10. The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide to the Elements, by Paul Parsons

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Children’s Nonfiction:
1. A Boy and a Jaguar, by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Cátia Chen
2. Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
3. Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold, by Joyce Sidman & Rick Allen
4. The Scraps Book, by Lois Ehlert
5. The Great American Dust Bowl, by Don Brown
6. Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature, by Sarah C. Campbell
7. A Little Book of Sloth, by Lucy Cooke

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Picture Books:
1. Anna and Solomon, by Elaine Snyder, pictures by Harry Bliss
2. The Princess in Black, by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
3. A Dance Like Starlight, by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
4. Winter Is Coming, by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Jim LaMarche
5. Once Upon an Alphabet, by Oliver Jeffers
6. The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires
7. Anna Carries Water, by Olive Senior, illustrations by Laura James
8. Waiting Is Not Easy! by Mo Willems
9. Grandfather Gandhi, by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus, illustrated by Evan Turk
10. The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems
11. Two Speckled Eggs, by Jennifer K. Mann

Now it’s your turn. Which were your favorite books you read in 2014? Are any of them the same as mine? What did I miss?

Stand-out Author: Holly Black

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I’m doing a series on Stand-out Authors — Authors whose books are 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but are not making their first appearances on my lists.

Holly Black, like three other authors, has her fourth Sonderbooks Stand-out this year.

I’ve read many of her books, and they aren’t always my favorites. This year was her first children’s book (as opposed to YA) that made my list. I wasn’t the only one who loved it, as Doll Bones was also a Newbery Honor Book this year. It’s an atmospheric quest story about three kids growing out of childhood while they lay to rest human bones embedded in a doll.

My other favorites were from the Curseworkers series, with White Cat appearing in 2010, and then again in 2011 in audiobook form. The second book, Red Glove also made an appearance in 2011. These books involve an alternate reality where certain people have the ability to curse others simply by touching them. Cassel has to decide whether to use his powers for good or for evil, for his family or for the government — and which of those is good and which evil.

Holly Black is someone with lots of imagination and a knack of telling a suspenseful story. Check out her books!

Stand-out Authors: Laini Taylor

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I’m doing a series on Stand-out Authors — Authors whose books are 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but are not making their first appearances on my lists.

Laini Taylor is another who has a Sonderbooks Stand-out for the fourth time this year.

I first read her books in 2009. The first one I read was Dreamdark: Blackbringer, which I thought was excellent, and gave a starred review. Then I read its sequel, Silksinger, and was completely blown away. Silksinger was #6 in Fantasy Teen Fiction on the 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

The same year, I read Lips Touch: Three Times, an innovative collection of three highly original stories. That book was #8 in Fantasy Teen Fiction the same year.

Laini Taylor began a new series in 2011, which is consistently excellent. The first book, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, was #2 in Teen Fiction, Fantasy on my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, with an amazing story about a devil in love with an angel.

And I read the second book in the series this past year, and wasn’t a bit surprised when it was also a Stand-out. Days of Blood and Starlight was #7 in Teen Fiction on my 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, continuing the dramatic story.

What I noticed about Laini Taylor’s books right from the start is she has the resonance of folklore themes — but not your traditional western folklore. There are twists to these fairies, angels, and demons. She has a whole new perspective, and her imagination stands out. I have no doubt whatsoever that her books will continue to appear on my Stand-outs lists for many years to come.

Stand-out Author: Diana Peterfreund

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I’m featuring authors whose books were 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and it was not their first appearance as a Stand-out.

Now I’m looking at authors who have Sonderbooks Stand-outs for the fourth time in 2013. One of those, Diana Peterfreund, has had every book of hers I read be listed as a Sonderbooks Stand-out, and what’s more, twice her books have been #1 in Teen Fiction.

Her first book, Rampant, was #1 in Teen Fiction in 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and this year she did it again with Across a Star-Swept Sea.

Last year, For Darkness Shows the Stars was #2 in Teen Fiction in 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and her #5 showing in 2010 Sonderbooks Stand-outs with Ascendant was a very low showing by Diana Peterfreund’s standards.

I hope she will have many more books forthcoming. I have a feeling she doesn’t know how to write a book I don’t love.

Stand-out Author: Steven Stosny

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I’m doing a series on Stand-out Authors, looking at authors with books among my 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs who have had books on previous years’ lists.

Steven Stosny is tied for second place with five books that are Sonderbooks Stand-outs. His contribution this year, Living and Loving After Betrayal: How to Heal from Emotional Abuse, Deceit, Infidelity, and Chronic Resentment was #1 in Nonfiction.

The first book I read by Steven Stosny was also #1 in Nonfiction (Personal Growth) on the 2006 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. 2006 was the year my life completely fell apart, and his book You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore was one of the most helpful books I read the whole year.

In 2007, I was reading every Steven Stosny book I could get my hands on, and three more made the 2007 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. However, 2007 was the year I was getting my Master’s in Library and Information Science, and I didn’t ever get those books reviewed. But the other three Sonderbooks Stand-outs were:

#1 in Nonfiction, Relationships: How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It, written with Patricia Love

#2 in Nonfiction, Personal Growth: The Manual of the Core Value Workshop
I got to go to Steven Stosny’s Relationship Boot Camp, and this manual holds much of the information.

And finally, #6 in Nonfiction, Personal Growth: The Powerful Self
All of his books are so affirming, and this one emphasizes that aspect of healing.

You can see why I think of Steven Stosny’s books as a huge part of my healing process! They are all highly recommended.

2013 Stand-out Authors: Maeve Binchy

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I’m featuring Stand-out Authors: Authors who appeared previously on my Sonderbooks Stand-outs and are back for 2013.

Two authors appeared for the fifth time this year. But one of those makes me sad, because this will presumably be her last appearance. Maeve Binchy died in 2012, so her 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out, A Week in Winter, which was #5 in Fiction, is her last book. (Though there are a few I missed, so maybe she can still be on the list posthumously.)

A lot more of Maeve Binchy’s books are my favorites than just five, but I began reading her work before I ever started writing Sonderbooks. In fact, she first showed up on the list in my second year of doing them, 2002, with the book Quentins, which was #2 in Fiction for Grown-ups. Quentins tells about the proprietors of a restaurant in Dublin, and I love that it’s mentioned in almost all her later books.

She consistently continues to appear every few years. In 2004, it was Nights of Rain and Stars, which was #1 in Literary Fiction. In this book, a group of tourists witness a tragedy in Greece, and they form a bond. We learn what’s going on with each person. I also love that some of these characters are referred to in later books. Maeve Binchy’s books are like big family gatherings. You don’t have to know the earlier references, but there’s extra richness if you do.

I think I skipped a couple books there, because the next Maeve Binchy Stand-out is #4 in Fiction in 2009, Heart and Soul. This book features people who work in a heart clinic in Dublin. Again, she gets us inside the heads and hearts of a wide variety of people.

Finally (before this year), we have #2 in Other Fiction in 2011, Minding Frankie. Minding Frankie is about a little girl whose mother dies, and the community of people who come together to care for her.

Community. Getting inside people’s heads and hearts. Maeve Binchy’s books get under my skin every time. She is sadly missed already.

2013 Stand-out Authors: Juliet Marillier

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Last year, after posting my Sonderbooks Stand-outs, I did a series on Stand-out Authors, and I’m going to do it again. I will highlight people whose books are Sonderbooks Stand-outs this year, and not for the first time.

This year, there was only one author who appeared more than once — and she appeared four times! Last year, Juliet Marillier had a total of six Sonderbooks Stand-outs to her name. This year, she has ten!

I already featured her earlier books, so let’s just look at the four I read this year.

She had #2 and #3 in Fiction with further books in the Sevenwaters series, The Seer of Sevenwaters and Flame of Sevenwaters. (I couldn’t really decide which one was better, so I just put them in order!)

In Teen Fiction, she had #5, Raven Flight, the sequel to last year’s Sonderbooks Stand-out, Shadowfell.

After reading those, I decided it was high time I catch up on the books she’d written before I discovered her. Now, lately I spend most of my reading time reading books written in the current year. But Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood was well worth making an exception for, and ended up #6 in Fiction.

So not only did Juliet Marillier end up with the most Sonderbooks Stand-outs this year, she’s got twice as many total as the person with the next most.

I definitely need to start calling her one of my favorite authors. And I’ll be seeking out more of her backlist this year, so I have a feeling her name is going to be prominent among 2014 Sonderbooks Stand-outs as well.

Which of her backlist should I read next? Please let me know in the comments!

Review of Bedtime Math, by Laura Overdeck, illustrated by Jim Paillot

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Bedtime Math
by Laura Overdeck

A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late

illustrated by Jim Paillot

Feiwel and Friends, New York, 2013. 86 pages.
Starred Review
2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #6 Children’s Nonfiction

I already talked about Bedtime Math on my blog, when it only referred to a website. Then I used the book in my Every Child Ready to Read program, “Fun with Math for Parents and Preschoolers.”

I am tremendously excited about Bedtime Math, because I discovered how wonderful it is years ago, when my second son was about five years old. I’m not sure how it started, but he began asking for math problems at bedtime. (It might have been when I told him that when he turned six, his age plus his age would equal his brother’s age, and his age *times* his age would equal my age. His next question was, “What’s times?” One week later, his brother asked him “What’s 16 times 4?” and he figured out the answer in his head!)

Anyway, this started a stretch where I’d make up math problems for him at bedtime, after reading three books, when he was tucked in and cozy in bed. He learned the magic words I was NOT able to resist that would extend bedtime on and on: “Just one more math problem, Mommy, please!”

The problems in Bedtime Math are much better and more fun than the simply numerical problems I made up for my son. Each two-page spread has a fun scenario, followed by related math problems, one for “wee ones” (involving counting), one for “Little kids,” and one for “Big kids.” You can also get problems from their website or app.

The categories used are “Exploding Food,” “Wild Pets,” “Extreme Vehicles,” “Sports You Shouldn’t Try at Home,” and “Really Odd Jobs.”
For example, after telling us about squirt bottles for ketchup (“Squirting ketchup is also more fun than throwing a tomato: While a tomato smacking into something might explode and make a mess, ketchup already is a mess.”), here are the problems listed:

Wee ones: If you squirt 3 squirts of ketchup on a hot dog, and then 1 more squirt on your friend’s head, how many squirts did you fire off?

Little kids: If you line up some burgers and squirt ketchup on the 1st burger, then every 3rd burger after that, which burger in the lineup is the 4th burger to get squirted?

Big kids: If you squirt 2 cups of ketchup, and each cup used 14 tomatoes, how many tomatoes’ worth of ketchup did you just squirt?

I am excited about Bedtime Math! May the Math Madness spread! Laura Overdeck says in the Introduction:

Bedtime Math’s goal is simple: to make math a fun part of kids’ everyday lives, not just something found only in homework assignments. Math should be as beloved as the bedtime story….We never hear people say “Ewww, a book at bedtime?!” Likewise, there’s absolutely no reason to say that about math. Numbers are beautiful, and kids love attention. Bedtime Math just puts the two together. With that, let the games begin.

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Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/bedtime_math.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Another Sonderbooks Stand-out!

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Oops! Announcing another 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out!

Here’s the deal. In all the years previously, I’d go back through my earlier posts before I chose my stand-outs and make a list of all the books I reviewed that year. But it got confusing on the years where I didn’t finish posting all the reviews of the previous year when that year started.

So this year, I had a bright idea. I’d make a spreadsheet of every book I read from the beginning of 2013 onward. Then I used the spreadsheet list to choose my Stand-outs. So much easier!

There was only one little problem. I forgot to write down some titles. So far, I’ve moved my total of books read up to 552 from the original 549 I posted. But the very worst oversight is the one I realized today. This morning I went to Capitol Choices, where we finalize our list for 2013. And I realized, to my horror, that I had not put Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick, on my list.

How could I possibly have forgotten Midwinterblood? The only defense I have is that I read it very early in the year — and somehow I forgot to put it on my spreadsheet.

As soon as I remembered it, there was no doubt in my mind that I have to put it on my list. This is super annoying, since I already numbered the lists. But Midwinterblood is the new #4 Sonderbooks Stand-out in Teen Fiction!

And I’m going to be so careful in 2014 not to forget to write down any titles!

Review of Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids, by Jerome Pohlen

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Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids

His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities and Thought Experiments

by Jerome Pohlen

Chicago Review Press, 2012. 126 pages.
Starred Review

Wow! This book not only tells you about Albert Einstein’s life, it also gives you a grasp of the basic ideas behind relativity. In a way kids can understand. In a way I can understand!

The majority of the book is a serviceable, well-written biography. It tells about Einstein’s life, his family, where he lived, and how the two world wars affected him. There are many old photographs and other visual aids.

But along with the biography, you’ve got a series of thought experiments and other activities to help the reader understand the concepts. It starts with one of Albert Einstein’s earliest experiments, playing with a magnet and compass. In the section on his childhood, you’re challenged to build a house of cards, something he liked to do as a child. It continues with a cool experiment calculating the speed of life with a chocolate bar in a microwave and an experiment with milk in a water bottle that shows why the sky is blue. Especially interesting are thought experiments which Einstein himself described to help understand Relativity.

The combination of facts with activities and thought experiments makes this an especially interesting book that kids will understand at a deeper level.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/albert_einstein_and_relativity.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.