2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

Announcing my 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

I always wait until the year is over to announce my Stand-outs for the year, since I’m always reading right up until the last day of the year. This year, I’m in California visiting my family, so I’m not sure how soon I’ll get the chance to put up the permanent webpage for my Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but I’m at least getting the chance tonight to list my choices.

Here’s how it works: At the end of the year, I announce my personal favorites of the books I have read over the year. I just posted my stats for the year, and then remembered one picture book I’d read and reviewed this year that is not on my list, so I did hit 300 picture books!

My totals were 300 picture books,
59 books of children’s fiction,
35 books of teen fiction,
24 books of fiction for adults,
73 books of children’s nonfiction (many of which were picture books),
47 books of nonfiction for adults,
and 13 books of various levels that I’ve read some time before.

For a total of 551 books read in 2013. So you see, my Stand-outs have to be excellent to stand out!

I will not rank the rereads — those are my favorite books anyway, and I refuse to compare Pride and Prejudice with The Blue Castle. All the rest I’ll rank within the categories listed above, bearing in mind that this is purely subjective. It also does not reflect any committee I’m on, and doesn’t mean I necessarily think these are the highest quality books I read — they are simply the ones I enjoyed the most.

Yes, I’m a Cybils second-round judge, but I had only read two of the Finalists by the end of the year, anyway, and I haven’t yet discussed them with the other judges. I do like it that those two books were already my favorite Children’s Fiction read this year — and I’m planning to reread them, so the order between just those two may well change.

I’ve written reviews for all of my stand-outs, but a few of those reviews haven’t been posted yet. I will fill them in as soon as possible, as well as update their listings on my main website.

Beginning with Children’s Fiction:

1. The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud
2. Jinx, by Sage Blackwood
3. Doll Bones, by Holly Black
4. The Runaway King, by Jennifer A. Nielsen
5. Better Nate Than Ever, by Tim Federle
6. Heaven Is Paved with Oreos, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Young Adult Fiction:

1. Across a Star-Swept Sea, by Diana Peterfreund
2. Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
3. Dark Triumph, by Robin LaFevers
4. Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick *
5. Raven Flight, by Juliet Marillier
6. Every Day, by David Levithan
7. Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor
8. Dodger, by Terry Pratchett
9. Conjured, by Sarah Beth Durst

Fiction for Adults:

1. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker
2. The Seer of Sevenwaters, by Juliet Marillier
3. Flame of Sevenwaters, by Juliet Marillier
4. Sense and Sensibility, by Joanna Trollope
5. A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy
6. Heart’s Blood, by Juliet Marillier
7. A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan

Nonfiction for Adults:

1. Living and Loving After Betrayal, by Steven Stosny
2. Runaway Husbands, by Vikki Stark
3. Let Go Now, by Karen Casey
4. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, by Nina Sankovitch
5. Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac, by Anita Silvey
6. Cold Tangerines, by Shauna Niequist
7. Christianity After Religion, by Diana Butler Bass
8. Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? by Brian D. McLaren
9. Top Dog, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Children’s Nonfiction:

1. That’s a Possibility!, by Bruce Goldstone
2. The Boy Who Loved Math, by Deborah Heiligman and LeUyen Pham
3. Look Up!, by Annette LeBlanc Cate
4. Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids, by Jerome Pohlen
5. Bomb, by Steve Sheinkin
6. Bedtime Math, by Laura Overdeck and Jim Paillot
7. Poems to Learn by Heart, by Caroline Kennedy and Jon J. Muth

And Picture Books:

1. Sophie’s Squash, by Pat Zietlow Miller and Anne Wilsdorf
2. The Dark, by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen
3. Frog Trouble, by Sandra Boynton
4. Flora and the Flamingo, by Molly Idle
5. Tiny Little Fly, by Michael Rosen and Kevin Waldron
6. Exclamation Mark!, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
7. Paul Meets Bernadette, by Rosy Lamb
8. Mr. Wuffles!, by David Wiesner

There you have them! The highlights of my reading year! I hope you enjoy them, too!

Stand-out Authors: Second-Timers

Here’s one last post about the authors who appeared on my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs who have had Stand-outs in years past. This post will be about the twelve authors who are appearing this year for the second time. Most of these are only there the second time because I’ve only just discovered them. I’m looking forward to reading more of their work!

Let’s start with the one with the biggest gap. Back in 2002, Patricia Polacco had a #2 Sonderbooks Stand-out in Picture Books with the book Christmas Tapestry, a heart-warming picture book. This year’s Stand-out, The Art of Miss Chew, is yet another heart-warming picture book.

Another picture book author from this year, Kate DiCamillo, co-author of Bink and Gollie: Two for One, had a book on my 2003 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, her Newbery-winning The Tale of Despereaux, which came in at #3 in Children’s Fantasy.

And while I’m talking about Bink and Gollie: Two for One, I should mention that its illustrator, Tony Facile, appeared on my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs with a book he illustrated and wrote himself, Mitchell’s License, my #3 choice in Picture Books in 2011. His style, developed in animation, works so well in picture books.

Back in 2004, another author with a picture book on the list this year had a children’s novel on the 2004 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Kevin Henkes, author of my #1 Picture Book this year, Penny and Her Song, was #8 in Children’s Contemporary Novels in 2004 with Olive’s Ocean.

And one more picture book author from this year is a second-timer. Jon Klassen’s two Hat books, besides winning ALA recognition, were both Sonderbooks Stand-outs. This year’s offering and Caldecott Medal winner, This Is Not My Hat was #4 in Picture Books on my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Last year’s I Want My Hat Back was also #4 in Picture Books, but this one was on my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

This year’s Caldecott Medalist is a Second-Timer to Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and so is this year’s Newbery Medalist, Katherine Applegate. The Newbery Medal-winning book, The One and Only Ivan, was #2 in Other Children’s Fiction on 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but I first discovered her writing in 2009, when Home of the Brave was #1 in Other Children’s Fiction on my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. (And I usually don’t like prose poems! In both these cases — gorilla or immigrant without much command of English — it seemed completely appropriate.)

And another Newbery Medalist first appeared on my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but for Rebecca Stead, it was the earlier book, When You Reach Me, that won the Newbery Medal. It also was my #1 in Children’s Fantasy and Science Fiction. This year, with Liar and Spy, she was #4 in Other Children’s Fiction.

And yet another Newbery Honoree first showed up in 2009. Grace Lin’s Newbery Honor Book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, was #5 in Children’s Fantasy and Science Fiction on my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. This year, the companion novel, Starry River of the Sky, was also #5.

There’s one more Second-Timer in Children’s Fiction, and I’m happy to say that she’s a new writer. Her first two books have both been Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and I am hopeful there will be many more to come. Stephanie Burgis’s debut novel, Kat, Incorrigible was #4 in Children’s Fiction on my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. The follow-up, Renegade Magic, was #8 in Children’s Fantasy and Science Fiction on this year’s list.

One author of Children’s Nonfiction made the Sonderbooks Stand-outs for the second time this year. Philip Hoose had a #1 book on my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs with Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, and this year he made my list again with Moonbird, at #9 in Children’s Nonfiction.

One writer of Nonfiction for adults appeared on my lists the same two years as Philip Hoose. Karen Casey’s book Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow was #2 in Other Nonfiction on my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. That led directly to my purchasing Each Day a New Beginning, which was #7 in Other Nonfiction on this year’s list.

Finally, one last Second-Timer is the only one writing novels for adults. Chris Cleave first appeared on my 2010 Sonderbooks Stand-outs with the stunning novel Little Bee. Little Bee was #4 in Fiction, and is a book I will remember all my life. (It was only the disturbing nature of the book that got more pleasant books ranked above it. Powerful stuff, though.) This year’s book about the Olympics, Gold, was also #4, this time in Other Fiction (as opposed to Fantasy).

I hope I haven’t seen the last of these authors! May they write many more books, and may I love their future work as much as I did these. If you haven’t caught these books from the past, I highly recommend them. At least with these second-timers, you can easily catch up!

Stand-out Authors: Third-Timers

I’m winding down my posts about authors who were not newcomers to my Sonderbooks Standouts list this year. Six authors had a total of 3 Stand-outs, and twelve authors appeared for the second time. I have a feeling most of those will surely appear again in the future. Tonight I’m going to highlight the six authors who appeared on my Stand-outs list this year for the third time.

First, I have to mention Patrice Kindl, whose book, Owl in Love was reviewed in the very first issue of Sonderbooks.

I began Sonderbooks as an e-mail newsletter in August 2001, and Owl in Love was the Young Adult Fiction representative in Sonderbooks #1. Then it made my 2001 Sonderbooks Stand-outs list, along with a book by Patrice Kindl I’d read earlier in the year, Goose Chase. Both were Young Adult Fantasy, and Owl in Love was #4, and Goose Chase was #6.

This year, Patrice Kindl’s book Keeping the Castle was #7 in Teen Fiction. She is the author with the biggest gap between Stand-out years. I was so happy to find another book of hers to read!

Next I want to mention Diana Peterfreund, who had my favorite book of the year in 2009, Rampant, that innovative fantasy about killer unicorns. The sequel, Ascendant, was #5 in Teen Fantasy and Science Fiction in my 2010 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

And in this year’s Sonderbooks Stand-outs, Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars, a science fiction retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion was #2 in Teen Fiction and right up there among my favorite books of the year. I’m discovering a trend: When Diana Peterfreund publishes a book, it’s going to be one of my favorites of the year.

Moving to Children’s Fiction, my #1 non-science-fiction-or-fantasy children’s novel of the year was Summer of the Gypsy Moths, by Sara Pennypacker, another 3-timer.

Her other Sonderbooks Stand-outs were both books about the irrepressible Clementine. The first book, Clementine, was #2 in Children’s Fiction in my 2010 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. The latest book in the series, Clementine and the Family Meeting, was #7 in Children’s Fiction in my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.. Will Sara Pennypacker keep up her streak in 2013?

Two authors of Children’s Nonfiction also have three Stand-outs. Steve Jenkins broke into the lists in 2004, when I discovered his amazing book Actual Size. It was #1 in Children’s Nonfiction in my 2004 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

His detailed cut-paper illustrations never cease to amaze me, and when he combined them with such fascinating information as is found in Never Smile at a Monkey, he made my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs at #4 in Children’s Nonfiction. And this year, he won me over with science and math facts both in Just a Second, which was #6 in Children’s Nonfiction.

Another third-timer has written Children’s Nonfiction in previous years, but this year Candace Fleming made the 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs with a picture book. Oh No! was #9 in Picture Books in a stellar year for picture books.

Her nonfiction Stand-outs were The Lincolns, #2 in Children’s Nonfiction in my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and Amelia Lost, #5 in Children’s Nonfiction on my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

Finally, one adult Nonfiction writer has a total of three Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Immaculee Ilibagiza broke onto my 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs with my top two favorite nonfiction books of the year, Left to Tell, and Led by Faith, both powerful stories of forgiveness and faith about her miraculous survival of the Rwandan genocide.

This year’s 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out, The Boy Who Met Jesus was #6 in Nonfiction: Personal Stories. Immaculee knows how to make miraculous events seem completely believable and incredibly personal.

For all of these authors, I’ll be very surprised if they don’t rack up some more Stand-outs before they finish writing. I’ll be eagerly looking for more of their books.

Stand-out Author: John Green

One of the lovely things about this being my 12th year of posting Sonderbooks Stand-outs, my favorite books of my reading year, is that I can take the long view. I’m doing a series on Stand-out Authors featuring people with a book on my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs who have appeared on my lists before.

There were four authors with 5 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and there are six with 3. But only one author has a total of 4 Sonderbooks Stand-outs: John Green.


(Here are David Levithan and John Green when I accosted them at the opening of the 2010 ALA Annual Conference Exhibits.)

My son got me following John’s video blog years ago, but I may have been attracted to An Abundance of Katherines by the mathematical symbols on the cover and the storyline that included a math genius. That was the year I didn’t get all my stand-outs reviewed, but An Abundance of Katherines was #4 in Contemporary Teen Fiction on my 2007 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

Now, really I suppose I should say that John Green has 3.33 Sonderbooks Stand-outs (which is a cool number in itself). Because on my 2008 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, he had 1.33 books make an appearance. Paper Towns was #2 in Contemporary Teen Fiction, and Let It Snow was #3. Since he only wrote a third of Let It Snow, the rest being written by Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, you can see why I say he has 3.33 Stand-outs.

And then there was this year’s Sonderbooks Stand-out, the truly outstanding The Fault in Our Stars. This was #9 in Teen Fiction, but this time I didn’t separate out the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Contemporary. The Fault in Our Stars was, in fact, the only Contemporary Teen Novel to appear on my list this year, so that makes it #1 in its category.

At the start of 2012, I got to hear John speak at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, and he’s a great speaker as well. I’m happy that he’s young — because the chances are good that he will write many more great books before he’s done. He never forgets to be Awesome!

Stand-out Author: Mercedes Lackey

I’m doing a series on authors on my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out List who have appeared on my lists before. There’s one author left with a total of 5 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, Mercedes Lackey.

I remember I read some of Mercedes Lackey’s books before I ever started writing Sonderbooks in 2001. The only one that stood out as exceptional to me was Firebird. That one’s a fairy tale retelling, so perhaps it’s not surprising that when Mercedes Lackey began her Tales of the 500 Kingdoms — all playing off of fairy tales — that’s when she consistently got counted among my favorites. I’ve always enjoyed fairy tale retellings, and I love these. So often, they point out what’s odd about the fairy tale, and play off the Tradition with humor and insight and a whole lot of fun.

All of the five stand-outs are from the Tales of the 500 Kingdoms. The first one, The Fairy Godmother, sets the stage for all the rest. Apparently, I was still holding out when I first read it, since it wasn’t a 2004 Stand-out. But with the next book, One Good Knight, she hit the 2006 Sonderbooks Stand-outs at #3 in Romance Fiction.

In my 2007 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, she ranked even higher with Fortune’s Fool at #2 in Fantasy Fiction. (That was the year I didn’t get all my reviews of stand-outs written.)

I remember I liked the books so much, I purchased the next book, The Snow Queen — and then neglected reading it because it didn’t have a due date like all the library books I had checked out. When I finally got around to reading it, it was a 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-out, coming in at #4 in Fantasy Fiction.

This past year, I decided it was time to catch up on the series. (Of course, I was sad when I had done so. I liked knowing there was another one of the books out there I could read.) Both were 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs in Fantasy Fiction, Beauty and the Werewolf taking #2, and Sleeping Beauty at #3.

This series doesn’t necessarily have to be read in order, though you might want to start with The Fairy Godmother, which lays the groundwork. But they are all so much fun, you won’t want to miss any!

Stand-out Author: Garth Nix

I’m doing a series on 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out Authors who are returning to my list, in other words, my Favorite Authors. Four different authors have a total of 5 Stand-outs, and tonight I’ll be featuring Garth Nix.

Some books are so good, I can always remember the experience of reading them the first time and where I was when I read them. I remember reading Sabriel on Christmas vacation, when our family was driving from San Diego to Phoenix. It had been recommended to me by both my son and my husband, and I was blown away by how good it was.

Of course, when I got home from the trip, I immediately had to read the next two books, Lirael and Abhorsen. In a way, I was lucky I’d taken my time getting around to reading the first one, since they were all published by the time I did, and I could devour them as fast as possible. (Rats! Just writing about them makes me want to read them again! I don’t have time to put my life on hold right now, since I’m buying a house. I will have to resist!)

All three books of this series made my 2004 Sonderbooks Stand-outs in Young Adult Fantasy. Sabriel was #3, and Lirael and Abhorsen were #9 and #10, respectively.

I still hadn’t had enough of Sabriel’s World, and when a book of short stories and a novella came out in 2005, Across the Wall, it made my 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, #6 in Young Adult Fantasy.

Finally, this year, Garth Nix is back on the list, this time with something totally different, a Science Fiction story rather than a Fantasy. I listened to A Confusion of Princes on audiobook, and I was completely absorbed, almost too absorbed for driving! On my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, it was #8 in Young Adult Fiction. (I didn’t divide the genres this year.)

Another cool thing that happened this year, was I got to meet Garth Nix at the Margaret Edwards Luncheon! (And, yes, he’s Australian, so he has a cute accent, too!) I was sad that I had not yet read A Confusion of Princes, so I couldn’t tell him how great I thought it was. Anyway, now I’m telling all my readers: Garth Nix’s books are the sort you will remember forever. Stand-outs after one year, but also after eight years.

Stand-out Author: Anne Lamott

I’m doing a series featuring authors whose books were 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs who have appeared on my lists in the past. It turns out a lot of names turn up multiple times. It’s not that I’m biased — it’s that these people write wonderful books.

Anne Lamott is today’s featured author, with 5 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, all Nonfiction. (And she’s the first Nonfiction author I’m featuring.) I find her interesting, because I first discovered her through her classic on writing, Bird by Bird, long before I started writing Sonderbooks. Over the years, she began writing about faith about the same time I became a lot less rigid in my beliefs. So we were coming from opposite directions, but we meet in a place where her books on faith exactly speak to my heart.

I read it before I ever wrote Sonderbooks, but Bird by Bird was still a 2004 Sonderbooks Stand-out, because I did a category for Nonfiction Old Favorites, and it was #3.

2005 was the year I first read a book by her on faith, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. I liked it so much, it was #1 in the “Musings” category of my 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Reading some of the quotations I selected, I still love them! Like these:

Everyone has been having a hard time with life this year; not with all of it, just the waking hours. Being awake is the one real fly in the ointment—but it is also when solutions come to us.

But Jesus kept harping on forgiveness and loving ones enemies, so I decided to try. Why couldn’t Jesus command us to obsess about everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or to pay attention, stomp away to brood when people annoy us, and then eat a big bag of Hershey’s Kisses in bed?

In my 2007 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, that year when (Alas!) I didn’t get everything reviewed, her book Grace (Eventually) was #3 in Christian Nonfiction.

And then, of course this year she had not one but two 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, #2 in Nonfiction: Personal Stories, Some Assembly Required, a wonderful journal of her grandson’s first year, which goes well with the book I read years ago about her son’s first year. (HOW did her son and my son grow up so fast?)

And she also had another #1 choice, in Other Nonfiction: That wonderful book on prayer, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. This one’s quick reading, but will make you laugh and think and pray. Here’s another little snippet:

Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up.

There you have it, another Favorite Author. Her books make me look at the world with a little more humor, love, and joy.

Stand-out Authors: Elizabeth Wein

I’m doing a series featuring those authors with 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs who have had Sonderbooks Stand-outs before. In other words, my Favorite Authors.

Four authors on this year’s list have had a total of 5 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. I’ll begin with the one who wrote my favorite book of 2012, Elizabeth Wein, author of Code Name Verity.

I discovered Elizabeth Wein ten years ago in 2003. In my 2003 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, her book A Coalition of Lions, was #1 in Children’s and Young Adult Historical Fiction. Like Code Name Verity, A Coalition of Lions is historical fiction, but it is set in ancient Aksum (Ethiopia) and features the daughter of King Arthur. Technically, this was part of a series, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it first.

But that meant I had to read her others. The next two books, coming before and after A Coalition of Lions were my only two Young Adult Historical Fiction books listed on my 2004 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. I rated the book that follows, The Sunbird, at #1, and the book that came before, The Winter Prince, at #2.

In my 2007 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, I included her next story about Telemakos, The Lion Hunter. It was #3 in Historical Fiction for Teens, but that was the year when I didn’t get all of my Stand-outs reviewed. In fact, the sequel to The Lion Hunter, The Empty Kingdom was the only book of hers I’ve read that didn’t make that year’s Stand-outs. And this year she certainly is back among my favorites.

I want to highlight here that Code Name Verity was no aberration. I was happy to hear lots of people discussing one of my favorite authors this year! If you haven’t read her Aksum novels, I highly recommend going back and rectifying that situation!

Stand-out Author: Juliet Marillier

I’m highlighting some of my favorite authors by looking at those with 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs who’ve appeared on my lists before. Juliet Marillier is up next, with a total of 6 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

I first discovered Juliet Marillier in 2008, when I was on the Summer Reading Program committee for Fairfax County Public Library, and I read and loved Wildwood Dancing, a retelling of the fairy tale “Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Wildwood Dancing was #2 in Teen Fantasy Fiction in my 2008 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, coming behind only Robin McKinley’s Chalice.

But where I really fell in love with Juliet Marillier’s writing was after my sister Marcy gave me the first of the Sevenwaters books, Daughter of the Forest, a retelling of the Swan Princes fairy tale, and what a retelling!

You know you love a book when you can remember where you were when you read it. In this case, I was flying to ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, but unfortunately, the airline made me fly through Boston. I began Daughter of the Forest on the way to Boston. In the airport, I tried using my laptop, and I know I also did some reading, but when I got in the airplane, the book was gone! I was exceedingly upset, and ordered a new copy first thing when I got home. Who knows? If I hadn’t lost the book, maybe I wouldn’t have given in to my exhaustion and attempted to lean my head against the window and fall asleep. When I woke up, my neck really hurt, and I ended up having a stroke a month later from that neck injury. Wish I hadn’t lost the book! (Though it and its sequels made lovely reading during the recovery process.)

Daughter of the Forest was my #1 Fantasy Fiction choice in my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and the two other Sevenwaters books I read that year, Son of the Shadows and Child of the Prophecy, were #3 and #5, respectively. (And that was the same year I read The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear!)

So this past year, in my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, it’s no surprise that Juliet Marillier appears twice. The next Sevenwaters book, Heir to Sevenwaters is again #1 in Fantasy Fiction.

But last year she also began a new Young Adult series. That book, Shadowfell was also a Stand-out, #5 in Teen Fiction. It was one of the last books I read in the year, and I can’t help but think I might have ranked it higher if it had time to grow on me. Though probably the biggest reason is that it did *not* tie up the plot in a tidy manner, like her adult books do. So I’m anxious to find out what happens next… and I can’t yet!

So Juliet is a relatively new favorite author for me, but she’s already high up there. I’m happy that she has many more books out there I haven’t read, so I can keep busy while I’m waiting for Shadowfell‘s sequel.

Sonderbooks Stand-out Author: Mo Willems

After posting my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, I couldn’t help but notice that some names have come up again and again. So I’m doing a series of blog posts about those authors who have appeared on my Stand-outs lists before. And next up is Mo Willems, with a total of 8 Sonderbooks Stand-outs since 2003.

I discovered Mo with that wonderful classic, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus It of course was a 2003 Sonderbooks Stand-out, my top choice for Picture Books.

Unfortunately, my kids were too old to appreciate the full power of the pigeon books, but I remember in 2006 when I stayed for a month and a half with my friend, I got to pull them out and read them to her kids. They especially liked it when I read the temper tantrum page. Another Pigeon book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, made the 2006 Sonderbooks Stand-outs list, once again #1 for Picture Books.

In 2008, I met Elephant and Piggie, and fell in love. This time, Mo had not one but three 2008 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Are You Ready to Play Outside? was #5 in Picture Books, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! was #6, and I Will Surprise My Friend! was #7. And I still like the essay I wrote about Are You Ready to Play Outside? and contentment (and, well, my ex-husband).

My 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs featured another Elephant and Piggie book at #3 in Picture Books, Pigs Make Me Sneeze! How I wish I’d had it back in the day when I taught Intro to Statistics! A picture book lesson that Correlation does not imply Causation! Yes!

My 2010 Sonderbooks Stand-outs had something new, a book written, but not illustrated, by Mo Willems, City Dog, Country Frog, which was #4 in Picture Books.

And finally, this year the Pigeon was back! In my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? delightfully played with the themes from all the previous Pigeon books and hit #2 in my Picture Books list.

Now, I may not have permanent MO graffiti on my blog like Mother Reader, but I’m definitely a huge fan. I think the man’s a genius, and I’ve found that if I want kids to enjoy a storytime, all I have to do is include a Mo Willems book. May he continue to be prolific! I have a feeling he’s going to feature on many lists to come.