Favorite Children's Books of 2015 (Plus My Top 5 Old School and Historical Fiction Titles!)

It's the last day of the year, so in keeping with tradition, I'm sharing my favorite books of the year. These are all titles which were published during 2015 that I read and reviewed. Links are to my posts.

Board Books and Picture Books

Board books and picture books are favorites in our house, since we have a 2-year-old and a new baby, but we have pretty high standards. These are the ones that made the cut this year!

• Jane Foster’s ABC (Little Bee Books)
• Roar! by Julie Bayless (Running Press Kids)
• Stanley the Farmer by William Bee (Peachtree Publishers)
• See You Next Year by Andrew Larsen and Todd Stewart (Owlkids Books)
• Waiting by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books)
• In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van, illustrated by April Chu (Creston Books)

Easy Readers and Beginning Chapter Books

Because I chair the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Book category of the Cybils, I read a lot of beginning reader books. There were lots of good ones this year, but these are the ones I reviewed that I enjoyed the most.

• Written and Drawn by Henrietta  by Liniers (Toon Books)
• Hoot, Owl! by Shelby Alinsky (National Geographic Children's Books)
• Cody and the Fountain of Happiness by Tricia Springstubb (Candlewick Press)
• Lost in NYC by Nadja Spiegelman, illustrated by Sergio Garcia Sanchez (Toon Books)
• Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick Press)
• Sprout Street Neighbors: Five Stories by Anna Alter (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
• Clover’s Luck by Kallie George, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger (Disney-Hyperion)
• My Family Adventure by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Kim Smith (Picture Window Books)

Middle Grade

I read middle grade as much for my own pleasure as I do to keep up professionally. There were plenty of disappointing reads early in 2015, but later on, I discovered some new favorites, which appear below:

• Escape from Baxters’ Barn by Rebecca Bond (HMH Books for Young Readers)
• Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb (Balzer + Bray)
• Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr (Candlewick Press)
• Cassidy’s Guide to Everyday Etiquette (and Obfuscation) by Sue Stauffacher (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
• Breaking the Ice by Gail Nall (Aladdin)
• Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens (Simon & Schuster)
• Been There, Done That by Mike Winchell (Grosset & Dunlap)
• Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books)
• Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm (GRAPHIX)
• Finding the Worm by Mark Goldblatt  (Random House Books for Young Readers)

“Old School” Favorites

 

Every Sunday for years now I have been reviewing vintage kids' books. This year,  I discovered the following five old/new favorites:

• Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
• Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
• The Rose Round by Meriol Trevor 
• The Owl Service by Alan Garner
• No Boats on Bannermere by Geoffrey Trease 

Reading Through History Favorites

In 2015, I challenged myself to read 52 historical fiction novels for kids in chronological order based on setting. The full challenge list can be found here, but the books below are titles I really loved that I can't wait to share with my own kids.

• Boy With a Pack by Stephen W. Meader
• Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
• Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
• The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy 
• I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino