Secrets & Sharing Soda's Books of the Year (2012)

It's the last day of 2012, so it's time to tally up the books I've read and choose my favorites.

First, the stats:

I read 1516 books this year (16 more than my goal, and 500 more than last year). They break down as follows:

• 23 books for adults (increase of 10 since last year)
• 79 board books, 14 of which I read at story time and class visits (increase of 39 since last year)
• 768 picture books, 300 of which I read at story time and class visits, and 256 of which I read for the Caldecott Challenge (increase of 228 since last year)
• 295 easy readers, 17 of which I read at story times and class visits, and 29 of which I read in my role as a Cybils panelist (increase of 168 since last year)
• 120 chapter books, 45 of which I read in my role as a Cybils panelist (increase of 13 since last year)
• 192 middle grade books (increase of 51 since last year)
• 39 young adult books (decrease of 9 since last year)

From these books, I have selected my favorites in the categories and genres that I regularly review. My criteria for selecting these books were: literary quality, kid appeal, personal enjoyment of the book, and potential use in story time/library programs. Titles link to my reviews.

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Favorite Young Adult Contemporary Novel 

Since You Left Me
by Allen Zadoff  

(Egmont USA)

Honorable Mention:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Dutton Books - Penguin Group)
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo (Knopf Books for Young Readers - Random House)
Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach (Sourcebooks Fire)

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Favorite Middle Grade Novel 

Flying the Dragon

by Natalie Dias Lorenzi

(Charlesbridge) 

Honorable Mention: 

The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone (Arthur A. Levine Books- Scholastic)
Ruby Redfort: Look into My Eyes by Lauren Child ( HarperCollins Children's Books)
About Average by Andrew Clements (Atheneum Books for Young Readers- Simon & Schuster)

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Favorite Chapter Book

Stella Batts: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
by Courtney Sheinmel, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell
(Sleeping Bear Press) 

Honorable Mention: 

Hooey Higgins and the Shark by Steve Voake (Candlewick Press)
Ivy and Bean Make the Rules by Annie Barrows (Chronicle Books)
Calvin Coconut: Rocket Ride by Graham Salisbury (Wendy Lamb Books - Random House)

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Favorite Easy Reader 

Frog and Fly

by Jeff Mack
(Philomel Books - Penguin Group)

Honorable Mention: 

Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile (Candlewick Press)
Penny and her Doll by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books - Harper Collins)

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Favorite Picture Book

Otto the Book Bear

by Katie Cleminson

(Disney-Hyperion)

Honorable Mention:
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray- Harper Collins)
Faster! Faster! by Leslie Patricelli (Candlewick Press)
Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian Karas  (Schwartz & Wade  - Random House)

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Favorite Book in Graphic Format

Secret Diary
by Julien Neel

(Lerner Publishing Group)

Honorable Mention:
Her Permanent Record by Jimmy Gownley (Atheneum Books for Young Readers- Simon & Schuster)

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What were your favorite books of 2012? Did you nominate them for Cybils? Tomorrow, find out the names of the finalists in each category over on the Cybils blog.

Preschool Story Time, 12/21/12

At the last minute, I decided on a penguin theme for today, because there are so many penguin books. As it turned out, only seven kids in all came to the story time, only of whom was actually a preschooler, so that was kind of unusual, but because it was such a small calm group we were able to read five stories with no problem at all. This was my last story time of 2012 - we'll be on a break for two weeks, and I'll be back with lots of new programs in January!

Book: Penguins, Penguins Everywhere! by Bob Barner

Book: Tony Baloney by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
I had pretty good luck with this one this time around, though I suspected that the mom of one little girl thought Tony's behavior was negatively influencing her child. Oh well. I love Tony and his stuffed friend Dandelion.

Book: Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
I love Oliver Jeffers, and this story is very sweet.

Song: Five Little Penguins Riding on a Sled (based on Monkeys on the Bed)

Book: Three Cheers for Tacky by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
This was a bit over the heads of the little ones, but I want to keep it in mind for Pre-K class visits in the new year because I think they would love it. Penguins in general would be a great theme to use with them.

Book: One Cool Friend by Tony Buzzeo
I have never been crazy about this book, and as I thought it might, it failed as a read-aloud. One boy had read it in school, and he loved, but the other kids seemed just about done by the end.

Song: These Are My Glasses

I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.

Drop-In Story Time, 12/21/12 (Winter Theme)

Book: Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka

Song: A Hat Goes On My Head

Book: One Mitten by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith

Song: Five Little Snowmen Riding on a Sled 

Book: Snow Sounds by David A. Johnson
I think this would have worked better with a smaller group and some dedicated grown-ups. It's just too quiet a book for a large group.

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Bumpin' Up and Down on My Little Blue Sled 

Letter of the Day: Letter R

• Hippety Hop Hippety Hay (Five Rabbits)
• Five Little Robots (This is based on "One Little Finger.")
• It's Raining at the Zoo 
• Ten Little Reindeer

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep  

Song with ukulele:  Jingle Bells

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It
I looked at the clock after we started singing this, and realized story time should have been over already! I was glad to see that we had so much fun, time actually got away from me.

This is my last drop-in story time until January 8. One more to go this afternoon, then break  time!


I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.

Outreach Round-Up, 11/29/12 - 12/19/12

Catholic School 5th Grade: Thursday, 11/29
Reader's Theater: How to Steal a Dog
Notes: The script is kind of a teaser for the novel. The kids told me they loved the script, and they even fought over the one copy of the book we had, but no one wanted to borrow it in the end. 

Catholic School 5th Grade: Thursday, 12/13 
Book Talk: Aldo Zelnick Comic Novels 
I read aloud two sections - one from the first book, and one from the most recent, Finicky. The teacher loved them, but none of the books were checked out.  

Catholic School Kindergarten: Friday, 12/14 
Book: Dragon's Merry Christmas by Dav Pilkey
Song with ukulele: Jingle Bells
Notes: The kids loved the story, and they loved singing Jingle Bells. They also enjoyed exploring the patterns on the carpet in the story room.

Rec. Center Cooperative Play Program: Wednesday, 12/19
Books: Snip Snap Snow, One Mitten, Under My Hood I Have a Hat, Here Comes Jack Frost
Songs: Five Little Snowmen Riding on a Sled, One Red Mitten, Mary's Wore Her Blue Scarf, Head and Shoulders, If You’re Happy and You Know It
Notes: This was the first time I brought props to this group. It won't be the last. They loved the mittens and scarves.

Public School Pre-K Class: Wednesday, 12/19
Books: Owl Moon, Lemonade in Winter
Song: If You'd Like to Read a Book, Moon Moon Moon, Hat, Coat, Pants, and Shoes, These Are My Glasses  
Notes: This class loved hooting like the great horned owl.

Public School Pre-K Class: Wednesday, 12/19
Books: Owl Moon, Lemonade in Winter, The Snow Globe Family
Song: If You'd Like to Read a Book, Moon Moon Moon, These Are My Glasses  
Notes: This group requested more books than singing. I could indulge them because I didn't have a class right after them. Their favorite was probably Lemonade in Winter.