Favorite Books Read in 2015

I’ve done pretty good this year with reading, as I ended up trying to read 285 and have read 290 (that’s over 42,000 pages!). I know it’s been awhile since I’ve done a proper non-review post as life and work especially has been crazy. I’m getting ready for 4 library programs that I’m presenting in the New Year and so have been busy working on those and making sure everything is put together. I’m doing an Art History/Craft program called Art Explorers (which is basically what I was doing before with Kids Cafe but no longer have time for), Discoverytime (Storytime + STEM for 2-5 yrs olds), a Tween Book Club called Page Turners, and I’m assisting with another program called Crafty Science. And that’s not counting my duties with Kids Cafe as Site Supervisor (mostly organization and paperwork) and occasionally presenting an easy craft on a Wednesday session. Anyways, on to the books in no particular order. The links are to my reviews of the books, might have to scroll a bit as the monthly reviews can be long. Liam’s choices are books my four year old son particularly liked and I read to him multiple times.

Favorite Picture Books

 

Emily’s Blue Period   – a cute book about self-expression and dealing with parent’s divorce

Hi, Koo! – a great way to introduce kids to haikus, plus adorable illustrations as always. I love Jon J. Muth’s books!

How to Cheer Up Dad  – This book made me laugh out loud b/c it is exactly what it is like to have to deal with a toddler, and the author/illustrator should know as he was inspired by his own son. Great illustrations.

Snoozefest – loved the idea of this book and the illustrations, plus cutest name ever in a picture book (Snuggleford Cuddlebuns)

If You Plant a Seed  – Kadir Nelson, what can I say? I love the man and his work keeps getting better and better every time he comes out with a book. I loved the moral message of this book and even my son got it.

The Big Princess – I love Taro Miura’s storytelling and bold simple graphics in this book and The Tiny King!

Beautiful Birds – Another gorgeously decorated illustrations for an ABC book

I Will Take a Nap – I love naps so a book advocating them is always a bonus in my book. Plus this one is extra silly, and I love Mo Willems books.

Liam’s Choices

What to Do if an Elephant Stands on Your Foot – a funny book that my son adored and had me read over and over again, including to his Preschool classmates

  

The Mustache Baby series – Hilarious books with adorable illustrations, trust me, kids and parents will love these! Both me and my son loved these!

  

Wolfie the Bunny – I loved it for the fabulous illustrations and got the humor of the “Wolf in Rabbit’s clothing”; My son just loved the story of the misunderstood Wolfie

Bea Makes Tea – A Rhyming/Phonics book that my son just fell in love with and we both knew most of the lines by heart (in separate voices) after we finally returned it.

Rutabaga: The Adventure Chef – really cute graphic novel featuring your classic knights and dragons tale but with an “adventure chef” kid for a hero and his kid companions. Looking forward to more from this author/artist; My son also really enjoyed this one as well.

Favorite Children’s Books 

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters  – I haven’t read an Alvin Ho book in a over a year and forgot how funny it is, esp because of his Shakespeare cursing father.

I am Albert Einstein – A great simple introductory biography to the world famous physicist

Wideness and Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O’Keeffe – after using O’Keeffe for one of my Kids Cafe Art Lectures, I was ready to learn more about her and this biography was very-well researched for a kids book and a great introduction to this fabulous artist

    

Smile and Drama – Cannot express enough how much I love these two graphic novels!

The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co. #3) – love this series (adore the author’s work in general) and this is the latest one which literally keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Can’t wait for the next book in the series, but hate when they end on a cliffhanger!

Favorite YA Books

The Kamisama Kiss series by Julietta Suzuki- both the anime and manga (I’ve read through #19, though review is for #1-5) are a lot of fun to read, even though they are a bit silly and over the top

Prudence (The Custard Protocol #1) – a continuation of the Parasol Protectorate series by the same author but from the viewpoint of Alexia Tarabotti’s daughter Prudence many years later and all sorts of supernatural steampunk fun ensues

Manners & Mutiny (Finishing School #4) – Adored this series by Gail Carriger! Really her stuff just keeps getting better and better!

An Ember in the Ashes – Hard to believe this is her first book as her world-building is so awesome in this pseudo-Roman world! Probably one of the best books I read this year, definitely one of the best ARCs (Advanced Reader’s Copies).

Wolf by Wolf – Another of the most original stories I’ve read this year, this alternative history (what if Nazis and Japan won WWII) with a shape-changing Holocaust survivor

Templar – Fantastic illustrations and a great story (very well-researched), very Indiana Jones meets Ocean’s Eleven in terms of an impossible task being pulled off

Library Wars #12 & 13 – Futuristic militant librarians battle censorship with a bit of romance thrown in, what’s not to love?  I have had #14 on hold forever waiting for it to come out

Favorite Adult Books

Outlander series – introduced to this series by watching Season 1 Vol 1 of the new Starz show; have now read through book 5 and loved all except 2nd book (which was okay but not as good as first one); Jaime is seriously one of my favorite book characters ever

Lord John Grey series – Usually spin-off series aren’t this good, but she puts just as much work and research into this series as she does with Outlander and I really like Lord John’s character (have read/listened to 10 out of 13 stories)

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – This book club selection was a fabulous first book by the author, despite being about 60 yrs old romance and racism; looking forward to her new book coming out in March 2016 called The Summer Before the War.

Transatlantic – another book club selection, I really enjoyed this book even though I was a bit lost for awhile as to what the connection between the stories was

  

Fool and its sequel The Serpent of Venice – hilarious comedies based off the tragedies King Lear (Fool) and The Merchant of Venice/Othello/Cask of the Amontillado (The Serpent of Venice). Two of my favorite Christopher Moore books.

Did She Kill Him? – a fascinating look at Victorian True Crime and sexuality/gender

Bairdston

Bairdston by Robert Cook

Published Dec 7, 2015

Karim and Salima Kufdani are two orphaned street kids from Tangier, Morocco. They are rescued from anonymity by Alejandro Muhammad Cuchulain (Cooch) and educated by his team, which include a martial arts expert and a mathematical genius. After spending some time with them, they are shipped off to a Scottish boarding school called Bairdston to receive a more rounded Western education. But will they be able to survive this new climate, in the face of racism and bullying? Recommended for ages 14+, 2-1/2 stars.

I originally picked this book because I thought the subject matter was interesting. Two Muslim kids from Africa trying to adapt to life in the bitter cold of a Scottish boarding school. What I did not know until I read someone else’s review and the author’s note at the end of the book (which really should’ve been in the beginning), was that this story came from a brief mention in the author’s last book Pulse, an adult thriller. That book is all about Cooch, a half-American/half-Bedouin former CIA agent who becomes the guardian for the teens in this book. You could tell that the author had never written a book for teens before as the writing was pretty dry and didn’t really draw you into the lives of the characters, but kept things mostly on the surface. I didn’t feel like this book had an ending; the story just sort of stopped. Karim and Salima are pretty viciously bullied by teachers and students alike, but nobody seems to want to help them, with the exception of their caregivers and that response is pretty brutal. The only time Islam is really mentioned is at the end when Karim tries to “educate” his teammates on what Islam is and really means. Honestly, the only part I found really fascinating is when Karim joins the soccer team and the author vividly describes a soccer game that the team has with a rival team, and really puts you in the minds of the players.