Angie Thomas | There's a Book for That

Which books stand out from an entire year or reading? Titles that didn’t leave me. Books I have wanted to share. To reread. That I have particular plans for. Books that I have read to multiple audiences. Books full of the beautiful and the hopeful. Wonder. Inspiration. Humanity. Sorrow and hope. Books I recommend highly. Books I am pleased to celebrate here.

The 17 books that made the final cut? I chose everything from picture books to young adult novels. Middle grade novels. Transitional chapter books. All of it. (except for nonfiction titles – they got a list all their own)

17 books and no more than 17 words of raving. This was my challenge last year with my Favourites of 2016 (16 books, 16 words) Each year it has been the same: Favourites of 2015 (15 books, 15 words), Favourites of 2014 (14 books, 14 words), Favourites of 2013 (13 books, 13 words) and (12 books, 12 words) with my 2012 Favourites. Each year, I get one more book and one more word to play with!

17 favourites of 2017

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell

Nearly wordless. All about important things. Kindness. Trust. Simplicity.

Town is by the Sea written by Joanne Schwartz and illustrated by Sydney Smith

Daily life in a Cape Breton mining town. Illustrations that literally freeze place and time.

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

Our voices cannot be silenced. Timely and timeless.

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin

Wordless and wonderful. Rich with kindness and longing for how we connect.

My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo

How can we leave one life to begin another? A refugee experience full of sadness and hope.

The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken

A creative and inspiring journey that celebrates how what goes wrong is equally exactly right.

Now by Antoinette Portis

Being in the moment has never been celebrated with such lovely wonder and beauty.

Out of Wonder Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjorie Wentworth illustrations by Ekua Holmes

Oh this book of poems and art. Kind of speechless.

Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy (Charlie & Mouse, #2) written by Laurel Snyder and illustrated by Emily Hughes

Endearing and lovely. Sibling antics. Silly stories. Hilarious illustrations. Reading gold.

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold

Bat, his family and a little orphaned skunk make up a cast of characters that you must meet.

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia

So I kind of love everything about Clayton Byrd.

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King (A.S. King)

I can’t get Obe and Marvin Gardens out of my head.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

Suspend belief. Be uncertain. Allow yourself to get lost in this story. Incredible writing.

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

I adore Alex Petroski. His journey to capture the essence of Earth reveals his vulnerable, complicated existence.

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

An isolated setting. Unique characters. Mystery and intrigue and simplicity that makes a can’t put down story.

Refugee by Alan Gratz.

You will cry. Shake your head. Fret. Dream terrible things. Read this book. Hand it to everyone.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Necessary reading for anyone who happens to currently be human. Deserving of all the hype.

Please share your own favourites of the year . . .

Wishing everyone a 2018 full of new favourites and lots of reading!

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week. Here are a few from the past week. This will be the last week of student photos for a few months as summer break has started.

This one was taken on the last day. This buddy reading duo migrated to the stairwell. I love the connection books foster.

Here is a student browsing the shelves to put together a list of recommended titles. I put all of these suggestions together here and will add some of my own as the summer progresses so my students have a central spot for book recommendations. We spoke a LOT about summer reading during the last few weeks of school.

#classroombookaday titles were books I wanted to ensure I had a chance to read aloud to this class. We had some fantastic discussions as I knew we would.

Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. It’s the best way to discover what to read next.

Books I enjoyed:

If I was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

This is definitely a YA title. It has all of the themes of a romance themed teen novel: coming of age, rocky friendships, identity and self-esteem worries, family complexities and relationship highs and lows. It also has a main character who is a young trans woman who has just transitioned. Hope that copies of this book are in high school libraries.

Pandas on the Eastside by Gabrielle Prendergast

I read this charming little novel in one sitting this afternoon. Set in the downtown east side of Vancouver (where I taught for 21 years) and set in the early 1970s, this is historical fiction with some what-if elements. I loved the opportunity to wander through story, time and place.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Possibly one of my favourite novels in some time. Incredible. Powerful. Necessary reading for anyone who happens to currently be human. Some things I particularly loved: Starr’s strength and voice, the cast of supporting characters and the close love of family. A wow book, deserving of all the hype.