First 2014 Status

 
Well, I managed to finish all of my challenges last year, but I didn't manage even to post the status updates I actually wrote in the last half of December. So I'll include them with this month.

I'll sign in at Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts since I want to see what everyone else is reading this month.

This year I've read:

• The Arrangement, Mary Balogh. Gentle Regency romance with a poor woman and a blind guy. The author kept feeling guilty about the lack of conflict and trying to throw in some angst and misunderstanding, but the characters didn't really believe it.
• Paperboy, Vince Vawter. Kidlit. A stuttering paperboy in civil-rights-era Memphis starts to grow in understanding of himself and the adults around him.
• Navigating Early, Clare Vanderpool. Kidlit. Two grieving boys in Maine go on a river journey to learn about themselves with the aide of amazing coincidences.
• Autumn Bones: Agent of Hel, Jacqueline Carey. SF. Second volume in a urban fantasy set in a Michigan tourist town. Met all my expectations, in a good way.

Last year (last two weeks of December) I finished:

• All the Possibilities, Nora Roberts. Romance. Set in Washington, D.C., for my 50 states challenge.
• Heaven and Earth, Nora Roberts. Romance & SF. Earth was a brownish-color for my color challenge.
• Unspoken Fear, Hunter Morgan. Thriller. Set in Delaware for the 50 states challenge.
• Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, Chris Nashawaty. Non-fiction. Stripes finished off the Color challenge.
• Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, Jackeline L. Tobin. Non-fiction. South Carolina for my 50-states challenge.
• The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family, Josh Hanagarne. Non-fiction. Utah.
• The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, Terry Ryan. Non-fiction. Ohio. Are we seeing a pattern here?
• Coyote Autumn, Bill Wallace. Kidlit. Reading-My-Library book. Set in Oklahoma, which jumped it up the queue.
• After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse, Charlaine Harris. SF. Cute.
• Calculated in Death, J.D. Robb. SF & Thriller. As expected.
• I'm With Stupid, Geoff Herbach. YA. NOOK. Wisconsin.
• The Storyteller, Antonia Michaelis. YA. Cybils. Last Cybils finalist. I didn't like it -- too grim.
• Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?, Louise Rennison. YA. Audio. Best-of-the-Best list that had my high schooler guffawing.
• Outside Providence, Peter Farrelly. YA? I have no idea what the audience was. Rhode Island.
• Wyoming Bold, Diana Palmer. Romance. Wyoming. Ahem.
• Seed No Evil, Kate Collins. Cosy Mystery set in Indiana. Fun.
• At Large and At Small, Ann Fadiman. Essays that I've been meaning to read. I love Fadiman's writing.
• Snow in Summer, Jane Yolen. YA. West Virginia, but anything by Yolen is a treat.

What am I currently reading?  My book bag has some essays by Fadiman, a cozy mystery in Indiana, the latest paperback In Death book, and my NOOK. 

• Unspoken, Sarah Rees Brennan. I'm finally free to read Untold, her latest book, but I want to reread the first book so everything is fresh in my mind. Also, it's fun seeing the stuff she seeds early know that I know what it will grow into.
• Paradise, Toni Morrison. I lost this! I was reading it, and then I walked out the door, and now it's gone! Could be in the car, could be on top the fridge. I have put out a bounty.
• Revenant Eve, Sherwood Smith. I've lost this too! I picked it up after losing Paradise, and then I put it down somewhere. I really hope that somewhere was not the Pacific Science Center.
• In Janesville, Jo Ann Beard. The next book in the Best-of-the-Best list, from the Alex picks, books published for adults that kids might like. I am not enjoying this list very much; this book is rather dull and occasionally rises to annoying. I think it's too close to home to be interesting, but not spot-on with my memories so I'm not nostalgic about it.
• Conspiracy, Lindsay Burokers. NOOK. Finally getting to read this -- dirigibles and train robbery -- good times.
• Rotters, Daniel Kraus. Audio. The back of this book tells me grave-digging will be involved. This lowers my enthusiasm about listening to it. At least I don't expect zombies.
• Developing Standards-Based Report Cards, Thomas R. Guskey & Jane M. Bailey. I really should just finish this -- the last session roamed all over the book.
• Radio Fifth Grade, Gordon Korman. The new teacher does not respect the radio.
• Out to Canaan, Jan Karon. The adopted son is home from college, and cranky.
• Keep Me Forever, Rosemary Laurey. I like the progress of the rich gardener.
• A General Theory of Love, Thomas Lewis. Some false notes about autism.
• The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens. Pickwick is defiant, and goes to Bath. I snore.
• How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, Orson Scott Card. I like his definitions of science fiction.

What's up next? I'm trying to concentrate on my physical TBR pile, especially since I've started the Triple Dog Dare, but a few library books are demanding to be returned so I also have to clear those out. I'm really looking forward to Sarah Rees Brennan's Untold, and after that The Second Spy, Books of Elsewhere 3 by Jacqueline West. I've got Alabama Moon next in my library pile, and then Magic Rises, although I'm really hoping to find the missing books Paradise and Revenant Eve so I can polish those off first.

My elementary school book club is reading Eva Ibbotson's Dial a Ghost, and then my adult book club is reading Tarzan of the Apes. Vaginal Fantasy is doing The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, and I'd like to read along.

2013 Challenges:

1. Cybils: 74/74.  Finished! I've started this year's list.
2. Where Am I Reading?: 51/51. Hard work and dedication in December paid off. I shall resolve once more not to leave it to the last minute next year -- I'm definitely doing this again.
3. Crazy Quilt Colors: 9/9. Earth and stripes gave me brown and patterns.

2014 Challenges

1. TBR Triple Dog Dare: So far so good, although I haven't actually read anything. I would have finished that Paradise book if it hadn't secreted itself somewhere.
2. Cybils: 3/77. I've ordered up the fiction picture books from the library.
3. Reading My Library:  Three done: Coyote Autumn, The Paperboy, and Navigating Early.
4. Best of the Best 2012: 46/25.  Started In Zanesville but so far I'm not enjoying it.

Raising the Stakes On the Impossible

I've tried twice, and failed twice, but this year is going to be my year! At least I hope so, since I gather that CB, the host of the TBR Triple Dog Dare is retiring after this year.  That's the excuse for recklessly breezing past Triple Dare to go straight for the high-stakes Triple DOG Dare, a dare to refrain from buying or obtaining new books for the first three months of the year. Several of those months have the legal maximum of 31 days, you know.

I've already walked past (well, was dragged by my nephew past) an enticing street library, and made a solo trip to the library where I checked out my holds and shut down my library card before looking over the QuickPicks for adults and children. So far so good. I feel strong! (The fact that I'm writing this on the 2nd day of the year is not lost to me, but I'm getting my morale up.)

Also luckily for me, you can set your own exceptions. So I can reserve anything I need for the Cybils Finalist Challenge, although to stay in the spirit of things I'm going to concentrate on picture books for the first few months. I'll also keep rotating a book from my TBR list and from the 2012 Best of the Best Lists in my reading piles. And my Reading My Library Quest continues, but I'm about to move into non-fiction picture books so again that works with the spirit of things. I think I actually own most of the next few book club books, but again those would be exemptions.

1. Paradise, Toni Morrison
2. Conspiracy, Lindsey Buroker
3. Unspoken, Sarah Rees Brennan. OK, this is a bit of a cheat since it's a reread, but I read part on my NOOK, and that's an old, unread TBR book.
4. Forbidden Rose, Joanna Bourne
5. Untold, Sarah Rees Brennan
6. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
7. The King's Name, Jo Walton
8. The Second Spy, Jacqueline West
9. Fierce Reads Anthology (Tor.com) NOOK
10. Attitude, Robin Stevenson
11. Shadows, Robin McKinley
12. Almost a Bride, Patricia McLinn NOOK
13. Who Stole Grandma's Million Dollar Pumpkin Pie, Martha Freeman
14. The Robe of Skulls, Vivian France
15. The Prize in the Game, Jo Walton
16. Welcome to the Ark, Stephanie Tolan
17. Thousand Pieces of Gold, Ruthanne Lum McCunn
18. Love Bites (My Sister the Vampire), Sienna Mercer
19. The Dragon and the George, Gordon R. Dickson
20. Keep Me Forever, Marlene Darcy
21. Nory Ryan's Song, Patricia Reilly Giff
22. The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater

These don't really count because they are rereads, but rereads of books I own:

1. Tarzan of the Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughs
2. Return of Tarzan Edgar Rice Burroughs
3. The Great and Terrible Quest, Margaret Lovett

I MADE IT !!!!! I MADE IT!!! SUCCESS!!! VICTORY!!! HOOOOOORAY!!!!!!

New Year, New Loot

My library list is still recovering from my challenge-busting blitz last month, especially since any book I particularly liked I put aside to offer my kids. Also, one kid got a NOOK, so I had to feed that a bit. But now things are going to straighten up around here, because, as I announce on Saturday, I have commenced the TRIPLE DOG DARE of not getting new books until April 1st. Stuff on the hold shelf doesn't count, of course. That would be rude.

That's why I could come home with two new books from the library (and three 3 CDs for the car):

• Hawkes Harbor, S.E. Hinton. This is clearly a late-arriving book for the geography challenge, chosen for its setting in Delaware. But I'm interested to see what later Hinton looks like, and I'm guessing Delaware will be a tough state again this year, so Yay!
• Constellation Games, Leonard Richardson. If I meet him at Foolscap this year I want to be confident discussing his book.

This means I now have 43 things out on my library cards, including ebooks. By my rules, I qualify to buy a book, but of course, NO DICE because of the challenge. I'll save it up for when I need it. I'll go share my Library Loot at the event co-hosted by Claire from the Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief where all the library addicts compare their treasures.

Thursday Round-up: Genre Books

I read a pile of books in the final days of last year (and the start of this one) and while I still have that New Year energy I'm going to try to give some quick responses. Genre books are comfort reads for me because I know where the station stops are, so I can relax into the story a bit more. It's a bit of a tribute to Nora Roberts that I read three of her books this month without getting tired of her.

Autumn Bones, Jacqueline Carey. I enjoyed this lightweight second book in the Agents of Hel series, which chronicles a busy few weeks in the life of Daisy, part time file clerk and part time mediator between the eldrich and the mundane in a small Michigan tourist town that happens to contain the reborn lands of Hel, Norse goddess. Daisy doesn't take herself too seriously, and worries as much about her love life as she does about various crises with ghosts and ghouls and fairies (well, an apocalypse will focus her mind, but those don't last long). A few dangling threads indicate that the series hopes to continue, and while I won't batter down book stores to get the next, I won't dodge it very hard either.

All the Possibilities, Nora Roberts. I asked my sister for a fast book that takes place in Washington D.C. and she came over to my house with this romance.  It's a nice read from a few decades ago (1985), where she is a bohemian potter and he's a blossoming senator, and the main barrier to their happy-ever-after is her fear of loving a politician. It's a very reasonable fear, as she watched her father get gunned down during his campaign for president, but luckily her brother reassures that she'll still feel bad if Alan gets shot even if they don't get married, so why not be happy until then? That's the kind of logic I like to see in a romance.

Heaven and Earth, Nora Roberts. This was a last-minute fill-in for my Colors challenge (I needed a shade of brown) so I went hunting in my sister's library. It's the middle story about three witches on a Massachusetts island, and the clumsy but brilliant (and buff) paranormal scientist who loves one of them. Probably because of the recent J.D. Robb I read, I enjoyed seeing tough cop Eve appear as tough cop Ripley, with her psychologist friend Myra phoning in a lot of the comforting talk of the witchy sister-in-law. Again, a fun read that didn't hold many surprises.

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse, Charlaine Harris. Since my biggest complaint with the last Sookie book was how much of it seemed to be there just to give closure on some of the minor characters, I approve of this efficient way of handling this. And I enjoyed the alphabet pictures throughout. It's definitely only a book for completests.

Calculated in Death, J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). Not too gruesome, which is honestly the first thing I peek at with these books. Eve and Roarke get to stomp around being awesome and connecting with each other (good job catching the toddler football-style, Eve!) but I've pretty much forgotten the whole thing already.

Wyoming Bold, Diana Palmer. I picked this up as a possible Wyoming book (keen eyes I have). It did a few annoying things, for example slut-shaming ("Oh, I hope you don't mind that I don't sleep around like a tramp -- I know it's what people expect" "Not at all, little lady -- you keep yourself pure for me. I'll bring any experience we need to this bedchamber"). And the throw-away excuse that the bad guy started using drugs at the end to explain his sudden dive off the stupid cliff, which included him raving to his hostages "I can quit anytime I want!" had me giggling a bit. But it wasn't painful to finish.

Seed No Evil, Kate Collins. A cosy mystery I picked up for my geography challenge (this one takes place in Indiana). Although it's well into the double digits, I didn't mind picking up the threads in the middle; the main characters were identified and while I could tell that had backstory it didn't bother me that I didn't know everything. The balance between the relationship stuff and the mystery was handled well, even if I found the legal stuff around dealing with minors a bit unlikely.

2013 Cybils Finalist Challenge!

The Cybils are here! The Cybils are here! Just in time too, since it's only a few days since I finished reading last year's list and discovered how closely I matched up with the judges' final verdicts (answer, not very well, although I approved of almost all the finalists). Anyway, time to start this years quest to read through all the choices.

This year the categories are separated by age, rather than by topic, and I officially approve of changing Science Fiction & Fantasy to Speculative Fiction, since I like to call it all SF anyway. Again I'm moving Book Apps to the bottom since I don't really have any way of obtaining them, so I don't count it against myself if I don't read them. Also, I'm attempting to leave the links as is, so that clicking on them leads to Amazon and I hope money for the Cybils.

Books I've read are highlighted in yellow.

Elementary & Middle Grade

Fiction Picture Books DONE

1. Count the Monkeys, Mac Barnett
2. If You Want to See a Whale, Julie Fogliano
3. Journey, Aaron Becker
4. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Peter Brown
5. Open This Little Book, Jesse Klausmeier
6. Sophie's Squash, Pat Zietlow Miller
7. The Bear's Song, Benjamin Chaud

N, my only remaining elementary voter, has tentatively voted Count The Monkeys top while we wait for our library to acquire The Bears Song.

Nonfiction DONE

1. Anubis Speaks!: A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead (Secrets of the Ancient Gods), Vicky Alvear Shecter
2. Barbed Wire Baseball, Marissa Moss
3. How Big Were Dinosaurs?, Lita Judge
4. Locomotive, Brian Floca
5. Look Up!: Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, Annette LeBlanc Cate
6. The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos, Deborah Heiligman
7. Volcano Rising, Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Susan Swan

Easy Readers DONE

1. A Big Guy Took My Ball! (An Elephant and Piggie Book), Mo Willems
2. Joe and Sparky Go to School, Jamie Michalak
3. Love Is in the Air (HC) (Penguin Young Readers, L2), Jonathan Fenske
4. Penny and Her Marble (I Can Read Book 1), Kevin Henkes
5. The Meanest Birthday Girl, Josh Schneider
6. Urgency Emergency! Big Bad Wolf, Dosh Archer

Early Chapter Books DONE

1. Dragonbreath #9: The Case of the Toxic Mutants, Ursula Vernon
2. Home Sweet Horror (Scary Tales), James Preller
3. Kelsey Green, Reading Queen (Franklin School Friends), Claudia Mills
4. Lulu and the Dog from the Sea, Hilary McKay
5. The Life of Ty: Penguin Problems, Lauren Myracle
6. Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat, Anna Branford

Poetry DONE

1. Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems, Marilyn Singer
2. Forest Has a Song: Poems, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
3. Poems to Learn by Heart, Caroline Kennedy
4. Pug: And Other Animal Poems, Valerie Worth
5. The Pet Project: Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses, Lisa Wheeler
6. What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms, and Blessings, Joyce Sidman
7. When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders, J. Patrick Lewis

Graphic Novels DONE

1. Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton, Matt Phelan
2. Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite, Barry Deutsch
3. March Book 1, John Lewis
4. Monster on the Hill, Rob Harrell
5. Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party, Nathan Hale
6. Squish #5: Game On!, Jennifer L. Holm
7. The Lost Boy, Greg Ruth

Speculative Fiction DONE

1. Jinx, Sage Blackwood
2. Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase, Jonathan Stroud
3. Rose, Holly Webb
4. Sidekicked, John David Anderson
5. The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson
6. The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, Kathi Appelt
7. The Water Castle, Megan Frazer Blakemore

Middle Grade Fiction DONE!

1. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Chris Grabenstein
2. Prisoner B-3087, Ruth Gruener
3. Serafina's Promise, Ann E. Burg
4. The 14 Fibs of Gregory K., Greg Pincus
5. Ultra, David Carroll

Young Adult

Graphic Novels DONE

1. Bad Machinery, John Allison
2. Boxers & Saints Boxed Set, Gene Luen Yang
3. Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight, Kelly Sue Deconnick
4. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, Tony Cliff
5. Templar, Jordan Mechner
6.  Uzumaki Deluxe Edition, Junji Ito
7. War Brothers: The Graphic Novel, Sharon McKay

Nonfiction DONE!

1. Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays, Roaring Brook
2. Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II, Martin W. Sandler
3. The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible . . . on Schindler's List, Leon Leyson
4. The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, Catherine Reef
5. "The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy, James L. Swanson

Speculative Fiction DONE!

1. Conjured, Sarah Beth Durst
2. Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin Trilogy), Robin LaFevers
3. Pantomime (Strange Chemistry), Laura Lam
4. Shadows, Robin McKinley
5. The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson
6. The Waking Dark, Robin Wasserman
7. William Shakespeare's Star Wars, Ian Doescher

YA Fiction DONE!

1. Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets, Evan Roskos
2. Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell
3. Out of The Easy, Ruta Sepetys
4. Rose Under Fire, Elizabeth Wein
5. Sex & Violence, Carrie Mesrobian
6. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, Meg Medina

Book Apps

1. Disney Animated
2. Endless Alphabet
3. MirrorWorld, written by Cornelia Funke
4. To This Day, written by Shane Koyczan
5. Wee You-Things

77/77 (82)

2012 Cybils Finalists Challenge Wrap-up

It's almost time for the 2013 Cybils finalists to be announced, so I've completed my read of the 2012 book in the nick of time! Now I can record my favorites and then finally peek at the winners to see how we compare.

I forgot to force my kids to rate them, so I'll have to come back and revise this post next week. And although I bought an iPhone this year, I didn't manage to get hold of any of the Book Apps, so I'm not comparing those.

I think I'll do this by color -- my winners will be Blue, and if I get anyone one else to rate, they'll get their own colors. Everything defaults to yellow, since that indicates that I read it.

And now I can go back to refreshing the Cybils page to see what is up for next year!

Easy Readers/Early Chapter Books - DONE!~
Easy Readers

1. A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse (Toon)  by Frank Viva
2. Bink and Gollie, Two for One by Kate DiCamillo. I'm tempted to go read any other Bink & Gollies I can find.
3. Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes
4. Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes
5. Pinch and Dash Make Soup (Pinch & Dash by Michael J. Daley

Early Chapter Books - DONE!

1. Ivy and Bean Make the Rules (Book 9) by Annie Barrows
2. Marty McGuire Digs Worms! by Kate Messner
3. Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover by Cece Bell
4. Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett. This was delicious!
5. Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot by Anna Branford

Fantasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade)

1. Beswitched by Kate Saunders
2. Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung
3. The Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbet
4. The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
5. The Last Dragonslayer (The Chronicles of Kazam) by Jasper Fforde
6. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. This one has stuck with me all year.
7. The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

Fantasy & Science Fiction (Young Adult) DONE!

1. And All the Stars by Andrea K Höst
2. Every Day by David Levithan. Lots of good choices, but this one continues to resonate with me.
3. Planesrunner (Everness, Book One) by Ian McDonald
4. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
5. The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories by Brenna Yovanoff, Tessa Gratton,  and Maggie Stiefvater
6. The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
7. Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Fiction Picture Books DONE

1. Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
2. Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex. I'm a sucker for meta.
3. Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
4. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Cute.
5. Home for Bird, A by Philip C. Stead
6. Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford, illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska
7. One Special Day by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Jessica Meserve

Graphic Novels
Elementary/Middle Grade

1. Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller (Center for Cartoon Studies Presents) by Joseph Lambert
2. Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
3. Hilda and the Midnight Giant byLuke Pearson
4. Little White Duck: A Childhood in China (Single Titles) by Na Liu
5. Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad! by Nathan Hale. I want to hunt out all the other books in this series.

Young Adult   DONE!

1. Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White by Lila Quintero Weaver
2. Drama by Raina Telgemeier
3. Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
4. Ichiro by Ryan Inzana
5. Marathon by Boaz Yakin. Even though I couldn't always tell the people apart, it was a strong story.

Middle Grade Fiction

1. Almost Home by Joan Bauer
2. Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
3. Fourmile by Watt Key
4. Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
5. The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader. This stuck with me.
6. The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. I read this on my way around the library.  A good sense of history, if from a well-worn perspective.
7. Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Nonfiction for Tweens & Teens DONE

1. Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
2. Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War by Marsha Skrypuch
3. Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose. I honestly thought this would be boring, since I can't tell a crow from an eagle in the sky, but it held me and had me pushing it upon any innocent bystanders.
4. Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery
5. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

Nonfiction Picture Books DONE 

1. Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet
2. Dolphin Baby! by Nicola Davies
3. Eggs 1, 2, 3: Who Will the Babies Be? by Janet Halfmann
4. Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin. This was a wonderful readaloud.
5. Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman
6. Mrs. Harkness and the Panda by Alicia Potter
7. Nic Bishop Snakes by Nic Bishop

Poetry DONE

1. BookSpeak! Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas
2. In the Sea by David Elliott
3. Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs by J. Patrick Lewis
4. Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge. I picked it up reluctantly, and then ended up handing it to my high schooler, who devoured it without even noticing he was reading poetry.
5. National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar! by National Geographic Children's Books
6. UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
7. Water Sings Blue by Kate Coombs

Young Adult Fiction

1. Boy21 by Matthew Quick
2. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I want this for my shelves. I gave this as a Christmas present.
3. Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
4. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
5. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
6. Storyteller, The by Antonia Michaelis
7. Theory of Everything, The by J.J. Johnson

Book Apps

1. Bats! Furry Fliers of the Night written by Mary Kay Carson
2. Dragon Brush created by John Solimine and Andy Hullinger
3. Rounds: Franklin Frog written by Emma Tranter illustrated by Barry Tranter
4. The Voyage of Ulysses developed by Elastico Srl
5. Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery written by Jamie Lee Curtis illustrated by Laura Cornell

74/74