Top Ten Tuesday: Authors That Deserve More Recognition

 
This week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is:

The Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition

I had a hard time coming up with ten because so many authors that I love have received Newbery or Printz honors so these were the authors on my list that I thought deserved more accolades.  I only have six.

1. Adam Rex

Not only is Rex a talented illustrator, but his writing is downright hilarious.  Listening to the audiobook of The True Meaning of Smekday was one of the most uproarious listening experiences of my life.  I am still constantly quoting a line from the book to my husband and friends and continue to giggle uncontrollably each time.  Seriously.  Check out his work.  You won't be disappointed.


2. Maryrose Wood

Maryrose writes middle-grade and YA lit, and even though I haven't read her YA books yet, if her middle-grade Incorrigibles series is indicative of her witty sense of humor in all her books, I'm so sold on reading the rest of her literary canon.



3. Michael Zadoorian

Zadoorian is a sentimental favorite of mine since he hails from Michigan, and his books are set here.  Not to mention that fact that I met him at my public library when he did a reading and discussion of his amazing book The Leisure Seeker.


4. Mitali Perkins

Not only is Mitali a beautiful person inside and out, but I love her mission as an author: to create entertaining and accessible multicultural literature to children and young adults. I'd have to say she is succeeding at this mission.  I love that the books she writes are contemporary fiction rather than strictly historical fiction.  So often we equate multicultural with historcal, but Perkins is trying to show that to build bridges of understanding, we need to see what its like for people in other cultures right now and not just back then.


5. Raina Telgemeier

Raina's most popular work as a graphic novelist is her recently published book called Smile, which is based on her own dental trauma as a pre-teen and teen.  What I love so much about this book is that despite the fact that the story's protagonist is a girl, boys in my class are passing this book around like they're baseball cards.  I love when books told by girls can be enjoyed by both genders.  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.


6. Alison Pace

Alison's books just make you feel good. They would most likely be classified as chick lit, but I love how she adds a warm and fuzzy element by including dogs in all of her books.  Not to mention the fact that two of her books (one set to be released in June) have pugs in the title.  As a lover and owner of pugs, I can say she won my heart immediately with just the titles (Pug Hill and A Pug's Tale).