Favorite Books of 2022

A couple days ago I started to write a post with all of my favorite books of the year. And then I got super overwhelmed because there were so many. So I decided to just share one from each category: picture book, middle grade, young adult, and adult and let you know that if you want to know more of my favorite books from 2022, feel free to follow me on Goodreads.

Favorite picture book of 2022...

Gibberish by Young Vo

Gibberish tells the story of a young boy named Dat who is new to the English language and what that feels like to be the new kid at school who doesn't understand everyone. That story arc isn't new, but the way Young Vo tells it and illustrates it is unlike anything I've seen before. His use of black and white cartoonish illustrations for Dat's surroundings along with emojis for dialogue that he doesn't understand really immerses the reader into Dat's world of unknowing. As Dat becomes more attuned to the English-speaking world and begins understanding more, his surroundings become more colorful and less cartoonish.

This book is brilliant and so incredibly innovative... and it's really hard for me to say a book is innovative given the number of picture books I read every year. This book is still my top contender for the 2023 Caldecott medal.

Favorite Middle Grade of 2022...

Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd

Hummingbird is Natalie Lloyd's most personal and vulnerable book to date, as it is about a girl who has the same disability: osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. This book is about a young girl named Olive who has been homeschooled her whole life and convinces her mom to send her to the local public school despite her mom's fears over Olive's fragile body.

As with all of Natalie Lloyd's books, it is full of magical realism. There’s a teacher in the story that says a pen is a direct line to a person’s heart. Well, Natalie Lloyd’s pen draws a whole lot of lines to readers’ hearts.

Favorite YA of 2022...

The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson

The year is 1932 in Berlin and now that Hilde is eighteen, she must leave her orphanage and set out on her own. She quickly discovers, however, that finding a job is near impossible in these economically depressed times. But fate intervenes one night when she meets Rosa, who brings Hilde to Café Lila where she meets a cast of characters that soon become her chosen family.

As Berlin falls further and further into the authoritarian grip of the Nazis who are scapegoating Jews and the queer community, Hilde along with the employees and patrons of Café Lila continue to remain quietly hopeful and defiant... until trouble comes loudly knocking on their door.

Just as the title suggests, this YA historical fiction in verse by Kip Wilson is dazzling. Berlin is my favorite city on earth, mostly because there has always been a provocative, defiant, avant-garde, and counter-cultural energy about it. That was true in 2004 when I visited for the first time, and it was certainly true when this novel takes place.

But just as this book is a window into 1930s Germany, it's also an alarming mirror to societies, including American society, that allow idealogues and populists to rise to power.

Favorite Adult Book of 2022...

Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain

Just like Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking changed my life as it asked me to celebrate my introversion rather than admonish it, so too did Bittersweet change my life by bringing awareness to those of us walking the earth who have a tendency towards melancholy and why that’s actually a good thing.

I’ve never felt so seen and understood as when Cain talks about why people with bittersweet personalities find such joy and satisfaction listening to sad music… because longing is active. It moves us. It compels us. It makes us feel like a missing piece of your soul was just added to the puzzle that is your life. So the next time I sit down at the piano to play Moonlight Sonata and feel that sense of longing despite the fact that I’ve played it dozens of times before, or the next time I get chills listening to a song I love for the first time, I’ll remember why I continue to be moved by the bittersweet.

I was so enamored by this book that after I finished it, I went on a three day hyperfixation of playing and creating a playlist of bittersweet music.

What were your favorite books of 2022?

Purchasing books from any of the above Bookshop affiliate links support independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

Favorite Books of 2021

2021 was such a hard year of reading for me. I constantly found myself not wanting to even pick up a book let alone being able to immerse myself in the pages of a book. Despite that, I still managed to read over 400 books this year (most of them picture books) and these were some of my favorite books published in 2021. 

The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat... Everything with Ranch by Charlie Berens

This was my last book I read in 2021 and so I was elated that it was one of my favorites given my reading rut this year. I hope this will give me a little momentum and motivation in 2022. I loved the lightheartedness of the humor and despite the hyperbole of the cultural touchstones discussed in this book, there is also so much truth to it. As a born and bred Midwesterner, I felt seen reading this book. 

In The Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

I actually finished reading the ARC of this book on Christmas of 2020, but was published in August of 2021 so that's why I'm including it on my list of favorite books of 2021. One year later, I can't stop thinking about it. This book's exploration of gentle masculinity, of loving familial and platonic male relationships, is one that will stay with me for a long time.

The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

I've always loved the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl ever since I learned he was the drummer for Nirvana and then became the guitarist and frontman for his own band after Kurt Cobain died. Foo Fighters is very much a band of my generation. I listened to the audiobook of The Storyteller which Grohl narrates so it felt more like I was sitting with him at the kitchen table while he regaled me with stories from his life in rock n roll. I love how salt-of-the earth Grohl is, managing to stick pretty close to his humble roots despite having a life in an industry that can get you swept up in the fame, money, and vices pretty quickly. But Grohl is quick and frequent to credit his public schoolteacher of a mother who recognized that her son would never be fit for the academia track and let him go to pursue his dreams of being a musician before he even finished high school. What a gift that was to him to live his own life rather than trying to get him to fulfill her dreams that she had for him. Prior to listening to The Midwest Survival Guide, this was my favorite audiobook of 2021. But it's still pretty high up there. 

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

This is a book that I would have never picked up had I not already been a longtime fan of John Green's writing. He sets up the book in the introduction perfectly, reminding readers what a gifted writer he is, compelling you to keep turning the pages, even if you're not particularly interested in the topic of the essay you're currently reading. What you soon come to realize, however, is that these essays are not just about the topic listed in the chapter heading. That title is just an entry point for Green's meandering, yet purposeful style of writing. 

Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy

Huda F Are You? is a compelling, humorous, and page-turning graphic novel that also deals with serious and sometimes heavy issues like identity, family, and Islamaphobia. And it wins for best book title in the history of book titles. 

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a shameful moment in our nation's that most Americans didn't even know about until recently. For families that want their children to learn actual history and not just "feel-good" history that seems to be what state legislatures are forcing in schools, add this book to your collection. 

Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites by Jamie Michalak & Debbi Florene Michiko, illustrated by Yuko Jones

This picture book biography is a feast for the senses. After I read this book even sought out the episode of Chef's Table that Nakayama was featured on so I could learn more about her and the type of cuisine in which she specializes. If you have a budding chef in your life or just want to learn more about badass women busting glass ceilings, I highly recommend this wonderful book.

There's a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers ingeniously uses vellum throughout this book as a way to overlay pages so that, in a brilliant use of dramatic irony, the reader sees the ghosts but the main character does not. Before Halloween, I read this book to all of my library classes, K-8, because I knew when I first read this that it would be one of those books that every age group will love... and I was right. Even my 8th graders were completely rapt and engaged when I read this book to them. 

Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Aaron Becker

Recently there have been quite a few picture books to come out about the 9/11 Survivor Tree, so it takes a lot to make each one stand out. With this book, what stands out is when the single turn of a page makes you gasp and leave you speechless, you know you've experienced something special. 

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson

A stunning tribute to Nina Simone. The writing is engaging while the pictures draw you in and beg you to pore over them and ask questions. I could totally see a Caldecott sticker on this next month. 

More Than Sunny by Shelley Johannes

The playful language in this book just oozes joy and coziness for each and every season (even the ones we don’t like). 

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

This quiet but powerful story will leave a lasting impression with its complicated but nuanced approach to immigration, family, culture, and inter-generational tensions. I wouldn't be surprised if this book also has a Caldecott or even a Newbery sticker come January.

What were your favorite books of 2021? 

Purchasing books from any of the above Bookshop affiliate links support independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

Beth's Favorite Things of 2020

2020 has been the year of staying home. As much as this introvert is a homebody, there has been very little joy for the reasons we've been staying home. So in the same vein as Oprah's Favorite Things, here are Beth's Favorite Things. Because "The Things That Made Beth's 2020 More Bearable" just didn't have the same ring to it. 

*Most of the provided links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small percentage if you purchase from that link. 

These masks from The Stockist that are made of soft, cooling material against your skin. 

These mask frames to allow for better breathing while wearing face masks.

A pulse oximeter. Because COVID. 

A temporal thermometer because I was tired of taking my temperature before work every day with my old under-the-tongue thermometer

This book that has taught me to embrace my sensitivity rather than admonish it. 

Having a weighted blanket has been important for helping me when my anxiety is high. 

The decision fatigue struggle is real. Which is why meal kits are a godsend. I love cooking but I don't loving deciding what to cook. We have accounts with Home Chef, Blue Apron, and Hello Fresh, but Home Chef is my favorite. 

This enamel cast iron Dutch oven from Ayesha Curry that is not only more reasonably priced than Le Creuset, but it's beautiful too.

Stop using disposable K Cups. Get these reusable ones so you're not throwing away so much plastic every week. 

This message board that is both magnetic and a pin board

This 3-in-1 charger for my phone, Apple watch, and Air Pods.

What have been your favorite things of 2020? Or the things that made 2020 more bearable? 

Favorite Books of 2016

In 2016, I set the goal to read 500 books.

 I read 534.

60 were novel-length and of those 60, half of them I read with my eyes and the other half I read with my ears.

Of those 534 books that I read in 2016, here were some of my favorites. In the interest of full-disclosure, links will take you to my Amazon Affiliate page, so if you buy any of them, I receive a small percentage.


Favorite Picture Books - Inspirational
 
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
In order to get through the next 4 years, I'm gonna have to read a whole lot more books about inspiring and heroic women like RBG.


Preaching to the Chickens by Jabari Asim, illustrated by E.B. Lewis
John Lewis represents all that is good and right in our country. Before he was making Good Trouble, as a child, he was taking care of his family's flock of chickens and also preparing for his aspirations as a preacher at the same time. An endearing look at the childhood story of the man who has become known as America's moral conscience and who has always been on the right side of history. 


A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
This book is EVERYTHING. If you love books, it will resonate strongly with you and hopefully it will make you want to share it with every child in your life.  
  

Ideas Are All Around by Philip C. Stead
If you teach writing, you're going to want this book because once you finish reading it, you will want to write and create. A book that manages to inspire readers to say, "I want to do that and I CAN do that!" is a rare gem indeed.


School's First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson
A book that is an absolute must-read on any first day of school, no matter how old your students are. And if any picture book of 2016 were to be considered for a Newbery and not just a Caldecott, it would be this one. Adam Rex's writing has that exact distinguished quality that the Newbery committee saw in Matt de la Pena's Last Stop on Market Street. 


The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield
David Litchfield, you had me at piano. And you kept me turning pages at this tender, quirky prodigal son story. 
 

Favorite Picture Books - Humor

Penguin Problems by Jory John, illustrated by Lane Smith
A cranky penguin who complains about everything gets a lesson on appreciating what you have from a wise walrus. I loved the juxtaposition of the short, simple text on all the pages, coupled with the wise walrus's lengthy soliloquy toward the end of the story.  


Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli 
How do you tame the savage beast? That's what the king, the knights, and the villagers are trying to figure out. A hilarious story that will no doubt be a read aloud hit. I may even be able to use it as a mentor text about supporting your thesis (just HOW was dragon so terrible?) :)   


Favorite Middle Grade Novel:

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar  
I didn't read much middle grade this year but what I did read was pretty amazing. This book is simply stunning. It is magical realism at its finest. Despite being middle grade fiction, I wouldn't hesitate to put this book in a high school classroom. In fact, I'd recommend it to anyone who read and loved Bone Gap.  


Favorite YA Novels

The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely
I had the pleasure of hearing Brendan talk about the premise of this book at a Simon & Schuster dinner at NCTE and it immediately became my plane reading on my flight home. It did not disappoint. This modern retelling of The Odyssey takes place on a roadtrip and has a feminist spin. Kiely's desire to celebrate consent, coupled with his protagonist's honorable desire to help his grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, visit the place where he was married so he wouldn't forget his wife, makes him one of the most memorable protagonists of 2016.


Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
In her new novel, Ruta Sepetys does just as she did in Between Shades of Gray -- brought to light a moment in history that no one ever knew about. In this case, it's the biggest disaster in maritime history. Told in short chapters via four characters' alternating points-of-view, this book will leave you staying up late into the night to finish as you say to yourself, "Just one more chapter."

The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner
 This is a book that takes place during 9/11 but manages to not be ABOUT 9/11. It's a reminder to us all that despite great tragedy, life goes on and the world keeps turning. It's a book that took me back to that fateful day in September of 2001 and what I was feeling, but it reminds me that the students I now teach weren't even born yet when it happened.

Top 15 favorite books of 2015

Holy cow! How did it get to be December 31st already? I am completely unprepared to write this traditional end-of-year post but here we go.

I did not even come close to my goal of reading 515 books in 2015. I was so busy with finishing my last semester of grad school this fall that reading sort of fell off the priority list. I only read 394 books this year, 76 of which were novel-length.

Despite not making my reading goal, I have to say that 2015 was a great year for books. I didn't read much middle grade this year, but I had many YA and picture book favorites.

Picture books:

Waiting by Kevin Henkes
I get the sense that this is a book the Caldecott committee is discussing at length. It has beautiful illustrations, it bares no obvious lessons (award committees tend to shy away from didacticism), and disguises itself as a simple story shrouded in complexity (the Waiting for Godot of the kid lit world as Betsy Bird likes to call it). Henkes fills your heart with affection for these sweet, quirky toys sitting on the windowsill waiting for nothing in particular it seems... 


The Moon is Going to Addy's House by Ida Pearle
Poetry doesn't always have to come in words. Sometimes poetry speaks in pictures, movement, music, or all of these things at once. The Moon is Going to Addy's House is a beautiful example of how poetry can be created in the confluence of art forms. It is a book that feels both classic and modern, both back in time and of the time. 


Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael  Lopez
This is the story of Millo Castro Zaladarriaga, a young Cuban girl who wanted desperately to play the drums, but she lived in a time when only boys were allowed to play them. This book is a gorgeous poem that celebrates the power of a passion, which is paired beautifully with Rafael Lopez's vibrant, dreamlike illustrations.

 
 This is Sadie by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad   
This book is everything. This book is about as perfect as a book could possibly be. This book isn't just about Sadie. This book is about us all. We are all Sadie. Some of us just have to look harder to find her within ourselves than others. But she is there. To quote one of my 8th graders, "Sadie represents the child within us all."


Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold The Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli   This is what all nonfiction should be: exciting, engaging, and page-turning. Wow! Any guy who conned Al Capone and lived is a guy worth reading about.  


Graphic novels:

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L Holm & Matthew Holm  
I was born in the very late 70s (Two months before 1980, in fact) but despite the fact that this book takes place in 1975-1976, an incredible sense of familiarity and nostalgia from my own childhood came creeping into my experience of reading this book. Little details as simple as the screen door on Sunny's house in Pennsylvania to the way the Sears logo looked back then, Jenni and Matt Holm clearly did their research on even the smallest of details from this time period. More importantly though, Jenni and Matt Holm tell a heartfelt and compassionate story about a young girl who comes to realize the torment her family is experiencing at the hand of her brother who is overcoming substance abuse. It is through Sunny's experience that many kids will see their own families and the ways a family member's struggles become an entire family's burden.


Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley 
In this graphic memoir, Knisely, accompanies her grandparents, who are failing in health and mental faculties, on a Caribbean cruise. It is a sensitive, earnest, fatalistic look at family and mortality, yet also done somehow with a lighthearted touch.


Middle Grade:
 
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
This is one of the most stunning audiobooks I have ever listened to. As someone who studied classical piano for over a decade, the musical themes and accompanying soundtrack with the audiobook made this story come alive. Echo is a book for not only the readers in your life who love music, but also for those sensitive readers who are looking for books to be transcendent – to give you an experience beyond your emotions, becoming almost a spiritual experience. And that is what makes Echo more than just a heartprint book for me – it is a book that feeds my soul.


Young Adult:

Stand Off by Andrew Smith
Ryan Dean West is my all-time favorite character in YA literature. I'm so glad Andrew Smith brought him back for a sequel to help readers heal from the sadness that occurred at the end of Winger. 

 
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely 
Books save lives. And they change hearts and minds. This will be one of those books. This book is in your face enough to start conversations, but nuanced enough to make it more than a black vs. white, us vs. them issue.  This book is a great ladder to Ta-Nehisi Coates' book which is also on my list of favorite books of 2015.


Enchanted Air  by Margarita Engle
Before I read Engle's memoir in verse, I had very little desire to ever visit Cuba someday. During and after reading Engle's memoir in verse, I have now very eagerly added it to my bucket list.


Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
An incredibly powerful and personal tale of a young man's descent into the depths of schizophrenia. The book is a masterfully woven extended metaphor that would benefit a close reading of certain passages because important details are sure to be missed upon first reading.


Solitaire by Alice Oseman  
Tori Spring is a modern-day female Holden Caulfield. Solitaire is a genius work of young adult fiction. It is both literary and accessible. It's a book that I think hasn't been given enough marketing buzz, and so I will be personally recommending it to anyone who likes a good angsty teen drama with a whip-smart, self-deprecating protagonist.  


Adult non-fiction:

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A book that will continue conversations started by All American Boys by looking further into the depths of white privilege and how black bodies are treated in this country. A book every white American should read and one that will make you uncomfortable. That's supposed to happen. And while you wade around in your discomfort, just know that many others continue to drown.


Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert 
Big Magic is a revelation. It is a paradigm shift in how we should approach creativity. Elizabeth Gilbert posits that we need to throw away the trope of the tormented artist in favor of lightness, curiosity and play in our creative work. She has definitely inspired me in how I will approach my writing life from this moment forward. 

My favorite books of 2013

In previous years I have done top ten lists of my favorite books, but this year I had too many favorites so I'm just going to break them down by category. If there's a link it takes you to the review I wrote of the book here on the blog.

Picture Books:

Journey by Aaron Becker
In the year of the wordless picture book, this one stands out above the rest. If I were a betting woman, this is where my money would go for the Caldecott award. 

Tea Rex by Molly Idle
I love fish out of water stories. And you can't get more fish out of water than a tyrannosaurus rex at a tea party.

The Man with the Violin by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Dusan Petricic
Based on the true story of when world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell played 45 minutes in a DC metro station and virtually no one stopped to listen. Since music has such an emotional impact on me, this is one that made me cry.

Wilfred by Ryan Higgins
This one touched me more than I expected it to. In fact, it made me tear up at the end. A wonderful, heartfelt story about a boy who finds a friend in a big, hairy monster.

Red Hat by Lita Judge
When a few woodland creatures spot a red hat hanging up to dry, they can't resist taking it down and playing with it... only their good-natured mischief gets them into a pickle. I ADORED this nearly wordless picture book.

Bogart and Vinnie by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Henry Cole
I am utterly and completely biased since Audrey is my friend, but her books are just so darn clever. In fact, we became friends because I told her how over the moon I was over her books. I like to surround myself with brilliant people, what can I say?

Ball by Mary Sullivan
You will only find one word in this entire picture book but that one word communicates so much coming from a dog. Sullivan communicates everything I love about dogs in her word and pictures, like enthusiasm, hopefulness, and loyalty.

 
Battle Bunny by Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Matthew Myers
I'm a fan of subversion --in books and in the classroom-- and it doesn't get more subversive than Battle Bunny.


Middle Grade:
 
Hold Fast by Blue Balliett
I loved the characters and I loved how Balliett weaves the work of Langston Hughes into the story. If I were still in the classroom this year Hold Fast would have no doubt been a class read aloud. 

Every Day After by Laura Golden
A quiet little gem of a novel. But don't mistake quiet for weakness. Lizzie Hawkins is one fierce leading lady.


The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb
A gripping nonfiction that doesn't read like a book, but rather makes you feel like you're watching a spy movie. 


Young Adult:

Level2/The Memory of After by Lenore Appelhans
In September the name of this novel changed from Level 2 to The Memory of After due to potential readers' confusion that the 2 in the title meant it was a sequel. Lenore is another author I consider a friend and so perhaps that makes me biased, but it also made me nervous to read this too. What if I didn't like it? Well I'm here to tell you I LOVED it. It's such a unique concept and I loved that she pulled in elements from both theology and mythology to support her world building of the hive-like place known as Level 2. 

 
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Hatchet meets The Road. A completely gripping tale of post-apocalyptic survival with a fierce main character.

Smoke by Ellen Hopkins
A beautiful conclusion to Burned. I am both haunted and satisfied with how Pattyn's story ended.


Graphic Novels:

Bluffton by Matt Phelan
Beautiful graphic novel about Buster Keaton's summers in Bluffton, Michigan near Lake Michigan, told through the eyes of a fictional narrator, Henry. Definitely my favorite graphic novel of 2013, maybe of all time. I love how Phelan uses few words, choosing instead to let the pictures do most of the storytelling.

Relish by Lucy Knisley
A YA graphic memoir that celebrates food and travel? What's not to love? You have seen the title of my blog, right? ;)


Adult fiction:

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
I can't remember the last time I read an adult novel where I was so utterly spellbound. So many gorgeously written passages that I had to mark them as mentor texts.


Professional Books:

Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller
A brilliant follow-up to The Book Whisperer. An absolute must-read for anyone who is invested in good reading instruction. 

Fearless Writing: Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire by Tom Romano
A writing book that will compel you to change and action in your own teaching. Another must-read if you teach English.


Honorable mention:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
This book was published in 2012 but I read it in 2013 and I couldn't let a favorites list go by without mentioning it. When I met Saenz at ALA in June I couldn't even tell him how much I loved the book because I got so choked up. 


What were your favorite books of 2013?