Jeff Mack’s book is the perfect book for a New Year’s Eve bed time story so your children can see how much you party when they are asleep.

I hope to blog more about books for children and young adults in 2019.  Below are favorites I read this year.  I’m sure I’m missing some fabulous titles; but there’s only one me and so many amazing books published each year.

Picture Books

Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora

Imagine! By Raul Colon

Blue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

You’re Snug With Me by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Poonam Mistry

Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell and illustrated by Corinna Luyken

The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros and illustrated by Dana Wulfkekotte

The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke and illustrated by Van T Rudd

This Book is Red:  Books That Drive Kids Crazy! by Beck and Matt Stanton

A House That Once Was? by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Lane Smith

Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets:  A Muslim Book of Shapes by Hena Khan and illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

Night Job by Karen Hesse and illustrated by G. Brian Karas

My Pictures After the Storm by Eric Veille

A Different Pond by Bao Phi and illustrated by Thi Bui

Potato Pants by Laurie Keller

 

Beginning Readers

Please, No More Nuts by Jonathan Fenske

Mr. Monkey Visits a School by Jeff Mack

 

Biographies for Kids

Pies From Nowhere:  How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Dee Romito and illustrated by Laura Freedom

 

Joan Proctor, Dragon Doctor by Patricia Valdez and illustrated by Felicita Sala

So Tall Within:  Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom by Gary Schmidt and illustrated by Daniel Minter

Sisters and Champions:  The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Howard Bryant and illustrated by Floyd Cooper

The Secret Kingdom:  Nek Chand, a Changing India and a Hidden World of Art by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Claire A. Nivola

Between the Lines:  How Ernie Barnes Went From the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace and illustrated Bryan Collier

Girl Running:  Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon by Annette Bay Pimental and illustrated by Micha Archer

What Do You Do With a Voice Like That? The Story of the Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Christ Barton and illustrated by Ekua Holmes

 

Nonfiction for Kids

We Are Grateful by Traci Sorrell and illustrated by Frane Lessac

Otis and Will Discover The Deep:  The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Katherine Roy

The Brilliant Deep:  Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs by Kate Messner and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

Pass Go and Collect $200:  The Real Story of How Monopoly was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Steven Salerno

What’s On Your Plate?  Exploring the World of Food by Whitney Stewart and illustrated by Christiane Engel

Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail

What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz and Allison Black

Terrific Tongues by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Jia Liu

The Elephant by Jenni Desmond

 

Middle Grade Fiction

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Young Adult Fiction

Brave Enough by Kati Gardner

Breakout by Kate Messner

 

Young Adult Graphic Novels

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin and illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

Princess and Dress Maker by Jen Wang

Speak:  The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Emily Carroll

 

Outlier

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin

 

 Perfect for Storytime

There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor by Wade Bradford and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Mad, Mad Bear! by Kimberly Gee

How do You Take a Bath? by Kate McMullan and illustrated by Sydney Hanson

There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher and illustrated by Greg Abbott

Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

Play This Book by Jessica Young and illustrated by Daniel Wiseman

Don’t Blink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by David Roberts

The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan and illustrated by Tom Knight

Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Old Hat by Emily Gravett

 

The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier and illustrated by Sonia Sanchez

I Don’t Want to Go to Sleep by Dev Petty and illustrated Mike Boldt