Top Picks of 2006 (So Far)

[lady_schrapnell]

As I mentioned an entry or two ago, kidlitosphere bloggers listed their top picks of 2006, and Mother Reader compiled a master list. So a day (or couple of weeks) late and a dollar short (or bunch of Euro lighter in the pocket for all the great recommendations I follow up on), here's my somewhat indecisive list. The original categories were high school, middle school, elementary (and younger), but I'm just going with YA or children's, so I don't have to worry too much. But I am limiting to those (eliminating Inda), and only books I read for the first time in 2006 (eliminating Charlie's The Lurkers).

YA

An Abundance of Katherines, John Green
Exchange, Paul Magrs
Finding Cassie Crazy (AKA The Year of Secret Assignments), Jaclyn Moriarty
The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson

Children's

The Giver, Lois Lowry
Ingo, Helen Dunmore
The New Policeman, Kate Thompson
Permanent Rose (really the first 3 Casson family books), Hilary McKay
Siberia, Ann Halam

Although I was rather unhappy about leaving out The Goose Girl, King Dork and even The Boyfriend List from the first lot and The Sea of Trolls, both Percy Jacksons, Happy Kid! and The Mouse and His Child from the second. Oh yeah - breaking the children's into middle school and elementary (had I ever managed), would have allowed me pack in more books. Well, just consider the lists a bit fluid around the edges - another night I might well have included ones in the 'unhappy about leaving out' list and omitted something else.

About on track for my typical number of books read per year (very much lower than many, and would love, as always, to read many more), and so far, 83.5% have been children's or YA. As everyone was dying to know...

Comments

[generalblossom.livejournal.com]

I love your book lists, and I am so going to check on your list, but I got to whine a bit, it´s still early October, it´s too early to pick 2006 best yet! I have had best books of the year being read on December 31st. Come on, 2006 is only 10.something/12 gone, too early to give it as over yet ( specially since I have not put my away my summer clothes quite yet)

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Hey - you know I'm just a sheep - 'they' were doing it, so I had to do it! :)

Think a lot of the impetus for this came from the academic calendar - lot of the bloggers are librarians - and many school ones. (Academic calendar in Europe and US only - in case Emmaco's reading!) My inner clock got well confused all those OU years - still thinking the new school year was starting in September as always (all those years of my own education and the girls) but having the our study start in February and end in October. Weird. Kind of happy to be back to Sept. start.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I've been so accustomed to US culture that I think "fall" "start of school" go together! Rather than being sensible and running with the calender year :) The advantages to summer over the new year I guess.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I love your lists and am pleased there are so many I know as well as others to chase up! I shall do my list at the end of the year but can already tell it's been a good YA fiction year.

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Oh good - I'll look forward to yours then! I'll be doing one at the end of the year too (hopefully - have never had an assignment due after Christmas before, and a bit worried how that'll work out), but it's fun seeing what the different categories bring out. I'm very grateful to Melissa for her annual list, which gave me the necessary push to start keeping a reading notebook. Without it, I'd never remember what I read when, at a minimum. All the Casson family books this year, for example - seems like ages ago now!

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Just thought about Christmas and how I plan to have finished a full thesis draft by then. Perhaps I shouldn't be blithely promising to be making lists. Or to be on the internet at all :)