Top Books of 2015
67. Winter by Marissa Meyer
66. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
65. Dash by Kirby Larson
64. Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai
63. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Dead Bodies, Funerals, and Other Fatal Circumstances by Lenore Look (Children's)
62. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look (Children's)
61. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look(Children's)
60. Laika by Nick Abadzis (YA Graphic Novel)
59. A Game for Swallows by Zeina Abirached (YA Graphic Novel)
58. March (book 1) by Jon Lewis (YA Graphic Novel)
57. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol (YA Graphic Novel)
56. The Mystery of Meerkat Hill by Alexander McCall Smith (Children's Mystery)
55. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (YA Mystery)
54. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirsten Cronn-Mills
53. Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle (Poetry Historical Fiction)
52. brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Poetry Memoir)
51. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson (Poetry Memoir)
50. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (YA Graphic Novel - Printz Award)
49. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
48. Dante and Aristotle Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
47. A + E 4ever by Ilike Merey (YA Graphic Novel - Stonewall Award)
46. El Deafo by Cece Bell (Children's Graphic Novel)
45. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (Children's)
44. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Children's)
43. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (YA Graphic Novel)
42. Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (YA)
41. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (YA - poetry)
40. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (YA)
39. Fat Angie by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo (YA - Stonewall Award)
38. Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle (YA - Stonewall Award)
37. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
36. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
35. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling
34. Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (Children's)
33. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (Children's)
32. The Children Act by Ian McEwan
31. NW by Zadie Smith
30. Code Talker by Chester Nez
29. Colorless Tsukuru Taziki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
28. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
27. Alex by Pierre Lemaitre
26. World War Z by Max Brooks (audiobook)
25. Yes Please by Amy Poehler (audiobook)
24. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari (audiobook)
23. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
22. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
21. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
20. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
19. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
18. Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (YA)
17. The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley (YA)
16. And We Stay by Jennie Hubbard (YA)
15. The Goldfinch by Donna Tart
14. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (YA)
13. Push by Sapphire
12. Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner's Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America
11. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
10. Atonement by Ian McEwan
9. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson (YA)
8. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
7. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
6. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
5. The Color Master by Aimee Bender
4. The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain
3. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
2. Paper Towns by John Green (YA)
1. Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
(I am taking a Children's Lit class for my MLIS which means I am reading picture books, middle readers, and YA fiction in much greater numbers than before. I have decided not to count books under 100 pages - those books will be counted in Roman numerals for my own records. *** means it is an exceptional/important book, ** means it is a good book, * means I hate it and would never buy it for any kids I know)
xxx. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, illustrated by Peter Parnell (***)
xxix. Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Cindy Trumbore, illustrated by Susan L. Roth (**) - buy for kids interested in birds or nonfiction
xxviii. Firefly July, poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
xxvii. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (a wordless YA graphic novel)
xxvi. Me, Frida by Amy Novesky illustrated by David Diaz (**) - the text and story is way better than Viva Frida, but the art is less aesthetically interesting. Overall better, but not the Frida children's book I want.
xxv. Diego Rivera by Duncan Tonatiuh (**) - buy for kids interested in art
xxiv. Dear Primo by Duncan Tonatiuh (**) - buy for kids with family abroad
xxiii. Little Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman (**)
xxii. Lon Po Po by Edward Young (*) - strong dislike of the illustrative style
xxi. Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya (***) - a modern Spanglish update on a classic about two females who don't need a man to take care of them
xx: Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel (***) - I don't know why this book is so charming, but it is
xix. Waiting is Not Easy by Mo Willems (***) - buy for lower elementary
xviii. You are (not) small by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant (*)
xvii. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (*)
xvi. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead and Erin E Stead (***) - buy for lower elementary
xv. Maria Had a Little Llama by Angela Dominguez (*)
xiv. Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya (***) - buy for lower elementary
xiii. Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales (***) - buy for lower elementary, esp. mix-gender siblings
xii. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote by Duncan Tonatiuh (***) - buy for upper elementary
xi. Martin de Porres by Gary D. Schmidt (**)
x. Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh (***) - buy for upper elementary
ix. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems (**)
viii. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (***) - buy for lower elementary
vii. Firebird by Misty Copeland and Christopher Myers (***) - buy for dancer kids
vi. This Day In June by Gayle E. Pitman an Kristyna Litten (***) - buy for Pride month
v. Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner (*)
iv. Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales (**)
iii. Picture This: How Pictures Work by Molly Bang
ii. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (*)
i. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (**) - buy for Christmas holiday
