November Accomplishments

These are a few of my favorite 'first' lines read in November 2010.

When I wrote essays at school I was always told to begin at the beginning and end at the end. I'm not at all sure that this story has an end. As for a beginning - well, in my opinion, it really begins - as I began - with my father. Anyway, that's where I'm going to start.

The best time to talk to ghosts is just before the sun comes up. That's when they can hear us true, Momma said. That's when ghosts can answer us

Ruth Handler looked absolutely nothing like a Barbie doll. And she did not aspire to.  

So there I was, holding a pink teddy bear in my hand. It had a red bow and an inviting, cute, bearlike smile. Also, it was ticking. 

The wind howled and the flames roared, but the books, as they died, merely fell silent.

November's Top Five:

A Pleasure To Burn: Fahrenheit 451 Stories. Ray Bradbury.
Miss Hargreaves. Frank Baker. 
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
Bright Young Things. Anna Godbersen.
Blackout. Connie Willis.

Number of Board Books: 7

It's Christmas Time! Salina Yoon. 2010. Scholastic. 8 pages.
Duck & Goose, It's Time for Christmas. Tad Hills. 2010. Random House. 22 pages.
Hanukkah: A Counting Book. Emily Sper. 2010. Scholastic. 20 pages.
Clifford's First Christmas. Norman Bridwell. 2010. Scholastic. 20 pages.
Here Comes Christmas! Caroline Jayne Church. 2010. Scholastic. 14 pages.
Story of Christmas. Vivian French. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. 2010. Candlewick. 22 pages.
Cows Can't Jump by Dave Reisman. Illustrated by Jason A. Maas. 2008. Jumping Cow Press. 44 pages.  

Number of Picture Books: 12

Bedtime Bunnies. Wendy Watson. 2010. Clarion Books. 32 pages.
Can't Sleep Without Sheep. Susanna Leonard Hill. Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. 2010. Walker Books. 40 pages.
Rain School. James Rumford. 2010. October 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32 pages. 
Ribbit Rabbit. Candace Ryan. Illustrated by Mike Lowery. 2011. February 2011. Walker. 32 pages.
Ivy Loves to Give. Freya Blackwood. 2010. Scholastic. 24 pages.
Guess How Much I Love You. Sam McBratney. Illustrated by Anita Jeram. 1994. Candlewick Press. 32 pages.
Guess How Much I Love You: All Year Round: Four Seasons, Four Stories. Sam McBratney. Illustrated by Anita Jeram. 2010. Candlewick. 72 pages.
And I Love You. Ruth Krauss. Illustrated by Steven Kellogg. 2010. October 2010. Scholastic. 40 pages.
A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens. Illustrated by Brett Helquist. 2009. HarperCollins. 40 pages.
The Hallelujah Flight. Phil Bidner. Illustrated by John Holyfield. 2010. Penguin. 32 pages.  
Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star. Petr Horacek. 2009. Candlewick. 32 pages.
More Bears! Kenn Nesbitt. Illustrated by Troy Cummings. 2010. November 2010. Sourcebooks. 32 pages.

Number of Children's Books: 4

I Love Christmas. (Noodles Series). Hans Wilhelm. 2010. Scholastic. 32 pages.
Anna Hibiscus. Atinuke. Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. 2010. Kane/Miller. 112 pages.
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: The New Girl (#2) Meg Cabot. 2008. Scholastic. 230 pages.
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Best Friends and Drama Queens #3. Meg Cabot. 2009. Scholastic. 224 pages.

Number of Middle Grade: 5

Chains. Laurie Halse Anderson. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages.
The Haunting of Charles Dickens. Lewis Buzbee. With illustrations by Greg Ruth. 2010. October 2010. Feiwel & Friends. 368 pages.
Libyrinth. Pearl North. 2009. Tor. 336 pages.
Alcatraz Versus The Shattered Lens. Brandon Sanderson. 2010. Scholastic. 304 pages.
Enchanted Glass. Diana Wynne Jones. 2010. HarperCollins. 292 pages.

Number of YA: 3

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. 2010. Scholastic. 390 pages.
Bright Young Things. Anna Godbersen. 2010. HarperCollins. 400 pages.
The Blending Time. Michael Kinch. 2010. Flux. 254 pages. 

Number of Adult: 7

Passionate Brood: A Novel of Richard the Lionheart and the Man Who Became Robin Hood. Margaret Campbell Barnes. 1944/2010. Sourcebooks. 368 pages.
Blackout. Connie Willis. 2010. Random House. 512 pages.
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal. 2010. Tom Doherty. 304 pages.
Miss Hargreaves. Frank Baker. 1940/2009. Bloomsbury. 336 pages.
Bellfield Hall: Or The Observations of Miss Dido Kent. Anna Dean. 2010. St. Martin's Press. 300 pages.
Desiree: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love. Annemarie Selinko. 1953/2010. Sourcebooks. 608 pages.
The Nonesuch. Georgette Heyer. 1962/2009. Sourcebooks. 352 pages.

Number of Christian: 7

We Believe in Christmas. Karen Kingsbury. Illustrated by Dan Brown. 2008. Zondervan. 40 pages.
Silent Night: A Christmas Carol is Born. Maureen Brett Hooper. Illustrated by Kasi Kubiak. 2001. Boyds Mill Press. 32 pages.
Music From Our Lord's Holy Heaven. Gathered and Sung by Gloria Jean Pinkney. Art by Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney, and Myles C. Pinkney. Prelude by Troy Pinkney-Ragsdale. 2005. HarperCollins. 48 pages.
A Baby Born in Bethlehem. Martha Whitmore Hickman. Illustrated by Giuliano Ferri. 1999. Whitman. 32 pages.
This Is The Stable. Cynthia Cotten. Illustrated by Delana Bettoli. 2006. Henry Holt. 32 pages.
One Wintry Night. Ruth Bell Graham. Illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson. 1994. Baker. 72 pages.
What Good is God? In Search of A Faith That Matters. Philip Yancey. 2010. Faithwords [Hachette]. 287 pages

Number of Nonfiction: 5

The Good, The Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us. Tanya Lee Stone. 2010. October 2010. Penguin. 144 pages.
Ray Bradbury: Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Wendy Mass. 2004. Enslow Publishers. (Authors Teens Love Series). 104 pages.
A Book About Color. Mark Gonyea. 2010. Henry Holt. 96 pages.
Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Home Front During World War I. Ann Bausum. 2010. November 2010. National Geographic. 96 pages.
Candy Bomber: The Story of The Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot". Michael O. Tunnell. 2010. Charlesbridge. 120 pages.

Number of Graphic Novels: 1

Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean. Sarah Stewart Taylor. Illustrated by Ben Towle. 2010. Hyperion. 96 pages

Number of Poetry: 2

Roots and Blues: A Celebration. Arnold Adoff. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. 2011. January 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 96 pages.
Camille Saint-Saens's The Carnival of the Animals. Jack Prelutsky. Illustrated by Mary GrandPre. 2010. Random House. 40 pages. 

Number of Short Story Collections/Anthologies: 2

A Pleasure To Burn: Fahrenheit 451 Stories. Ray Bradbury. 2010. Subterranean Press. 300 pages.
Bespelling Jane Austen. By Mary Balogh, Susan Krinard, Colleen Gleason, Janet Mullany. 2010. Harlequin. 377 pages.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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