You first! What’s your favorite book of the year?
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy and Lynn: Before we head off to Seattle for the ALA Midwinter Meetings and the much anticipated 2013 Youth Media Awards, we are going to post our top ten lists of our favorite picture books, novels, and nonfiction of 2012. While we cram in a few more books and whittle our lists to ten (or twelve) we’d like to hear from YOU!
Now, don’t panic. You don’t have to vet any titles for eligibility other than a 2012 copyright date. You don’t have to study the texts for an obscure anachronism or a missing source. You don’t have to justify a complete story arc if your favorite is book two in a trilogy! Your choice doesn’t even have to exhibit literary merit over popular appeal. Nope. This is so much easier than serving on an award committee. You can do this and still have time to watch Downton Abbey. The criteria is just that you enjoyed reading the book or that it remains a favorite of the books you read over the year. List one, list one in each category (picture book, novels, nonfiction), list 10, we don’t care. Give us a reason or just leave a title and author. We will compile the results into one list to share with all of you.
Rumor has it that Bookends Blog has real readers out there in the nets. We get a lot of page hits but we still sometimes have a hard time believing we aren’t just posting to amuse ourselves here. Take a minute and talk back to us. We tell you all year what we enjoy reading. We can’t wait to hear what you choose.
And (this is Lynn who FINALLY got Cindy to watch her first episode of Downton Abbey in December) we’d love to hear what you think about Season Three as well 
(Cindy here–no spoilers for ME please. I have two seasons of catching up to do.)
January 9th, 2013 at 9:32 am
YA: My absolute favorite YA was Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.
2. Personal Effects by E. M. Kokie
3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
4. Legend by Marie Lu
5. Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
6. The Diviners by Libba Bray
7. Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
8. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
9. Dodger by Terry Pratchett
10. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
11. I Swear by Lane Davis
12. Butter by Erin Jade Lange
Middle Grade: didn’t have an absolute favorite, but Twelve Kinds of Ice came really close.
2. One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
3. Wonder by R. J. Palacio
4. Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
5. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
6. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
7. Plunked by Michael Northrop
8. Starry River to the Sky by Grace Lin
9. The Fairy Ring by Mary Losure
10. Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
Picture books: my personal pick for Caldecott is Unspoken by Heny Cole
Close 2nd and favorite: Hello! Hello! by Matthew Cordell
3. Eight Days Gone by Linda McReynolds
4. Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey by Mini Gray
5. A Home for Bird by Philip A. Stead
6. It Jes’ Happened by Don Tate
7. Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs
8. Each Kindnes by Jacqueline Woodson
9. A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston (recommended it to the sixth grade earth science teacher to introduce her unit on rocks.
10. Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee (I know, it’s not a picture book, but I do adore those two.)
January 9th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Hi, Cindy and Lynn
I’m still trying to read my 2012s before the YMA, but here are my favorites in no particular order.
YA:
Code Name Verity – even with its faults it is the most fascinating book of the year.
The Fault in Our Stars
The Brides of Rollrock Island
No Crystal Stair
Seraphina
There is No Dog
Middle Grade:
Liar & Spy
The False Prince
The Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated
The Mighty Miss Malone
Splendors and Glooms
One Year in Coal Harbor
The Great Molasses Flood (NF)
Picture:
Boy + Bot
Dragons Love Tacos
This is Not My Hat
Extra Yarn
Jimmy the Greatest!
Chopsticks
Most surprising:
The Casual Vacancy. Okay, it’s adult, but impressive.
Downton Abbey:
I’ve been avoiding spoilers for season 3 and thought the 1st episode went well. Although, I truly hope we don’t have to sit through bickering about money all season long. I also hope the downstairs folks get interesting story lines. The theme is all about big changes so let’s see some good stuff here. I’m thinking of a valet especially.
January 9th, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Posted here and nowhere else, I’ll have you know:
Walter’s Top 10 Picture Books of 2012
And Then It’s Spring Fogliano
The Bear in the Book Banks
Extra Yarn Barnett
Each Kindness Woodson
Green Seeger
Looking at Lincoln Kalman
This is Not My Hat Klassen
Unspoken Cole
Z is for Moose Bingham
Walter’s Top 10 Nonfiction of 2012
A Black Hole is Not a Hole DeCristofano
Bomb: the race to steal and build the world’s most dangerous weapon Sheinkin
The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World Losure
The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919 Kops
His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg: courage rescue and mystery during World War II Borden
Island: a story of the Galapagos Chin
Moonbird: a year on the wind with the great survivor B95 Hoose
One Times Square: a century of change at the crossroads of the world McKendry
Temple Grandin: how the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world Montgomery
We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March Levinson
Walter’s Top 10 Fiction (ages 5-12) of 2012
Drama Telgemeier
In a Glass Grimmly Gidwitz
Liar & Spy Stead
On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave Fleming
The One and Only Ivan Applegate
Penny and Her Doll Henkes
The Second Life of Abigail Walker Dowell
The Shark King Johnson
Splendors and Glooms Schlitz?
Wonder Palacio
Walter’s Top 10 Fiction (ages 12-18) for 2012
Ask the Passengers King
The Brides of Rollrock Island Lanagan
Code Name Verity Wein
The Diviners Bray
Every Day Levithan
Long Lankin Barraclough
My Book of Life by Angel Leavitt
Pinned Flake
See You at Harry’s Knowles
Seraphina Hartman
January 9th, 2013 at 12:07 pm
I’m a lurker to your blog! But I really enjoy it!
Here are my #1 2012 titles: YA: It’s a tie between The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. (To be fair, I haven’t got my hands on a copy of The Diviners yet; but it sounds like my cup of tea!) MG: Wonder by R.J. Palacio Picture Book: Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters by K.G. Campbell, which made me guffaw out loud, but which would go over the heads of my preschool classes. And I haven’t had a chance to catch Downtown Abbey yet either!
January 9th, 2013 at 6:59 pm
In no particular order, just the titles that I remember enjoying the most:
Teen:
The Raven Boys by Steifvater
Dodger by Pratchett
Code Name Verity by Wein
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Lanagan
Grave Mercy by LaFevers
The Name of the Star by Johnson
Unspoken by Brennan
The Broken Lands by Milford
Keeping the Castle by Kindl
The Fitzosbornes at War by Cooper
Cinder by Meyer
I Hunt Killers by Lyga
Children’s:
Bomb by Sheinkin
Three Times Lucky by Turnage
Splendors and Glooms by Schlitz
Chickadee by Erdrich
Starry River of the Sky by Lin
Almost Home by Bauer
The Great Unexpected by Creech
Liar & Spy by Stead
Son by Lowry
Moonbird by Hoose
Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Pennypacker
January 9th, 2013 at 10:32 pm
Here are ten fine picture books that come to mind (both fiction and nonfiction–and not necessarily Caldicott eligible):
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad by Cole
Oh, No! by Fleming, Candace
Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey by Golio
Monsieur Marceau: Actor Without Words by Schubert
Each Kindness by Woodson
Ostrich and Lark by Nelson
Green by Seeger
Laundry Day by Manning
Magritte’s Marvelous Hat by Johnson
More by Springman
Here are the first middle grade books to come to mind:
Liar & Spy by Stead
Splendors and Glooms by Schlitz
The One and Only Ivan by Applegate
Bomb by Sheinkin
Moonbird by Hoose
National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry edited by Lewis
Wonder by Palacio
And here are some YA books that are fabulous:
Brides of Rollrock Island by Lanagan
Code Name Verity by Wein
Raven Boys by Stiefvater
The Peculiar by Bachmann
Seraphina by Hartman
Bitterblue by Cashore
January 10th, 2013 at 6:20 am
Wow! This is awesome! I love it that readers share my inability to list just a few
Keep these going Bookends readers!–Lynn
January 10th, 2013 at 7:06 am
Yes, thanks for playing along…but we need to hear from MORE of you. Don’t be intimidated by the long lists. It’s okay to list just one or two if you want!–Cindy
January 10th, 2013 at 8:38 am
After reviewing my “Read” list on Goodreads, it looks like I spent most of this year catching up with BBYA books I had missed from previous years! However, the 2012 books I did get to were all pretty great.
YA:
Monstrous Beauty, Elizabeth Fama
My Book of Life by Angel, by Martine Leavitt
The Drowned Cities, Paolo Bacigalupi
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard, Lesléa Newman
The Girl in the Park, Mariah Fredericks
Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
Cinder, Marissa Meyer
The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate
Non-YA, but still a great read:
Year Zero, Rob Reid – This probably tops as my favorite book of the year. It was absolutely hilarious from the first page on, but it also has a great message about how copyright law is set up to protect the corporations who own the copyrights and not the artists.
January 10th, 2013 at 5:14 pm
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Starters by Lissa Price
Shade’s Children by Garth Nix
I read a lot of books this year that weren’t from 2012, but these were my favorites from 2012.
January 15th, 2013 at 9:10 am
Looking forward to your favorites! Here are mine.
Picture Book:
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Nonfiction Picture Book:
Island by Jason Chin
Graphic Novel (Nonfiction):
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale
Graphic Novel (Fiction):
Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson
Middle Grade Fiction:
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Nonfiction:
BOMB by Steve Sheinkin
January 15th, 2013 at 6:10 pm
Middle grade: Wonder by RJ Palacio
YA: Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I also read a lot of books not released in 2012, but these two stood out to me.
January 15th, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Since I float back and forth between adult, young adult, and children’s books, I can’t come up with 10 titles in each category, but here are the 2012 books that impressed me so much I can list them off the top of my head:
Young Adult:
Code Name Verity – Wein
Raven Boys – Stiefvater
Seraphina – Hartman
Colin Fishcher – Miller
The Last Dragonslayer – Fforde
Middle Grades:
Close to Famous – Bauer
Wonder – Polacio
One and Only Ivan – Applegate
Picture books:
Extra Yarn – Barnett
This Is Not My Hat – Klassen
Unspoken – Cole
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – Kamkwamba
Words Set Me Free: Story of Young Frederick Douglass – Cline-Ransome
House Held Up By Trees – Kooser
January 16th, 2013 at 10:05 am
It’s always so hard for me to choose favorites… I tried to keep my list as short as I could:
Middle Grade Fiction:
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed and Barbara
Mr. & Mrs. Bunny Detectives Extrodinare by Polly Horvath
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz (I’m almost finished and love it!)
Nonfiction:
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
One Times Square by Joe McKendry
You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey, artwork by Soyeon Kim
I, too, am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davis,illustrated by Mark Hearld
Early Reader:
Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes
Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover by Cece Bell
Picture Books:
Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin Stead
And Then it’s Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin Stead
A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead
Chloe by Peter McCarty
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
Graphic Novels:
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson
Cardboard by Doug TenNapel
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L’Engle, adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson
Can’t wait to read your picks of 2012!
January 17th, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Another loyal reader here! We are out there!
YA
The FitzOsbornes at War by Cooper
Code Name Verity by Wein
Ask the Passengers by King
Non-Fiction
Bomb by Sheinkin
Temple Grandin by Montgomery
Island by Chin
Middle Grade
See you at Harrys by Knowles
Starry River in the Sky by Lin
Splendors and Glooms by Schlitz
Picture Books
Green by Seeger
This is not my hat by Klassen
Step Gently out by Frost
February 5th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
I love and appreciate all of the work that the two of you put into this each week. It is a wonderful resource. I’m guessing I’m not the only one intimidated by some of the above responses. Clearly many of your fans read almost as much as you do. But I will say that I really enjoyed the following:
Every Day – David Levithan
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shephard – Leslea Newman
The Fault in our Stars – John Green
Don’t Turn Around – Michelle Gagnon
Keep up the great work!!