The elementary school where I am a teacher-librarian has approximately 250 students. During the 2011-2012 school year, we circulated 21,736 books. Over the next two days, I will share the twenty most circulated titles (August 20, 2011 - May 18, 2012). Let the countdown begin!
You Will Be My Friend! Written and illustrated by Peter Brown.
Lucy, the adorable bear who debuted in Children Make Terrible Pets, is back and more enthusiastic than ever. Lucy wants to make a friend more than anything in THE ENTIRE WORLD. She cannot wait to meet her new friend so they can climb trees, go swimming, and do cartwheels together. Sadly, her search to find a new friend is not easy–most of the forest critters just don’t understand her effervescent personality. Just when Lucy’s feeling hopeless and frustrated, a wonderful thing happens…she makes a FRIEND! You Will Be My Friend is a must-purchase!
Mo Willems is the king of writing distinguished beginning readers and picture books. I didn’t think it was possible, but the Elephant and Piggie series keeps getting better. I Broke My Trunk will make readers laugh, cheer, and re-read. Thank you, Mo Willems, for creating beginning readers that beg to be read aloud.
I bought Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda on March 1, 2010. I drove home, made a cup of coffee, and settled in for a night of reading. About halfway through the book, I e-mailed a friend something like: "I'm reading a book kids will love. I predict 20 holds by the end of tomorrow." Did my prediction come true? You better believe it!
A few weeks later, I shared the Origami Yoda trailer. It inspired dozens of kids to fold Origami Yoda finger puppets. Thank you, Tom Angleberger!
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk. Written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
Publisher Description:
"Tra-la-laaa! The wait is over! Dav Pilkey--ahem--we mean, George and Harold, the authors of SUPER DIAPER BABY, are back with their second epic novel! Now with super-cool foil covers! Shiny! Fun!
Meet Ook and Gluk, the stars of this sensationally silly graphic novel from the creators of Captain Underpants! It's 500,001 BC, and Ook and Gluk's hometown of Caveland, Ohio, is under attack by an evil corporation from the future. When Ook, Gluk, and their little dinosaur pal Lily are pulled through a time portal to 2222, they discover a future world that's even more devastated than their own. Luckily, they find a friend in Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who trains them in the ways of kung fu. Now all they have to do is travel back in time 502,223 years and save the day!"
My first through third graders love Frankie Lorenzo Piccolini. His imagination is as vivid as Babymouse's. Last year my students read Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom and Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000 in the style of readers' theater. Some readers begged for "just one more chapter, please." I gave in, of course.
Thank you, Eric Wight, for a quality chapter book series with comic book-style art.
I've spent a lot of time with Scaredy Squirrel. Click here to read about our adventures.
Click here to listen to my review.
2011 may well be remembered as the year princess culture suffered its first real twinges of backlash. Few books exemplified this better than Marty McGuire, the vastly entertaining story of a tomboy forced into the role of a princess for a school play. Cultural themes aside, Messner's most skillful move was tying the whole operation to the natural plot arc of prepping for and performing a play. You don't get more climactic than opening night. And Marty delivers one of the most satisfying conclusions of the year. A wonderful start to one of 2011 best new series. -Travis Jonker
Adventures in Cartooning. By James Strum, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost.
Publisher Description:
In this action-packed cartooning adventure, kids will have as much fun making comics as reading them!
Once upon a time . . . a princess tried to make a comic. And with the help of a magical cartooning elf, she learned how – well enough to draw her way out of an encounter with a dangerous dragon, near-death by drowning, and into her very own adventure! Like the princess, young readers will discover that they already have the drawing and writing skills it takes to make a comic – they just need a little know-how. And Adventures in Cartooning supplies just that.
