Our Favorite Christmas Picture Books

Just last year, I decided we'd read a different Christmas picture book every day the entire month of December with our daughter. Ideally I would wrap them all up to open. After about 5 days of trying to wrap them on the fly, I just pulled a new one from the stash and we read it. I've been trying to discover new and fun Christmas picture books to read. Here are a few that we've read and loved. I'd love to have your suggestions!

Snowmen at Christmas and Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner
I love the secret and silly nature of these books! What do snowmen do when the rest of us are sleeping? Go sledding, play snow games, eat frozen Christmas treats? Find out in these fun books. And there are more snowmen books to celebrate the whole year!

The 12 Days of Christmas by Jane Cabrera
I love Cabrera's books based on folk songs. This one has her signature sweet animal illustrations and a fun variation on this sometimes lovely, sometimes annoying Christmas song.

Here Comes Santa Cat by Deborah Underwood and Claudia Rueda
I love this cat! He was on the naughty list and now is desperate to have a chance at a present. The holiday books featuring this cheeky cat are some of my favorites!

Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer
Olivia is always fun to read. I love how parents might enjoy the books more than kids. I certainly got a kick out of her Christmas antics, my daughter is a touch too young to get all the humor. Makes me miss being a kid at Christmas time.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
This is one I grew up reading and loving as a kid. I remember watching the slides of pages from the book and listening to the audio (that probably dates me) at school. This story never gets old and the amazing illustrations from Van Allsburg never fail to inspire awe.

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
I love Jan Brett's fantastic illustrations! She has so many wonderful books that make me want to bundle up and head out into the snow (or, you know, the 80 degree winter here in Arizona). This is one that my mom has a copy of and we always pick it up to read when we are there. That cheeky gingerbread baby makes me hungry for a cookie.

The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood and Renata Liwska
Sweet illustrations and a sly humor that is belied by this book's quiet nature - I love this book! The text is very simple, just a phrase on each page, but you can feel the emotion of the animals on every page. I probably love this more than my daughter, but I think she'll enjoy it more as she gets older.

Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell
This is a sweet and simple tale that helps to bring the true spirit of Christmas into our home. I love the soft and lovely illustrations and also the idea of the animals being welcoming and peaceful enough to accept another little one into their stable.

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond
There is something so appealing about these books and this is no exception. I always laugh at the irony of a kid racing around meeting the demands of the whimsical mouse. Probably because I'm racing around all day with my three-year-old dictator.

The Christmas Story by Robert Sabuda
I just got a copy of this gorgeous book for review and it is amazing! Simple text with six lovely pop-up pages bring the story of Jesus' birth to life. I adore the very simple colors that allow the movement and feeling of each pop-up creation speak more. I can already tell this will be a family favorite with us.

What are your family favorites?

My Favorites from 2015

I've got somewhere in the vicinity of 30 reviews from 2015 still pending.  To say I'm behind would be an understatement (a repetitive one). But, since I adore reading everyone else's faves of the year, I figured I'd better share mine too. These are not necessarily published in 2015, just what I happened to pick up and love.

Best sequel:

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

Best keep-you-guessing-to-the-end read:

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Best classic retelling:

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Best laugh-your-pants-off read:

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Best love-being-a-girl read:

The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale

Best fairy tale retelling:

Rump by Leisl Shurtliff

Best entertaining nonfiction:

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

Best nonfiction to inspire you to be better:

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Best can't-put-it-down-must-read-faster book:

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (review to come)

Best as-good-as-the-first-time reread:

 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (my original review)

Best why-did-I-wait-so-long-to-pick-this-up read:

 The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley (review to come)

Best end of the series:

Winter by Marissa Meyer (review to come)

Best new fantasy series:

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson (review to come)

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Books Read in 2016

Here are the books I've read during 2016:

1. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
2. The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech
3. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
5. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. Dearest by Alethea Kontis
8. Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbit
9. Illuminae by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff
10. Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
11. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
12. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
13. Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
14. Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
15. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
16. The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Sterling
17. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
18. The Martian by Andy Weir
19. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
20. Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow
21. Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
22. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
23. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
24. May B. by Caroline Starr Rose
25. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
26. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
27. The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
28. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
29. The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
30. 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
31. Peaceful Parent, Happy Child by Laura Markham
32. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
33. Kepler's Dream by Juliet Bell
34. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Suzanne
35. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
36. Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
37. Quiet by Susan Cain
38. Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
39. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
40. Still Alice by Lisa Genovo
41. One Plus One by JoJo Moyes
42. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Lemmon
43. Gemina by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff
44. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
45. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Want to Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I managed to get another post up and it's only been a few days!  I couldn't resist this delightful Top Ten Tuesday topic, though I made sure I didn't have too much overlap with the last one I did (favorite authors).  I have so many authors I'd love to meet.  I used to go to a lot of author events, but since my baby came (you know, almost two years ago), I don't think I've gone to a single one.  So, I'm feeling a bit sad about that, but I'm sure I'll get back to meeting authors again sometime.  Here are ten I'm eager to meet!

1. Kierstin White
2. Heather Dixon
3. Julianne Donaldson
4. Jacqueline Woodson
5. Christopher Healy
6. Rae Carson
7. Alethea Kontis
8. Maggie Stiefvater
9. Elizabeth Wein
10. Diana Peterfreund

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like Retellings

 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

It's been ages since I've done a Top Ten Tuesday and I've really missed doing the lists.  It's no secret I'm a fan of retellings, so I thought I'd come up with a top ten.  Then, I realized I had too many faves, so I decided to cheat and separate fairy tale retellings from classic retellings.

Top Ten Twelve Fairy Tale Retellings:
League of Princes series by Christopher Healy (multiple tales)
Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer (multiple tales)
Entwined by Heather Dixon (12 Dancing Princesses)
Woodcutter Sisters series by Alethea Kontis (multiple tales)
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (12 Dancing Princesses, Frog Prince)
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (Beauty and the Beast)
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Rumplestiltskin)
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George (East of the Sun)
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (Six Swans)
Thornspell by Helen Lowe (Sleeping Beauty)
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (Maid Maleen)
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (The Goose Girl)
  
Top Ten Classic Retellings:
The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series by Kenneth Oppel (Frankenstein)
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (Persuasion)
Dodger by Terry Pratchett (Oliver Twist)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King (Sherlock)
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughan (Robin Hood)
The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper (King Arthur)
The Once and Future King by T.H. White (King Arthur)
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Cupid and Psyche)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (Greek mythology)
The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher by Jessica Lawson (Tom Sawyer)

What are your favorite retellings?

 

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Favorite Reads of 2014

I'm ridiculously behind in reviewing (and general blogging), but I had to post my favorites from this year of reading.  It's been a great year for me, but not generally in the reading department (and definitely not in the blogging area).  I read 71 books this year, but I'll save all the fun stats for a later post (that's my incentive to do said post :).  I have to admit, when I looked over the list, I didn't really have a lot of books that jumped out at me as favorites.  Basically, this was relatively easy!  Here they are, categorized by genre:

YA Historical Fiction:

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Opened my eyes to how many stories and sorrows there are that I will never know about.  Cruelty of humankind will never cease to amaze me.  Also, resiliency!

YA Historical Fantasy:

Chime by Franny Billingsley (review to come)
Fascinating, strange, and beautifully written.  I was engrossed from the start.

YA Fantasy/Sci-fi:

Cress by Marissa Meyer
More, please, Ms. Meyer.  I love this series!

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White (review to come)
I really enjoyed the fantasy and the magic woven in this tale.


Atlantia by Ally Condie (review to come)
Different and unique and once more, beautifully written.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (review to come)
Intriguing and fascinating and if I had had a copy in hand, unputdownable (I listened to the audio).


Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (review to come)
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (review to come)
Let's just get me the last book in this series, already.  I'm always surprised by where these books end up!

MG Historical Fiction:

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Hello, novel in verse.  I love seeing unique historical periods through the eyes of a child.

MG Non-Fiction:

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (review to come)
There's a reason this book is being raved about.  It is fantastic and I wish I could just read it over and over all day long.  Also written in verse!

MG Fantasy:

The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw by Christopher Healy (review to come)
Many thanks, Mr. Healy, for the belly laughs.

Adult Fiction:

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (review to come)
Made me really think about where I've been and where I'm going in life.  Who do I want to become?

Adult Fantasy:

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (review to come)
Such a rich and detailed fantasy world Sanderson has created.  I'll take another helping, please!

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (reread!)
Never gets old.  Truly, the best fantasy for me.

Adult Non-Fiction:

Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand (review to come)
The book touched me in many ways, noting again the cruelty of mankind and the ability we have to rise above extremely horrific circumstances.  Truly inspiring!

What were your favorite reads this year?

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