THE LISTS ARE COMING! THE LISTS ARE COMING!

It is indeed that time of year -- when it seems like everyone on the planet puts out "The Best Books of ..." lists.  So my "To Read" list is growing by leaps and bounds!  Here is what I have added in the last few days. 

Bone by Bone:  Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine; Illustrated by T. S. Spookytooth.  Seriously - who could resist a book illustrated by T. S. Spookytooth?  Comparative anatomy for the K - 2nd grade crowd.  

The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown; Illustrated by Don Brown.  A thorough investigation of the Dust Bowl - in graphic novel format!  For ages 11 and up. It has been described as beautiful and compelling; sadly my library does not own it yet so I will have to look for it elsewhere.

The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan.  I had never heard of George E. Ohr.  Which is one of the things I truly love about kid lit -- you meet so many interesting people!  Both alive and dead.  :-) This man wore his mustache curled around his ears!  And he made beautiful pottery, too.  Ages 10 and up though accessible to younger kids also.

The Tapir Scientist:  Saving South America's Largest Mammal by Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop.  I have never read anything by Sy Montgomery that was not completely fascinating.  Therefore I assume this story will be also.  Quick!  Where in South America does a tapir live?  Brazil's Pantanale.  What does it look like? It has a snorkel snout!  How lovable is that?  Ages 10 and up.  Lots of pictures; lots of text, too!

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang Though technically this is probably closer to historical fiction, I am putting it here because it provides a LOT of history about the Boxer Rebellion from both sides of the story.  It is a two-volume graphic novel.  The first volume is Boxers and presents the more traditioanl Chinese side.  The second volume is Saints and presents the Chinese Christan side.  From what I have read, it's a bit gruesome in spots.  But it has received rave reviews.  And I really can't wait to read it.  7th grade and up

Bluffton:  My Summers with Buster Keaton by Matt Phelan  Another graphic novel; another sort of historical/biographical fiction.  Told from the viewpoint of a young boy who grew up close to Buster Keaton whose family spent summers in Bluffton.  A bit of a coming of age tale set in 1908.  6th grade, maybe?  

And last but not least -One that I have read.

The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible... On Schindler's List by Leon Leyson. This is a memoir written by Leyson who was the youngest survivor "adopted" by Schindler.  Read it. It is short and compelling.  

I have read four or five Holocaust stories this year so I will write more about them in a different post.  Happy reading!  Or happy placing holds at your local library!