Books We Read in January

The mantra for 2009 is efficiency. So, instead of writing a bunch of separate posts with just some of the books we’ve read every two months, I’m going to post a list of everything we’ve read in one month. If we’ve reviewed the book, you’ll find a link after the author/illustrator.

Last fall we stopped accepting books from authors or publishers we haven’t worked with in the past. The TBR pile had jumped up over 300, and the pressure to keep pushing through it was killing me and the volunteers. The risk of losing a love of reading isn’t worth it. We still get new books, just not ungodly numbers at a time.  This month, we got 52 new books … without even asking for one! I’ll add the new books/read books tallies in each monthly post. Here are the January 2009 numbers

New books received: 52
Books read: 29

Picture Books (all ages)
The Adventures of Hiram B. Bat written and illustrated by Professor Cecil Thistlethwaite (eBook)
Big Words for Little People written by Jamie Lee Curtis, illustrated by Laura Cornell
Bonjour L’Enfant! A Child’s Tour of Paris written by Danna Troncatty Leahy, illustrated by Gabhor Utomo reviewed
Do You Love Me? written by Joost Elffers, illustrated by Curious Pictures
Enemy Pie written by Derek Munson, illustrated by Tara Calahan King reviewed
Fancy Nancy written by Jane O’Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glassner
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy written by Jane O’Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glassner
Good NightMare written and illustrated by Mark Wayne Adams reviewed
Hip Hop Speaks to Children edited by Nikki Giovanni reviewed
Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken written by Kate DeCamillo, illustrated by Henry Bliss
Love, Splat by Rob Scotton
Metal Man by Aaron Reynolds reviewed
The Princess Gown, written by Linda Leopold Strauss, illustrated by Malene Reynolds Laugesen reviewed
Queen of Hearts written and illustrated by Mary Engelbreit
A Very Special Snowflake by Don Hoffman reviewed
Walk With a Wolf by Janni Howker reviewed
The Wim Wom from the Mustard Mill written by Polly Peters, illustrated by Roberta Angeletti reviewed

Easy Readers (early, emerging, transitional)
Aliens for Breakfast written by Jonathan Etra and Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman
Aliens for Lunch written by Jonathan Etra and Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman
Fancy Nancy Sees Stars written by Jane O’Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glassner
Houndsley and Catina and the Quiet Time by James Lowe reviewed
Kitten Up a Tree written by Melanie Abel, illustrated by Anne Lederhos reviewed
Marvin Monster’s Teacher Jitters written by Tabatha Jean D’Agata, illustrated by Ed Newmann reviewed
My Hippo Has the Hiccups and Other Poems I Totally Made Up written by Kenn Nesbitt, illustrated by Ethan Long reviewed

Middle Grade and Young Adult
Becoming Charlemagne:  Europe, Baghdad and the Empires of AD 800 by Jeff Sypek reviewed
The Last Apprentice: Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney reviewed
Lay-ups and Long Shots: An Anthology of Short Stories by Joseph Bruchac, Lynea Bowdish, David Lubar, Terry Trueman, CS Perryess, Diorian Cirrone, Jamie McEwan, Max Elliot Anderson, and Peggy Duffy reviewed
Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing – by Guo Yue and Clare Farrow review 1, review 2
Sabriel by Garth Nix