10. Picture Book - All are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman - In the summer or fall, I kept seeing it on Twitter and promptly found it on the new books shelf at my local public library. What's not to love about this book? The illustrations and text are simple yet beautiful and purposely inclusive of ALL. Important and simply accessible messages for kids. A great addition to anywhere. 9. Guilty Pleasure - Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - I read the first one with my 7/8 book club and gave it mixed reviews and 3 stars on Goodreads. Yet it was like a cliffhanger on a soap opera I saw part of with my mom as a kid or interesting gossip. For reasons I couldn't explain, I NEEDED to know what happened next. I've since read all 3 and will read the 4th when it releases. 8. Series - The Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare - I had read the first book a few years ago, loved it, and recommended it several times since. But recently the 5th and final book released, and recently my 5/6 book club wanted to read the first one. This lead to me binge reading the rest of the series over the first half of winter break. That's a lot of reading quickly for me! And the fastest I have gone through a series in a while! I had meant to finish it but hadn't previously had time. It's a great recommendation for kids who are looking for a next fantasy series, a book like Harry Potter, an adventure with magic, or all of the above! It has lots of interesting twists and turns. 7. Middle Grade Lit - Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan - I read this book last spring and quickly started recommending it to teachers and students. It was my favorite middle grade book that I read last school year. The two narrators gave clear, distinct voices from two different authors. Both students, Joe and Ravi, were struggling to fit in and being bullied. There are some important teaching moments for both adults and students in how we treat others.
6. Middle Grade Fantasy - Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi - This book was important to me for a few reasons. One is that students have long loved and asked for Riordan books. This is the first book that came out under Rick Riordan presents. It was a welcome and needed change of pace to see folks like Riordan and the Disney publishing company acknowledge that one author may not be the best voice for all cultures and mythologies and bring in other voices and cultures to add to a very popular subgenre. Additionally, Aru was the first liar I've ever adored. I LOVED the way Chokshi wrote her and her writing style. And I learned new things about the Pandavas and the epic legend while reading. I loved EVERYTHING about this book and recommended it to every kid at the end of last school year. 5. Professional Development - The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros - On one hand, I feel like parts are common sense and parts I'd heard before, but on the other hand, I do have pages of notes I took from it, which is saying something. So for me there were some really good nuggets in there, I just had to get past the parts I knew. That being said, I think that a lot of the educators that I follow on Twitter, podcasts I listen to, and PD I've attended have been from folks that were influenced by Couros's work, which is likely why I'd already heard a lot of it, so that may not be the case for everyone, and there's no questioning that he's been a game changer in the field. 4. Last in a Series - War Storm by Victoria Aveyard - I didn't want to finish the Red Queen series and was a bit crushed it was over. It'd been a while since I had a book hangover and had a hard time getting into the next thing after I finished it this summer. I got to hear her speak last spring and totally geeked out. It's been my favorite ya lit/ dystopian series the past few years. It's a great conclusion to what was an amazing series for me. Here was my review of it. If you haven't yet tried this series that I've been obsessed with, I ask you, what are you waiting for? 3. Young Adult - Scythe by Neal Shusterman - Folks that follow what I read may be aware that I read a lot of young adult dystopian books. A lot. It's been my favorite genre since I read The Hunger Games. But this book was different. It took me back to when I read my very first dystopian in middle school - The Giver. It made me ask questions about the world around me. It made me question laws and morals. It made me think. And it simultaneously sucked me into a very dark world quite different from my own. I've had several 7th/8th grade students and teachers comment about how much they enjoyed this book. 2. Globally Minded - Refugee by Alan Gratz - I saw an influx of books this year related to stories of refugees and other globally minded topics, which is much needed. This one stood out to me for a few reasons - it follows three different kids through three different time periods, it is a book and author that my middle schoolers will not put down and eat up, and it was the middle school choice for this year's Global Read Aloud which my school participated in, so clearly I have ties to it from that. It's a book that takes you on a nail-biting journey in these kids' lives and makes you more empathetic while doing so. 1. Novel in Verse - House Arrest by K. A. Holt - I read this book over the summer. And then I wouldn't shut up about it. Social media, conversations with friends, back to school book recommendations for students, etc. If there was a platform, I was using it to talk about this book when I finished it. The review I wrote in Goodreads is probably as close as I can come to doing this wonderful work justice, so I'll quote that directly, "I ADORE Timothy and this book. It’s been a while since I was this level of emotionally invested in a character as I was with Timothy. I have been recommending this book to anyone and everyone who will listen and will continue to do so. I wish I could get every student and teacher to read this book. It’s such a powerful reminder of the struggles others may face that we have no idea, of the weight that is put on some kids shoulders, at what a serious health issue can do to a family, and at the legitimate reasons students may have for not doing their homework. I’m a better and more empathetic person for having read it."
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