Thursday, December 7, 2017

Brainstorm 128: Top 10s of 2017 Part 1

Top 10s of 2017

It's hard to believe, but it is that time of year again! 2017 is wrapping up and 2018 will be here before we know it. The last three Fridays of school before Christmas break I will be sharing the top books I've read in the past year. I’ve been doing lots of reading, and I know many others don’t have a chance to read several hundred books in a year. So from the crazy reader to the mildly crazy reader or the downright mellow reader, my Christmas gift to you are some of my favorite reads of the year, ones you may find worth hunting down in the reading time you do have. Sorting through hundreds of books read in the past twelve months is a long, laborious and grueling process. So many hard choices! But if it helps others find good reads, it is worth it. Books may have been published in any year unless I needed to narrow down my choice. In that case, I stated the limiters I used by the heading. My favorite choices are listed first and then kinda sorta it trickles down in descending order, but many of them I'd have trouble choosing between so it is more like some absolute favorites at the top and a 6-8 place tie for runners up. Enjoy!

This Week: Top 2017 Fiction Picture Books, Books to Read for Artwork (2017), Top Lower Grade Fiction, Top Lower Grade Graphic Novels, Top Poetry/Novels in Verse, Top Lower Grade Nonfiction
Dec 15: YA & Adult Top 10s
Dec 22: Middle Grade Top 10s, & Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading
Dec 29: Guest Post: Ms Sarah Foit’s Top 10s of 2017

Clarification of terms: Lower Grade (LG) refers to Kindergarten-2nd Grade interest level books typically but I'm including Preschool in this division too, Middle Grade (MG) refers to 3rd-8th grade interest level books, and Young Adult (YA) refers to teenage interest level books. Some books will appeal to multiple divisions. For those books I picked the age division I felt it most appealed to.

Fiction Picture books 
(Limited to 2017 releases)


Nerdy Birdy Tweets by Aaron Reynolds, ill. by Matt Davies

After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again by Dan Santat

Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins

Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro, ill. by Tatjana Mai-Wyss

Little Elliot, Fall Friends by Mike Curato



The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do by Ashley Spires

Anywhere Farm by Phyllis Root, ill. by G. Brian Karas

Marigold Bakes a Cake by Mike Malbrough

Life by Cynthia Rylant, ill. by Brendan Wenzel

Bruce’s Big Move by Ryan T. Higgins


Books to Read for the Artwork 
(Limited to 2017 releases or 2017 first English release)


John Ronald’s Dragons: the Story of J.R.R. Tolkien by Caroline McAlister, ill. by Eliza Wheeler

How to Be an Elephant by Katherine Roy

The Secret Life of the Red Fox by Laurence Pringle, ill. by Kate Garchinsky

The Way Home in the Night by Akiko Miyakoshi

The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater, ill. by the Fan Brothers


Now by Antoinette Portis

A Perfect Day by Lane Smith

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkney

La La La: a Story of Hope by Kate DiCamillo, ill. by Jaime Kim

Big Machines: the Story of Virginia Lee Burton by Sherri Duskey Rinker, ill. by John Rocco


Lower Grade Fiction
(limited to only 1 book per series)


Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder, ill. by Emily Hughes

Bad Kitty Goes to the Vet by Nick Bruel

The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid by Kara LaReau, ill. by Matt Myers

The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale, ill. by LeUyen Pham

The Pest in the Nest by Julian Gough, ill. by Jim Field



The Princess and the Crocodile by Laura Amy Schiltz, ill. by Brian Floca

Cowboy Pug by Laura James, ill. by Églantine Ceulemans

Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes

Squid & Octopus Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu

Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay, ill. by Priscilla Lamont


LG Graphic Novels
(limited to only 1 book per series)


Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton

Brobots and the Kaiju Kerfuffle by J. Torres, ill. by Sean K. Dove

Egg by Kevin Henkes

Before After ill. by Anne-Margot Ramstein & Matthias Arégui

Digging for Dinos by Jessica Young, ill. by James Burks


Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey

I’m Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm, ill. by Matthew Holm

Shelter by Céline Claire, ill. by Qin Leng

My Pet Human by Yasmine Surovec

Letters to a Prisoner by Jacques Goldstyn


Poetry/Novels in Verse


Saving Red by Sonya Sonnes

The 12 Days of Christmas ill. by Greg Pizzoli

Bravo!: Poems about Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle, ill. by Rafael Lopéz

A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney, ill. by Steve Johnson & Lou Francher

Freedom over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan


The Dragon Hunters by James Russell, ill. by Link Choi

Tony by Ed Galing, ill. by Erin E. Stead

Where My Wellies Take Me by Michael Morpurgo, ill. by Clare Morpurgo

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Jerry Pinkney

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg, ill. by Matthew Cordell


Lower Grade Nonfiction 
(limited to those released in 2017)



The Secret Life of the Red Fox by Laurence Pringle, ill. by Kate Garchinsky

ABC Color: Apricot, Burgundy & Chartreuse: 26 Brand New Colors Are out on the Loose by Ingela Peterson Arrhenius

Double Take!: a New Look at Opposites by Susan Hood, ill by Jay Fleck

Gobi: a Little Dog with a Big Heart by Dion Leonard, ill. by Lisa Manuzak

Can an Aardvark Bark? by Melissa Stewart, ill. by Steve Jenkins


Different? Same! by Heather Tekavec, ill. by Pippa Curnick

Magnets Push, Magnets Pull by David A. Adler, ill. by Anna Raff

Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner, ill. by Christopher Silas Neal

Living in…India by Chloe Perkins

Ducklings (Explore My World) by Marfe Ferguson Delano

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