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February 5, 2012

Announcing the 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs! I'm ranking my favorite books read in 2011 and will be giving each review page a special seal. I already announced the titles and my reasoning on my blog, but now I've got the permanent page up.

My #5 pick in Children's Fiction was The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: 14 Authors Tell the Tales, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. In this book, 14 outstanding authors have written stories from the pictures and caption set out 25 years ago in The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.

Happy reading!



Beginning Chapter Books
Lulu and the Brontosaurus
Lulu and the Brontosaurus
by Judith Viorst
illustrated by Lane Smith

Freddie Ramos Zooms to the Rescue
Zapato Power
Freddie Ramos Zooms to the Rescue

by Jacqueline Jules
art by Miguel Benitez

The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon
by David Almond
illustrated by Polly Dunbar

Eoin Colfer's Legend of . . . The Worst Boy in the World

The Trouble With Chickens
by Doreen Cronin
illustrated by Kevin Cornell

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig
by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Bink and Gollie
by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
illustrated by Tony Fucile

The Dream Stealer
by Sid Fleischman
pictures by Peter Sis

Zapato Power
Freddie Ramos Takes Off

by Jacqueline Jules
art by Miguel Benitez

Zapato Power
Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action

by Jacqueline Jules
art by Miguel Benitez

The Birthday Ball
by Lois Lowry
illustrations by Jules Feiffer

The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean
by Alexander McCall Smith

Down Girl and Sit: Smarter Than Squirrels
by Lucy Nolan
illustrated by Mike Reed

Bad to the Bone
by Lucy Nolan
illustrated by Mike Reed

Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe
by Susan Patron

Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee

The Talented Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee

Clementine's Letter
by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee

Clementine, Friend of the Week
by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee



Contemporary
Guys Read: Funny Business
Guys Read
Funny Business

edited by Jon Scieszka

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu
by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
by Tom Angleberger

Home of the Brave
by Katherine Applegate

Hate That Cat
by Sharon Creech

Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech

Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper

One False Note
by Gordon Korman

Swindle
by Gordon Korman

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
by Lenore Look
illustrated by Leuyen Pham

Caddy Ever After
by Hilary McKay

Forever Rose
by Hilary McKay

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
by Barbara O'Connor

Lucky Breaks
by Susan Patron

The Maze of Bones: The 39 Clues, Book One
by Rick Riordan

Penny Dreadful
by Laurel Snyder



Fantasy
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Fly By Night
Fly By Night
by Frances Hardinge
performed by Jill Turner

Keeper
by Kathi Appelt

The Prophecy
by Hilari Bell

The Wizard Test
by Hilari Bell

Plain Kate
by Erin Bow

Kat, Incorrigible
by Stephanie Burgis

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
by Barry Deutsch

The Conch Bearer
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Facttracker
by Jason Carter Eaton

Coraline
written and performed by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book
written and performed by Neil Gaiman

Odd and the Frost Giants
by Neil Gaiman

Tuesdays at the Castle
by Jessica Day George

A Tale Dark and Grimm
by Adam Gidwitz

The Shoe Bird
a musical fable by Samuel Jones

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
performance by the Author

Ever
by Gail Carson Levine

Fairest
by Gail Carson Levine

Fairest
by Gail Carson Levine
read and sung by Sarah Naughton and the Full Cast Family
music by Todd Hobin

The Last Battle
by C. S. Lewis
performed by Patrick Stewart

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin

Punished!
by David Lubar

What-the-dickens
by Gregory Maguire

Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
performed by Peter Dennis

Saving the Griffin
by Kristin Wolden Nitz

Half-Minute Horrors
edited by Susan Rich

The Red Pyramid:
The Kane Chronicles, Book One

by Rick Riordan

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
by J. K. Rowling

Senrid
by Sherwood Smith

Any Which Wall
by Laurel Snyder

Bigger Than a Bread Box
by Laurel Snyder

The Silver Bowl
by Diane Stanley

The New Policeman
by Kate Thompson
Performed by Marcella Riordan

A True Princess
by Diane Zahler



Historical
Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run
Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run
by Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger

Okay for Now
Okay for Now
by Gary D. Schmidt

Forge
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko

Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman

The Silver Donkey
by Sonya Hartnett

Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan

Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

The Storm in the Barn
by Matt Phelan

The Dreamer
by Pam Munoz Ryan
drawings by Peter Sis

The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt

The Case of the Missing Marquess
by Nancy Springer

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor

One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia

Before Green Gables
by Budge Wilson


Science Fiction
Zita the Spacegirl
Zita the Spacegirl
Far From Home

by Ben Hatke

When You Reach Me
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead

The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen
by M. T. Anderson

Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom
by Tim Byrd

LionBoy
by Zizou Corder
read by Simon Jones

LionBoy: The Chase
by Zizou Corder
read by Simon Jones

LionBoy: The Truth
by Zizou Corder
read by Simon Jones

Among the Hidden
by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Larklight
by Philip Reeve
performed by Greg Steinbruner

Starcross
by Philip Reeve
performed by Greg Steinbruner

Mothstorm
by Philip Reeve
performed by Greg Steinbruner

The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart
read by Del Roy