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Best of 2013

I’m not sure I really like doing best of lists because I am so sure I am going to miss something that I thought was really cool. I look at the books on my shelves to see if anything prods my memory. Using this method is very scattershot but does give me a couple of titles I had forgotten about. There is no real rhyme or reason to this list, they are simply the books that stayed with me the most or caught my attention for longer than others.

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff (YA)

9780230768963

Acid by Emma Pass (YA)9780552566148

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo (8+)

flora-and-ulysses

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (9+)

the-school-for-good-and-evil

Extra Time by Morris Gleitzman (8+)

9780143307754

Princess Betony and the Rule of Wishing by Pamela Freeman (5+)

princess-betony-and-the-rule-of-wishing

Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest by Anna Branford (5+)

9781921977572

Noah Dreary by Aaron Blabey (picture book)

9780670077182

Journey by Aaron Becker (picture book)

9781406342307All of these are worth more than a quick look.

Continue reading throughout the new year, I know there will be heaps of great books out in 2014.

 

Category:

Topics and Recommendations

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Flora & Ulysses – The Illuminated Adventures

I received this from the publisher

flora-and-ulyssesBy: Kate DiCamillo

Illustrated By: KG Campbell

Flora Belle Buckman is a little different. Flora considers herself a cynic. She loves comic books, practices hard at ignoring her mother and misses her father who no longer lives with them. One day she witnesses something strange, a squirrel getting vacuumed up. She races out to rescue him and a most amazing thing happens. The squirrel has been changed by his ordeal and Flora takes it upon herself to take care of him, starting with giving him the name of Ulysses.

Flora talks to Ulysses, he understands. He types poetry, has amazing strength and can even fly. Together they will be able to do remarkable things. Flora’s mother however sees things differently, fortunately Flora’s father is more understanding. Then the two are separated, will they find their way back to each other?

This is a truly beautiful tale of a unique friendship and a dysfunctional family. Flora is different and that makes her open to seeing the potential in Ulysses but it also makes her fascinating in her own right, as she grows in their journey together to find positive things a cynic might otherwise not see. This is a heartwarming story told with a masterful hand and complemented wonderfully by illustrations, sometimes in the form of comic book like panels. It is the sort of story that you really want to share with your children, you know the ones I’m talking about; they tug at your heart, they delight and they beg to be revisited over and over.

Highly recommended.

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Published: 24 September 2013

Format: Hardback 240 pages

Categories: Adventure, Friendship, Fantasy, Family, Humour

ISBN 13: 9780763660406

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page.

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

By: Kate DiCamillo

Edward Tulane is a china rabbit who is very pleased with himself. He belongs to a girl named Abilene who loves him and treats him with the utmost care. he sits at the table with the family for dinner and has dozens of clothes. He is a very important rabbit. Or so he thinks. He never, not once thinks about anyone but himself. Then one day he gets lost.

This isn’t the end for him it is simply the beginning. He goes on a remarkable journey of self-discovery and along the way comes to understand what it is to love and be loved.

This is a surprisingly beautiful story. What could be interesting about a self-important, over dressed china rabbit? The story makes it interesting. It is so wonderfully written, the characters so varied and Edward’s journey beautifully developed that you want to be with him on it.

 

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Published: 01 July 2009

Format: Paperback 210 pages

Categories: Fiction Traditional Self-Esteem

ISBN 13: 9780763643676

Purchase: here

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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