Time for the Best Books of 2009

Mrs. Wilson and I have again compiled our lists of the best books we have read this year. With the 20 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominees for 2010 being so good this year, it has been especially difficult to limit our lists to only 10 books. I hope some of you will have the chance to enjoy some of our choices over winter break. If not, they will be waiting for you here at Lakeview in the new year.

Mrs. Wilson's Favorite Books of 2008

1. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, by Wendy Mass

2. The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd

3. Home of the Brave, by K. A. Applegate

4. Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

5. All the Lovely Bad Ones, by Mary Downing Hahn

6. The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt

7. The Naked Mole-Rat Letters, by Mary Amato

8. Regarding the Bathrooms, by Kate Klise

9. Shark Girl, by Kelly L. Bingham

10. Desert Crossing, by Elis Broach

Miss Hagensee's Favorite Books of 2009

1. Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

2. Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

3. Nightmare at the Book Fair, by Andrew Clements

4. Masterpiece, by Elise Broach

5. Bearwalker, by Joseph Bruchac

6. This Side of Paradise, by Steven L. Layne

7. The Juvie Three, by Gordon Korman

8. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar

9. Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George

10. First Light, by Rebecca Stead

Books into Movies

There have been an amazing number of children and young adult books on the movie screen this year. I have a display of some of these books in a nook at the main IMC desk to catch students' eyes as they walk into the IMC. Some of the book/movie connections that we have in the Lakeview IMC collection are: Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling; Coraline, by Neil Gaiman; Cirque du Freak and The Vampire's Assistant, by Darren Shan; Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl, and A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. The IMC is also getting the first three Twilight books and they should be ready for check-out in the new year. Starting later this month is a Richard Gere movie based on the book Hachiko Waits, by Leslea Newman. From picture books the movies have adapted Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett and Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. These books are available at the Ide IMC. What a great opportunity to enjoy both the books and the movies!

Take a Look at These New Books

New books are getting shelf-ready in record time so I have several new ones to tell you about this week.
For science fiction fans we have The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle. In this future world children are genetically engineered and delivered to families like Martin's little sister Cassie was. Every morning the family gathers around the television to vote on matters of national importance. And all live under the protective dome of the suburb HM1. When a stranger appears who takes away the little children, Martin has to decide if he wants to remain in this domed society or if he is willing to break out of the dome and search the mysterious desert land outside for answers.

In Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac, Baron is the shortest person in his class and a Native American. This combination makes him a target for the class bullies. But when his class goes on a camping trip to the Adirondacks, Baron's knowledge of his Mohawk heritage helps him assist his classmates and teachers survive the evil being known as a Bearwalker and learn the reasons behind its attacks.

With a different solution to bullying in Steve Cousins's Frankenbug, Adam whose interests are insects of every kind decides he will create a monster bug to attack his bully Jeb McCallister. Using the Frankenstein story byMary Shelley and its movie versions as his inspiration, Adam creates a bug using specifically chosen parts from several deadly insects. After several long nights sewing the pieces together, Adam brings his creation to life using lightning bugs. But now can Adam control the monster he has created? This story has some scary parts as well as some humorous parts.

For these and other new books, check out the New Book section along the nonfiction wall in the IMC.