Best Books of 2014: 5-1

Travis Jonker and I are counting down the top 20 books of 2014. Head on over to Mr. Jonker's blog to read our annotations. 

20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1

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The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee | Beach Lane Books

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast featured Marla Frazee on September 28. 

RS: What was the genesis of The Farmer and the Clown, emotionally?

MF: This one was very interesting, because I don’t know if you like clowns, but I don’t like clowns.

Read the full interview here. 

Frazee rhymes with crazy. 

"I do remember when I was about eight years old seeing Where the Wild Things Are for the first time. I was already a reader of words, but what floored me about that book was the three page turns where Max' room turns into a forest, and I just was blown away by that. I mean, I felt like it was a miracle. I could not believe that somebody could make this common child's bedroom turn into a forest with just three page turns. I just wanted to grow up and figure out how he did that and learn how to do it myself." - Marla Frazee

Marla Frazee talks about All the World.

Image Credit: Marla Frazee 

Read Marla Frazee’s "Tips on How to Prepare a Portfolio."

Revolution by Deborah Wiles | Scholastic Press

Deborah Wiles reads from Revolution.

Deborah Wiles attended the Miami Book Fair. 

Download "A Guide to Teaching and Talking About The Civil Rights Movement with Books for Children and Teens." 

"It felt natural to include song lyrics, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other ephemera of the time. I wanted to create an immersive experience for the reader."-Deborah Wiles

I highly recommend subscribing to Deborah's blog.

Countdown is the first book in the 60s Trilogy. 

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Jon Klassen | Candlewick Press

Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen visited my school library on October 15. 

I created this Blendspace lesson to help my students prepare for Barnett-Klassen Day. 

Please click here to download the full interview. 

El Deafo by Cece Bell | Abrams

Arun Rath interviewed Cece Bell about El Deafo.

Cece Bell on El Deafo

Explore Cece's website. 

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson [Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin)

Jacqueline Woodson reads an excerpt from Brown Girl Dreaming. 

Brown Girl Dreaming won the 2014 National Book Award. 

This video provides a nice overview of Jacqueline's work. 

Jacqueline Woodson presented at the 2014 National Book Festival. 

Jacqueline Woodson accepts the 2014 National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming. 

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20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1

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