February in Review

These are a few of my favorite 'first' lines read in February 2009.

"Boys," said Sam, "you've been bamboozled."

"There was a moment not long ago when I thought, "This is it. I'm dead."

'Dunderhead!' 'Clodpole!' 'Ninnyhammer!' 'Booby!' 'Nitwit!'

"Imagine my surprise when, after three centuries of fighting with siblings over a spare furry teat and licking my water from a bowl, I was given a huge human nipple, all to myself, filled with warm mother's milk."

February's Top Five:

1. The Year The Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice.
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
3. All God's Critters by Bill Staines. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
4. A Mighty Fine Time Machine by Suzanne Bloom.
5. The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket.


Number of Picture Books = 20

1. All God's Critters by Bill Staines. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Simon & Schuster. 2009.
2. My People by Langston Hughes. Photographs by Charles R. Smith, Jr. Simon & Schuster. 2009.
3. What a Good Big Brother by Diane Wright Landolf. Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. Random House. 2009.
4. Cat by Matthew Van Fleet. Photographs by Brian Stanton. 2009. (February 2009). Simon & Schuster.
5. Jazz On a Saturday Night by Leo & Diane Dillon. 2007. Blue Sky Press.
6. This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt. 2006. Harcourt.
7. A Mighty Fine Time Machine by Suzanne Bloom. 2009. (March 2009). Boyds Mills Press.
8. Lovey and Dovey by Ellevan Lieshout and Erik van Os. 2009. Boyds Mills Press.
9. Wee Little Lamb by Lauren Thompson. 2009. Simon & Schuster.
10. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. 2005. Dial Books.
11. Rent Party Jazz by William Miller. 2001. Lee & Low Books.
12. Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. 2005. Knopf
13. Mama Don't Allow by Thacher Hurd. 1984. HarperCollins
14. Punk Farm On Tour by Jarret J. Krosoczka. 2007. Knopf
15. Ella's Big Chance by Shirley Hughes. 2003.
16. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins. 1969. Random House.
17. Love That Puppy! by Jeff Jarka. 2009. (May publication) Henry Holt.
18. Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke. 2008. Walker Books.
19. I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow. 2008. Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. Simon & Schuster.
20. Old MacNoah Had An Ark by Sally Lloyd-Jones. 2008. Harper Blessings.

Number of board books = 3

Beautiful Babies by Karma Wilson. 2009. Simon & Schuster.
Shake It Up, Baby by Karen Katz. 2009. Simon & Schuster.
My Dance Recital by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. 2009. Random House.

Number of children's books (under age 8) = 5
A Horn for Louis by Eric Kimmel. 2005.
Sword of the Ramurai. by Becky Ances. Illustrated by Ryan Wilson. 2008. 70 pages
Everyday Prayers edited by Jennifer Frantz. 2008. Early Reader. (Harper Blessings) 24 pages
Bedtime Prayers edited by Jennifer Frantz. 2008. Early Reader (Harper Blessings) 24 pages
The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket. HarperCollins. 2009.

Number of Christian books = 5

The Desires of Her Heart. Lyn Cote. Avon Inspire. 2009. 306 pages.
The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 2008. 314 pages.
Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century by Hank Hanegraaff. 2009. 427 pages. Thomas Nelson.
Heart Of A Lion by Gilbert Morris. 2002. Bethany House. 344 pages.
Wycliffe New Testament. 1388/2002. British Library. 528 pages

Number of adult books = 6
Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen. By Sybil G. Brinton. 1914/2008. Sourcebooks. 377 pages.
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One. By Sharon Lathan. Sourcebooks. 2009. (March Pub). 309 pages.
The Banishment by Marion Chesney.
Pemberley Shades by D.A. Bonavia-Hunt. 1949/2008. Sourcebooks. 376 pages.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. 1605/1615. (1998 Modern Library Edition) 1240 pages.
Silas Marner. by George Eliot. 1861. 186 pages. Bantam Classics.

Number of YA books = 9

Beneath My Mother's Feet. Amjed Qamar. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 198 pages. (YA Realistic Fiction)
A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve. 2006. HarperCollins. 559 pages. (YA Science Fiction/YA Adventure)
Winnie's War by Jenny Moss. 2009. Walker Books. (YA Historical Fiction)
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. 2009. Bloomsbury (YA Fantasy/YA Romance) 276 pages.
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman. 2009. Scholastic (YA Adventure/YA Thriller/YA Mystery) 185 pages.
Mothstorm by Philip Reeve. 2008. Bloomsbury. (YA Adventure/YA Fantasy/YA Science Fiction)
The Year The Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. 2009. HarperCollins. 273 pages. (J Realistic Fiction)
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King. 2009. Flux. 330 pages. (YA Adventure/YA Fantasy)
Just Another Girl by Melody Carlson. 2009. Revell. 221 pages. (YA Realistic Fiction/YA Romance)

Number of verse novels: 0

Number of graphic novels = 0

Number of nonfiction = 7

Duke Ellington His Life In Jazz by Stephanie Stein Grease. Chicago Review Press. 148 pages. (Nonfiction/YA Nonfiction)2009.
The Louis Armstrong You Never Knew by James Lincoln Collier. Scholastic. 2004. 80 pages.
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Anita Ganeri. Harcourt. 1996. 56 pages
Duke Ellington by Andrea Pinkney. 1998. (Picture Book Biography)
Ella Fitzgerald by Andrea Pinkney. 2002. (Picture Book Biography)
Dizzy by Jonah Winter. 2006. Scholastic. (Picture Book Biography)
Piano Starts Here. Robert Andrew Parker. 2008. Random House. (Picture Book Biography)

Number of short story collections/anthologies/poetry books = 2

Jazz ABZ by Wynton Marsalis. 2005. (Poetry)
Jazz by Walter Dean Myers. 2006. (Poetry)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews