December Reflections

In December, I read 68 books.

Picture books and early readers:

1. Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla. Katherine Applegate. 2014. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages. [Source: Library] 
2. My New Friend Is So Fun! Mo Willems. 2014. Hyperion. 60 pages. [Source: Library] 
3. Waiting is Not Easy. Mo Willems. 2014. Hyperion. 64 pages. [Source: Library]
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Robert Lewis May. Illustrated by Denver Gillen. 1939/1990. Applewood Books. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
5. On Christmas Eve. Margaret Wise Brown. Illustrated by Nancy Edwards Calder. 1938/1961/1996. HarperCollins. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
6. Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story. Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. 1987. Scholastic. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
7. The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll. Patricia C. McKissack. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. 2007. Schwartz & Wade. 40 pages. [Source: Library] 
8. The Bells of Christmas. Virginia Hamilton. Illustrated by Lambert Davis. 1989/1997. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 64 pages. [Source: Library] 
9. The Gift of the Magi. O. Henry. Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. 1905/2006. Simon & Schuster. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
10. The Tailor of Gloucester. Beatrix Potter. 1903. 58 pages. [Source: Library] 
11. Lucy's Christmas. Donald Hall. Illustrated by Michael McCurdy. 1998. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages. [Source: Library] 
12. Baboushka and the Three Kings. Ruth Robbins. Illustrated by Nicholas Sidjakov. 1960/1986. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32 pages. [Source: Library]
    
13. Polar Express. Chris Van Allsburg. 1985/2009. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32 pages. [Source: Library]
14. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. Robert E. Barry. 1963. Random House. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
15. Uncle Vova's Tree. Patricia Polacco. 1989. Penguin. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
16. Too Many Tamales. Gary Soto. Illustrated by Ed Martinez. 1993. Penguin. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
17. Angelina's Christmas. Katharine Holabird. Illustrated by Helen Craig. 1986. Penguin. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
18. The Trees of the Dancing Goats. Patricia Polacco. 2000. Simon & Schuster. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
19. Morris' Disappearing Bag. Rosemary Wells. 1975. Penguin. 40 pages. [Source: Library] 
20. Max's Christmas. Rosemary Wells. 1986. Penguin. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
21. Wombat Divine. Mem Fox. Illustrated by Kerry Argent. 1995/1999. HMH. 32 pages. [Source: Library]     
22. And Then Comes Christmas. Tom Brenner. Illustrated by Jana Christy. 2014. Candlewick Press. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
23. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dr. Seuss. 1957. Random House. 64 pages. [Source: Review copy]
24. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Clement C. Moore. Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. 1823/1912. HMH. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
25. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. E.T.A. Hoffmann. Adapted by Wren Maysen. Illustrated by Gail de Marcken. 2009. 56 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
26. The Velveteen Rabbit. Margery Williams. Illustrated by William Nicholson. 1922/2014. Random House. 48 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
27. Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas. Jane O'Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. 2009. HarperCollins. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
28. What Cats Want for Christmas. Kandy Radzinski. 2007. Sleeping Bear Press. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 
29.   It's Not About You Mr. Santa Claus. Soraya Diase Coffelt. 2014. Morgan James Publishing. 34 pages. [Source: Review copy]    

Middle grade and young adult, fiction and nonfiction:

1. The Tale of Despereaux. Kate DiCamillo. 2003. Candlewick Press. 272 pages. [Source: Bought]   
2. The Princess in Black. Shannon and Dean Hale. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 2014. Candlewick. 96 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
3. Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall. Emily Bearn. Illustrated by Nick Price. 2009. Little, Brown. 512 pages. [Source: Library]
4. Tumtum & Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales. Emily Bearn. 2010. Little Brown. 416 pages. [Source: Library] 
5. My Friend the Enemy. Dan Smith. 2014. Scholastic. 288 pages. [Source: Review copy]  
6. Palace of Spies. Sarah Zettel. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 368 pages. [Source: Library] 
7. The 5th Wave. Rick Yancey. 2013. Penguin. 457 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
8. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Barbara Robinson. 1972. HarperCollins. 128 pages. [Source: Bought] 
9. Brown Girl Dreaming. Jacqueline Woodson. 2014. Nancy Paulsen Books.  336 pages. [Source: Library]
10. Death Coming Up The Hill. Chris Crowe. 2014. HMH. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]  
11. Angel Tree. Daphne Benedis-Grab. 2014. Scholastic. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
12. Winterfrost. Michelle Houts. 2014. Candlewick. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]   
13. The Golden Dreydl. Ellen Kushner. Illustrated by Ilene Winn-Lederer. 2007. Charlesbridge. 126 pages. [Source: Review copy]
14. When Santa Fell To Earth. Cornelia Funke. Translated by Oliver Latsch. 1994/2006. Scholastic. 167 pages. [Source: Library]
15. Boundaries. Sally M. Walker. 2014. Candlewick. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
16. Greenglass House. Kate Milford. 2014.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 384 pages. [Source: Library]

Adult books, fiction and nonfiction: 

1. Les Miserables. Victor Hugo. Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood. 1862/1887. 1232 pages. 
2. The Plantagenets. Dan Jones. 2013. Viking. 560 pages. [Source: Library]  
3. Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte. 1847.  300 pages. [Source: Own]  
4. The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. Dan Jones. 2014. Viking Adult. 416 pages. [Source: Library]
5. Jane Austen's First Love. Syrie James. 2014. Berkley Trade. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
6. Where The Heart Is. Billie Letts. 1995. 376 pages. [Source: Bought] 
7. A Quilt for Christmas. Sandra Dallas. 2014. St. Martin's Press. 256 pages. [Source: Library] 
8. A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen. By Amanda Grange, Carolyn Eberhart, and Sharon Lathan. 2010. Sourcebooks. 304 pages. [Source: Library] 
9. The Christmas Tree. Julie Salamon. 1996. Random House. 118 pages. [Source: Bought]
10. Lark Rise to Candleford. Flora Thompson. 1943. 537 pages. [Source: Bought] 
11. The Case of the Postponed Murder. Erle Stanley Gardner. 1973. 152 pages. [Source: Bought]

Christian books, fiction and nonfiction: 

1. Love Letters From God. Glenys Nellist. Illustrated by Sophie Allsopp. 2014. Zondervan. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
2. A Patchwork Christmas. Judith Miller, Nancy Moser, Stephanie Grace Whitson. 2012. Barbour. 403 pages. [Source: Bought]  
3. For Such A Time As This. Angie Smith. Illustrated by Breezy Brookshire. 2014. B&H. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
4. From Pearl Harbor to Calvary. Mitsuo Fuchida. 1953/2011. eChristian. 96 pages. [Source: Bought] 
5. The Presence of God: Its Place In the Storyline of Scripture and the Story of Our Lives. J. Ryan Lister. 2014. Crossway. 368 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
6. Revolutionary (Anomaly #3) Krista McGee. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]  
7. The Christmas Bus. Melody Carlson. 2006. Revell. 176 pages. [Source: Bought]
8. Keeping Holiday. Starr Meade. Illustrated by Justin Gerard. 2008. Crossway. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]  
9. A Most Inconvenient Marriage. Regina Jennings. 2014. Bethany House. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
10. Love Unexpected. Jody Hedlund. 2014. Bethany House. 348 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
11. Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You. Todd Friel. 2014. New Leaf Press. 238 pages. [Source: Library] 
12. God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology. Gerald Bray. Crossway. 1264 pages. [Source: Review copy]

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews