Best of the Year

Best of the Year: Here are a few of our favorite books of 2019

This is a hard list to create, but at the same time one we like to make. We love sharing great book recommendations, and these wonderful tales, all published in 2019, are perfect for gift giving and library borrowing.

BOARD/TODDLER
‘Baby Play’ by Skye Silver
A wide variety of babies, caregivers and families are featured dancing, laughing, splashing and building. Eye-catching photographs and easy-to-read text will be sure to engage even the youngest readers.

PICTURE BOOKS
‘Pokko and the Drum’ by Matthew Forsythe
The biggest mistake Pokko’s parents make is giving her a drum, as they live in a quiet forest and do not want to draw any attention. When Pokko goes outside to play her drum, she attracts others who want join in and enjoy the music. If you or your little ones march to your own beat, this is the perfect story for you.

‘Small in the City’ by Sydney Smith
“I know what it’s like to be small in the city.” This quiet picture book follows a young child who wanders through the city providing encouragement and advice on how to navigate the big city. In a twist at the end, we find out who “you” is.

YOUNG READERS
‘Frank and Bean’ by Jamie Michalak
Frank is a hot dog who just wants to be left alone at his campsite to write in his secret journal. Bean is a big bean who loves to make noise. It is most definitely not like-at-first-sight for these two, but Frank comes around and the two form an unlikely friendship and a band, The Chili Dogs. Four short chapters are perfect for emerging readers looking for lots of laughs.

‘The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City’’ by Tara Lazar
Private I, the detective introduced in 2017’s “7 Ate 9,” is back on the case when Exclamation and Question Mark point out to him that all of the other capital letters have disappeared in Capital City. This picture book for older readers will warrant a re-read, as wordplay and sight gags combine with a traditional mystery story.

MIDDLE READERS
‘Look Both Ways’by Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds is a New York Times-bestselling author, a Newbery Award honoree, a Printz Award honoree, a National Book Award honoree, a Kirkus Award winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, a NAACP Image Award winner and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. His latest work is 10 interconnected slice-of life short stories, each following different middle-graders as they walk home from school. This is storytelling at its finest.

‘Strange Birds’by Celia Perez
It’s the summer before seventh grade and four girls who have never met before form a club. Their group is an anti-scout group of sorts, in response to the Floras, a pretentious girls’ scout group that focuses on social etiquette and hosts a pageant with the winner being crowned with a hat made of unethically sourced feathers. The four girls learn about friendship as they grow to support one another over their common cause. All four girls narrate in alternating chapters, allowing for each of their unique character arcs to be explored as well as showing how different people’s experiences of a shared situation can be. Perfect for middle schoolers learning how complicated friendships can be.

YOUNG ADULT
‘With the Fire on High’ by Elizabeth Acevedo
The multiple award-winning author returns with her second novel, this one featuring Emoni Santiago, a teen mother who is starting her senior year of high school in Philadelphia. Always comfortable in the kitchen, she enrolls in an immersive course with the opportunity to spend a week in Spain learning from master chefs. Her home life features her “Buela,” who helps raise 2-year-old Emma and gives Emoni the push she needs to discover her passion. Acevedo, a former Prince George’s County schoolteacher, strikes gold again in this moving work, which also features
mouthwatering recipes.

‘Deposing Nathan’ by Zack Smedley
Told in a nonlinear chronology, this surprising debut novel deftly tackles major issues facing the two protagonists. Nate has been raised in a staunchly Catholic family. Cam has no interest in God. They meet on the first day of their junior year of high school and hit it off immediately. Until one night, when tragedy strikes and their relationship changes forever. Written by a recent UMBC grad, this novel’s deep dive into aspects of religion, sexuality and the legal system makes for a fascinating and heartbreaking read.

 

About Compiled by the Baltimore County Public  Library’s Collection Development Staff

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