From: Dean Schneider <schneiderd>
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 11:43:47 -0600

I posted yesterday with my list of "favorites among favorites:" Deborah Hopkinson's Fannie in the Kitchen, Vera Williams's Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart (as a possible Newbery), Virginia Euwer Wolff's True Believer. Here are some others I liked a lot, several of which are showing up in other people's lists:

Picture Books: I liked Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack/Jerry Pinkney. It's a good story based on the author's growing up, great illustrations, and it's set in Nashville, where I live. Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles is a book I've read aloud to lots of kids and had good discussions, as I have had with The Other Side (Woodson/Lewis). Oranges On Golden Mountain by Elizabeth Partridge/Aki Sogabe is a beautifully written, beautifully made book, as is Bonnie Christensen's Woody Guthrie. All of these are examples of that nice mix of rich prose and rich visual experience.

Erin Murphy mentioned The Gospel According to Larry. That was my surprise of the year, too. I had not heard of it before I got it several weeks ago, and I loved it, as have the girls in my 8th grade class. It's the kind of book you can't wait to pass on to the next person. Good, lively, inventive story, good voice. Paul Fleischman's Seek is another excellent, inventive story for many voices. Chris Cruthcher's Whale Talk is an outstanding, powerful story. David Almond's Heaven Eyes hasn't got the acclaim that Kit's Wilderness and Skellig received, but I liked it a lot.


For younger readers, I just finished Gail Carson Levine's The Two Princesses of Bamarre and loved it, and am now listening to the audiotape, read by Lynn Redgrave. Richard Peck's Fair Weather was great, as was Deborah Wiles's Love, Ruby Lavender. And Barbara O'Connor's Moonpie and Ivy!

Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashville, TN 37205 schneiderd at ensworth.com
Received on Wed 05 Dec 2001 11:43:47 AM CST