From: BudNotBuddy at aol.com <BudNotBuddy>
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 16:23:42 EST

RICHIE'S PICKS: THE BEST OF 2003 Richie Partington http://richiespicks.com BudNotBuddy at aol.com

"I'm starting to read to my son, but I couldn't believe how vapid and vacant and empty all the stories were....There's, like, no books about anything."

 San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, April 21, 2003, From an interview with VH1

I can still remember how I was hanging out near the front counter of Long Island Sound, an indie record shop in Southampton back in the winter of '82-'83, when I heard that voice for the first time, and spun around to catch my first glimpse of the Material Girl. What I witnessed was the video for Holiday. I knew at the conclusion of those six minutes that she was going to be something truly monumental. And she has consistently lived up to my expectations.

I can also remember a number of years ago, leaning on the rail of a garden bridge at a party set on the outskirts of Chicago, chatting with Philip Pullman about the absolute joy of getting to be part of the bridge between authors and readers during this current golden age of children's and young adult literature.

I've spent months trying to choose just twenty books from my still-growing list of six or seven dozen favorites of those published this year. Frankly, the list of twenty was slightly different last week, and would be different again next week if I waited longer to send it out.

Unlike those years when there was a BUD or a HOLES or a SPEAK that you could read once and immediately put all of your money on to win a sticker on the dust jacket, I could easily argue this year for all of these books (and ones I left off the list) to be contenders for one medal or another.

If I were to recommend just one book from this list that everyone should read, it would be Russell Freedman's book on the Bill of Rights. As suggested by a popular and respected author with whom I spent time last week at NCTE, the Freedman book should make it into every classroom in the country--while we still have a Bill of Rights. I sure don't take it for granted. As a lifelong Big Mouth, I cherish those endowed rights of me 'n Madonna to say any idiotic thing we choose to.

Meanwhile, the Golden Age continues:

Bell, Hilari ??? The Goblin Wood, HarperCollins/Eros, ISBNTrd. 01371-3, ISBNlib. 01372-1, 2003, $16.99/$18.89 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/the_goblin_wood.html

Crutcher, Chris ??? King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill?vised Autobiography, HarperCollins/ Greenwillow Press, ISBNTrd. 00249-5, ISBNlib. 00250-9, $16.99/$17.89

Donnelly, Jennifer ??? A Northern Light, Harcourt, ISBNTrd. 0!6705-6, 2003, $17.00 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/a_northern_light.html

Freedman, Russell -- In Defense of Liberty: The Story of America's Bill of Rights, Holiday House, ISBNtrade: 0?2485-6, $24.95 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/in_defense_of_liberty.html

Frost, Helen ??? Keesha???s House, Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Frances Foster Books, ISBNTrd. 0744064-1, 2003, $16.00 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/keeshas_house.html

Going, K.L. ??? Fat Kid Rules the World, Penguin Putnam/G.P. Putnam???s Sons, ISBNTrd. 099#990-1, 2003, $17.99

Horvath, Polly -- The Canning Season, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBNtrade: 0749956-5, $16.00 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/the_canning_season.html

Jenkins, A.M. -- Out of Order, HarperCollins/HarperTempest, ISBNTrd. 0b3968-0, $15.99 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/out_of_order.html

Johnson, Angela -- The First Part Last, Simon & Schuster, ISBNTrd. 0h9934-9, 2003, $15.95 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/the_first_part_last.html

Korman, Gordon -- Jake, Reinvented, Hyperion, ISBNtrade: 0x6857-X, $15.99 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/jake_reinvented.html

Krisher, Trudy -- Uncommon Faith, Holiday House, ISBNtrade: 0?3491-3,
$17.95 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/uncommon_faith.html

Krull, Kathleen -- Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, Harcourt, ISBNtrade: 0 1437-3, $17.00 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/cosechando_esperanza.html


McNamee, Graham -?celeration, Random House/Wendy Lamb Books, ISBNTrd. 085s119-1;ISBNlibrary: 085?144-5, 2003, $15.95/$17.99 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/acceleration.html


Paulsen, Gary ??? How Angel Peterson Got His Name and Other Outrageous Tales About Extreme Sports, Random House Children???s Books/Wendy Lamb Books, ISBNTrd. 085r949-9, ISBNlib. 085?090-2, 2003, $12.95/$14.99 ht ml

Peck, Richard -- The River Between Us, PenguinPutnam/Dial, ISBNTrd. 0?37'35-6, $16.99 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/the_river_between_us.html


Stroud, Jonathan -- The Amulet of Samarkand, The Bartimeaus Trilogy: Book One, Hyperion/Miramax, ISBNtrade: 0x6859-X, 0x68Q43-0, $17.95/$14.00


Thompson, Craig -- Blankets: An Illustrated Novel, Top Shelf, ISBN ISBN 1?1830C-0, $29.95 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/blankets.html

Trueman, Terry -- Inside Out, HarperCollins/Harper Tempest, ISBNtrade: 0b3962-1; ISBNlibrary: 0b3963-X, $15.99/$16.89 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/inside_out.html

Weaver, Will ??? Claws, HarperCollins/Harper Tempest, ISBNTrd. 0 ISBNlib. 0 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/claws.html

Woodson, Jacqueline ???Locomotion, Penguin Putnam/G.P. Putnam???s Sons, ISBNTrd. 099#115-3, 2003, $15.99 http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/locomotion.html
Received on Tue 02 Dec 2003 03:23:42 PM CST