Here it is! The Best Books of 2019! What a Year of Reading!
I pored over my book lists and reviewed my book stacks to create this “Best of 2019” list. I found it difficult to decide which books are “best,” since I (pretty much) like everything I read. I’m also a reader who reads what my friends recommend, and as a middle-school teacher-librarian, I read many #kidlit books, which makes this particular list different from some others I’ve seen. I’ll explain briefly. My criteria for this “Best Books List” 2019:
- Book was published in 2019
- Book was rated “5 Stars” on my Goodreads account
- Book meant something special to me as a reader
- This is my list as a teacher-librarian/reader, not influenced by other readers or reviewers.
This list is of books is organized by release date. I did not rank the books other than their “5-Star status.”
January 7, 2019 — The Art of Comprehension, by Trevor A. Bryan
January 8, 2019 — What is Given From the Heart, by Patricia C. McKissack
January 29, 2019 — Cicada, by Shaun Tan
February 5, 2019 — Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre
February 5, 2019 — Song For a Whale, by Lynne Kelly
February 12, 2019 —How I Became a Spy, by Deborah Hopkinson
March 5, 2019 — When You Are Brave, by Pat Zietlow Miller
March 12, 2019 — Shout! by Laurie Halse Anderson
March 12, 2019 — Just Like Rube Goldberg, by Sarah Aronson
March 19, 2019 — Internment, by Samira Ahmed
March 21, 2019 — Reading to Make a Difference, by Lester Laminack and Katie Kelly
March 22, 2019 — Carl and the Meaning of Life, by Deborah Freedman
April 1, 2019 — Carter Reads the Newspaper, by Deborah Hopkinson
April 2, 2019 — The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander
May 7, 2019 — Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
May 14, 2019 — My Papi Has a Motorcycle, by Isabel Quintero
June 4, 2019 — On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
June 4, 2019 — Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez
June 18, 2019 — How to Read a Book, by Kwame Alexander
September 3, 2019 —White Bird, by R. J. Palacio
September 3, 2019 — More To the Story, by Hena Khan
September 17, 2019 — At the Mountain’s Base, by Traci Sorell
September 17, 2019 — Stormy, by Guojing
October 1, 2019 — Maybe He Just Likes You, by Barbara Dee
October 1, 2019 — The Tornado, by Jake Burt
October 1, 2019 — I Can Make This Promise, by Christine Day
October 8, 2019 — Ordinary Hazards, by Nikki Grimes
October 8, 2019 — Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, by Jason Reynolds
October 15, 2019 — Give and Take, by Elly Swartz
November 5, 2019 — Every Stolen Breath, by Kimberly Gabriel
What were YOUR favorite books of 2019?
Reading Teacher Writes 