Yeah, finally.
(It takes a long time to read all the books, okay?)
As usual, I would like to point out my disclaimers:
1. I read a lot of books from a lot of genres. Not every book on this list is for you. If you’d like a tailored recommendation, ask and I’ll draw up a list. Gleefully.
2. Not every book on this list is for all ages. Some of them are marked with asterisks
(**). Please read the (**) books yourself before passing them on to a young person in your life.
PICTURE BOOKS
Favorite Preschool Read-Aloud: Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton
Best Use of French Poodles: Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio
Gorgeous, Fascinating Pictures. Kinda Depressing Premise: Aviary Wonders Inc. Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual by Kate Samworth
Best Historical Fiction Featuring a Book-Eating Bear: Brother Hugo and the Bear by Katy Beebe
Owls! Adorable, Adorable, Deadly Owls! Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor
Most Likely to Have a Film Adaptation: Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
Sloths Might Not Make the Best Pets, but They Still Rule: Sparky! by Jenny Offill
This is Why You Should Teach Your Kids to Sew (Also Best Twist Ending): Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover by Josh Schneider
Best Original Fairytale (Also, I Want Her Dress): The Princess Who Had No Kingdom by Ursula Jones
Thunderstorms Aren’t Always Scary: Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle
Best Sibling Story: Edgar’s Second Word by Audrey Vernick
Channelling Margaret Wise Brown: Go to Sleep, Little Farm by Mary Lyn Ray
Favorite Read Aloud for School-Age Kids: The Hula Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynn Godin
Best Autobiographical Story: Blizzard by John Rocco
Yee-Haw, I Love Western Trickster Tales: Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads by Bob Shea
Best Metaphor For the Writing Process (Or Any Creative Process, Really): The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
Brilliant Way of Introducing Science to Little Kids: Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas
This Book Finally Gives Me A Reason to Use the Phrase “Tour de Force” Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers
BEGINNING CHAPTER BOOKS
Channelling Diana Wynne-Jones: Operation Bunny (Wings & Co.) by Sally Gardner
So Odd I Think It Might Have Been Written Under the Influence of Hallucinogens (And Yet I Still Love It): Moldylocks and the Three Beards by Noah Jones
HOW CAN YOU RESIST THIS TITLE? Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman
Most Adorable Illustrations: The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale
FICTION
Best Ghost Story (Seriously. Very Reminiscent of Something Wicked This Way Comes): The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Steampunk. Steampunk on a TRIPLE DECKER TRAIN. That is Attacked by SASQUATCHES: The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel
Favorite Historical Fiction/Folklore Mashup: West of the Moon by Margi Preus
I’ve Waited for YEARS for Someone to Write the Middle-School Equivalent of Ocean’s Eleven and NOW HERE IT IS!! The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson
Best Historical Fiction With Chess-Playing Robots: Curiosity by Gary L. Blackwood
Historical Fiction With Best Adult-Crossover Appeal: Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett
**Historical Fiction With the Most Jaw-Dropping Research: Between Two Worlds by Katherine Kirkpatrick
**Most Young Adult Fiction was Terrible This Year. Here’s the One Novel I Actually Liked: Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Probably the Actual Best Children’s Book of 2014: El Deafo by Cece Bell
**Adolescence in All Its Crazy Glory: This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
I Finally Feel Like I Understand What Happened in WW I: Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood by Nathan Hale
Best Sibling Story, Part II: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
NONFICTION
**Geez, I Could Have Run Russia Better Than These People: The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming
The Only Book on This List That Should Be Required Reading: The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin
Most Fascinating Archaeology You’ve Never Heard Of: At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui by Christine Liu-Perkins
Sometimes Nonfiction Gets the Best Illustrators: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jennifer Bryant
Sometimes the Illustrations are So Good They Outshine the Content: Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems edited by Paul B. Janeczko
Sometimes Nonfiction Illustration is Absolutely Terrifying: Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting With the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy
See? I TOLD You Dragons Were REAL! The Griffin and the Dinosaur: How Adrienne Mayor Discovered a Fascinating Link Between Myth and Science by Marc Aronson
Aww! The Widdle Butterfwies are So Cuuute! Handle With Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey by Loree Griffin Burns
Casa Camisas 