You'd Be Surprised How Much I Can Cram into 14 Minutes

I spent Thursday and Friday at the Provo Library attending BYU's Symposium on Books for Young Readers.  Karen Cushman, Jennifer Nielson, Steve Jenkins, Erin and Philip Stead, Sara Pennypacker and Tony DiTerlizzi all gave thoughtful and entertaining presentations.  (I'm still thinking about the importance of teaching kids to love writing and the magic of page turns.)

This year I was thrilled to be part of the Spotlight on Books and to be able to talk about some of my favorite books from the past year.  Unfortunately, I couldn't talk about all my favorite new books because I had only 14 minutes to present, and while I talk quickly, I can't talk that quickly.  Besides, some of the books I would have loved to include were already spoken for by one of the other three presenters.  Having said that, here is my list of 14 fantastic books along with links to brief booktalks.

Title	Author	Illustrator	Review
Nighttime Ninja	Barbara DaCosta	Ed Young
Lucky Ducklings	Eva Moore	Nancy Carpenter	danyelle's post
Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad?	Julie Middleton	Russell Ayto
Oliver and his Alligator	Paul Schmid	ill. by author
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein	Jennifer Berne	Vladimir Radunsky
Penny and Her Marble	Kevin Henkes	ill. by author	tara's post
A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse	Frank Viva	ill. by author
National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs that Squeak, Soar, and Roar!	J. Patrick Lewis (compiler)
Shadow on the Mountain	Margi Preus
Starry River of the Sky	Grace Lin	ill. by author
Jinx	Sage Blackwood		tara's post
One Came Home	Amy Timberlake		danyelle's post
Zebra Forest	Adina Rishe Gewirtz
The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Adventure	Martin W. Sandler