My Favorite Books EVER

For those of you who expressed interest in what my favorite books are--here they are in no particular order. I have to warn you ahead of time that I have been a librarian for twelve and a half years so my complete list of favorites is quite lengthy. I won't list all of them here because it would take up too many pages of this blog. You will notice that I tend to like all different kinds of genres and love charmingly different sorts of books, some of which you may find odd. I think a lot of books speak to us at different times based on what is happening during that period of our life. What effects one person with great force, may leave another reader cold. I will not be offended if you don't agree with me on every book on this list. That's one of the most delightful parts about stories, our relationship to them is completely personal.


Chapter Books:

Sammy Keyes Series by Wendelin Van Draanen
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty Birney
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer
Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
House of Shadows by Andre Norton
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Granny Torelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Mennyms Series by Sylvia Waugh
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Wilson
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Moon and Sun Series by Holly Lisle
Night Gate Series by Isobelle Carmody
Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Mairelon the Magician by Patrica Wrede
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patrica Wrede
A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith
Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
Larklight by Philip Reeve
Dragon and Thief Series by Timothy Zahn
Monster of the Month Club by Diane Curtis Regan
Girl Who Invented Romance by Caroline B. Cooney
Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley
Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner
Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi
Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Rivka's Way by Teri Kanefield
Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright
Two are Better Than One by Carol Ryrie Brink
Oracle Betrayed by Catherine Fisher
Little Sister by Kara Dalkey
Wabi by Joseph Bruchac
Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Girl with the Silver Eyes by Roberts
Watcher in the Mist by Norma Johnston
Murdered, My Sweet by Joan Lowry Nixon
House on Hackman's Hill by Joan Lowry Nixon
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Cat Royal Mysteries by Julia Golding
I, Coriander by Sally Gardner
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
Seer of Shadows by Avi
Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Schlitz
Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle
Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
Third Eye by Lois Duncan
Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan
Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan
Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon
Shadow of a Unicorn by Norma Johnston
Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon
Giver by Lois Lowry
Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Elona Holms Mysteries by Nancy Springer
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan
Running Out of Time by Margaret Haddix
Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Giff
Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep
Watson's Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
Children of the River by Linda Crew
Ghost Cat by Beverly Butler
Betsy and Tacy Series by Maud Hart Lovelace
African Mask by Janet Rupert
Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Ghost in the Noonday Sun by Sid Fleischman
Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
Thirteenth Child by Patrica Wrede

Picture Books:

Tuesday by David Wiesner
There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Any Pop-up Book by Robert Sabuda
When Jesse Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest
Wishing of Biddy Malone by Joy Cowley
Beegu by Alexis Deacon
The Wave by Suzy Lee
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox
Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox
Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch
Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
What to Do About Alice by Barbara Kerley
Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Village that Vanished by Kadir Nelson
Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Bad Day at Riverbend by Chris Van Allsburg
Brothers of the Knight by Kadir Nelson
Miss Tizzy by Libba Moore Gray
Once Upon a Time, The End by Geoffery Kloske
Fanny's Dream by Caralyn Buehner
Hollyhock Wall by Martin Waddell
Little Oh by Laura Melmed
Gentleman and the Kitchen Maid by Diane Stanley
Yo! Yes? by Christopher Raschka
Jane Wishing by Tobi Tobias
Don't Make Me Laugh by James Stevenson

Nonfiction:

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong
At Her Majesty's Request by Walter Dean Myers
Bodies from the Ice by James Deem
Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman
Lincolns by Candace Fleming
Blizzard by Jim Murphy
Cosmic Joker by Brian Innes
Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr
Ain't Nothing But a Man by Scott Reynolds Nelson
Great Fire by Jim Murphy
Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Voice that Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman
Swords: An Artist's Devotion by Ben Boos
Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know
Dollhouse Decorator by Vivienne Boulton
Children Just Like Me by Barnabas Kindersley
Desiderata by Max Erhman
Children of Topaz by Michael Tunnell
Anastasia's Album by Hugh Brewster

I just realized how long this list has gotten so I'd better stop while I'm ahead. I have dozens more books I'd love to add but nobody will ever make it to the bottom of this list if I do! I'll save them for another day. What about you guys? What are your favorite books ever?