Favorite Books of 2009

I love books! Here are my favorite books from the past year in no particular order.
Favorite Children's Books

1. WADDLE! by Rufus Butler Seder- This the latest of his scanimation books. Both my kids enjoy these fun books, and they are simple enough that my daughter is starting to recognise some of the words. I brought this to church recently and my 22-year-old brother spent a good part of the meeting looking at it. They really are that fascinating.
2. Tuesday by David Wiesner- This book without words is surprisingly entertaining and is one that my kids request often.
3. No, David! by David Shannon- This is definitely by son's favorite book and I love listening to him "read" (shout) it to himself. It's about a small boy and all of the things he's not supposed to do.
   
4. Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo by E.S Redmond- This creative book is about a girl with a runny nose who doesn't wash her hands and shares her illness with all of the animals at the zoo. It's a good weapon for teaching children to wash their hands. My daughter's favorite book this year.
5. The Night Pirates by Peter Harris- A great chilren's pirate story.
6. It's a Spoon, Not a Shovel by Caralyn Buehner- A fun book on good manners. Like all books by the Buehners there are hidden things to find on every page.
7. Fine Feather Friends: All About Birds by Tish Rabe- This is a part of a series of educational 'Dr. Seuss' books. They feature the Cat in the Hat teaching Dick and Sally about various science topics.
8. The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt-  We loved the illustrations and classic poem, even if my kids are a bit young to catch the message.
9. The Red Book by Barbara Lehman- This tells a story without words in the same fashion as "Tuesday". My daughter likes to tell me the story.
10. Fear Not, Joseph!: A Christmas Story by Julie Stiegemeyer- This beautiful book tells the Christmas story from Joseph's point of view.

Favorite Adult Books

1. I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi- I'll probably write a blog post about this one later, but I highly recommend it.
2. I Dare You To Eat It by Liesa Card- I loved this book so much I wrote to the author and told her so. To see my blog post about it go here.
   
3. Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rawadan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza- This book is truly inspiring. It tells the story of girl who survived the Rawadan holocaust by hiding in a tiny bathroom with 12 other women for 3 months while most of her family was slaughtered. Despite the horrors she experienced she remained positive and went on to help others.
4. Be With You by Takuji Ichikawa-This book is about a widower who decides to write the story of him and his wife for his son as he struggles to cope with being a single parent and dealing with some complex medical problems. After he begins writing his story the ghost of his wife appears in the forest without any memory. She doesn't know who she is, who they are or that she's dead. And she doesn't appear like a ghost either. He and his son take her home and they fall in love all over again. It was a really sweet love story and I liked the twist at the end. It reminds you of the things that are really important and being happy with those you love. And it reads really smoothly, I think that it was translated well.
5. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones- Young Adult counts right? This was a great quick read. I recommend it, although I thought there should have been more examination of Howl and his character, history etc. Pretty different from the movie, although I still enjoyed them both. Good fun. 
6. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally As Possible by A.J. Jacobs- I loved this book. It was both hilarious and heartfelt. It's about a man who is ethnically Jewish, but was raised as an agnostic. He decides to learn more about his heritage by living the Bible as literally as possible. And interviewing a huge range of religious sources along the way. It's interesting to read his musings as he learns about the Bible and tries to figure out what he really believes.(And he's just funny. I laughed out loud on many occasions.) It made me think about what I believe and drew attention to many things in the Bible that I hadn't noticed before.   
7. Unlikely Heroes: Ordinary Men and Women Whose Courage Won the Revolution by Ron Carter-This book is a collection of short stories about little known and unlikely people who contributed to the American victory of the Revolutionary War. I really enjoyed this book. Unlike some war history books, it was an easy read. It reminded me that the freedoms we have were not free and there are many soldiers that we are indebted to. The men and women in this book endured so much for their freedoms and for the rights that we continue to enjoy. 
8. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale- I love this book and this author. It's about a princess whose life isn't perfect and has to work hard to find her happy ending.
9. Mommy Knows Worst: Highlights from the Golden Age of Bad Parenting by James Lileks- Just in case you need a boost of confidence that you are not the worse parent ever. This book made me laugh so hard I cried.
10. Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt- This book reminded me of Jane Eyre which is a favourite, and I loved that the ending was able to surprise me. Not as well written as Jane Eyre, but still a great enjoyable read. I had a hard time putting it down.