Behold My Opinions: Best Children's & Young Adult Titles of 2013
Aaron Becker (author & illus)
I've never really connected with a wordless picture book--I talk way too much to understand any person or entity who refuses to do so entirely-- but this one just blew me away. It's impressive when a children's author can craft and present a clear narrative in 32 pages, so when one does as much without even using the alphabet, it's unreal.
If You Want to See a Whale
Julie Fogliano (author), Erin Stead (illus)
The waiting really, really is the hardest part.
Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great
Bob Shea is my favorite living picture book illustrator full stop. This is a very simple book about a goat and a unicorn being silly, but also a very complex story about how we define ourselves in the context of others (no, seriously! Go read it), and a gentle, playful, meaningful lesson on first impressions and friendships.
Equal parts creepy, wistful, and charming, Doll Bones gives us three young best friends trying not to outgrow each other as they near the end of their respective childhoods. Also, they're being terrorized by a china doll possessed with an evil spirit. We talk about this one a lot at my Children's Book Buyers Who Happen To Also Manage The Horror Section group meetings.
I usually dismiss plots like this one as being too Newbery-pandering, like when really beautiful actresses play ugly people to get an Oscar. It has everything librarians go for: child with a complicated home life + troubled period in American history (Memphis, 1959) + a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to happiness (a crippling stutter). I read this predicting that I would dismiss it as another Newbery MadLibs title (I'm lookin' at you, Wonder) but instead became immediately entranced by it. I was completely wrong in all of my assumptions on this one and am uncharacteristically fine with that because it was such a joy to read.
The fact that Anne Ursu didn't with the Newbery for her previous title, Breadcrumbs, is a black mark on the soul of the American Library Association and would be enough on its own to make me root for The Real Boy this year for the medal. On top of that, this book is effing unbelievable. The price that we collectively paid for the gift of Harry Potter is that it is now next to impossible for middle grade novelists to write about magic without embarrassing themselves; I am fine with that trade off because we live in a world that has Anne Ursu in it, and she's an amazing champion of middle grade magic fiction in our post-Hogwarts society.
Gris Grimly's Frankenstein
The last time a graphic novel got the Printz was the first time a graphic novel got the Printz, when American Born Chinese shockingly beat out The Book Thief in a stunning display of dopey graphic novel tokenism by that year's award committee. I still haven't gotten over it, clearly. Now it's 5 years later and this reimagining of Frankenstein is teaching me to stop worrying and love YA graphic novels, which, it turns out, is actually pretty easy to do when they're as great as this one.
As a YA trade paper original from an adult publisher this one already has an uphill battle in terms of getting awards attention. I would love for it to be a real contender because it's amazing- an Orpheus myth take-off that exactly captures all of the passion and intensity and foolishness of a teenager falling in love, hard- and also because I think the industry needs to catch up to the audience in dropping the format bias in YA (teenagers love paperbacks. Quote me).
You know that thing where you dislike an author so you read their new book because you think it'll be fun to hate on, and then it's a great book and you wind up questioning the very foundations on which you've constructed your life? I understand that this happens with Jonathan Franzen somewhat frequently? That was me with this one. You win, Meg Rosoff.
