My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2018

I read so many great books this year, and it took me a while to narrow down the list; but here are my Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2018.

10. The Best Mother


9.  Cat On The Bus



8.  A Different Pond



7.  Ocean Meets Sky



6.  Read the Book Lemmings




5.  My Pillow Keeps Moving



4.  Henry and the Yeti



3.  Nibbles the Book Monster



2.  Night Job



1.  Hello Light House




And since it was so difficult to choose, I have to share an Honorable Mention:

Samson the Piranha Who Went To Dinner



With The New Year just around the corner, I'm looking forward to all the fantastic, funny, creative, beautifully illustrated books 2019 has to offer.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

The Hudson Children's Book Festival

I love to travel. I love to catch up with friends. I love to make new friends. I love books. So just imagine how much I love participating in the Hudson Children's Book Festival which occurred this past weekend!
This festival takes place each year in lovely Hudson, New York which is on the banks of the Hudson River and is quite a ways from my Shelby, Ohio home. So I set out on Thursday morning and drove many hours until I reached the home of my friends Barbara and Victor Mojica. They invited me to stay at the guest cottage behind their home and a lake view was included. Two more gracious hosts you will never find.

Victor is the creator of the CrossBones Comics and Eugenics as well as the illustrator of Barbara's Little Miss History Books. They both love, love, love history, which is evident in the fine books they produce. And if you happen to be visiting the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, be sure to check the gift shops for their books.

 

Victor and Barbara weren't the only authors and illustrators I was already acquainted with. I also had a blast with David Biedrzycki and his new selfie stick. David is the author and illustrator of several books including the Breaking News Series.

David and Me

There was also the Fabulous Susan Hood whose latest book released just days before the festival and David A. Kelly who writes the Ballpark Mysteries for all you baseball lovers. I particularly like book #6 The Wrigley Riddle because it reminds me of when my dad and I used to watch the Chicago Cubs together when I was a kid.

Beth Ferry, Me, and Susan Hood

There was Diane DeGroat a superb illustrator/author of the Gilbert books as well as illustrator of Ree Drummund's, Charlie books, the husband and wife team of Wendell and Florence Minor, and the creator of the Monster Needs series, Paul Czajak.

David and Diane DeGroat

David with Florence and Wendell Minor

David and Paul

 
I also met brand new author Katherine Gardner who is a pre-k teacher as well. She is just as cute as can be and the type of teacher every pre-ker dreams of. I met Beth Ferry, the author I mentioned last week, Daniel Mahoney, author of Monstergarten, and one of my table mates, Bianca Rell, who turned out to be with my very own publisher Tate.

Katherine Gardner and Me

Daniel Mahoney and me

Bianca Rell and Me

And did I mention I met Kwame Alexander, author of many books, including my favorite, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. For kids interested in the history of Jazz, this book is a must. It turns out, that Kwane is as sweet as he is tall and handsome!

Kwame Alexander and Me

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musings Monday Blog Hop where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website, Fun With Aileen, where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

What I Saw In The Teachers' Lounge

This past week I had two school visits scheduled, I had lunch and recess duty on Friday for Emily's twice monthly Mansfield Christian school visits, and I was recruited to decorate a table for Mansfield Christian's Annual Flamin' Hot Breakfast which is the yearly fund raiser for the Independent Studies Program we home school through.

My first event of the week was an evening of reading to pre-k students at the local pre-k in my home town. After I read from my book, Quack and Daisy, I checked out all the centers they had set up for the children. It was fun to see the extra large versions of books by authors and illustrators I am friends with. Authors and illustrators like Karma Wilson, Jane Yolan, Tomie dePaola, and Mark Teague. 

 

My second event was an all day visit to the Western Reserve Elementary School where I presented to children in kindergarten through sixth grade. All the children were attentive, asked great questions, and participated when I asked questions. I was also able to spend time with the school's librarian and my long time friend Mrs. Cindy Linder. But the big surprise of the day was What I Saw in the Teachers' Lounge. Actually it was what I saw in the science room which was doubling as a much larger teachers lounge,but since that is the title of the first book I read for review this week I thought I would go with that. Oh yes, what did I see? A beautiful pot luck lunch set up in honor of my visit. There were soups, and veggies, baked potatoes and toppings, veggie pizza, and chocolate cake and cupcakes. I was really touched by the thoughtfulness of the staff and hope I conveyed properly how much it was appreciated.

Recess duty on Friday at MCS was interesting since a two hour delay caused it to be held on the very small music room, the only room available at the time. Try to imagine fifth grade boys jump roping, fifth grade girls hoola hooping, and another set of fifth grade boys throwing a ball as they played Monkey in the Middle next to a group of children laying on the floor playing checkers. Needless to say I had to move once or twice to keep from being trampled or pummeled, and I could have used a pair of earplugs as well; but I survived and was able to decorate a table as requested with a basket centerpiece reflecting the farm market that I manage in the summer.

Saturday rounded off the busy week with me taking Emily to the Flamin' Hot Breakfast where she volunteered to bus tables. Her and several other home school children also went across the street to a local nursing home to sing for the residents.

And of course there were those books I read. You remember, the first one was called, What I Saw In The Teachers' Lounge. It was a funny book about a little boy and his wild imagination. Every day he would walk by the teachers lounge and wonder what in the world was going on in there. One day he stopped to peek in the slightly opened door, and to his utter surprise, he saw teachers doing the most amazing things. Of course when he told his class mates about what he saw they had a peek too, but all they saw were teachers eating their lunches in a perfectly normal manner. Not daunted in the least by his classmates version of events or by the principal sending him back to class, the young boy dreamed of becoming a teacher when he grew up.

The second book I read was called Don't Push The Button. This book featuring Larry the monster is adorable and encourages kids to participate as the story goes along. Perfect for the four to eight set, this book is short but fun.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Drop by the Literacy Musings Monday blog hop where you will find other great literary blogs. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley,  and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Be a Literacy Cheerleader.

Mere days into the new year and I have already accomplished quite a bit. I have put away all the Christmas decoration and trees (although I left up the snowmen for winter), I have purchased lots of clearance Christmas wrapping paper and bows, and I have done the laundry, entered all my tax information into my spreadsheets, and I have started reading a collection of devotions that I promised to review.

I have also renewed my commitment to being a cheerleader for fellow authors and illustrators. Last year on Twitter, I started using the hash tag #WhoAreYouCheeringFor along with a picture snagged from Amazon and the twitter handle of an author or illustrator I was following. The idea was that if authors, illustrators, and kidlit enthusiasts all started doing the same, it would encourage literary artists and expand the range of who sees and hears about their great books.

Not that many people joined me in my endeavor, and I became lax in keeping it up myself; but I am going to give it another go in this fresh new year. I would also like to encourage you all to do the same. It only takes a few minutes to save a picture from Amazon to your computer and then add it to Twitter and an additional few minutes to type your tweet including the above mentioned hashtag. Five or ten minutes of your time, and yet it means the world to an author or illustrator. So please join me in being a Literacy Cheerleader and enjoy these authors who were my first three #WhoAreYouFollowing recipients of 2016!

Paul Czjak

Ben Woodard

Melinda Kinsman

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley,  and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.