Books I Gotta Read

At the LA SCBWI conference, I heard about a surprising number of books everyone should read, but I hadn't. Maybe you haven't either, so here they are. Starting off with Kirby Larson's list (first, read Kirby's "Hattie Big Sky" and THEN start on this list), from her talk called "Whispers from the past in contemporary middle grade novels."

Bronx Masquerade - Nikki Grimes

The Great Gilly Hopkins - Katherine Paterson

Jim Ugly - Sid Fleischman

One For The Murphy's - Lynda Mullaly Hunt

The Pinballs - Betsy Byars

The Beast In Ms. Rooney's Room - Patricia Reilly Giff  (this is how Kirby learned how to write a MG chapter book)

On The Road to Mr. Mineo's - Barbara O'Connor

Jarrett J. Krozoczka mentioned this book that I've heard about forever and still haven't read, but now will:

The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster & Jules Pfeiffer

And a panel made up of Jarret J. Krozocska, Donna Bray, Steve Malk and Laurent Linn made this list of books they say "break the boundaries":

Baby Bear - Kadir Nelson

The Carrot Seed - Ruth Krauss & Crocket Johnson

The Day The Crayons Quit - Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers

Everything Goes (series) - Brian Biggs

Extra Yarn - Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen

Heart And Soul - Kadir Nelson

The Little House - Virginia Lee Burton