Over the past few days I have been thinking about the books I read last year. I read a broad variety of books including children and adult books. I also enjoy books from nearly every genre.
Here are a few of my favorites from last year:

Picture Book
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (wordless picture book, the illustrations are astounding!)
Tiger Can’t Sleep by S. J. Fore, illustrated by R. W. Alley
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

Middle Grades
Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry   
The Calder Game by Blue Balliet
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Young Adult
Peak by Roland Smith
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Adult Books
The Secret Life of Cowboys by Tom Groneberg
Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

This is a random list. This list represents my favorites today. Tomorrow the list will probably be different. These books were all memorable for me, they are books I had a difficult time setting aside. They are books that I HAD to tell my husband about (in excruciating detail, he’ll tell you). Also, these aren't necessarily books that were published in 2009, just books I happened to read last year.

My absolute favorite?

Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry. This fabulous book is set on a modern-day eastern Oregon ranch. The main character is a 12 year old boy who, with the help of his grandparents, is charged with caring for the ranch while his father is deployed to Iraq. An amazing book! I highly recommend it. Even if you haven’t read children’s literature since you were in school, I urge you to give this one a chance.

Did you read any great books last year? I would love to hear about them. I am always looking for book recommendations either for me or for my kids. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite books from 2009 and you will be entered in a drawing for a $40 Amazon Gift Card. Deadline for entering is 11:59 p.m. on January 14th.