Waiting on Wednesday: The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share a book that we are eagerly anticipating!

Publisher: Philomel Books
Author: Drew Daywalt / Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Release date: August 18, 2015

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The companion to the #1 blockbuster bestseller, The Day the Crayons Quit!

I’m not sure what it is about this kid Duncan, but his crayons sure are a colorful bunch of characters! Having soothed the hurt feelings of one group who threatened to quit, Duncan now faces a whole new group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon, who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him; to poor Turquoise, whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan’s stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together; to Pea Green, who knows darn well that no kid likes peas and who ran away—each and every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.

Why I’m excited: I LOVED THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT AND THIS IS THE SEQUEL!!  Like, how do I even put into words how much I want to read this one? More Crayons, more Jeffers’ illustrations, more CRAYONS. New colors and new letters! The Day the Crayons Quit was my favorite picture book from last year. I’m ready to read my favorite for this year.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Seven Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors

I think a lot of people are going to find this one hard, but this was actually quite easy for me. I’ve got to like most, if not all, of your books for you to be a favorite of mine. I also don’t tend to choose someone as a favorite author unless I’ve read more than three books by them. I feel like you can tell whether you like someone’s writing from that, but not if they’ll be a favorite. At least for me.

Ian Rankin – Scottish crime fiction author. I’ve read every single one of his 33 or something books, including the non-fiction one. The only ones I don’t have are his short story collection and the book that comes out at the end of the year. I even wrote my undergraduate honors thesis on his books. I’ve interviewed him, chatted with him, gone to see his play, and hugged him. I still can’t really believe he remembers my name.

Favorite book: The Falls.

Matt Haig – English novelist. I’ve read eight out of eleven of his books. I own two others but haven’t read them yet. SOON. If you’ve been on my blog, like, EVER, you know how much I love his book The Humans, and you might’ve read my review of Reasons to Stay Alive. Pretty sure I’ll love everything he’s written and will write.

Favorite book: The Humans.

J.K. Rowling – Does this really even need an explanation?

Favorite book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Maggie Stiefvater – American, fantasy novelist. I’ve read six of her novels and I’m completely in love with her writing. She’s also one of the coolest authors I’ve ever met (I interviewed her for WatchPlayRead last year).

Favorite Book: The Dream Thieves.

Robert Kirkman – Comic author aka author of The Walking Dead. I’ve read every single issue of TWD to date (except some of those specials) and I credit TWD as getting me into comics last year (Yes, Saga is what pulled me in, but TWD is what kept me under). They could keep this series going forever and I’d probably still have it on my pull.

Favorite book: All of the Walking Dead books.

Oliver Jeffers – Children’s book author. I’ve read so many of his books, I’m not sure what the count is, but I LOVE his books. They never fail to put a smile on my face. Every time I read another, I tend to snap a picture on my phone and set it as my new background. I love his stories and his illustrations, and I can’t wait to read them to my future kids.

Favorite book: The Incredible Book Eating Boy.

Stephanie Perkins – Contemporary YA author. Stephanie’s books got me back into reading contemporary last year. I devoured the first two and bought the third one day of release with my friend Annette. I loved her story in My True Love Gave to Me, and I can’t wait to read what’s next from her. Shout out to my friend Georgie for practically forcing Anna and the French Kiss on me. I really didn’t think I was going to like it, and I ended up loving it.

Favorite book: Lola and the Boy Next Door.

I think that’s it. I could list favorite books for days, but authors? Seven is all I’ve got. Who are your favorite authors?

Top Ten Tuesday: ALL TIME FAVORITES from the past 3 years

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years (you can extend it to 5 if you need to).

Could they have come up with a HARDER topic? I don’t even know where to start. In the past three years, I’ve read somewhere around 400 or more books (I didn’t start recording until last year, but I read 157 books last year so multiplying that by almost 3). How do you possibly narrow that down to the ten you loved the most? I feel a little like this:

Source

But I’m going to try. Here we go.

        

The Humans by Matt Haig. This book is beautiful and honest and real and it makes you appreciate what it means to be human and to be alive.

S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. is like a love letter to books. It’s a work of art, a masterpiece, and I devoured it. S. is the epitome of why I want to work with books.

Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin. Favorite author. Favorite character by favorite author. Favorite character by favorite author meets another character from a different series by favorite author and the results are spectacular.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. My favorite book of the series so far. As I said in my review, “I cannot fathom reading a series more powerful, magical, spellbinding, or beautiful as the Raven Cycle books.”

My Heart & Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga. You might’ve noticed in my review that I related to this book in so many unexpected, wonderful and horrible ways and I loved that.

        

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. You might have read about how much I loved this book. It’s ridiculously creative and fun, and it’s illustrated by the incredible Oliver Jeffers. I just found out there’s going to be a sequel this year and I am so pumped!

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. Like MH&OBH, this was a tough one for me to read, but it’s so so good. My review

The Passage by Justin Cronin. This book turns the creepy factor up to eleven, and I raced through its 963 pages in just a couple of days. Vampires who are unlike any vampires you’ve ever seen.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. I had to put a contemporary on here. Before last year, I hardly read ANY contemporaries (except the occasional Sarah Dessen), but after reading Morgan Matson’s Since You’ve Been Gone and Perkins’ Anna books, I’m seeking contemporaries out and reading so many more. Lola is my spirit animal and Cricket is my number one book boyfriend. My review

The Walking Dead, volume 1 by Robert Kirkman. My second foray into comics (after Saga, volume 1). TWD is what hooked me and got me obsessed with comics. I read all the (then) 20 volumes of TWD that were already out in about 2 weeks. TWD gets all the credit for pulling me into comics. My review

I could seriously go on for at least 20 more books/comics, but I’ll stop here. What books that you’ve read in the past three years are now ALL TIME FAVORITES?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014 (Overall, By A Particular Genre, 2014 Releases)

This is one of the hardest TTT posts I’ve ever had to do. I read SO MANY good books this year. Because of that, I’m going to list more than ten books. Sorrynotsorry. I’m going to give you a list of books published before 2014 that I read this year and a list of books published during 2014. Hope that’s okay! All of the titles are linked to my reviews.

Published BEFORE 2014

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Every single book I read by Oliver Jeffers (you can find all my reviews under this tag – sorry it has some other stuff in there too)
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Published DURING 2014

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
Rivers by Michael Farris Smith
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

Well, look at that. I only went THREE over. I will stop there because I could probably list about 50, but I don’t think you guys would be too happy with that. What are the top books you read this year?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top new-to-me authors I read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

I read so many amazing authors in 2014! I had a fun time compiling this list. I can’t believe I just came across these authors this year. It feels like I’ve always loved them. 🙂 All book titles are linked to my reviews.

Stephanie Perkins – Anna and the French Kiss

Morgan Matson – Since You’ve Been Gone

Oliver Jeffers – The Incredible Book-Eating Boy

Robert Kirkman – The Walking Dead [volume 1]

Marie Lu – The Young Elites

Adi Alsaid – Let’s Get Lost

Jennifer E. Smith – This Is What Happy Looks Like

Stacey O’Neale – Mortal Enchantment

Rainbow Rowell – Attachments

Lori Rader-Day – The Black Hour

What new-to-you authors did you read in 2014?

SUNDAY FUNDAY: WEEK IN REVIEW [17]

Cristina over at Girl in the Pages started Sunday Funday as a way to recap the bookish (and not-so-bookish) things that have happened that week.

October 20 – 26, 2014

Yesterday, I started The Walking Dead TV show. I’ve watched three episodes so far. It’s interesting to see it come to life because I’m used to words with pictures in my head, but this already had pictures. I think I’m going to do a reaction post for each season as I finish. What do you guys think about that?

I don’t have much planned for this week except for the usual: Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, and maybe a Teaser Tuesday, so this week will be a fly by the seat of my pants kind of week. 🙂

Books read:

This week, I finished and reviewed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Today, I started Get Happy by Mary Amato. I also read several issues of comics: TWD, Batman and Robin, Edward Scissorhands (which will be reviewed on WatchPlayRead this week), Batman Eternal, and more. I got to read Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers at work; it was amazing, of course. I’ll probably review that soon! I also finished rereading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater as an audiobook. It was pretty great. I think I’m going to do a review of that soon as well.

TBR:

Yesterday was Halloween ComicFest. I had a pretty awesome haul from that.

I also bought the latest issues of TWD, Batman and Robin, Bodies, Wild’s End, and Trees and the first issue of Arkham Manor, which I’m looking forward to checking out.

From the library, I checked out Marie Lu’s The Young Elites and Meg Wolitzer’s Belzhar. I’m so excited to read this, especially The Young Elites. I’ve heard such amazing things! Oh yeah, I also checked out Every Day by David Levithan, which I’m reading for the Magnolia Book Award here in Mississippi. I’ve been wanting to read that one for a long time, so yay!

What you might’ve missed:

My first blog tour! I participated in the Mortal Enchantment Blog Tour (Mortal Enchantment is by the lovely Stacey O’Neale)

I reviewed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I’ve been reviewing the comic series Bodies by Si Spencer over on WatchPlayRead. Check out my review of Issue #3.

I’ve also been reviewing Gotham over on WPR. My latest review can be found HERE.

Non-bookish things I’m excited about:

Hmmm. I’ve pretty much been in a bookish-only world recently.

I know this is a little early, but I’m going to see The 1975 next month, and I AM REALLY EXCITED. So yeah, definitely looking forward to that.

What about you guys? What’s new with you?

Waiting on Wednesday: Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share a book that we are eagerly anticipating!

Publisher: Philomel

Author: Oliver Jeffers

Release date: October 14, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads:

If words make up the stories and letters make up the words, then stories are made up of letters. In this menagerie we have stories made of words, made FOR all the letters.

The most inventive and irresistible book of the year spans a mere 26 letters (don’t they all!) and 112 pages. From an Astronaut who’s afraid of heights, to a Bridge that ends up burned between friends, to a Cup stuck in a cupboard and longing for freedom, Once Upon an Alphabet is a creative tour de force from A through Z. Slyly funny in a way kids can’t resist, and gorgeously illustrated in a way readers of all ages will pour over, this series of interconnected stories and characters explores the alphabet in a way that will forever raise the bar.

Why I’m excited: I won’t link them all, but I’m sure you’ve noticed how much I love Oliver Jeffers. I’ve read every single book of his that we have in my library system. I think his stories are absolutely charming and I love his adorable illustrations (I want that dang penguin!). His humor is one of my favorite things about his books and the description for this one says that it is “slyly funny in a way kids can’t resist.” Well, I’m a kid at heart, so I know I’ll love this one. Can’t wait to read this, so I’ll probably just my own copy instead of waiting for it to come to the library.

Children’s Book Review: The Hueys in the New Sweater by Oliver Jeffers

I’ve recently become kind of obsessed (okay, super obsessed) with Oliver Jeffers’ books. I love them. They are adorable and genius and simple and wonderful. Did I mention that I love his books? Haha. I’ve already reviewed The Day the Crayons Quit, The Incredible Book-Eating Boy and The Way Back Home. Anyway, I’ve pretty much read all of his books that are currently in my library’s system, so this week, I’m going to do six mini reviews of his books. So far this week, I’ve reviewed Lost and Found, Up and Down, The Great Paper Caper, Stuck, and This Moose Belongs to Me.

The Hueys are all the same: egg-shaped little dudes that all think the same way, do the same things, and look exactly the same. Until one day when Rupert knits himself a cool little orange sweater. Gasp! Rupert is different, and he is ostracized. That is until Gillespie (can I just take a moment to say how freaking awesome the names Rupert and Gillespie are for children’s book characters??) notices and thinks that being different is interesting. So what does he do? Why, he knits himself his own cool little orange sweater! Soon everyone is doing it and Rupert must find a new way to be different.

At first it seemed that Jeffers was commenting on the fact that it is almost impossible to be different in our society – where everyone will do the same thing if it is cool and everyone else is doing it. Everyone was being different but they were all doing it in exactly the same way. But then you reach the end and you flip the last page, and all of the Hueys are there in bright, vivid colors – all different! I think this one teaches kids how to be different by thinking outside of the box. Yes, there are trends and people like to fit in and do what others are doing, but you should be like Rupert. Be yourself, set trends, think outside the box. I still think Jeffers’ is commenting on society’s need to be different by being exactly the same, but I like the other theme too!

Children’s Book Reviews: This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers

I’ve recently become kind of obsessed (okay, super obsessed) with Oliver Jeffers’ books. I love them. They are adorable and genius and simple and wonderful. Did I mention that I love his books? Haha. I’ve already reviewed The Day the Crayons Quit, The Incredible Book-Eating Boy and The Way Back Home. Anyway, I’ve pretty much read all of his books that are currently in my library’s system, so this week, I’m going to do six mini reviews of his books. So far this week, I’ve reviewed Lost and Found, Up and Down, The Great Paper Caper, and Stuck.

Wilfred has a pet that most people don’t – a moose. He hasn’t always had a pet moose though. One day the moose came to him and he knew that it was meant to be his, so he decided to keep and and call him Marcel. Marcel is usually a very good pet, but one day Marcel leads Wilfred on a journey into the woods where someone else lays claim to the moose.

One of my favorite in terms of Jeffers’ illustrations. They’re different from some of his others in that they are a little more layered, much like The Great Paper Caper or The Incredible Book-Eating Boy. Some of the illustrations are simple, with just Wilfred and his moose, but others have a detailed background of beautiful woods or water that were awesome. They were full of nature, pure and lovely.

Moose are wild animals and they will do whatever it is they want to do. I loved that Jeffers let Marcel or Rodrigo or Dominic or whatever be who he was, if that makes sense. I think this is a good one for teaching about animals and nature. I think it also shows how to adapt to new situations and learn from experience. This book is about compromise, knowing your limits, and being able to change plans and ideas when needed. Wilfred has a lot of rules for Marcel who doesn’t fit any of them really. Wilfred must adapt and change to become more open-minded. The illustrations match this juxtaposition of what Wilfred expects and what actually happens: the backgrounds are beautiful, sweeping landscapes with Wilfred and Marcel being simple and unassuming illustrations on top of those.

Children’s Book Reviews: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

I’ve recently become kind of obsessed (okay, super obsessed) with Oliver Jeffers’ books. I love them. They are adorable and genius and simple and wonderful. Did I mention that I love his books? Haha. I’ve already reviewed The Day the Crayons Quit, The Incredible Book-Eating Boy and The Way Back Home. Anyway, I’ve pretty much read all of his books that are currently in my library’s system, so this week, I’m going to do six mini reviews of his books. So far this week, I’ve reviewed Lost and Found, Up and Down, and The Great Paper Caper.

Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, so he decides to try to get it down by throwing his shoe at it. But that gets stuck too, so he throws his other shoe. And on and on it goes until it seems everything that he could possibly throw at it is stuck in the tree as well, including his front door and a boat and an orangutan.

Another one of Jeffers’ books that is chock full of humor. You just keep wondering what else Floyd could possibly get stuck in that tree. The story is kind of absurd and surreal and strange, and those are all reasons to love this book.

I will say that the boy is quite selfish which might not be something that you want to read to your kids, though I think they’d be quite amused with the story and how he is just being a kid. It’s not logical, it’s not realistic, and it’s not what Floyd should do, but that’s the whole point! It’s fun and silly and ridiculous. A completely enjoyable read. Yet again. 🙂