Reading Roundup: 2012

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 213
Early Readers: 11

Sources
Review Copies: 2
Library: 222

Standouts
Writing: Selected in August: Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky "Moose isn't patient enough to wait for his turn in the alphabet show, and horns into earlier letters. Kids will love impetuous Moose, and also pointing out that "I" doesn't have anything to do with the word Moose."
Illustration: Selected in June: The Tree House by Marije Tolman and Ronald Tolman
"This wordless picture book follows a couple of bears who discover a tree house and are joined by friends. Read it through a few times. Linger for awhile. You'll find yourself wanting a treehouse of your own."
Overall: Selected in March: And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
"You know that early-spring feeling? When it feels like you'll never see anything but mud again? That brown, brown, brown, wait-what's-that feeling? The pairing of Fogliano and Stead capture it beautifully."

This was a bitter battle, as always. The Overall Standout, in particular, almost ended up a four-way tie. I finally went with the Fogliano/Stead pairing because the others (Press Here, I Want My Hat Back, and Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs) have already gotten so much love out there that I wanted to spread it around some.

All the 2012 roundups