Thanksgiving is only a week away in our house, as there is no school three days prior to the actual day. So, we celebrate with doctor appointments, teacher conferences, and cleaning the house. This year, however, we will also be packing and preparing for a wonderful trip to Guatemala to adopt our second son. We are truly and wonderfully thankful for that experience, for him, his birth family, and his foster family.
During those three days prior to Thanksgiving AJ, my oldest, and I will be decorating the house with wonder for him (nothing too overstimulating of course). And, most of …read more

As this year rapidly races to a halt we here at One Book, Two Book have found some astounding new releases that your kids will be reaching for even before they shake those deliciously wrapped boxes.
With that said, here is your list of stocking stuffers for 2008, complete with our favorites. All of the “Best of” books were published and released in 2008.
The Best Holiday Books, 2008
The Best Non-Fiction Books, 2008
The Best Board Books, 2008
Best Picture Books, 2008 
The Best Books for Middle Readers/Tweens, 2008
Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Mary Emma’s Favorite Books 
Marcie’s Favorite Books

Good Non-Fiction books are hard to come by even though kids are curious about everything and soak up knowledge every second. This year we have books about Frogs (from the same author as the Spider), but everything seems to be about about politics even down to books about the Lady Liberty herself.
Lady Liberty: A Biography
What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
Nic Bishop Frogs
The …read more

Middle readers, or tweens, include the 9-12 age group and typically fall between 5th and 8th grade. Recently there has been an increase in great books for boys in this category but I am also seeing a decline in the really good books for girls. From what I have seen, authors who tend to write for girls are either in the early reader category or in the Young Adult category (and the topics are too advanced for some girls in the 9-12 age range_.
I would love to see some good solid literature back for tween girls, as I think they …read more

Get ready for the gossip, the smut, the teeth… There is not a tame one in the bunch!

The Underneath
What I Saw And How I Lied
Gossip Girl, The Carlyles #1 (Gossip Girl)
Chains
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)
Lock and Key
Madapple
Little Brother
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Graceling
Boy In the Striped Pajamas (Movie Tie-in Edition)

Untamed: A House of Night Novel (House of Night Novels)
The Twilight Companion: The Unauthorized Guide to the Series
Paper Towns

I am totally excited about the Olympics this year, especially because it is the summer Olympics. Gymnastics is my favorite, of course, but I also love watching the swimming. My husband loves watching the Biking and follows many of the same men who ride on the Tour de France.
There are few books on the shelves that can be considered for the Best of the Best List but I have managed to find a few that can.
Olympics Preschool- Grade 2

The Cybils are blog-based literary awards in eight categories:

Fantasy/Science Fiction
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade Fiction
Non-Fiction: Middle Grade and Young Adult
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Fiction

And nominations for the awards – based on your votes – open today, on October 1 and closes on November 21. You can nominate one book per category so long as you have an email address.
It works like this: a nominating committee reads your nominations and narrows the nominees to five finalists. A second committee considers the shortlist and chooses the best of the best for 2007.
Here’s a list of 2006 winners.