Armchair BEA 2013 – Keeping it Real and Children’s/YA Lit

I think this being a new blog helps with keeping it fresh, since we are learning new things all the time. Participating in awesome events like this is definitely helping us get more exposure and grow an audience. Also, participating in blog tours and posting giveaways has helped our readership grow quickly as well. It is all so exciting!

 

Being an adult with no children, I’m quite a bit removed from children’s books so I don’t know that I can really list books every child should have. But as far as YA books go, yes definitely that is a lot of what I read. I love YA paranormal and dystopia best, but there are definitely some great contemporary YA books out there as well. YA books is how I met Rose, actually. She started this super awesome book club in our town called YA for Adults, and it is awesome. For serious, Houston area peeps look us up. I like reading YA because it has a carefree and innocent feel to it (and YA books are usually pretty clean reads), but also has interesting characters who usually show some great personal growth. The teen years are when people are forming their personalities, learning about themselves and others, as well as developing emotionally. This combined leads to some really great plot lines, intense relationships, and otherwise entertaining and enjoyable reads.

One of the things that I think helps me “keep it real” is to observe other blogs, especially the ones I like and take note of why  I like a particular blog.  I also take note of blogs that I do not like as well in order to try to avoid whatever it is that blog is doing that I do not like and therefore do not want to duplicate on this blog.  By the same token, when writing a review I try not to read too much of other people’s opinions or reviews of the same book.  I want to keep my ideas unique and fresh and do not want others influencing how I read or review  a novel.  I read other reviews after I read the book, but usually I only look at the rating and the readership and the blurb before I choose to read and review a book.  I find that a lot of times this helps me.  Even though I may have the same opinion as a lot of other bloggers or readers, I avoid saying it in the same exact way, or at least, sometimes I do.

 

I of course explained in our first BEA post the reasons I am drawn to YA. Check that out here.  The top five books I think every child should have on his/her shelf are the following:

 

1. If You Give a Mouse a Coookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond

2. The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle 

3. A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan and Mike Wimmer

4. After the Dancing Days by Maraget I. Rostkowski 

5. The Giver by Lois Lowery

 

---

Note: Some posts may contain affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase a product, we will receive a small commission for the sale at no additional cost to you. Chapter Break is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

---