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About a month ago, I was asked to be on the Best Books for for Kids and Teens 2012 committee, for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Which was totally cool. Writers don’t usually get to be on committees. We’re often the ones being committeed. Anyway, it was an honour to be ask so I obviously jumped at the chance. A few days later,  a large box arrived at my door. Inside the box, I found . . .  books! Lots of books. So many that I decided to spread them on the floor and take a photo of them (I do that sometimes.) Here it is:

Best Books selection 2012

I dove in and have made my way through some, but not all of them. They represent the finest Canadian publishing has to offer and there’s been no shortage of “Best Bets” so far. Thankfully, I am not alone. There are several other committee members and we will meet in the middle of the summer to argue debate over which book belongs on the coveted list.  The results of our Battle of the Books PvP showdown will make up middle-grade section of the Best Books magazine published this Fall. The Best Books magazine is an indispensable guide for teachers and librarians across the country.

In the past, I’ve been honoured to have several of my books chosen as a Best Bet, so it’s a really cool to be on the other side of things helping my fellow teachers and librarians choose the very best in Canadian fiction.

While I can’t really give my full reviews of the books until after I meet with my fellow committee members, you can join in on my summer reading journey on my Goodreads page. I’ll be listing each of the books I’m reading and giving my first thoughts on what I’m reading. I hope you’ll join me!

What’s your Best Bet in kids books for this year? Let’s compare notes in the comments.