The Read with River Book Club is proud to present the books selected as the best new releases of 2019. The juries for this selection were made up of our 16 regular bookstagram members, and three guest judges worldwide.
How did we come to the decisions we made? The process was admittedly difficult with mountains of books and pdf.’s piling up at our doors and in our inboxes. In the end each book was judged on a scale of one to ten in it’s category, and the scores were added up to give us the most impartial results possible.
There were definitely some stand outs for each of us, and not everyone always agreed on everything. However in the end we were all happy to see books that we could all agree on.
My own personal favourites from the year were “Pokko and the Drum” by Matthew Forsythe, an absolutely gorgeous experiment in effusive and dramatic illustration.
“There are No Bears in this Bakery” by Julia Sarcone-Roach, a cat who monologues like a 1930’s private eye and an awful lot of baked goods in this one for the win. I laugh every time we read it.
“When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree” by Jamie L.B. Deenihan and Lorraine Roccha, was an overall win for me too. Excellent story, very relatable, inspiring, and the art was on point. A definite must add for your bookshelf.
Who were the participating judges?
Canadian Judges
@inclusivestorytime
@Noodlenuts_Classics
@mrswalkerreads
American Judges
@thetinyactivists
@hereweeread
@happilyeverelephants
@comunication.blooms
@toddlers.who.read
@_mybookaddiction_
@bookoholicmom
@houstonlibraryfinds
@astoryaday
@little.librarians
British Judges
@ivyslibrary
@sharing.the.shelf
@bodkinandroo
Australian Judges
@bookskidslove
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