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It's time to choose the books for next year!

And here they are:

January: Monkey: The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en

February: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

March: Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner

April: That Scatterbrain Booky by Bernice Thurman Hunter/ book of your choice by L.M. Montgomery

May: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

June: Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly/ I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

July: Half Magic by Edward Eager

August: Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki

September: Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton

October: The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White/ Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

November: I Am David(North to Freedom) by Anne Holm

December: Nutcracker and Mouse King and the Tale of the Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann and Alexandre Dumas

Thanks for your participation!

List of titles
✔️means the book has been seconded

The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White - suggested by Christine
✔️The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann or the Dumas version, Felicia, Trisha for December
✔️That Scatterbrain Booky by Bernice Thurman Hunter - suggested by Manybooks, seconded by Rosemarie
✔️Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner - suggested by Kathy, seconded by Lesle
Lottie and Lisa by Erich Kästner
I Am David (North to Freedom) by Anne Holm - suggested by Rosemarie
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
✔️The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss -suggested by Samantha, seconded by Christine
Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter
De kleine Johannes (The Quest) by Frederik van Eeden suggested by Rosemarie
My Sweet Orange Tree by José Mauro de Vasconcelos
✔️Half Magic by Edward Eager- suggested by Christine, seconded by Samantha
✔️The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken - suggested by Pam, seconded by Kathy
✔️Monkey: The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en - suggested by Jazzy, seconded by Elizabeth
✔️Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki -suggested by Samantha, seconded by Jesus
✔️Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton -suggested by Lesle, seconded by Christine
✔️Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly - suggested by Samantha, seconded by
Kathy
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie -suggested by BookNerd

I suggest Seven Little Australians

I have added My Sweet Orange Tree to the list because it is a book from Brazil. I do hope it is readily available since I read it last year and loved it.

Also, we have no authors from the United States on the list, so please feel free to put forward some suggestions.

I can't figure out if this one has already been read, but I'd like to read Half Magic by Edward Eager.

Thanks, Christine. We haven't read that one yet. I will add it to the list.

Rosemaire I think we talked about this some time ago. I do not remember if we did read it or not but...I would like to suggest Shadow of a Bull by Polish Author Maia Rodman

It is available as a Kindle read and book form, not sure about Library.

I suggest the Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. I’m on the App so I can’t access the group’s bookshelf to see if it’s been read.

We haven't read either book. I will add them to the list.
Thanks for the suggestions.

I’ll second The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Kathy wrote: "I’ll second The Wolves of Willoughby Chase"

I'll third if you need it!

Kathy wrote: "I suggest Seven Little Australians"

I would like to second Kathy's suggestion. It seems like an interesting family.

I hope I can find a reasonable hardcover.

Due to its targeted audience being children, I'd like to suggest here Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki. If we decide it's more fit for fantasy or translation, let me know & I'll post it there.

Since we don't have any Japanese books on our list, it will be a good addition to our list, Samantha.
Plus, I like fairy tales!

I love fairy tales, too, Rosemarie, and this one seems like it may not be very hard to find. I think I already bought a cheap copy on my kindle a while back. It's also on hoopla as an ebook and e-audiobook, and 2 of the 4 library systems I belong to own a copy. Plus, the book is not extremely long like many fairy tale collections.

I'm sure that some are available as picture books as well-like Momotaro The Peach Boy.

Would anyone be willing to suggest Matilda by Roald Dahl I love the movie and was looking at my YA books and now Im torn between Shadow of a Bull and Matilda

I read Matilda during lockdown this spring and really liked it. I'm not changing my suggestion from the Japanese fairy tales, but I will endorse Matilda as a good book. Honestly, I wouldn't be rereading it so soon, but I'd be happy to contribute to discussion if it became a 2021 read.

No Samantha Im not asking you to give it up. Just thought if someone might be interested in reading it. Or I will switch if it gets enough support!

I've already suggested a book, but I would like to read Matilda if it's a 2021 read.

Lesle, I didn't think you were asking anyone to change their suggestion. I just wanted to put my clear support out there. :)

Lesle, Matilda is still too new, since it was published in 1988- so you can read it just for fun.

Rosemarie wrote: "Lesle, Matilda is still too new, since it was published in 1988- so you can read it just for fun."

Good catch, Rosemaire.

Darn! Short 8 years....lol

Fun it will be!

It is a terrific book, Lesle.

Guess I will stop staring at my YA books! haha

Thanks for catching that Rosemarie. I will get to it one day, hopefully before the 8 years!

If it makes you feel any better, Lesle, I almost suggested a book in sci-fi / fantasy that was published in 1979. Not quite old enough yet.

Thanks Samantha and Rosemarie!

I'll second Japanese Fairy Tales

Thank you, Jesus.

I'll second Monkey: The Journey to the West

Thank you, Elizabeth

I would like to nominate

Tarka The Otter (1927) - Henry Williamson

I didn't suggest the other one for a children's read as I thought it was a book for adults, isn't it? I suggested it for the translation read.

It can be considered YA, Jazzy. Sixteen year olds read a lot racier stuff than that. This thread was originally only YA, and we read books like Of Mice and Men and All Quiet on the Western Front. We added Children's Lit to expand our list of titles, and we seem to have enjoyed those books a lot.
You can still suggest Tarka, the Otter, Jazzy.

Jazzy, our focus in the translation thread for 2021 is for authors from certain countries in Europe, so I hope you understand why I moved it here.
It is much tamer than the current crop of YA books-by far!
Plus, we are looking for diversity in this thread and I believe it is our first choice from China since we started this category.

But I still think it's more than unfair to only choose certain countries when the American books keep coming fast and heavy. Why read them AGAIN when there's books you never touched from Japan? or Korea? or Australia? or the hundreds of other countries not on this list.

Sixteen is not a child. At sixteen I had to run the household and take care of my mother. I worked and went to school, and was married a couple of years later and running my own house.

Thanks for the second, Jesus!

Jazzy, like many members, there are tons of American and British classics I have never read and still want to read.

I’d like to second Half Magic. I’ll second another, if given the opportunity.

Jazzy, please read the list carefully before you make an inaccurate statement.
On the original list I posted there was not one American book.

Samantha, I will add your name. Our YA group is a little more informal than the other groups.
Plus, I know that book is easy to find!

Thank you, Rosemarie. There are a few others on the list I’d be happy to try reading next year, if I can second more than that one.

Rosemarie wrote: "Jazzy, please read the list carefully before you make an inaccurate statement.
On the original list I posted there was not one American book."

Yes but there are heaps in the club, this 'diverse' club.

I didn't say in that list and i don't like the idea of only choosing from a certain list. Why are the other ones kept from being on the list? Why are they excluded? What have they done?

The main answer is that there are only 12 months in the year!

When we originally started the YA thread a member would suggest a book, vetted by me as moderator, and then go on to lead the discussion of the book.
We ran out of volunteers since the same two or three people ended up doing a lot of work with uneven responses.

I think...

We should have an on-going challenge like the nobel, etc.

Where we read as many books from as many countries - starting on the same date (1 January?)

one from each country. and we choose the books and the countries.

Maybe?

We are in the planning stage for challenges for 2021 and that sounds like a great idea for a challenge, Jazzy- for an annual challenge. It's given me an idea. 🤔

Trisha has mentioned The Nutcracker and the Mouse King in the short stories planning thread. I see it has a question mark here. Definitely fitting as a children’s story, for what I know of it. Might we count this as a vote for it with the YA / children’s planning?

Samantha wrote: "Trisha has mentioned The Nutcracker and the Mouse King in the short stories planning thread. I see it has a question mark here. Definitely fitting as a children’s story, for what I know of it. Migh..."

The full and unabridged ETA Hoffmann tale is in my opinion more suitable for teenagers and adults than younger children. And the Nutcracker ballet is based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas which is considerably less strange and uncanny (and more like a typical children’s fairy tale) than ETA Hoffmann’s original (which I enjoyed reading for my comps as an adult but which would have freaked me out as a child).

I read the Dumas version as well as the original-I prefer the Dumas version since it is more cheerful and less dark-since adults will be reading the story, members can choose which one to read.

Samantha wrote: "Trisha has mentioned The Nutcracker and the Mouse King in the short stories planning thread. I see it has a question mark here. Definitely fitting as a children’s story, for what I know of it. Migh..."

I think that's a good idea, since it was suggested by Felicia.

So far we have seven books with seconds, so unless there is a flurry of activity in the second half of the month they will be on the list for 2021.
I will let you know if we need thirds. In that case anyone who has suggested and/or seconded a book can third a book as well.