TOP TEN FAVORITES (in random order)

1) Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech - What a great storyteller Sharon Creech is!

2) Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - I think we all know someone like her--and maybe some of us are Stargirls.

3) Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - Enough said.

4) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Wow, this book was a true page turner!

5) The Arrival by Shaun Tan - A brilliant and beautiful novel without words.

6) Katie John books by Mary Calhoun - I LOVED these stories so much, I named my daughter after the main character.

7) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I cried at the end of this book, because I never wanted it to end.

8) The Penderwicks series by Jeannie Birdsall - These contemporary novels read like the classics I cherished as a child.

9) Winnie-the-Pooh books by A.A. Milne - See my Winnie-the-Pooh obsession.

10) Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - Perfect.

Top Ten Favorite Books That Lisa Would Defy Bedtime Rules to Read with a Flashlight (when she was a kid)

1) The Moffits by Eleanor Estes - What a fun family!

2) All-of-a-Kind Family books by Sydney Taylor - This series of books made turn-of-the century New York come alive for me. It also made me want to be Jewish and have a lot of sisters.

3) Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books by Betty McDonald - I wanted to hang out at Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's upside-down house!

4) Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene - This is really bad, but sometimes I couldn't stand it and would read the last page first.

5) The Trouble with Jenny's Ear by Oliver Butterworth - A fun and funny book that I read several times.

6) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I totally identified with Jo. But then, who doesn't?

7) The Borrowers by Mary Norton - So enchanting, yet, to me, the Borrowers were so real.

8) Beezus and Ramona books by Beverly Cleary - These books get even better over time.

9) Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder - I loved reading these on rainy days.

10) The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett - Oh, to be transported back to that secret garden!