School is ending, and it's time to celebrate the summer season by reading for enjoyment and not because it's an assignment. Here is a list of my favorite great books reviewed during this past school year:

I'll begin with my favorite books geared for ages 9 through adult. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick is this year's Caldecott winner and a most creative book, with more than 500 pages - and almost half of them are illustrated. The first 45 pages tell the story with illustrations - and no words! The ensuing pages connect words and pictures telling about an amazing invention and a poor orphan living during the 1930s in a Paris train station. The book pays homage to the silent films of that era.