Bryan's Magical 2020 Reading List

by Bryan Patrick Avery

Well, it’s been quite a year. Whether you’ve been able to put aside all the stresses of the year to keep working towards your writing goals or you’ve barely been able to keep on track, I congratulate you. This has been a difficult year for so many so give yourself a break(and a pat on the back).

For my last post of the year, I’d like to highlight several of the books I turn to for inspiration, as mentor texts, or just for plain old enjoyment. These are some of the more recent books I return to again and again as I work on my own stories and they’ve helped me along my storytelling journey. I hope you find something here that inspires or guides you.

Enjoy!

Picture Books

​DRAWN TOGETHER by Minh Lê and Dan Santat
THE UNDEFEATED by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson
ONE FOX by Kate Read
THE LAST PEACH by Gus Gordon

Chapter Books

​SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS by Marcie Colleen
EERIE ELEMENTARY by Jack Chabert
A TO Z MYSTERIES by Ron Roy
THE BAD GUYS by Aaron Blabey

Middle Grade Novels

​33 MINUTES by Todd Hasak-Lowy and Bethany Barton
MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL by Fleur Bradley
THE PARKER INHERITANCE by Varian Johnson
HARBOR ME by Jacqueline Woodson

Verse Novels

​THE MOON WITHIN by Aida Salazar
GARVEY’S CHOICE by Nikki Grimes
THE ONE AND ONLY BOB by Katherine Applegate
LONG WAY DOWN by Jason Reynolds

Graphic Novels

​SHIRLEY & JAMILA SAVE THEIR SUMMER by Gillian Goerz
NEW KID by Jerry Craft
NIMONA by Noelle Stevenson
ROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson

If you haven’t already, take a look at these books. I hope they’ll inspire your writing as much as they’ve inspired mine.

Well, that’s all for this month (and this year). Happy writing and have a magical new year.

Bryan Patrick Avery writes picture books, chapter books, middle grade and graphic novels. His middle grade story, “The Magic Day Mystery”, was published in June 2020 in SUPER PUZZLETASTIC MYSTERIES, an anthology from HarperCollins and the Mystery Writers of America. His debut picture book, THE FREEMAN FIELD PHOTOGRAPH, will be published in Spring 2021 by Clearfork Publishing/Spork.

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