Better Late than Never: The Signing Up Edition

I know I signed up for a pack of Reading Challenges for this 2017 year of reading, but I kept meaning to come back and write my intro posts for the rest of the ones I decided to join, and it just never ended up happening. So I'm going to do it now, so that I can keep track online of what I accomplish. Here are 6 more challenges I'm committing to for 2017:

First Up is Pages Read 2017
I am going to aim for 5,000 pages per month which is 60,000 pages this year and is the Oak level for this challenge.

The Couples Reading Challenge
DH and I both love reading and we've pledged to read at least one book together every month this year. Our choice for the Inspirational category for January was The Art of Racing in the Rain. The theme for February is Marriage/Intimacy and we are still trying to narrow down a choice for that one.

Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2017
I have a special challenge to do with my husband, and one to do primarily with my middle kiddo (that would be The Picture Book Reading Challenge), so I wanted to find a challenge to do with my oldest son. He is 10 and loves Fantasy books so this is the perfect challenge for him and I. We are going to aim for 1 book per month at least.

2017 Parenting Reading Challenge
I have a large number of homeschooling books that keep languishing on my TBR pile so I think this challenge will be a kick in the rear for me to get on them. I'll likely throw in some "regular" parenting books as well as I come across them. There are no levels but I'm aiming for 6 over the year at the minimum.

2017 Book to Movie Reading Challenge
I am going to aim for Level 3b for this challenge which means reading 4+ books from any release year, as well as watching 4+ movies from any release year.

Last but not least for this list, Read all the Youth Media Award Books in 2017 Challenge
I don't know if I will be able to finish this entire list before the end of 2017, but there are a lot of great books on this list (full list available by clicking the title of the challenge above). I figure if I finish even a few, it'll be worthwhile to focus on.

Picture Books We Read in January

Original artwork by Charles Haigh-Wood (1856-1927)

The Picture Book Reading Challenge (sign up here/read my intro post here) has really motivated Linus and I to branch out our reading choices. He and I read every book together with big brother and little brother joining in most of the time. Our goal was to read at least 8 books that fit our list this month because he turned 8 on Saturday. We hit the #8 mark a couple of weeks ago when I first posted our intro post. Since then we just kept reading.

As we stand now:

24 out of 102 read (items in red are new since the last update, items in green are in progress, usually non fiction with a lot of words on each page that we like to enjoy in bite sizes)

1. An alphabet book
S is for Scientists: A Discovery Alphabet by Larry Verstraete
_ 2. A counting book
Hat Tricks Count: A Hockey Numbers Book by Matt Napier
_ 3. Concept book: shapes or numbers or opposites or colors
4. a book set on a farm or in the country
Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier
_ 5. a book set in the city or in an urban area
6. a book set at the beach, in the ocean, or by a lake
Are You the Pirate Captain by Gareth P. Jones and Garry Patterson
7. a book with human characters
The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
8. a book with animal characters
The Sheep Go On Strike by Jean-Francois Dumont
9. a bedtime book
Mortimer by Robert Munsch
10. a rhyming book
Without Wings, Mother, How Can I Fly? by Norma Farber
11. a book celebrating art
Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by Jane Shapiro
12. a book celebrating dance
Mama Does the Mambo by Katherine Leiner
_ 13. a book celebrating music
14. a book celebrating family (parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc.)
My Family Tree and Me by Dusan Petricic
15. a book about feelings, expressing feelings
You're All My Favorites by Sam McBratney
16. a book with a twist (unexpected) ending
Snow Day by Lester L. Laminack
_ 17. a book about pets (cats, dogs, fish)
_ 18. a book celebrating libraries or reading
19. a book translated into English (originally published in another language/country)
The Happy Troll by Max Bolliger
_ 20 Mother Goose related
The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright
21 a book about adoption
Help a Hamster: A Gentle Introduction to Adoption by Hilary Robinson
_ 22 a book by Gail Gibbons
23 a book by Jon Scieszka
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
_ 24 a book featured on Reading Rainbow
_ 25 free choice
_ 26 out of print
_ 27 wordless picture book
_ 28 a book by Margaret Wise Brown
_ 29 a board book
_ 30. a book about trains or planes
_ 31. a book about cars or trucks
_ 32. a book about starting school
_ 33. a book about friendship (sharing, caring, forgiving)
_ 34. a book about being ME, about being unique, special, loved, etc.
_ 35. a fairy tale
36. a twisted (adapted) fairy tale
Bully Goat Grim by Willy Claflin
_ 37. a book about a holiday
_ 38. a new-to-you author
_ 39. a new-to-you illustrator
40. a book about new experiences (dentist, doctor, sleepovers, movies, playing sports, learning to swim, etc.)
Subway Mouse by Barbara Reid
41. a series book
The Super Red Racer: Junior Discovers Work by Dave Ramsey
_ 42. a book celebrating food (cooking, eating, trying new foods, eating healthy)
43. a book published before 1950
McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss
_ 44. a book published in the 1950s
_ 45. a book published in the 1960s
_ 46. a book published in the 1970s
_ 47. a book published in the 1980s
_ 48. a book published in the 1990s
_ 49. a book published in the 2000s
50. a book published 2010-2016
No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou by Rhonda Gowler Greene
_ 51. a book published in 2017
_ 52. a book by Dr. Seuss
_ 53. a book by Mo Willems
_ 54. a book by Jan Thomas
_ 55. a book by Eric Carle
_ 56. a book by Laura Numeroff
_ 57. a book by Patricia Polacco
_ 58. a book by Jon Klassen
_ 59. a book by Beatrix Potter
_ 60. a book by Kevin Henkes
_ 61. a book written or illustrated by LeUyen Pham
_ 62. a Caldecott winner
_ 63.  a Caldecott honor
_ 64. a picture book biography
_ 65. a nonfiction picture book
_ 66. a book from your childhood
_ 67. a book you discovered as an adult
_ 68. a book celebrating writing, being an author or illustrator
_ 69. a library book
_ 70. an audio book
_ 71.  a book about dinosaurs OR dragons
72. nonfiction book about animals (or animal)
Creepy but Cool Snakes by Julie K. Lundgren
_ 73. a challenged book OR a controversial book
_ 74. a book that makes you laugh
_ 75. a book that makes you cry
_ 76. hate the text, love the art
77. love the text, hate the art
Now or Later Alligator by Precious McKenzie
78. a book with a great cover
The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma, David Dean
_ 79. a book with an ugly cover
_ 80. a book about toys
_ 81. a book about weather
_ 82. a picture book for older readers
_ 83. a book of jokes, riddles, tongue-twisters
The Science Zone: Jokes, Riddles, Tongue Twisters & Daffynitions by Gary Chmielewski
_ 84. a book about seasons
85. a song
Deep in the Swamp by Donna M. Bateman
_ 86. a poetry book
_ 87. a book by a celebrity
_ 88.  a book published in Australia
_ 89. a book published in the UK
_ 90. a book about science or math
_ 91. a book about history or historical event
_ 92. a book about sports
_ 93. a book about celebrating birthdays
_ 94. a book about a President or world leader
_ 95. a book about another country
_ 96. a book celebrating faith
_ 97. a pop-up book, or, a book with cut-outs or flaps or fold-outs
_ 98. a bilingual book
_ 99.  a television series that has been adapted to a book
_ 100. a book that has been adapted to a television series
_ 101. an adaptation of a myth or legend
_ 102. a book about babies

2017 PoC Reading Challenge

As I mentioned in my introductory post for the Diverse Books Reading Challenge, I am also signing up to take part in the 2017 PoC Reading Challenge, in order to specifically focus on increasing the number of books I read that have a main character or author who is a person of colour.

When I started to make my list on goodreads for this challenge I realized I actually had several books I was already planning to read that fit this challenge. I was happy to see that, but I am hoping being intentional about it this year will expand my total number of readings as the year goes on.

2017 Diverse Reads Book Challenge

I love a great many different genres of books, and my natural reading inclination has me fairly well read most of the time, but I am sometimes unintentionally guilty of not having a representative spread of authors and characters that are diverse in terms of race, sex, and others, including disability. Given the fact that we have multiple people with disabilities here in this house I am likely doing better than average in that spread but still I could be better, and that's where the Diverse Reads Book Challenge comes in. Head over to Chasing Faerytales to sign up for this challenge.

The hosts clarify what they mean by diverse books in the following way:

HOW DO WE CLASSIFY A BOOK AS DIVERSE?

The main character - or one of the leads, who preferably has a POV - has to belong to a diverse group. According to the definition of We Need Diverse Books

"We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities*, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.

*We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization."

This year they have created mini challenges for each month, highlighting different diverse groups. I don't think I'll follow all of the monthly prompts, but for January the prompt is stories based on/ inspired by diverse folktales/culture/mythology. One of the recommended titles for this prompt has been on my to be read list for way too long, so yesterday during my evening reading with Tobias and Linus, we started When the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. We got 2 chapters in so far, and we all agreed that we can't wait to keep reading tonight. This challenge will overlap with the POC Reading Challenge but I figure the more diversity in my reading the better. I'm glad these challenges exist to act as education and reminders to keep me going.

Back to the Classics 2017

I love most classic books I have read, and there are more still I can appreciate the value of even if they weren't my cup of tea. There are always more to be read, so here I am again signing up for the Back to the Classics Challenge. This year the challenge has the following categories:

• Complete six categories, and you get one entry in the drawing
• Complete nine categories, and you get two entries in the drawing
• Complete all twelve categories, and you get three entries in the drawing

My plan is to finish all 12 categories, that's just one a month.

My selections for this year's challenge:

1. A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
2. A 20th century classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. A classic by a woman author. Middlemarch by George Elliot
4. A classic in translation. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
5. A classic originally published before 1800. Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson
6. A romance classic. My Antonia by Willa Cather
7. A Gothic or horror classic. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
8. A classic with a number in the title. 1984 by George Orwell
9. A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title. Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
11. An award-winning classic. The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
12. A Russian classic. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Birth Year Reading Challenge 2017

When I started planning my reading challenges for this year I was hoping to have all of my introductory posts done by the end of the first week of January. In the end I'm glad I didn't, because I'd have missed out finding this gem of a challenge.

This challenge encourages readers to explore books that were published the year that they were born. I was born in 1986 and I am already loving going through the lists from that year, and finding books I havn't heard of, as well as lots that I knew about but wouldn't have guessed that they were published when they were. So I'm all in. This is going to be fun! Plus, there are *prizes* and who doesn't love prizes??!!??

There is no levels posted so I'm just going to see how it goes throughout the year. You should join too! Find all the details over HERE.

Picture Book Reading Challenge

Original artwork by Charles Haigh-Wood (1856-1927)

Becky's Book Reviews is hosting this fun little challenge. I have three kids and love reading challenges so what could better than revisiting old favourites from my childhood, and checking out new ones alongside my children? Not a thing :)

We are going for the whole shebang! We have chosen the checklist option, where we pick books that fufill each of the 102 categories.

We began the challenge at the start of the month even though I didn't get around to posting my sign up post until now.

As we stand now:

8 out of 102 read

_ 1. An alphabet book
_ 2. A counting book
_ 3. Concept book: shapes or numbers or opposites or colors
4. a book set on a farm or in the country
Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier
_ 5. a book set in the city or in an urban area
6. a book set at the beach, in the ocean, or by a lake
Are You the Pirate Captain by Gareth P. Jones and Garry Patterson
_ 7. a book with human characters
_ 8. a book with animal characters
_ 9. a bedtime book
10. a rhyming book
Without Wings, Mother, How Can I Fly? by Norma Farber
_ 11. a book celebrating art
_ 12. a book celebrating dance
_ 13. a book celebrating music
_ 14. a book celebrating family (parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc.)
_ 15. a book about feelings, expressing feelings
_ 16. a book with a twist (unexpected) ending
_ 17. a book about pets (cats, dogs, fish)
_ 18. a book celebrating libraries or reading
19. a book translated into English (originally published in another language/country)
The Happy Troll by Max Bolliger
_ 20 Mother Goose related
_ 21 a book about adoption
_ 22 a book by Gail Gibbons
_ 23 a book by Jon Scieszka
_ 24 a book featured on Reading Rainbow
_ 25 free choice
_ 26 out of print
_ 27 wordless picture book
_ 28 a book by Margaret Wise Brown
_ 29 a board book
_ 30. a book about trains or planes
_ 31. a book about cars or trucks
_ 32. a book about starting school
_ 33. a book about friendship (sharing, caring, forgiving)
_ 34. a book about being ME, about being unique, special, loved, etc.
_ 35. a fairy tale
_ 36. a twisted (adapted) fairy tale
_ 37. a book about a holiday
_ 38. a new-to-you author
_ 39. a new-to-you illustrator
40. a book about new experiences (dentist, doctor, sleepovers, movies, playing sports, learning to swim, etc.)
Subway Mouse by Barbara Reid
41. a series book
The Super Red Racer: Junior Discovers Work by Dave Ramsey
_ 42. a book celebrating food (cooking, eating, trying new foods, eating healthy)
_ 43. a book published before 1950
_ 44. a book published in the 1950s
_ 45. a book published in the 1960s
_ 46. a book published in the 1970s
_ 47. a book published in the 1980s
_ 48. a book published in the 1990s
_ 49. a book published in the 2000s
_ 50. a book published 2010-2016
_ 51. a book published in 2017
_ 52. a book by Dr. Seuss
_ 53. a book by Mo Willems
_ 54. a book by Jan Thomas
_ 55. a book by Eric Carle
_ 56. a book by Laura Numeroff
_ 57. a book by Patricia Polacco
_ 58. a book by Jon Klassen
_ 59. a book by Beatrix Potter
_ 60. a book by Kevin Henkes
_ 61. a book written or illustrated by LeUyen Pham
_ 62. a Caldecott winner
_ 63.  a Caldecott honor
_ 64. a picture book biography
_ 65. a nonfiction picture book
_ 66. a book from your childhood
67. a book you discovered as an adult
The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
_ 68. a book celebrating writing, being an author or illustrator
_ 69. a library book
_ 70. an audio book
_ 71.  a book about dinosaurs OR dragons
_ 72. nonfiction book about animals (or animal)
_ 73. a challenged book OR a controversial book
_ 74. a book that makes you laugh
_ 75. a book that makes you cry
_ 76. hate the text, love the art
_ 77. love the text, hate the art
78. a book with a great cover
The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma, David Dean
_ 79. a book with an ugly cover
_ 80. a book about toys
_ 81. a book about weather
_ 82. a picture book for older readers
_ 83. a book of jokes, riddles, tongue-twisters
_ 84. a book about seasons
_ 85. a song
_ 86. a poetry book
_ 87. a book by a celebrity
_ 88.  a book published in Australia
_ 89. a book published in the UK
_ 90. a book about science or math
_ 91. a book about history or historical event
_ 92. a book about sports
_ 93. a book about celebrating birthdays
_ 94. a book about a President or world leader
_ 95. a book about another country
_ 96. a book celebrating faith
_ 97. a pop-up book, or, a book with cut-outs or flaps or fold-outs
_ 98. a bilingual book
_ 99.  a television series that has been adapted to a book
_ 100. a book that has been adapted to a television series
_ 101. an adaptation of a myth or legend
_ 102. a book about babies