Tuesday, January 31, 2017

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

Friday, January 20, 2017

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.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

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

Serious About Series Reading Challenge



I loooove books that are in a series. I read very quickly. Sometimes it is so quickly that when I get to the end of a book I feel sad that I have had so short a time with the characters and the story's setting. That's why series are so great, I get to stay immersed in the world for a longer period of time. I love books series so much that I decided that I wanted to give myself a challenge in reading them, and I thought maybe others would like to join me.

The guidelines/rules for this challenge are as follows:
  • The challenge lasts 50 weeks, from January 12, 2017 - December 29, 2017, and you can join any time during the year
  • Read books that are within any series 
    • A series for this challenge is any run of books with 2 or more that follow each other in a storyline.
    • Books that are first books in a series with more books planned count
  • Rereads count
  • All formats of books (ebooks, audiobooks, paper books, ARCs) count

There are also levels:
  • Seriously Enamored: 10 books read (that's 1 book every 5 weeks)
  • Seriously Committed: 25 books read (that's 1 book every 2 weeks)
  • Seriously Addicted: 50 books read (that's 1 book a week)

Sign up with your name and the level you have chosen in the comments below and I'll add you to the list of participants. I'll post an update post every other month at the end of the month where everyone can share their progress. Everyone who posts an update will have their name entered in a draw for a $5.00 Amazon gift card. Anyone who participates in at least 3 of the updates will have their name entered for the grand prize of a $15.00 Amazon gift card at the end of the challenge . The first update thread will be posted on February 21, 2017.

If you have any questions please email me at uncertainsomewhere @ gmail.com

Feel free to grab the button below for your own blog if you are taking part.



Happy Reading everyone. Enjoy those series!

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2017

Once again I am diving into this challenge. This year they have two levels of books, and I have decided to do both the base list and the advanced list, bringing my total number of books to be read for this challenge up to 52.

If you want to take part in this challenge go to this page. There is also a Goodreads group devoted to the challenge if you'd like to have company along the way. I'll be there as well as posting my updates here.



Monday, January 9, 2017

Bout of Books - Wrap Up Post



Whew! I made it through the whole week with Bout of Books! Yesterday was the last day and it ended up being the day I was able to get the most pages read. My goal was 100 pages minimum a day, which I exceeded all 7 days, and my total goal was 700 pages and I ended up reading 1.5 times that. Whooo! Nothing like a challenge to keep me focused and start my new year of reading off right.

In the end:

Pages Read Today: 254
Total Pages Read: 1051

Books Read Today: 5, Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood by Anna Eastland and others, Mass Education by Adam Thomé, Theology of the Body in Simple Language adapted by Philokalia Books, Don't Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley, and some of my Bible
Books Finished Today: 1, Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood
Total Books Finished: 4

Books Read with the Kids Today: 2, I started reading 2 graphic novels today with Tobias and Linus for our Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. Tobias and I started with A Bag of Marbles by Joseph Joffo and Linus got sucked in as he heard it and was pretty soon leaning over my shoulder reading along with us. This story is based on a true story and the subject matter is heavy so after we finished the first part we started another graphic novel, this time a fiction one, Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson.
Total Books Read with the Kids: 19

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Bout of Books - Day 6 Challenge

Today we did our last round of Christmas celebrating for a while. Three family members came for a visit and we had a great visit. I also managed to get some reading in before they got here, and then some reading with the boys in after they left.

Today's stats:

Pages Read Today: 128
Total Pages Read: 797

Books Read Today: 2, Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis, and The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
Books Finished Today: 1 Spilled Milk
Total Books Finished: 3

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 17

Bout of Books - Day 5 Challenge



Another day, another challenge. Today's challenge is "If you like this, try this" so for my contribution: If you like Historical Fiction try The Midwife of Venice. It's also a great choice for those who like dramatic stories that feature midwives, such as fans of The Birth House.

I once again did all of my reading when I couldn't sleep during the night last night. The day got busy though and I didn't get any more done once it was daylight, except for the books I read to the boys at bedtime. I am a breath away from my goal of 700 pages for the week though, so it wasn't a loss overall.

Today's stats:

Pages Read Today: 158
Total Pages Read: 669

Books Read Today: 2, Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis, and The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 2

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 14

Friday, January 6, 2017

Bout of Books 18 - Day 4 Challenge

We are officially more than halfway through Bout of Books 18. I am having a great time and I am so glad I joined.

Today's challenge prompt is Book Spine Poetry. I've never done this before but I attempted it today:



Today I started exploring the world of Kindle Unlimited. I've seen it advertised every time I'm on Amazon get more books but I'd never jumped in. There was a book I wanted to read that was available for free to subscribers so I started my 30 day free trial. I ended up downloading 10 books (the max that you're allowed at one time) and I think I'm hooked. That's just what I needed... more books that weren't ones that I already need to read from my shelves. Ah well, I am very glad I started reading the one that made me jump (Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood, a compilation by five Catholic bloggers), and I think that Kindle Unlimited may be my newest best book friend.

Pages Read Today: 121
Total Pages Read: 511

Books Read Today: 3, Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood by Anna Eastland and others, Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis, The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 2

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 11

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Bout of Books 18 - Day 3

Day 3 is done, almost half way through the challenge! The good news about today is that I read a lot. The not so good news is that I didn't have any inspiration at all for the challenge prompt. However I want to keep my updates flowing so here are today's stats:

Pages Read Today: 143
Total Pages Read: 390

Books Read Today: 3, I finished both Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox, and Like Living Among Scorpions by Jennifer Fulwiler, and also read some of my Bible
Books Finished Today: 2
Total Books Finished: 2

Books Read with the Kids Today: 5
Total Books Read with the Kids: 8

Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully I feel more inspired tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Bout of Books 18 - Day 2 Challenge

Day 2 of Bout of Books 18 is quickly coming to an end. Today's challenge was to post 2017 in a picture. I had no pictures handy of my books I was reading so I did up a graphic that sums up some of my goals for the year:


Today was a mixed bag. I read a bit more in the first two hours of the day than I did in the whole day yesterday. However, I didn't read any more at all after those first two hours. I didn't get any reading with the kids in. Tomorrow is a new day and I'll try again. Now for the update:

Pages Read Today: 124
Total Pages Read: 247

Books Read Today: 2, Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox and Room by Emma Donoghue
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 0

Books Read with the Kids Today: 0
Total Books Read with the Kids: 3

Monday, January 2, 2017

Bout of Books 18 - Day 1 Challenge



Today was the first day of Bout of Books 18. The challenge for today is to introduce myself #insixwords

Grateful wife and Mama to boys

That's me in a nutshell. I'm lucky and I know it.

My challenge to myself in this reading challenge was to read at least 100 pages of my books a day and also to read with my kids. To that end today was a good day. The final tally was:

Pages Read Today: 123
Total Pages Read: 123

Books Read Today: 2, Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox and my short story of the week for the Deal Me In reading Challenge was Burd from Home From the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 0

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 3

Deal Me In Short Story Challenge

(Deal Me In logo above created by Mannomoi at Dilettante Artiste)

I came across this challenge and was immediately intrigued. A challenge devoted not to full length books, but rather to the short story? How excellent! The challenge is hosted here and I highly encourage you to join. It involves just a short amount of time a week (enough time to read 1 short story, or even less if you choose a lower option) and at the end of the week you will have covered a lot of different stories.

I am actually going to sign up to do 2 short stories a week. I want to do one for me from my short story collections that have been collecting dust on my overfull bookshelves and I am also to set up a second set to read and discuss with my kids. Each week I will draw one card from each of two decks of playing cards and whatever suit and number is on the card will determine which entry I read for the week. Aces will be the #1, and the face cards will be #11 for Jack, #12 for Queen and #13 for King.

My Selections for me will be taken from the following books:
Home from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean (all 16 stories)
My Best Stories by Alice Munro (all 17 stories)
Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allen Poe (the first 19 stories)
  • Hearts
    1. SM - Dave Cooks the Turkey
    2. SM - Holland
    3. SM - Valentine's Day
    4. SM - Sourdough
    5. SM - Music Lessons
    6. SM - Burd Week #1, Read January 2nd
    7. SM - Emil
    8. SM - The Birthday Party
    9. SM - Summer Camp
    10. SM - The Cottage
    11. SM - Road Trip
    12. SM - Labour Days
    13. SM - School Days
  • Diamonds
    1. SM - A Day Off
    2. SM - On the Roof
    3. SM - Polly Anderson's Christmas Party
    4. AM - Royal Beatings
    5. AM - The Beggar Maid
    6. AM - The Turkey Season
    7. AM - The Moons of Jupiter
    8. AM - The Progress of Love
    9. AM - Miles City, Montana
    10. AM - Friend of My Youth
    11. AM - Meneseteung
    12. AM - Differently
    13. AM - Carried Away
  • Spades
    1. AM - The Albanian Virgin
    2. AM - A Wilderness Station
    3. AM - Vandals
    4. AM - Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
    5. AM - Save the Reaper
    6. AM - Runaway
    7. AM - The Bear Came Over the Mountain
    8. EAP - The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall
    9. EAP - The Balloon-Hoax
    10. EAP - Mesmeric Revelation
    11. EAP - Ms. Found in a Bottle
    12. EAP - A Descent into the Maelstrom
    13. EAP - Von Kempelen and his Discovery
  • Clubs
    1. EAP - The Gold-bug
    2. EAP - The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
    3. EAP - The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
    4. EAP - The Murders in the Rue Morgue
    5. EAP - The Mystery of Marie Roget
    6. EAP - The Fall of the House of Usher
    7. EAP - The Purloined Letter
    8. EAP - The Tell-tale Heart
    9. EAP - The Black Cat
    10. EAP - The Imp of Perverse
    11. EAP - The Premature Burial
    12. EAP - The Island of the Fay
    13. EAP - The Cask of Amontillado

My Selections to read with the kids will be taken from the following books:
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (all 13 stories)
Hans Christian Anderson Treasury (all 11 stories)
Centuries of Stories edited by Wendy Cooling (all 20 stories)
Cautionary Tales by Hilaire Belloc (all 8 sets of tales)
  • Hearts
    1. RK - How the Whale got his Throat
    2. RK - How the Camel got His Hump
    3. RK - How the Rhinoceros got his Skin
    4. RK - How the Leopard got his Spots
    5. RK - The Elephant's Child
    6. RK - The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
    7. RK - The Beginning of the Armadillos
    8. RK - How the First Letter was Written
    9. RK - How the Alphabet was Made
    10. RK - The Crab that Played with the Sea
    11. RK - The Cat that Walked by Himself
    12. RK - The Butterfly that Stamped
    13. RK - The Tabu Tale
  • Diamonds
    1. HCA - The Red Shoes
    2. HCA - The Little Mermaid
    3. HCA - The Fellow Traveler
    4. HCA - The Snow Queen
    5. HCA - The Garden of Paradise
    6. HCA - The Ice Maiden
    7. HCA - The Fir Trees
    8. HCA - The Little Match Girl
    9. HCA - The Emperor's New Clothes
    10. HCA - The Tinder Box
    11. HCA - The Wild Swans
    12. CoS - In Ancient Time
    13. CoS - Into the Dark
  • Spades
    1. CoS - The Wall
    2. CoS - The Valley of Crocuses
    3. CoS - Wistan the Strange
    4. CoS - A Taste of Freedom
    5. CoS - Angel to Angel
    6. CoS - Odin's Day
    7. CoS - Brother Aelred's Feet
    8. CoS - The Hammer and the Cross
    9. CoS - A Falcon for a Queen
    10. CoS - The Mask
    11. CoS - The Death of a Prince
    12. CoS - Why Would I Lie?
    13. CoS - The Mystery of the Invisable Friends
  • Clubs
    1. CoS - The Daughters
    2. CoS - London Rises from Ashes
    3. CoS - Toinette
    4. CoS - North
    5. CoS - Swimming in Time
    6. HB - Cautionary Tales for Children
    7. HB - New Cautionary Tales
    8. HB - The Bad Child's Book of Beasts
    9. HB - More Beasts for Worse Children
    10. HB - More Peers
    11. HB - A Moral Alphabet
    12. HB - Ladies and Gentlemen
    13. HB - The Modern Traveler

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Newbery Reading Challenge 2017



As soon as I saw this challenge I knew I'd sign up. There are so many Newbery and Caldecott books that I love, and many many more that I've never gotten the chance to explore yet. With a 10 year old, an almost 8 year old and a 6 year old in the house I am planning on choosing books from the list that I can enjoy with them. Anyone that reads this and wants to join us can do so by signing up here.

Here are the rules:
Each book you read is worth points. You get:
  • 3 points for a Newbery Medal Winner
  • 2 points for a Newbery Honor Book
  • 1 point for a Caldecott Book (Both Medal winners and Honor books are worth a point this year!)

In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:
  • L'Engle: 15 - 29 points
  • Spinelli: 30 - 44 points
  • Avi: 45 - 59 points
  • Lowry: 60 - 74 points
  • Konigsburg: 75+ points

We are going to aim for L'Engle to start, but I aim hoping once we get on a roll we may go higher. Our planned list of reads so far is:
  1. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
  2. Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
  3. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
  4. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
  5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
That will get us to 15 points, and from there... we shall see!

Literature and War Readalong 2017

I participated in this challenge in 2013 and it was a really positive experience for me so I knew I wanted to do it again this year. It's hosted over at Beauty is a Sleeping Cat. For 2017 there are 10 books to be read over the year as follows:

Now to my book choices. As you will see, with one exception, they are all focussing on WWII. I always strive for diversity and this year is no exception. There are books from five different countries on the list. Every year I include American novels, this year, to make a statement, I chose two Native American writers. Three of the other novels are French, one is Czech, and one German. May’s choice(s) are special because, for the first time, I decided to include poems. We will be reading and discussing British war poems. Some from poets who wrote during WWI, some from contemporary poets like Vanessa Gebbie and Caroline Davies. I’d like to thank Caroline for suggesting I include poems.

January kicks off with House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday, 208 pages, US 1966, WWII.  On January 31st there will be a discussion post over at Beauty is a Sleeping Cat. Join us :)