Happy New Year! A Look Back On a Year in Books

Welcome to 2020!
I am excited to welcome 2020! Some years are harder than others and 2019 seemed hard. I can’t point to any one thing that made it hard but throughout the year, I felt like a general malaise had settled over my life.

After taking some time to reflect on the last year and think about the upcoming year, I decided I wanted to make joy the focus of my year.

Reading in 2019
Since I read a lot of picture books, I had a goal of reading 300 books in 2019 and a sub-goal of reading 12 adult titles and 25 longer titles. I surpassed the 300 goal by at least 55 books. I was not great at tracking all of the titles I read this year and am still adding as I find titles that I missed. I also didn’t add my award reading which would send the number of 25 longer titles way past that goal. I did read about 12 adult titles but several of those were cookbooks. (Yes, I read cookbooks.) I did start a number of books that I did not finish and I did not record. Many are ones that I plan to revisit but sometimes I need to be in a certain mood to read a book. Overall, I am content with my reading for 2019 and thankful for audiobooks which really help me with getting to more longer titles.

Reading Goals for 2020
In keeping with my goal of joy, I want my reading to reflect that same goal. I set my overall goal at 365 books. I want to read at least 12 adult titles and 40 longer titles. I plan to give myself plenty of freedom to read what I want even if they are much older titles or guilty pleasures like mysteries. I also realized that my graphic novel reading was way down last year and hope to increase that this year.

Blogging Goals for 2020
In July, it will be my 10 year anniversary. I can’t believe that I have been blogging for almost 10 years. At times, it’s been hard to keep up and I am not exactly sure where I am going with it in 2020 but I do know that I will continue to host the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

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Now for some of my favorite books from 2019. This was hard because there were so many that I loved. If you don’t see a book that you loved on this list, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great book. It may mean that I didn’t get a chance to read it or for the sake of having a varied list of titles, I picked one book over another.

Favorite books in 2019 - I am limiting this to 2019 releases.

Nonfiction Favorites from 2019 in no particular order…

Handimals: Animals in Art and Nature by Silvia Lopez, Photos by Guido Daniele

Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science Behind Your Favorite Monsters by Carin Beccia

It Began With a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear, Illustrated by Julie Morstad

Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me by Susan L. Roth

The First Dinosaur: How Science Solved the Greatest Mystery on Earth by Ian Lendler

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor
by Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Katy Wu

Did You Burp? How to Ask Questions…Or not! by April Pulley Sayre, Illustrated by Leeza Hernandez

Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island by Jennifer Thermes

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Sarah Jacoby

Seashells More Than a Home by Melissa Stewart, Illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen

Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from World War II to Peace by Ashley Bryan

Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy in Nature by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Fiction Favorites from 2019 in no particular order…

Stormy: A Story About Finding a Forever Home by Guojing

This Book is Gray by Lindsay Ward

Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour, Illustrated by Daniel Egnéus

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Tradition by Kevin Noble Maillard, Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

Saturday by Oge Mora

At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorrell, Illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang, Illustrated by Charlene Chua

Hum and Swish by Matt Myers

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison

A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel

Happy New Year! Check back next Wednesday for Information on the 2020 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge and how to sign up!

Happy New Year!: Reflecting on the Past Year & Looking to the New Year

Welcome to 2018! The first day of a new year, whether it is the start of a school year or the first day of an actual calendar year, always brings with it such promise. I love the feeling of opening up a new journal and seeing the crisp white pages before me. And then it doesn't take long for the first mistake to happen. The ink smears or a spelling error appears and everything feels tarnished as a result. Yet, life is full of mistakes and imperfections and it is all about what we do with them that can truly define us. 

As I look back on 2017, I wonder if I have learned anything or if I am just doomed to repeat some of my same mistakes over and over again. How do we break out of a rut or find a new path to follow? This led me to think about what does it mean to be brave?

I remember when I was going through cancer treatment that friends would say that I was so brave. I never felt brave. Most of the time, I just felt like I followed what my oncologist recommended. Sure, we discussed treatment options but you do what you have to do. I am pretty good at doing what I am supposed to do, especially when the path is clear.

Brave on the other hand is when you are faced with two choices: a safe choice and one that might be a bit riskier. And I wonder when I became so risk averse?! 

Somewhere over the past several years I lost confidence in me. It isn't that I am afraid of working hard but I realized that due to a number of circumstances I have started to play it safe or stick with things that I am certain of how they will turn out. I realized that I was also resisting change. As someone who normally likes a challenge and can get bored easily, I was never really resistant to change. However, as I lost some of my confidence and began questioning myself, it is easier to take a less resistant and more dependable path.

Finally, I have been thinking a lot about balance. It also seems to be the word that I find myself using almost as a mantra. Balance seems like the "holy grail" of life. Can we really find that sweet spot between being crazy busy and bored & unfocused. I realize that there are ebbs and flows to life, but something seems to be missing. I often equate it to energy. Are the activities that we engage in energy-giving or energy-draining? Energy-giving activities, even when we are busy, give us the fuel to keep going. I think this is what I am searching for. 

Balance between work and home. Balance between tasks. Balance in how to engage with something and how to not to stress out. 

After a lot of reflection, I recently decided on balance as my one little word for 2018. A balance with my personal life and my work life. Though balance is my one little word, I suspect that being brave, finding confidence and welcoming change will be a part of the journey in 2018. I look forward to the journey this year and in seeing what unfolds. 

Finally, may 2018 turn out to be a phenomenal year for all of us. 

What I Learned in a Year in Reading

It is the last day of 2017 and I thought it would be interesting to look through the books I read in 2017 and reflect on this past year of reading. 

According to GoodReads, I managed to "read" 581 books. I really should say I managed to log in 581 books. I realized at one point that I wasn't as good with always logging in books so there are some that I missed. I also read parts of a number of professional texts and never added them to GoodReads. I am hoping to be a bit more successful in keeping up with book tracking in 2018. 

Also, book number 582 will hopefully be completed by midnight. I am currently reading...

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui (Abrams 2017)

Over the past year, I realized I listened to more audiobooks than I normally do. I find that I still have difficulty focusing as I read text in print but audio books are a bit easier to focus on. Part of my focusing issues I blame on an after effect of chemotherapy (from 2016) and part I blame on anxiety. I also realized that I read a lot of adult nonfiction in the form of professional texts (not always the whole book but chapters here and there) and books that I turned to to try and process our world as we know it since the 2016 elections. 

As I looked through the books I read this year, I was having trouble identifying my favorites. It seemed like a weird year for reading. However, I realized that certain books left mark on my me. I found myself drawn to books that helped me try and make sense of our world or remind me that books can make a difference. Though there were a lot of books with serious topics, I appreciated books with humor as well. I sense the wind shifting and my reading life may be moving in a different direction. I look forward to seeing what 2018 will bring in reading adventures. 

In no particular order, here are some of the books that stayed with me over the year.... 

Louis Undercover by Fanny Britt, Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood Books, 2017) - Britt and Arsenault teamed up again for another powerful story. Written in the style of a graphic novel, the story explores the impact of alcohol on a family as viewed from the eyes of a child. The story also has a coming of age/first love sub-story. Beautifully told and illustrated.

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster, 2017) - I took three months to listen to this book. Yes, it was a long book to begin with and I don't have a long car commute so I limited it to when I had longer drives. However, I think I needed to hear HRC, herself, narrate her story. It was comforting in some ways and gave me some hope. It also made me cry for what have lost but I won't dwell on that here. 

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (HarperCollins 2015) - I alway try to listen to the winners of the Odyssey Awards for Best Audiobooks. I listened to this on a road trip to Massachusetts this summer. It had an old-timey radio show feel about it on one level but very modern on another level. The full cast was an extra special treat. 

Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa, Illustrated by Jun Takabatake (Gecko Press 2017) - I cam across this book on one of the end of the year "best of" lists. I wasn't sure what to think of it when I started but by the end I knew it had become one of my favorites of the year. I am not exactly sure what it was about the pen pal relationship between Giraffe and Penguin that drew me in so deeply for such a short read but it was definitely a favorite of the year.

Beatrice Zinker: Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes (Disney-Hyperion 2017) - This was one of the few Nerdie Early Readers and Chapter Books that I had missed and read before writing up the announcements. It was a late in the year read but one I am so glad to have found. It was just what I needed and I definitely hope there will be more of Beatrice and her upside down thinking. 

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heilgiman (Dreamscape Media 2017) - When I read long-form nonfiction, I read usually for information or to learn something. However, it is a special treat when you come across a nonfiction text that is written beautifully and sweeps you up and makes you feel like you have been whisked away to a new world. Heilgiman's biography of Vincent Van Gogh and his brother, Theo was just that kind of book. From the beginning, I felt drawn into the Van Gogh family and to the life of Vincent and all of his emotions. Months after finishing the book it still haunts me. 

Shelter by Céline Claire, Qin Leng (Kids Can Press 2017) - The themes of community, kindness and compassion in this story spoke to me likely because of what I see we are struggling with as a country. Do we help strangers or worry about ourselves and let others fend for themselves? And what do we do when we are the ones in need? 

Walk With Me by Jairo Buitrago, Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng (Groundwood Books 2017) - When I read Walk With Me for the first time, I realized when I came to the end that I needed to start over and read it again. So few stories written for children address the big worries of children. Adults sometime overlook the fact that children worry about the same things as they do. They are often more aware of what is going on then we think they are. Buitrago deals with a child's worries over a missing father and lack of credit at a store by creating a powerful companion in the form of a lion.  

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit (Listening Library 206) - This was another Odyssey winner and one of those books that when you stop to take a break it haunts you until you pick it up to listen again. I may have loved it more because Allan Corduner (Book Thief) narrated the audiobook. Sometimes a good narrator does that for a book. It was also one of those books that you wonder who the audience is for the book. The main character starts the book at age 7 but from the beginning I could see that this was not for a younger audience. This is one of those literary novels that works best for teens on up. For readers who love magical realism and historical fiction (1939 Poland) and an outstanding audiobook narrator, then this is worth a listen.

Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson (Macmillan Audio) - This was another book that I am sure I was drawn to likely because of the racial tensions in our world these days. Sadly, though powerfully narrated by Dyson, I suspect that those who really need to hear this book won't actually take the time to listen with open hearts. 

As I come to the final hours of 2017, I look forward to 2018 and new stories. 

Favorite Picture Books of 2017

Lately, it seems that I am racing the clock. Can't believe that 2018 is only a few days away. I wanted to get a few end of the year posts finished. Thanks to my dear, sweet cats I might not get as many completed. I have been working on this post for several hours. Every time I try to type one of them comes over and pushes the keyboard away or tries to knock the laptop out of my hands. But I am determined to get this written. 

In 2017, I read over 300 picture books. Not a great year for me but still a decent number of titles. Since I posted my favorite nonfiction books the other day, and did a Mock Sibert Post here and here, I kept this list to fiction picture books.  Since I couldn't really keep my list to ten titles, I tried, I decided to do 17 books in honor of 2017. 

As I scrolled through the various books I read in 2017, I realized that there were some amazing books. Books that made me laugh and others that made me cry and others that made me feel on a deep level. All of them were beautifully illustrated. And there were of course some titles that I had to leave off the list even though I enjoyed so many. Here are the ones that made my final list...

Several paired sparse to no text to tell a story through pictures. 

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel & Friends)

Boat of Dreams by Rogério Coelho (Tilbury House Publishers)

Letters to a Prisoner by Jacques Goldstyn (Owlkids)

Other books, dealt with challenging topics of family struggles, dreams, friendships, love and life. 

Town by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, Illustrated by Sydney Smith (Groundwood Books)

Walk With Me by Jairo Buitrago, Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng (Groundwood Books)

A Different Pond by Bao Phi, Illustrated by Thi Bui (Picture Window Books)

Alfie: (The Turtle that Disappeared) by Thyra Heder (Harry N. Abrams)

Life by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel (Beach Lane Books)

This house, once by Deborah Freedman (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

The Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling by Timothy Basil Ering (Candlewick Press)

And other stories provided me with a smile or a burst of laughter as the story unfurled. 

The Five Forms by Barbara McClintock (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins (DIsney-Hyperion) 

Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon & Schuster)

Colette's Lost Pets by Isabelle Arsenault (Tundra Books)

And others celebrated journeys of courage and celebrations of who we are.

The Blue Songbird by Vern Kousky (Running Press)

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall (Candlewick Press)

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, Illustrated by Gordon C. James (Agate Bolden)

And all of them made my life just a little better for having read them. What were your favorites in 2017? 

Happy New Year 2017!

It is always interesting to take a look at what you wrote a year ago and see how things have changed or remained the same. 

Here is what I wrote a year ago: 

"Anyone who knows me well knows that I am straightforward and direct when I talk about things. So, if I am being direct, 2015 was a particularly challenging year on so many levels, and that is the polite way of describing the year. Were there good things? Of course. However, most of the year felt like I was in some kind of weird alternative universe. So, though I can't predict what 2016 will bring, I am hoping that it will be a bit gentler and kinder to everyone."

As I started the year, I selected HOPE as my one little word....

"I realized that several years ago I lost hope. Lost the hope that things would and could be different. Lost the hope that allows someone to set a goal and move forward. I even realized recently when talking with my friend that I had started saying "I was afraid to hope for ____."  

I am not sure what 2016 has in store for me but I will be looking for hope in small things and big things." 

What I didn't realize when selecting HOPE for my OLW would be how I would be challenged. In May, during a routine mammogram, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thirty-three weeks later, I am celebrating my last radiation treatment. In between diagnosis and today, I have had one incredible learning experience in hope and courage. Thank you to friends who are cancer survivors, I learned that though you may never wish for this, cancer is an incredible teacher if you allow it to be one. 

Early on in this journey, I realized that I could either chose to be positive or to whine and complain. Though I am not a natural optimist, I realized that chosing the positive would be best for my overall health and healing. And as a natural pragmatist, I was determined that I could learn to be more positive. 

Additionally, I knew that I needed my friends and family and their support. I am very thankful (and often a bit overwhelmed with gratitude) for the amazing women (and a few men) who have been there every step of the way with positive words of encouragement, advice, prayers, meals, walks and visits, gifts, and accompanying me to doctor appointments and treatment. I truly believe I could not have made it through the past six plus months without all of their support. 

Being positive, only goes so far and I have needed to develop some strategies along the way. Just prior to my surgery in July, a friend suggested guided visualization to help me to prepare for the surgery. I was never much of a believer in visualization or meditation. However, I didn't think it would hurt and decided to give it a try. After surgery, I found that sleep was evading me and I discovered the Calm app. 

Initially, I tried the guided meditations twice a day to help decrease anxiety and get some sleep but I have become a big fan of this program and recommend it often. 

As I was going through chemotherapy, I was unable to work. With a compromised immune system, exposure to germs is not advised and working with young children would be constant exposure to germs. I discovered that this unexpected time off from work was really so I could do the job of healing, which is truly a full-time job. 

To remind me of my OLW and also what I needed to get through this journey, I ordered a bracelet from MY INTENT. In addition to HOPE, I added the word COURAGE. 

The bracelet arrived the day after my hair began to fall out. I know it is a bit vain but loosing my hair was one of the hardest things of this journey. Driving home from an appointment, the tears that I had not shed since my diagnosis flowed freely. I remember wondering if I really had the strength and courage to make it through everything I was facing. Along with the bracelet was this handwritten note from the woman who created it. I posted the note by my bed so I would see it every day. It was small things like this that happened when I least expected that reminded me that I was never alone. 

There is much more that I have learned over the past weeks and months but I will share some of those lessons in Slice of Life posts. 

One Little Word:

In contemplating my one little word for 2017, I settled on the word FOCUS. In the past few months, my normal ability to focus seemed to abandon me. I am not sure I fully blame it on "chemo brain" but do think that it is natural to become somewhat distracted when going through a major health challenge. 

In addition to just regaining my ability to focus. I also realize what I focus on is also important. 

My goal is to focus on continuing on the path of healing and getting healthy, but there are so many other areas of my life that need me to be more focused. I am not sure what all of this will look like but will report back. 

In the world of reading and blogging, I need to get back into a regular routine. For the past several months, I decided that the most important thing was to keep the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge going but I let most other posts take back seat. My goal is to get back to posting at least three times per week. As for my reading, this year's focus will continue with nonfiction picture books but I will be increasing the number of early readers and transitional chapter books as part of a new challenge called #Road2Reading.  Also, I would like to bring greater focus to what I choose to read and though I love books, I want to make time for more journal reading and a few adult books. 

Finally, I want to wish everyone a wonderful 2017 and my you find your own word and focus for the new year.