2017 Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge

Hosted by Read At Home Mom

How to Participate

Each month, the challenge will focus on a different category. Choose a book that fits the category, read it, and then post a review on your blog or wherever you review books (Goodreads, LibraryThing, Instagram, etc.). At the end of each month, link up your reviews here at Read-at-Home Mom. (Link-up posts will be published on the last weekday of the month.) 

The monthly categories are as follows:

• January: Award winners - 1959 Caldecott Winner- Chanticleer and the Fox, 1979 Caldecott winner The Girl who Loved Wild Horses
• February: Books you loved in childhood 
• March: Published prior to 1945- Little Engine that Could, Pat the Bunny
• April: Fantasy stories 
• May: Animal stories 
• June: Required reading (classics or other books typically assigned in school) 
• July:  Family stories 
• August: Nonfiction  
• September: School stories 
• October:  Mysteries 
• November: Published in the year (or decade) of your birth 
• December: Winter stories 

Book Review: Elephant Dance: Memories of India by Theresa Heine Illustrated by Sheila Moxley

Living in my part of New Jersey we have a fairly diverse population. Among the many cultures that I and my family are exposed to on a daily basis are Indians. I've met so many first and second generation Indian Americans. Each have their own story but so many of them are still so tied to their family that both live here and back in India. So this book was a delightful read for me.

Elephant Dance is about a young boy named Ravi who is fascinated by his grandfather's stories of India. His grandfather weaves vivid stories that spark Ravi's imagination.

I loved this book. The descriptions that Ravi's grandfather tells of his homeland are so amazing that even without the pictures in the book you can just see the things he describes right in your head. My favorite description was of the sun and his grandfather describing it like tiger. While I could totally see it in my head the illustrations that went along with it were so wonderful. The deep color palate worked so well this picture book.

What I loved most of all was that while this book was about India there was a deeper meaning in the book. It was also about the love of a child and his grandparent. The time spent with family is so meaningful and the time that Ravi and his sister spent with their grandfather is precious. This is the kind of time that you look back at when you are older and smile with fondness. No doubt an adult Ravi will look back fondly on his grandfather and the patience and care he took to explain how things were back in India.

5 out of 5 stars.

2017 Picture Book Reading Challenge

PROGRESS 30/102 

Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up)
Duration: January - December 2017
Goal: To have adults read more picture books. To celebrate the fact that picture books are for everyone! Families are, of course, welcome to join in!
# of books: minimum of 6

Option 2: CHECKLIST (read as few as six, or as many as you like)

Feel free to copy/paste this. You can replace the _ with an X or a ✔ (copy/paste it) when you finish reading a book. If you list the books you read, that may help other people decide what to 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 - Patty's Pumpkin Patch - Read 9/8/2017
_ 5. a book set in the city or in an urban area When a Wolf is Hungry - Read 6/20/2017
_ 6. a book set at the beach, in the ocean, or by a lake  Swan Lake - Read 9/8/2017
_ 7. a book with human characters
_ 8. a book with animal characters  Make Way for Ducklings- Read 9/6/2017
_ 9. a bedtime book
_ 10. a rhyming book
_ 11. a book celebrating art - Pig's Eggs- Read 6/27/2017
_ 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 The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck- Read 9/8/2017
_ 17. a book about pets (cats, dogs, fish)
_ 18. a book celebrating libraries or reading Lola at the Library - Read 9/8/2017
_ 19. a book translated into English (originally published in another language/country)
_ 20 Mother Goose related
_ 21 a book about adoption
_ 22 a book by Gail Gibbons
_ 23 a book by Jon Scieszka - The Stinky Cheese Man - Read 3/21/2017
_ 24 a book featured on Reading Rainbow -Stella Luna- Read 3/21/2017
_ 25 free choice - The Elephant and the Bad Baby- Read 6/27/2017
_ 26 out of print - Peppermint- Read 6/27/2017
_ 27 wordless picture book
_ 28 a book by Margaret Wise Brown
_ 29 a board book- Pat the Bunny- Read 3/21/2017
_ 30. a book about trains or planes- The Little Train that Could- Read 3/20/2017
_ 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 - Doctor De Soto - Read 9/7/2017
_ 39. a new-to-you illustrator
_ 40. a book about new experiences (dentist, doctor, sleepovers, movies, playing sports, learning to swim, etc.)
_ 41. a series book
_ 42. a book celebrating food (cooking, eating, trying new foods, eating healthy) Benji & The 24 Pound Banana Squash- Read 6/28/2017
_ 43. a book published before 1950
_ 44. a book published in the 1950s Chanticleer and the Fox Read 1/25/2017
_ 45. a book published in the 1960s The Big Honey Hunt: Read 2/9/2017
_ 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 Argyle Fox- Read 6/28/2017
_ 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 - The Tale of Peter Rabbit - Read 9/7/2017
_ 60. a book by Kevin Henkes
_ 61. a book written or illustrated by LeUyen Pham
_ 62. a Caldecott winner- The Girl who Loved Wild Horses= Read 1/27/2017
_ 63.  a Caldecott honor
_ 64. a picture book biography
_ 65. a nonfiction picture book  Little Detectives at School- Read 6/29/2017
_ 66. a book from your childhood - The Enormous Crocodile - Read 6/29/2017
_ 67. a book you discovered as an adult- Meg and Mog - Read 1/28/2017
_ 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)-Animals in the Wild: The Wolf- Read 2/7/2017
_ 73. a challenged book OR a controversial book
_ 74. a book that makes you laugh  The Duck in the Gun- Read 6/28/2017
_ 75. a book that makes you cry
_ 76. hate the text, love the art - I Like, I Don't Like - Read 3/20/2017
_ 77. love the text, hate the art
_ 78. a book with a great cover
_ 79. a book with an ugly cover
_ 80. a book about toys
_ 81. a book about weather- Rainy Day - Read 9/6/2017
_ 82. a picture book for older readers- Malala: Activist for Girls Education- Read 2/7/2017
_ 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 - Blue's Rainy Day Music - Read 9/6/2017
_ 100. a book that has been adapted to a television series - Miffy - Read 9/7/2016
_ 101. an adaptation of a myth or legend
_ 102. a book about babies  

2017 Share-A-Tea Reading Challenge

2017 Share-a-Tea Reading Challenge

Hosted by Becky's Book Reviews

Love drinking tea? Love reading books? Love reading a book while drinking tea? Have I got a reading challenge for you! In 2017, I'll be hosting the Share-a-Tea Reading Challenge. You can start a little early, if you want, maybe considering it a 'trial period.' But it officially starts January 1, 2017 and officially ends December 31, 2017.

Who can join? Anyone who enjoys reading. You don't need to have a blog. You don't need to have a twitter account.

Are coffee drinkers welcome? Well. You can still join in, I suppose. But you might be outnumbered by tea drinkers.

Which books count towards the challenge? Any book that you primarily read while drinking tea. Not every single page needs to have been read while drinking tea. (I'm not that strict!!!) But this challenge is all about celebrating SLOWING DOWN and SAVORING the moments.

How many books? Is there a set minimum? This challenge is about QUALITY and not quantity. It's not about reading fifty books or even twelve books. This is an anti-rush reading challenge. Enjoy where you are in a book, and, engage fully in it. Live in the book.

This challenge has a focus on SHARING. How can you share? Several ways:

1) When you sign up in a comment below, share one favorite tea and one favorite book. And if you've got one handy: a favorite quote.
2) If you write a post on your blog announcing the challenge (and making a place to keep track of what you've read), consider sharing a bit about yourself--your reading and drinking habits. You might consider a longer list of recommendations!
3) If you're on twitter, tweet me as often as you like. @blbooks OR @operationbible Tweet about favorite teas, favorite books, favorite authors, favorite quotes, what you're currently reading, what you've just finished reading, etc.
4) Consider adding me and fellow participants to your blogroll, and cheer on other participants by reading reviews and leaving comments.
5) At the end of each month, I'll publish a check-in post. You can leave comments sharing what you're reading, what you've read, tea recommendations, etc. Even if you haven't finished a book, you can share where you're at. Remember, it isn't about how many books you read per month!
6) I'll do my best to keep an ongoing list--either in this post--or on my sidebar--of participants of this challenge.

Books Read:

1. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl - Read 3/21/2017

2017 WITCHES & WITCHCRAFT READING CHALLENGE

2017 WITCHES & WITCHCRAFT READING CHALLENGE

2017 WITCHES & WITCHCRAFT READING CHALLENGE
Welcome to the 6th Annual Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge!

Hosted by melissaseclecticbookshelf

Welcome to the 6th Annual Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge!

  RULES

• Low commitment…you can sign up to read just ONE book as an INITIATE!!!
• Participants who choose to link up reviews will be entered for the end of year prize!!

Challenge Rules:

• This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2017 – Dec 31, 2017. Link up a sign-up post (below).
• Reviews: I will be handling this slightly differently than previous years. There will be only one post in January of 2017 to link all the years reviews rather than a monthly link up.  (Note: You do not have to review the books to participate, but only those who link up reviews will be entered for the prize)
• Grab the reading challenge button (code & button below) and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate- you could track your progress and post reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, etc.
• Any full length book that includes a witch as a main character or includes major witchcraft elements counts. They may be fiction or non-fiction. However, they should not be reference books which are not read cover to cover-I will leave this to your discretion.
• Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
• When you sign up in the linky put the direct link to your post about joining the 2017 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge, not just a link to your blog.
• You can move up levels, but no moving down.
• Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2017, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
• Have some Witchy Good Fun !!!
• 
  
•                              THE LEVELS:

Initiate: Read 1 – 5 Witchy Books
Maiden: Read 6 – 10 Witchy Books
Mother: Read 11 – 15 Witchy Books
Crone: Read 16 – 20 Witchy Books

I am doing Initiate Level.

Books Read:

1.