Emily’s Comments (group member since Jan 01, 2019)

Emily’s comments from the BYL Reading Challenge group.

I am so behind - it's been a crazy month around here and at the end of the month I barely had any time to read.

Challenges I completed this month:

A Book You Never Heard of Before - The Good at Heart by Ursula Werner

A New (to you) Book by a Favorite Author - Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

A Book Featuring Aquatic Life - A Whale in Paris by Daniel Presley and Claire Polders


I haven't been keeping tabs on my kids reading, so I don't think any of them managed to hit any challenges in Feb. We'll have to dive back in for March!


What challenges did you complete in February?

Grumpy72 wrote: "I've not been following the book world lately, just reading books along with the kids, while they're doing their school work.

I found Scythe by Neal Shusterman on Emily's You-Tube channel, and ca..."

Yay! I'm so glad you picked it up. Have fun with Thunderhead! It's even better. :)

It's the end of the month, so let's talk about what we read and what challenges we completed!

Me:

A story told in multiple perspectives - Pocahontas by Joseph Bruchac
A book about Climate Change - Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner
A book with a character with teh same name as you - Edge of Extinction: The Ark Plan by Laura Martin

I'm also nearly finished reading Sawkill Girls which I marked on my checklist as a book I think will be a new favorite. It isn't, but I'll still count it for that challenge, lol.

My twins:

They both just finished The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Robbie counted it as a book that got a lot of hype and Riley counted it as a book with his favorite color on the cover.

We are also halfway through reading aloud An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green which all three of us are going to count as a book written by someone famous for something other than writing.

Regina:

She is finishing up Amulet tomorrow and she marked it as a book she thought would be a new favorite. We're also about halfway through The War I Finally Won which she will count as the next book in a series she had already started.

Phew! What did you and your family reading this month?

Sara wrote: "I think I'm going to attempt Stephen King's The Stand. I've picked this book up and looked at it and noped it for like 15 yrs. it'll also be my first attempt at his writing. we shall see :)"

The Stand is one of my favorite King books - good choice! It's long, but it reads quickly. I hope you enjoy it!

Laura wrote: "I love historical fiction but have never read anything surrounding the Berlin Wall. If anyone has a recommendation, let me know!"

I haven't read it, but I have A Night Divided on my tbr.

It's upper-middle grade and it has good reviews.

Jennifer wrote: "Maybe a silly question, but I’m brand new and have never done a reading challenge before 😊 Is there a correct way to keep track of the books we’ve read and the category they fall under? I’m excited..."

Not silly! I don't think there is one right way. I just jot it down right on the checklist beside the challenge. I've also written out a chart in my bullet journal where I can note which books my kids have read for the challenges.

I did the same exact thing with that book about two years ago. It's gorgeous! Makes for some great copywork as well. ;)

I've had my eye on The Encyclopdia of Early Earth for a while now.

Brittany wrote: "This was a hard one for me so I did some research! I've only ever read one oceanlife-centric book in the past War of the Whales and did enjoy it so I'm not sure why I haven't read more!

A few idea..."

Shark Lady would also count as a book about a female scientist. ;)

Leslie wrote: "Would Moby Dick count? It's been on my TBR list for awhile, but I keep pushing it to "later". I might read it if I can fit it somewhere in the challenge LOL"

YES! It definitely counts. Good luck with it, that's a book that intimdates the crap out of me. I want to read it, just so I can say that I have. It's on my "someday" list.

Brittany wrote: "I haven't gotten my hands on it yet but this popped up on my radar.
Deogratias: A Tale of the Rwandan Genocide"

Ooooh...I'm adding that to my tbr!

Katrina wrote: "OK, I think I have narrowed my list to 3 choices for "a book published the year I was born", which for me was 1976. I was wondering if anyone has read these books or might recommend one over the ot..."

When in doubt, go with Pratchett. ;)

I just found this link with a lot of great children's book recommendations!

https://medium.com/embrace-race/indig...

Stories aren't only found in books - we enjoy them on the big (and small) screen as well. Find a book that reminds you of your favorite movie or show. This is also a great way to hook a reluctant reader - find them something similar to what they already love!

For example:

If you love Star Wars, you might enjoy:

Saga - Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (adult)
Red Rising - Pierce Brown (teen/adult)
Zita the Space Girl - Ben Hatke (children/middle grade)

What's your favorite show or movie?

Pretty self explanatory - find a book where a character shares your name.

You have my oldest daughter to thank for this prompt. When brainstorming, she said, "How about a book about fish?" I broadened that out a bit to make it a little easier to find suitable reading material.

Some recommendations:

The Rainbow Fish - Marcus Pfister (children)
Swimmy - Leo Lionni (children)
Ice Whale - Jean Craighead George (middle grade/teen)
The Sould of an Octopus - Sy Montgomery (teen/adult)

There are so many great options to go with here.

Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein (children)
Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur (teen/adult)
Zen Shorts - Jon J. Muth (children)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More - Roald Dahl (middle grade)
The Thing Around Your Neck - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (adult)

This can be fiction or non-fiction. What issue is important to you? Read more about it!

A few options from my list:

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas (teen/adult)
Columbine - David Cullen (adult) (he also has a new book about Parkland)
Dread Nation - Justina Ireland (teen/adult)

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

I always love challenges like this because it means I get to find out what things were popular in my birth year. Apparently, 1980 was a great year for literature. I have a lot of choices! If you aren't sure where to look, Goodreads listopia has lists of popular books for nearly every year.