Category: #BookLove

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Christmas Book Lists of Christmas Past

I’ve been working on my 2023 Christmas Picture Book list for almost a month now, there are SO many good Christmas picture books out there and this is my favorite post I write all year! Picture books are magical year-round, but for some reason, the magic seems to double around Christmas. We’re not quite ready to roll out the red carpet for our 2023 list, so to hold us all off, here are all of the links to past year’s Christmas picture book lists.

Find the very first Christmas book list here:

Books Sure To Put You In The Spirit Of The Season

My second year of writing a Christmas picture book lists almost felt wrong because it seemed like so many incredible holidays and celebrations were left out. Thus came the Christmas Book List as well as several other lists of holiday books!

The Christmas Book List Of 2020
Merry Christmas! But What About Other Holidays? We Need More Picture Book Representation

By my third year of writing my Christmas Book lists, it felt like a tradition.

Christmas Book List for 2021

Last year’s Christmas book list almost felt like it couldn’t be topped, but maybe this year I’ll say the same thing.

Christmas Picture Books for 2022

Stay tuned! The Christmas Picture Books of 2023 will be hitting the blog soon! Which books are you hoping to see on the list?

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Christmas Reading Bingo Chart: FREE Downloadable PDF

Our reading bingo charts have become pretty popular with the reading crowd around our town! Each holiday and season I’m getting new requests for more. You can see our past reading bingos here:

Summer Reading Bingo

Fall Reading Bingo

As always, these are FREE to download. We love sharing this free resource for those who need or want it. These bingo charts have been great for readers who want a challenge and for readers who need some motivation or direction to get started.

On the bingo chart, there are several squares for reading books about different winter celebrations and holidays. If you don’t know where to find these books, look no further! We did the work for you last winter! Check out our winter holiday book lists:

Merry Christmas! But What About Other Holidays? We Need More Picture Book Representation

The bingo charts are available in both color and black and white, for whatever your preference is. Download them here!

Christmas-Reading-BingoMCKDownload
Christmas-Reading-BingoMCK-1Download
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What is the National Book Award?

This article is part of a blog series highlighting each book award to learn more about what each of them means. Check out more about this blog series and other posts included here.

What is the National Book Award? Oh, I am so glad you asked! Let me tell you! I love their mission statement right away when you click on their website, 

“The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in our culture.” 

  • Celebrate literature published within the U.S.
  • Expand its audience
  • Ensure that these books have a prominent place in our culture

The winners and finalists receive a medal to be placed on the cover of their book. 

Photo from nationalbook.org

There are multiple categories for receiving a National Book Award including, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature. The 2023 National Book Award will be announced next month! The 2022 National Book Award Fictional Writing Award was given to Tess Gunty for her book The Rabbit Hutch.

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But Have You Tried Reading a Book?

If your students struggle to be kind to one another… have you tried reading them a picture book? 

If you have a student having a hard time sharing… have you tried reading them a book? 

A child in your classroom has a lot of anxiety around taking tests… but have you tried reading them a book? 

Books are magical. Books are incredible. Books can teach our students more than we will ever fully comprehend. Authors and illustrators have a talent for speaking directly to children in a way they understand. 

If you’re working on being a friend in the classroom, have you tried reading The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig? 

If you want to teach your class about leadership, have you read Sophia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty?

If you have particularly worrisome kids, have you tried reading Ruby Finds a Worry? By Tom Percival? 

When your students are struggling or need some extra love or help, can I offer some advice?

Read them a book.

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Chapter Books for Grades 10-12

Chapter books for high school aged! I love this question! 

It can be so tricky suggesting chapter books to this age range because it’s an age where reading gets a bad rap and required reading can take up a lot of time, leaving less for “fun reading.” (I put this in quotations because the texts that were required reading when I was in school were some of the best books I’ve ever read! But many dislike these stories simply because it was required.) 

Here are a few fun chapter books and series for the teenage reader in your life. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Also notable, To All The Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

The cool thing about the Harry Potter series is that the first few books are fantastic for late elementary/ early middle school, and then as the books go on they grow with the reader as the later books in the series are great for a high school reader.

Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card

If you’ve ever found a friend who has also read both books, I’m sure you had a deep discussion on which book was your favorite too! In my opinion, I think Ender’s Shadow was better than Ender’s Game. And if you have a reader that is really into this series, there are plenty of books and side stories that Card has written in this universe!

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

It’ll make you laugh and cry within a matter of minutes.

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

Also notable, The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright

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What is the Literary Booker Prize?

This article is part of a blog series highlighting each book award to learn more about what each of them means. Check out more about this blog series and other posts included here.

What is the Booker Prize? This book award is for novels published explicitly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The book must also be written in the English language but additionally has a sister award for books that have been translated into English. 

The Booker Prize was named after the company Booker, McConnell, who sponsored the prize. 

The prize trophy was made by artist Jan Pieńkowski, and as of March 2023, the trophy now has a name. The decided name is now Iris, but you can read more about naming the trophy in their article here. How beautiful would this trophy be to have in your home or office?!

The 2022 Booker Prize winner was The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan author  Shehan Karunatilaka. The 2023 prize will be announced this November!

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Chapter Books for Grades 7-9

I love giving a good book recommendation. My dream job would be an elementary school librarian where I can spend my days suggesting good books to early readers.

Here are a few chapter books for grades 7-9. These are good for reading aloud in the classroom (yes, you can still do read-aloud at this age!) or for them to read personally.

Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien