When I first began the nonfiction picture book challenge, I simply wanted to close up a personal book gap I had. I read very little nonfiction for children and knew that needed to change. By starting the challenge in 2012, I was excited to read 60 or 70 nonfiction picture books in a year. However, this year (2014), I made an even bigger push to read more and to fill in some of my nonfiction book gaps.
Here are my stats for this year...
I read 140 nonfiction books published in 2014.
I read 5 nonfiction books that will come out in 2015.
I read 8 nonfiction books from 2012.
I read 24 nonfiction books from 2013.
I read 85 nonfiction books from pre-2012.
Grand Total: 262 nonfiction titles
As I look to 2015, I am looking at my fourth year of hosting the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge. Reading nonfiction has become a wonderful habit and one that I do not see myself giving up anytime soon. Additionally, the community of readers who are participating in the challenge have become a wonderful source of information and new titles, as well as, on-line friends & even in person friends.
For 2015, there are somethings that I will continue, such as, reading as many new releases from 2015 that I can find. Though I squeezed in some MG/YA nonfiction books towards the end of the year, I would like to do better and read at least one to two per month.
Of course, I will continue posting each month the upcoming new releases as I find out about them. As I have been thinking about next year, I also would like to feature interviews with and guest post by children's nonfiction authors. Finally, I would like to include more ways to have fun with nonfiction in the classroom.
If you would like to participate in the challenge in 2015, here are the details:
1. Set a goal as to how many nonfiction picture books (or nonfiction MG or YA books) you would like to read over the course of 2015. Maybe you want to read one a month or one a week. Will they all be from 2015 or will you be reading ones previously published? Do you have a gap with a particular area of nonfiction? The important part is to set a goal that will be fun and not stressful.
2. My nonfiction book reviews and posts will be on Wednesdays but I may start posting on a second day in order to fit everything in. There will be a link if you want to connect up one of your reviews or progress towards your goal. If you post on Mondays (Nonfiction Mondays) or Fridays (STEM Fridays), please feel free to link up on Wednesdays with us, we would love to get to know more bloggers talking about nonfiction.
3. There will be interviews, guest posts, giveaways, and new release posts.
4. If you would like to participate in this challenge, please link up your blog or GoodReads Shelf using the Widget below. Please know that you can join in at anytime throughout the year.
5. If you tweet about what you are reading as part of this challenge, please use the twitter hashtag #nfpb2015.
6. You are welcome to grab the image at the top of the post to use in your weekly posts.
Don't forget to link up your Blog or GoodReads Shelf below: