Welcome to the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge! When I began this journey in 2012, I never anticipated where it would lead me. Over the past five years, I have read many amazing books, met wonderful authors, illustrators, teachers, librarians, and bloggers, and watched others become excited about new nonfiction books that they discovered as a result of my posts and the others that connect through this community. I am thankful for the way this has enriched my life and hopefully yours as well. As we embark on the sixth year, I am inviting you to join once again.
First, though, I want to share my gratitude to Sarah Brannen for designing the art for this year's logo. I first learned of Sarah's work through the illustrations she did for Feathers Not Just for Flying written by Melissa Stewart. Never would I have imagined that she would one day create an image that we could use as the logo for the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge. I need to thank Melissa Stewart for suggesting the idea and facilitating the connection. And of course, very grateful for Sarah's willingness to create a design for the challenge.
Sarah is the award-winning illustrator of seventeen books for children. She is the author and illustrator of Madame Martine and Madame Martine Breaks the Rules, both published by Albert Whitman & Co., as well as Uncle Bobby’s Wedding (G. P. Putnam's Sons). Brannen also illustrated Feathers: Not Just For Flying (Charlesbridge) written by Melissa Stewart, which was an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner and an ALA notable book. Future projects include another book with Stewart, Seashells: More Than A Home. You can find her at her website or on twitter.
Once again, my deep gratitude to Sarah for her work in capturing in the details of her art what I believe represents the essence of the challenge.
Next if you missed the Mock Sibert posts and would like to share some of the best of 2016 nonfiction titles with students, please click here: Mock Sibert #1 | Mock Sibert #2 | Mock Sibert #3
To check out additional book recommendations from 2016: Best Book List links | Few of My Favorites
Stop by next week to learn about new releases that I am anticipating in 2017.
For those of you, who are new to the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, I want to welcome you and encourage you to read the guidelines below.
If you would like to participate in the challenge in 2017, 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 2017. Maybe you want to read one a month or one a week. Will they all be from 2017 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. 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 for you to check out.
4. If you would like to participate in this challenge, please link up your blog or GoodReads Shelf using the Widget at the very bottom of the post. 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 #nfpb2017.
6. You are welcome to grab the image at the top of the post to use in your weekly posts. Please add a credit to the art (Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen).
On behalf of this community, we welcome your participation and look forward to learning about the books that you have discovered.
Please use the link up widget below to link up a review or your challenge goals.