2017 Picture Book Challenge

I'm doing  this challenge from Becky's Blog :

I'm going  to do the Bingo Version and the list version of this challenge. 

Option 1: BINGO CARD!

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

Duck On A Tractor by David Shannon

_ 5. a book set in the city or in an urban area

TheGrumpy Pets by Kristine A. Lombardi

_ 6. a book set at the beach, in the ocean, or by a lake

_ 7. a book with human characters

Hanks Big Day

_ 8. a book with animal characters

Worm loves worm by Austrian & Curato

_ 9. a bedtime book

_ 10. a rhyming book

_ 11. a book celebrating art

_ 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

Bella's Best of All By Jamie Harper

_ 16. a book with a twist (unexpected) ending

_ 17. a book about pets (cats, dogs, fish)

_ 18. a book celebrating libraries or reading

_ 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

_ 24 a book featured on Reading Rainbow

_ 25 free choice

Hansel and Gretel Ninja Chicks

_ 26 out of print

_ 27 wordless picture book

Spot The Cat  by Henry Cole

_ 28 a book by Margaret Wise Brown

_ 29 a board book

_ 30. a book about trains or planes

_ 31. a book about cars or trucks

_ 32. a book about starting school

_ 33. a book about friendship (sharing, caring, forgiving)

Nobody Likes a Goblin by Ben Hatke

_ 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

It Came in the mail Ben Clanton

_ 39. a new-to-you illustrator

Swatch by Julia Denon

_ 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)

_ 43. a book published before 1950

_ 44. a book published in the 1950s

_ 45. a book published in the 1960s

_ 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

One Hen by Katie Smith Milway & Eugene Fernandes

_ 50. a book published 2010-2016

_ 51. a book published in 2017

How To Find a Fox by Nilah Magruder

_ 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

_ 60. a book by Kevin Henkes

_ 61. a book written or illustrated by LeUyen Pham

_ 62. a Caldecott winner

_ 63.  a Caldecott honor

_ 64. a picture book biography

_ 65. a nonfiction picture book

_ 66. a book from your childhood

_ 67. a book you discovered as an adult

_ 68. a book celebrating writing, being an author or illustrator

_ 69. a library book

Pigs and a blanket by James Burks

_ 70. an audio book

_ 71.  a book about dinosaurs OR dragons

_ 72. nonfiction book about animals (or animal)

_ 73. a challenged book OR a controversial book

_ 74. a book that makes you laugh

_ 75. a book that makes you cry

_ 76. hate the text, love the art

_ 77. love the text, hate the art

_ 78. a book with a great cover

The Night Gardener by Terry and Eric Fan

_ 79. a book with an ugly cover

_ 80. a book about toys

_ 81. a book about weather

_ 82. a picture book for older readers

_ 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

_ 100. a book that has been adapted to a television series

_ 101. an adaptation of a myth or legend

_ 102. a book about babies  

Deal Me In Challenge 2017

I'm looking forward to this challenge because I have tons of short story anthology magazines to read. Here is how it works:

You take a deck of 52 cards and assign a story to each card. then you randomly pull a card and read that story. I picked these Tim Burton cards:

This Weeks Story

Cruel Sistah

(People Of Color Destroy Horror)

This was a contemporary retelling of a classic fairy tale. One sister murders another and gives the murdered girls hair to her brother for an instrument. The hair begins to sing a tale of woe that drives the other sister to madness. Very well written.

It Feel's Better Biting Down by Livis Llewellyn

(Women Destroy Horror Magazine)

A really trippy story about twin girls and a transformation.

Chronological Sherlock Holmes: The Resident Patient

Noon Light Reads Kicked off this challenge  this year and I'm excited to join in. Here is this weeks story:

The Resident Patient

I really enjoyed the mystery of this story. I had a hard time figuring out what the strange goings on entailed, but I was interested in learning the final result. It was also interesting seeing Holmes and Watson relate to another doctor.

The Beryl Coronet

This story annoyed me. Not only because the banker makes the stupidest mistake of bringing the most valuable of items home with him, but also because he doesnt keep it in the same room with him. So my annoyance didnt relent enough for me to enjoy the clues unwinding or the big reveal. I also was left with to many questions like how the lender of the crown reacted to it's being damaged and what he wanted the money for.  I did like the redemption of the son, but not much else.

The Red Circle

This was another short tale with some interesting mystery that has a climatic ending. I figured out part of the story in the first few pages, but I found the secret messages and unexpected abduction very interesting. The ending was a little anticlamatic and I thought it was strange we never got to see the main characters husband

The Yellow Face

This story was also a surprise to me. I thought I understood where the story was going but of course like Holmes himself my mind came up with a different solution. I didn't know that Doyle had covered topics like interracial marriage  or the Mormon  practice of multiple marriages. This was a very satisfying read.

 The Speckled Band 

What surprised me about this story was how familiar it felt. Especially since i hadn't read it before. I think it's a testament to  how much Holmes stories have influenced work for decades to come. It was wonderfully creepy when Doyle writes about Holmes just standing there watching Watson sleep. I was also creeped out by the finale with the snake. A very thrilling story.

A Study In Scarlet

The most interesting part of this story was the shocking descriptions of the forced marriages in some Mormon communities. This story is so heartbreaking and yet it's so iconic because we see the first meeting of this classic duo!     

The Musgrave Ritual

This story was another dip into Holmes past. We learn that at the time of this story Holmes was living on his own trying to formulate his deductive theories into a career. When he meets a college friend he takes on the case of a missing butler. I enjoyed the opening pages a lot in this story. Seeing a little of the duos's living situation was very funny. It was also a little sad to read that Holmes would sink into lack of activity, and almost a depressed state. 

I found this cool book at Barnes & Noble's bargin books table and I enjoy the little summaries of the stories along with puzzles and historical information.:

The Gloria Scott

This was my first time reading this story and there were a lot of elements I enjoyed. First off we get to see a little of what Holmes was like during his school days. It was also intersting watching Holmes have a friendship with someone other than Watson ! I really only thought that Watson was the only man on earth that could deal with his personality.

Trevor was a great character and having the mystery around this story lead to Trevor's home was a nice story thread. I enjoyed how the story unfolded and the resolution.