WE DID IT! We made it through 2020. Wow, what a wild ride. I’m lucky that despite everything, it was a mostly good year for me. Now, it’s time to look back on my December 2020, including what books I read and some more notes from my planner.
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Books I Read
I’m a children’s librarian, so I read books for kids and for grown-ups. This month, I read 19 picture/early reader books and 8 “big” books, including audiobooks, adult novels, and chapter books for children.
The Weight on Skin by Beena Khan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This one didn’t do it for me like The Name of Red did, but I love the character still and appreciate what the author was trying to do. This book seems to span a few genres: lyrical fiction, drama/tragedy, romance, and magical realism. While this made it interesting, it also made the plot feel a little all over the place.
I thank the author for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Bear series is a classic for a good reason, and this hibernation story is so fun with a great take on friendship.
A Bear Cub Grows Up by Pam Zollman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a good basic nonfiction early reader on bears with gorgeous color photographs. I only wish the captions talked about which type of bear was in each photo.
A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a classic book using colorful illustrations of a chameleon to show that we must appreciate what makes us unique and also what makes us similar to others.
Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep! by Maureen Wright
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a silly rhyming story but not my favorite hibernation book.
The Ravens by Kass Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a great book! I hope this series continues. It only wasn’t 5 stars for me because I was in a sorority in college and some of the Greek Life stuff wasn’t 100% accurate, lol. But this was such a fun, engaging, moving book avoid sisterhood and magic, and I can’t wait for the next installment. My thanks to NetGalley, the authors, and the publishers for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Brand of Magic: A Contemporary Witchy Fiction Novella by K.M. Jackways
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This novella was a fun start to a series! I loved the magic in this world – it’s both gentle and exciting. I did have a little trouble keeping all of the characters straight, but it was still a fun read and I loved the New Zealand setting, which was described beautifully. Hazel’s familiar, a sarcastic dog named Bonnie, was my favorite character! My thanks to the author for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I knew this book was going to be about being thankful for what you have, but the end really got to me. A boy is jealous of the brand name sneakers his classmates wear, and buys a pair that don’t fit him at a thrift store when his grandma can’t afford to buy him a new pair. He gives up the pair to a friend who fits in them and needs new shoes. Finally, it’s a snowy day at recess, and he is thankful for the brand new snow boots his grandmother bought him.
Saturday by Oge Mora
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Beautiful collage artwork is used to tell the story of Saturday, the one day a week a mother and daughter have together. Everything goes wrong for these two but the daughter reminds the mother that Saturdays are wonderful because it is the day they spend together.
Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration by Samara Cole Doyon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an amazing book. The text alone is powerful and beautiful and would function as a poem without the illustrations, which add even more to it. I love the many characters in this book – our beautiful narrator and her family, including some lovely representation.
Brick by Brick by Heidi Woodward Sheffield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A boy admires his hard-working father, a brick layer. He goes to school and mimics a lot of what his dad does at work. His dad saves up to buy them a house. This one reminded me of my own dad. A really great – and bilingual! – story! The collage art is gorgeous too.
All Because You Matter by Tami Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An absolutely wonderful book with gorgeous illustrations and powerful words meant to empower children, “especially those from marginalized backgrounds” – to remind them that they matter. Parents or anyone who loves a child will find this book meaningful too.
Love Is by Diane Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is such a NICE book about a little girl raising a duckling and having to watch it grow up and leave – all of the moments that define love in a parenting relationship. Beautiful city illustrations, especially of the main characters.
I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an amazing book – an empowering book, especially for Black boys. I love the illustrations and the powerful, poetic text.
You Matter by Christian Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An affirming book with the illustrations I have come to love from this author/illustrator!
Bear Is Not Tired by Ciara Gavin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a cute and silly book about a bear hibernating, except his family is a group of ducks. I think this could have taken an opportunity to discuss birds that fly south for the winter, too.
Hibernate with Me by Benjamin Scheuer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a cute book about getting away from it all with your mama bear, though I think the hibernation theme is more just in the repeated use of the phrase “hibernate with me.” I like that the sheet music is provided in the back so you can sing this book.
Her Reluctant Highlander Husband by Allison B. Hanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a fun, steamy read about two people overcoming their fears to find happiness and love together. I felt there was a minor plot hole, but overall I enjoyed revisiting Clan MacKinlay, with a broody hero and an interesting heroine. My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ehlert’s photographic collages are amazing as always, and this book has a ton of rich information on how snow forms, how animals prepare for snow, and different cultures’ winter clothing.
The Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I whipped through this book of poems, telling the story of Betita and her family, in one sitting. Betita and her mom are sent to a detention camp after her father is deported to Mexico. This is a powerful read, and I liked it even more than the author’s first novel, The Moon Within.
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Everything Naomi Loved by Katie Yamasaki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An emotional read about the effects of gentrification on a neighborhood through the eyes of Naomi, a child who grew up there.
The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories: Volume Three by Simon Stern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While I didn’t love every single story, I really enjoyed some of them.
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Are You Ready for Winter? by Sheila Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a nonfiction book about winter (or winter in a snowy area, at least) for early readers. It contains all of the basics of an informational text – a table of contents, captions, and a glossary. I did think it was a little silly to describe hibernating animals as not waking up “to go to the bathroom.”
How Do We Know It Is Winter? by Molly Aloian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a pretty good nonfiction book about winter in North America (according to the book – but really just about the part of North America that experiences snow). It goes into lots of different aspects of winter, such why it occurs, the weather, clothing people wear, what animals and plants do, and food people eat. There are all the classic accent of an information text for this age group (early elementary) – a table of contents, glossary, and captions. I liked that there were lots of questions to make the reader think further about the topic. I did notice my copy had a grammatical error – a period at the end of question.
You Must Bring a Hat by Simon Philip
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is 100% my (childish side’s) sense of humor. I can’t wait to read it for a hat-themed storytime. It’s a silly book about a kid who gets invited to a party, but the rules for attending become more and more complex and outlandish.
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was so FUN, and had the added bonus (which I didn’t know) of being timely (without freaking me out, LOL). Ledi is studying epidemiology in grad school (and a smaller-scale epidemic does come into play), and dodging spam emails claiming she is the betrothed of a prince – think the Nigerian prince emails of the 90s/early aughts. When Thabiso comes looking for his betrothed, there’s a comedy of errors as to his identity. There are so many fun romance tropes in this one: royalty in disguise, forgotten identity, betrothed as babies, disapproving MIL, forced to take shelter in a snowstorm… The side characters are all well-fleshed out and will make for great romantic leads in the sequels and spin-offs. What a great start to a series!
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The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wrote a blog post about my top ten books I read this year and published it today, and this one should have made the list. I need to sleep on it before going into my full, gushing review, which will be on https://bitchbookshelf.com. My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
A Peek Into My Planner
I’ve been trying to fill out my planner each day to keep myself organized and to use the plethora of planner supplies and stickers I possess. (I use The Happy Planner.) In July, I started a brand new planner. Here are my weekly spreads for December.
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I’ve been keeping track of my moods to keep an eye on my depression and anxiety. This was a very optimistic month for me. In December, I felt:
- Good – 13 days
- Productive – 5 days
- Great – 3 days
- Motivated – 3 days
- Okay – 3 days
- Happy – 2 days
- Tired – 2 days
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More Stuff I Did
I had some virtual parties with my work and book club friends, and got to spend the holidays with my parents. I’ve been regularly testing for COVID since the city pays for it, and have been healthy and negative so far! I encourage everyone to get tested regularly.
I think my mood was so good this month due to what I perceive as a chain of events. This fall, I kept seeing orange cars, especially when I was feeling happy or grateful. I started gratitude journaling shortly before that. I decided every time I saw an orange car, I would ground myself and think of something I was thankful for. I noticed on my FitBit that I started getting better quality sleep in mid-November. By early December, I felt motivated enough to start dieting and excercising. I really think I was able to do all this because I’ve been taking the time to note my gratitude multiple times a day in addition to my morning gratitude journaling.
Finally, I watched a lot of television and some movies. I finished BoJack Horseman Seasons 2 and The Queen’s Gambit. Like many nerds this month, I also finished watching The Mandalorian Season 2. I watched It’s a Wonderful Life, a holiday tradition for me, and also Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
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Because I’ve been blogging about more than just book reviews, I wanted to share some of my “other” posts from this month:
Blog Hops, Memes, and Challenges
- Top Ten Tuesday: Holiday/Seasonal Freebie
- WWW Wednesday: December 9, 2020
- Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Winter 2020/21 TBR List
- Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books of 2020
- WWW Wednesday: December 30, 2020
Blogging
- Why I Started My Blog
- My Blogging Fails
- My Most Popular Posts for Autumn 2020
- Social Media Tips for Book Bloggers
Library
Other Bookish Posts
Looking Ahead: January
First things first, I would like to start including my TBR list for the month in this section of my monthly wrap-up. I’d like to include ten books. I anticipate I won’t read all of them, and I may read some additional ones. I’ll make note of the ones I absolutely plan on finishing.
- The Roommate by Rosie Danan *finish reading*
- A Deadly Fortune by Stacie Murphy *must read*
- An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole *must read*
- The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson *must read*
- Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain
- Mr. Hunt, I Presume by Valerie Bowman
- Color Me Red by Beena Khan
- For The Love Of English by A.M. Hargrove
- Sentience by Courtney Hunter
- Purple Daze: A Far Out Trip, 1965 by Sherry Shahan
Other than reading and enjoying more shows and movies, in addition to keeping up with eating healthily and exercising, I don’t have much planned for January. I am looking forwarding to the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, and hoping for a lot of change and positivity in my country. Here’s to a safe, happy, and healthy 2021!
