Learn. Lead. Sparkle.: Picture Books on New Year's Eve #readallthebooks #goals

Every year it sneaks up on me... my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I've been setting goals since 2013 and some years I've met my goals (usually just barely) and most years I haven't (Read my previous reading goal failure posts here), like 2013---I was not even close! That was the year I was inspired by Donalyn Miller to read a book a day, and I probably could have--the first half of that year I was still teaching first grade and read a picture book or two almost every school day. And then in May, I found out I would be a principal starting in July, my life got busy, and I didn't even come close to meeting that goal. Although I read some AMAZING books that year!

Since then, I've changed (lowered) my goals- in 2015 my goal was 52, a book a week rather than a book a day and I met that one.

Last year, I missed it by two books.

In 2015, I know I met my goal by reading picture books at the finish line-- truly stopping at Barnes and Noble on the way to my parent's annual New Year's Eve Party and power reading them in the children's section. Cheating some might say.

This morning, December 31st was here AGAIN and that 40 book challenge was looming. I'd read 36 books and was prepared for the same result as last year-- missing it by just a few. I got up and finished All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda... 37--check. What next? Onto the halfway finished BFG, now finished-- 38...check! The end was in sight, but I knew I would not read two more novels, even though I have quite a few partly read books in my stack.

And I decided that if needed I would head to Barnes and Noble to meet my goal. I needed to run some errands today anyways.

Why was I feeling so guilty about reading picture books? I headed over to Pernille Ripp's blog for some picture book inspiration and found 38-- THIRTY EIGHT posts on her blog about picture books. And she teaches middle school. Check out her posts here: https://pernillesripp.com/our-favorite-books/ I love this quote from her most recent picture book post:

"We live a rich life of picture books. Surrounded by stacks of amazing text that makes us wonder, that makes us laugh, and that makes us ponder our even stories; Picture books are one of the most important components of our reading lives both at home and at school."

Clearly, I don't read enough picture books, and I should! I decided that I might have stumbled on a fun new New Year's Eve tradition-- heading to the bookstore to meet my reading goal! I prepared to head out.

And then I started thinking about two picture books I knew I had read this year-- We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio, and The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew DeWalt. I checked my Goodreads, and I hadn't logged them yet. And just like that, I met my goal.