Reflection on my 2015 goals & ideas for 2016

Well my attempt at reviewing #365PictureBooks in 2015 was an epic fail! With my Goodreads 2015 goal of 150 'chapter' books, study, SLANZA & work I just couldn't keep on top of reading and reviewing a picture book a day. 

With just under a week to go, my 2015 Goodreads goal will also not quite be achieved. Close, but not quite! If I had included my picture books in this quota I would have blown the goal out of the water months ago!  Oh well. Live & learn.  I found that I was rushing to achieve my goal and was not reading in depth or enjoying everything I read. I was reading for the sake of reading, not for enjoyment or to extend my knowledge. 

So my blog goal for the coming year is to post once a month with a recap of what I've been reading, including reviews, summaries and general thoughts on the books. 

And my Goodreads goal is to read 100 books - chapter, picture, non-fiction & professional development - just books.  But books that I am going to savor. Books that I am going to devour. Books that I am going to treasure (and I already have a few of these lined up!). And books that I am going to remember and be able to talk about to anyone that wants to listen.

Bring on another year full of fantastic books, great authors, interesting conversations and amazing reading :)

*Update : 28 Dec '15*

OK. I added my #365PictureBooks. I was right ... It blasted my goal of 150 books out of the water!  142 chapter books + my 72 #365PoctureBooks = 214 total books read. And that is not including all the other picture books I have read this year for school and not kept track of!  #awesome #overachiever

#365PictureBooks 57. Between the Pages by Joan van Loon, illustrations by Chantal Stewart

Van Loon, J., & Stewart, C. (2010). Between the Pages. Frenchs Forest, Australia: New Frontier.

ISBN: 9781921928444
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6 / Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Join Billy and Jack on an exciting adventure in the rainforest where they are chased by snakes and lizards and big scary emus ... just to name a few.  With some quick thinking they escape through the pages of their book. 

Van Loon's use of descriptive language and the way she tells the story right from the start gives the impression of tension and adventure.  Told simply enough that younger children will enjoy it as a read-aloud, it is sophisticated enough for middle primary school children to enjoy as well.  The spacing between lines and the font (which looks like 'actual' writing) make it a book that beginning readers will be able to enjoy on their own.

I like how this is a story within a story ... the boys are actually reading about their own adventure!

I'm just loving the illustrations.  They are a combination of full page and graphic novel panels (either inserted in boxes within the main illustration, or like this image as 2 or 3 full length panels beside each other).  The images are quite busy and full of lots of detail so I'm leaning more towards this being a Middle Childhood book rather than an Early Childhood book (although younger children will definitely love the story!).

What a fantastic book.  As it says on the back cover this 'is a story that celebrates the pleasure of reading'.  A great addition to your collection as a read-aloud, for prediction and getting kids imaginations working.  Also a good exemplar to use with students for a story writing text.

I got my copy of Between the Pages from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.