Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

As well as my regular Around the Year challenge, I’m going to try to complete a picture book version of the challenge with my little one.

If anyone else is interested in doing this then you might like to have a look at this thread where a few of us are sharing ideas for some of the topics.

As you can tell, this plan is very much a work in progress! Fellow parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc), please tell me if you have suggestions for any of the topics. I love finding new picture books to share and I’m always grateful for good recommendations.

Week 1 (January 1):
A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title
✔️What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday by Julia Donaldson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 2 (January 8):
A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list
✔️ Katie and the Starry Night by James Mayhew
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 3 (January 15):
A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards
Triangle by Mac Barnett
We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio
Winners & runners up

Week 4 (January 22):
4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...)
The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillain

Week 5 (January 29):
A book about or inspired by real events

Week 6 (February 5):
A book originally written in a language other than English
Ideas

Week 7 (February 12):
A gothic novel
Wuthering Heights: A BabyLit Weather Primer
Frankenstein: A BabyLit® Anatomy Primer
Dracula: A Babylit(r) Counting Primer
Jane Eyre: A BabyLit Counting Primer

Week 8 (February 19):
An "own voices" book*

Week 9 (February 26):
A book with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc)
Funnybones by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg

Week 10 (March 5):
An author's debut book (their first book to be published)

Week 11 (March 12):
A literary fiction

Week 12 (March 19):
A book set in Africa or South America
✔️ Handa's Hen by Eileen Browne
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 13 (March 26):
A book with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc)

Week 14 (April 2):
4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire

Week 15 (April 9):
A book with an unique format/writing structure
✔️ Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 16 (April 16):
A narrative nonfiction
The Emperor's Egg
Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear
Surprising Sharks

Week 17 (April 23):
A book you expect to make you laugh

Week 18 (April 30):
A book with a location in the title

Week 19 (May 7):
A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author (books & authors)
Ghost Ship: A Cape Cod Story by Mary Higgins Clark

Week 20 (May 14):
A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends

Week 21 (May 21):
A book written in first person perspective
Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin

Week 22 (May 28):
A book you have high expectations or hope for
The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson
Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson

Week 23 (June 4):
A medical or legal thriller
Don't You Feel Well, Sam? by Amy Hest

Week 24 (June 11):
A book with a map
✔️ What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 25 (June 18):
A book with an antagonist/villain point of view
✔️ Burglar Bill by Janet Ahlberg and Allan Ahlberg
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 26 (June 25):
A book with a text only cover
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Week 27 (July 2):
A book about surviving a hardship (war, famine, major disasters, serious illness, etc)
✔️An Evening At Alfie's by Shirley Hughes
(The hardship is only a burst water pipe, but hey this is a picture book challenge!)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 28 (July 9):
4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water

Week 29 (July 16):
A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench)

Week 30 (July 23):
A short book

Week 31 (July 30):
A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to

Week 32 (August 6):
An alternate history book
Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 33 (August 13):
A book connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you (link)

Week 34 (August 20):
A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call (link)

Week 35 (August 27):
A book featuring a murder
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Week 36 (September 3):
A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before

Week 37 (September 10):
A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee (link1, link2)

Week 38 (September 17):
A science book or a science fiction book

Week 39 (September 24):
A book with a form of punctuation in the title
Whatever Next! by Jill Murphy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 40 (October 1):
A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Week 41 (October 8):
A book by an author with the same first and last initials

Week 42 (October 15):
A book that takes place on, in, or underwater
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 43 (October 22):
A book with a title that is a whole sentence

Week 44 (October 29):
A ghost story

Week 45 (November 5):
A book that intimidates/ scares you
Quantum Physics for Babies
Quantum Entanglement for Babies

Week 46 (November 12):
4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air

Week 47 (November 19):
A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own
Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Week 48 (November 26):
A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth)

Week 49 (December 3):
A book from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists (link)

Week 50 (December 10):
A book with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer)
One of the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes

Week 51 (December 17):
An award-winning short story or short story collection

Week 52 (December 24):
A book published in 2018
✔️ Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer by T.S. Eliot
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I definitely need to get to work on this, my girls have been super interested in following my progress with my challenge and helping me pick out books for next year etc... I even set them up with a goal for this year and profiles. I think they would be excited to do the same challenge as mommy with their own books. I gotta start looking through our shelves :-)

You should definitely do it Tracy, I bet it will be really exciting for your girls to participate in the same challenge as you and if you all read in order I imagine it would let you all have some fun chats about how you chose a book for each prompt.

What a great idea for the challenge!! Can't wait to see what books you add as you go! :)

What a fantastic way to get your child involved in reading! I didn't even know some of these existed. I'll have to try and do this with my little one. Or at least a version of this.