New Year, New Blog!

(... ok, same blog, but some new blog policies!)

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season and that 2019 turns out to be a great one for you all!

I've been doing some thinking about how I could improve my blog this year. I would love to commit to posting daily, but since that hasn't worked out for me so far, I doubt that's going to work out anytime soon. I need to accept the fact that I'm a wife and mommy now, and I just do not have the spare time that I used to have, no matter how much I wish I did.

But, I can commit to posting some new types of things! There are certain topics and genres that are important to me, so I'd like to highlight those on my blog, such as...

• picture book biographies (and nonfiction picture books in general!) - I love these! I'd love to read more, and I'd love to highlight the great ones I've discovered so other readers can enjoy them too. There's a weekly Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge that I'd love to join in on to share these types of books! I'll try to review one of these on the first week of each month.
• books about nature for younger readers - I love books about nature... animals, plants, national parks, you name it - I will read it. I've had some jobs in environmental education and I've loved them all, so I'd really love to bring a little of that to my blog too by sharing awesome kidlit books about nature. I'll try to review one of these on the second week of each month.
• books about different cultures for younger readers -  I have a lot of varied interests, and I also have a thing for learning about all the amazing cultures in the world. I love books that make learning about people and cultures who are different from yourself a really positive and exciting experience. I love reading folk tales and fairy tales from other cultures as well. I'll try to review one of these on the third week of each month.
• books about strong girls - There are so many books coming out now with stories of girls today and in the past doing awesome things, written for younger readers, teens, and adults as well. I'd love to read some of them and share my favorites on my blog! I'll try to review one of these on the fourth week of each month.

I also have a pretty major policy change to announce. I've been doing some thinking about the kind of place I want my blog to be, and the kind of reviewer I want to be, and I realized I just want my blog to be a positive, happy place and that I want to be a reviewer who shouts from the rooftops about books that I love. With that in mind, I have decided not to post negative reviews on my blog. I'd rather spend my time and effort sharing books that I really loved, spreading the word about them and getting other readers excited to try reading them for themselves. So here's what that means:

• My rating system won't involve stars anymore - each book will get a verdict of "I liked it," "I loved it," or "I'm obsessed with it." I'll be removing all the reviews from my blog that don't fall under those categories.
• My reviews will still be honest! If I don't like a book or don't have anything nice to say about it, I simply won't review it.
• This does not mean that I won't be providing constructive criticism. If I think a book could improve somewhere, I will say it in what I hope is a nice and helpful way. It just means that I won't be bashing books or saying nothing but negative things about them.

I have nothing against blogs or reviewers that post reviews that bash a book - everyone is entitled to their opinion, and those reviews can be fun to read. But the world is feeling a bit unkind and angry to me right now, and I'm making my own small stand against that by pledging my blog to be a place of kindness and positivity.

Wishing you all a happy 2019! I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that I share each New Years - it helps me get in a positive, fresh-start mood, and I hope it helps you feel the same!

From Pinterest