My 2021 Book Awards

Looking back at all of the books I read in 2021, I came up with some distinct favorites, and thought I would share them with you in my own version of a book awards. 🙂

I broke the books into several categories (because who can choose just a few books?), and these are all books that I read for the first time in 2021. Some are old, some are brand-new, but all were amazing, and I ended up buying several of these!

I picked three books for each category (except for series, where I just couldn’t narrow it down, so it has some honorable mentions.)

Without further ado-my 2021 Book Awards!

Children’s Books

Julia’s House Goes Home by Ben Hatke-this entire series is delightful, and this final book is no exception.

The Wolf the Duck and the Mouse by Mac Barnett-I am a huge fan of Mac Barnett, and this one is definitely a favorite.

The Hiking Viking by Lauren Gehl-this is a sweet, fun book that reminded me a lot of the How to Train Your Dragon series. It has great art too!

Children’s Novels

Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers by Chris Grabenstein-it’s clean, it’s funny, and just well-written.

Spy School at Sea by Stuart Gibbs-this is the newest book in one of our very favorite series, and it did not disappoint!

The Strangers (the Greystone Secrets #1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix-the premise of this series is fantastic and so well-done. I have read the first two books so far, and need to finish the series, but I really liked the first book especially.

Children’s Wordless Picture Books

One Little Bag by Henry Cole-beautiful story, fantastic art!

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin-cute story-the pictures are so interesting and clever.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman-this author was new to me this year, and while this one was my favorite, there were plenty of good ones to choose from!

Children’s Books Based on a True Story

Boardwalk Babies by Marissa Moss-fascinating, great art, and well-written

Headstrong Hallie! by Aimee Bissonette-this gal had such an interesting life-great book!

The Floating Field by Scott Riley-so interesting-I enjoyed this one!

Illustrations

Prairie Days by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Micha Archer-the art is absolutely amazing, and I totally bought this one.

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg, illustrated by Richard Cowdrey-this is so well-done-especially the faces-love it!

Miriam at the River by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Khoa Le-gorgeous art-the colors are amazing!

Series

How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell-one of my favorite series of all time-I can’t recommend this one enough!

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan-this series was a lot of fun to read-very entertaining

Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien (book one) and Jane Leslie Conly (books two and three)-I had no idea there was more than one book in this series, and they were all very, very good.

Honorable Mentions:

Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein-another great series we all enjoyed

Arlo Finch by John August-I really liked this series-very entertaining and creative

The Castle Glower by Jessica Day George-I have only read the first three, but like them all.

Novels

Jingle all the Way by Debbie Macomber-I really loved this book-so good! I want to buy it!

The Beirut Protocol by Joel C. Rosenberg-I love this series, and this was another good one. Very exciting!

The Crown of Rosemund by Michele Ashman Bell-what a great story-loved it!

Non-Fiction

Gelli Arts Printing Guide-informative, full of good ideas, and got my creative juices flowing!

The Essentials of Home-Grown Flour by Sue Becker-I learned so much, and even started grinding my own flour after reading this!

Speechless by Michael Knowles-well-written and very interesting

Biographies

Limitless by Mallory Weggemann-fascinating story, and so inspiring!

What’s So Funny by Tim Conway-this was pretty funny, and so interesting to hear his life story.

Daniel Boone: Frontiersman by Janet Benge-we love the Heroes of History series, and this one was very good!

So there you have it-my favorite books of 2021! There were so many great books to pick from, but these are definitely my favorites.

I hope you found this interesting, and that you maybe even found a new book or two to read for next year!

Happy last day of 2021, and stayed tuned for lots more reading posts in 2022!

My 2021 Top Ten Favorite Recipes

Today I thought I would share my favorite recipes that I discovered in 2021.

GF/DF Wild Rice Soup-this soup is delicious, and I just love it!

original post found here

Italian Bread-this makes the perfect complement to soup!

original post found here

King Arthur GF/DF Bread-I tried so many GF/DF bread recipes this year, and while this one isn’t perfect, it is by far the best I have made so far.

original post found here

GF/DF Granola Bars-these are very tasty, and I make them all.the.time.

original post found here

GF/DF Nice Cream-it still amazes me that you can make tasty ice cream out of bananas, but you definitely can!

original post found here

GF/DF Waffles-these are definitely dense, but delicious, and I make a quadruple batch about once a month because they are a favorite around here!

original post found here

GF/DF Peanut Butter Brownies-one of my favorite desserts-don’t make unless you have other people around to help eat them-they are too dangerous! And, a bonus that they are GF/DF!

original post found here

Loaded Baked Potato Soup-this soup is so tasty, and so very quick and easy to make! FYI-since my original post, I have eliminated the cream cheese-it’s not needed.

original post found here

Air Fryer Potato Wedges-very tasty!

original post found here

Apple Chips-I now make these in my new dehydrator, but they are still a staple in my house and I like to have a jar full on the shelf!

original post found here

Have you tried any of these recipes? If not, I encourage you to give one a try, and make something delicious today!

Wednesday Words

pin found here

Merry Christmas!

pin found here

Christmas Card Day Twenty Three!

It’s the twenty-third day in my Christmas card series, and Merry Christmas Eve!

Today is the last day in my card series, and today I am showing you my attempt at a slimline card.

I think this is only my second one ever, but I had so many characters I wanted to put on this card, I had to go big!

Here is today’s card:

Supplies: Stamps and Dies: Avery Elle; Other: Tree Die, Slim Line Dies, Card Stock

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut #573:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Party:

Hope you have enjoyed the cards this year. I sure had fun sharing them!