2026 Holiday Reading Challenge | The Running Bibliophile

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Who doesn’t love a good challenge, especially when it pushes you to read outside your comfort zone or discover a new author? I’ve always wanted to join a reading challenge or reading bingo, but so many of them feel repetitive. So, I decided to create something a little different. It doesn’t mean a challenge like this isn’t out there; I just haven’t come across one myself. Introducing The Running Bibliophile’s 2026 Holiday Reading Challenge, a fun and unique way to expand your reading list while celebrating the spirit of the year. This challenge features 14 books of your choice, with one key twist: each book’s plot must revolve around the specific holiday mentioned. The challenge runs for January 1 through January 31, 2026. To keep things exciting, you may not duplicate any books on the list. By the time you've completed the challenge, you will have read 14 new books to diversify your reading list. To kick things off, the first prompt is simple: choose any holiday-themed book as l...
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Book Review: The Berenstain Bears and the Nerdy Nephew by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain

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Children's Book Review of The Berenstain Bears and the Nerdy Nephew by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
The Berenstain Bears and the Nerdy Nephew by Stan and Jan Berenstain is about a new student named Ferdy Factual who is a stuck up know it all. He is rude to Brother & Sister no matter how nice they are to him. When other students begin to bully Ferdy, he realizes he actually needs friends like Brother & Sister. 

As a child, I loved reading picture books with some of my favorite stories being part of The Berenstain Bears books by Stan and Jan Berenstain. I never knew that Stan & Jan Berenstain had made their famous books into chapter books as well. It wasn't until BookBub.com sent me an email about a bundle of these chapter books being on sale that I knew of them. As a side note, I always thought the books were The Berenstein Bears. Boy was I surprised to learn I was wrong!

the berenstain bears and the nerdy nephew

The Berenstain Bears and the Nerdy Nephew is a great chapter book for younger children just starting out to read . . . I'd recommend it for six to eight year old kids. It was super cute and taught a great lesson about bullying. I love the fact that Stan and Jan Berenstain write books that have teachable situations that are relatable to kids without it being condescending to their audience. For such a short book, the authors did a great job in character development that you don't always see in children's books. I gave it four out of five stars. If you loved this book, I'd recommend Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard.


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