May 1, International Workers Day, is celebrated in more than eighty countries around the world The observance originated in the United States in the 1880s as workers mobilized to secure an eight-hour workday. The Association of American Publishers has designated May as Latino Book Month. So today seems like a perfect time to look at […]
History, Latino, Multicultural, Politics
On May 1 we celebrate a relatively new holiday, Immigration Day. Except for Native Americans, the United States is a nation of immigrants; consequently, hundreds of books for children present the experience of our ancestors from different perspectives. But none enable readers to experience the emotions of an immigrant to a strange country as brilliantly as Shaun […]
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Social Conscience
May has been designated Get Caught Reading Month, a campaign launched in 1999 by the Association of American Publishers. The month has been set aside to remind people how much fun it is to read; posters for the event show favorite children’s book characters or celebrities celebrating books and reading. I’m going to feature two […]
Humor, Imagination, Toys
For Get Caught Reading Month I want to talk about a book published in 1998 destined to become a classic. Whenever I ask audiences which book of the last fifteen years seems most poised for classic status, one title leads all the rest, Louis Sachar’s Holes. A rare winner of the Triple Crown in prizes […]
Adventure, Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Humor, National Book Award, Newbery, Survival
The first week in May has been earmarked Teacher Appreciation Week—to celebrate some of the most important work going on in our society. In preparation for the week, you might want to pick up our book of the day. Perfect for sharing with third through fifth grades, Sarah Miller’s Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller chronicles […]
19th century, History, School, Special Needs, True Story
Today I would like to wish a happy birthday to J. Patrick Lewis. Among the many things Pat and I share in common is a Hoosier childhood; he grew up with a twin brother in Gary, Indiana, and attended Indiana University and Ohio State, where he received his doctorate in economics. But Pat left the […]
Animals, Holidays, Poetry
Starting tomorrow, we celebrate National Wildflower Week (May 6-12th), created by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to “encourage the observations, cultivations and study of native wildflowers.” Today’s book, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, completely embodies the spirit of this week. In this story a spinster librarian travels around the world and eventually returns to […]
20th Century, Gardening, History, Nature
Today I would like to wish happy birthday to one of the loveliest ladies in the children’s book world, illustrator Barbara McClintock. Born in New Jersey, Barbara drew constantly as a child. By the time she reached seven, she knew she wanted to be an artist when she grew up—although she also had designs on […]
Nature, Seasons, Winter
Born on May 6, 1914, Randall Jarrell did not publish his first children’s book until he was fifty. By that time he had established himself as one of America’s premiere poets for adults and was also renowned for his brilliant literary criticism. Michael di Capua, then at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, lured Jarrell into children’s […]
Animals, Family
From May 1–7 we celebrate National Pet Week, with a theme this year of “Save a Life, Adopt a Pet.” Desiring a pet is almost a universal experience of childhood. Usually, the term pet bring to mind dogs, cats, fish, hamsters, or other domesticated animals. But, of course, a pet can be any animal that […]
20th Century, Animals, Award Winning, History, Newbery
Today we celebrate National Babysitter’s Day. Almost every child has had the experience being taken care of by a babysitter—many later even become one themselves—and that story has been played out again and again in children’s books. The protagonists of today’s book, two irrepressible seven-year-old girls, encounter that situation in Ivy + Bean Take Care […]
Family, Humor, Imagination
In the spring of 2012 several first-rate natural disaster books appeared, probably because of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Besides the Titanic books, Sally M. Walker wrote a thrilling account of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 in Blizzard of Glass. Our book of the day by Deborah Kops, The Great Molasses […]
20th Century, History, Science
Today we celebrate Mother’s Day, a time to remember all of the sacrifices and kindnesses of our mothers. As a body of stories, children’s books are probably kinder to fathers than mothers. But our Book-of-the-Day is about a memorable mother and a child who appreciates her. Vera Williams grew up in a household where her […]
Award Winning, Caldecott, Family, Multicultural, Women
Born on May 9, 1906, in West Haven, Connecticut, Eleanor Estes worked in the New York Public Library until her first book, The Moffats, was published in 1941. Although she won the Newbery Award for Ginger Pye in 1951, Estes’s earlier book, The Hundred Dresses, has emerged as one of our most unusual and powerful […]
School, Social Conscience
On May 10, 1930, Edward Stratemeyer, author and empire builder, died. He began his career as a ghostwriter for the Horatio Alger series, then fashioned his own adventures about the Rover Boys. In 1906 Stratemeyer began to hire freelance writers to develop his ideas. He created nothing less than a literary assembly line—in the end […]
Women
On May 11, 1894, Martha Graham was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of sixteen, she saw her first dance performance “and that night my fate was sealed.” In her early twenties Graham moved to Greenwich Village, New York, and joined the Follies, with assorted animal acts and chorus girls. In 1926 she started […]
20th Century, Dance, History, Women
This week we celebrate the annual observance of Children’s Book Week. In April, an exhibit of the work of Bernard Waber opened at the Eric Carle Picture Book Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. About a hundred people attended the opening, including a roster of writers and illustrators who had known and loved Bernie Waber. Meeting Bernie’s […]
Family, Toys
In an ongoing effort to promote books by Latinos, the Association of American Publishers has designated May as Latino Book Month. During May they hope booksellers, librarians, and teachers will encourage people in their communities to read Latino books in both English and Spanish. Later in the month we’ll look at a book by Francisco […]
Award Winning, Family, Great Depression, History, Latino, Multicultural, Pura Belpré
This week we celebrate Children’s Book Week, a great time to look at old classics and new favorites. A couple of years ago for Scholastic Book Clubs, I worked with more than twenty children’s book experts to identify the best books to include in their offerings. When we took our original ballot, before discussion, one […]
Humor
This week Reading Is Fundamental celebrates an important concept: Reading Is Fun Week. Nothing will guarantee the reading success of children more than if they find enjoyment in reading. Today I’m going to look at a picture book that is sure to delight young readers. In Kevin Henkes’s Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, a young mouse absolutely […]
Humor, School
This week we celebrate Children’s Book Week. Our book of the day is one that Carol Rasco from Reading Is Fundamental—who should be given sainthood for her tireless efforts on behalf of children and reading—recommended to me. Although we know that children want reading to be fun, our preschool books for children often tend to inform […]
Transportation
Today for RIF’s Reading Is Fun week, I’d like to look at a recent novel. When I ask young readers what books they adore reading, one title keeps coming up—Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society. During the last five years, end-of-the-world, dystopian novels have started to dominate publishing lists and children’s reading lists. All […]
Adventure, Imagination
Today marks the birthday of the American author, Lyman Frank Baum. He worked in a variety of jobs—journalist, actor, theater manager, salesman. In fact, he may well have been the inspiration for his most famous character: the Wizard of Oz. In 1900 Baum released the first book about Oz, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a […]
Adventure, Humor, Other Worlds
May has been designated both Personal History Month and Latino Book Month. Both experiences can be found in one of the most remarkable autobiographies of the last twenty years, Francisco Jiménez’s The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. Now a university professor, Jiménez began his journey toward United States citizenship as a […]
20th Century, Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, History, Latino, Multicultural
In May of 1945—around the time of Victory in Europe Day in World War II—a small book appeared on the list of Harper and Brothers. A quirky, offbeat title, it was not advertised that year and did not seem a likely candidate for celebrity status in the picture book world. But when it comes to […]
Family, Gardening
May 18 has been designated Visit Your Relatives Day. The idea of a trip to see family members can bring many different images to mind. When I was a child, one of my happiest times each year came during the month of July when my father, my mother, my two sisters, and I got in […]
Award Winning, Caldecott, Family, Humor
On May 19, 1961, Venera 1 became the first man-made object to fly by another planet, Venus, as part of the ongoing exploration of Earth’s solar system. May not only marks this occasion but is also the month we celebrate Get Caught Reading Month . Together these two facts make me think of Seymour Simon and […]
Science
On May 19, 1933, Tom Feelings was born in Brooklyn, New York. An African-American, he chose to spend many years of his adult life in Africa, seeking to understand his heritage. As an artist and picture book illustrator, he presented what he discovered about African culture and history. While in Africa in the 1960s, Feelings […]
African American, Award Winning, Caldecott, History, Multicultural, Slavery
In May, the Association of American Publishers celebrates Get Caught Reading Month—publicity for the event includes posters of famous people each absorbed in a good book. Certainly, any book featured on the Almanac over the past year would be great to be caught reading. But I’d like to showcase a series that not only engages […]
Adventure, Dystopia, Survival
Today has been designated Be a Millionaire Day. Oddly enough, the topics of money and becoming rich rarely find their way into the plots of children’s books. Still the preoccupation of being richer than you are must be a universal childhood fantasy. The book of the day, Gordon Korman’s Swindle focuses on some children who […]
Humor
On May 21, 1904, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris. Today the Fédération administers the World Cup. What the rest of the world calls “football” has been renamed soccer in the United States. Over the last decade, because of soccer’s obvious advantages—an exciting game, team play, and inexpensive equipment—the sport […]
Family, Soccer, Sports
On May 21, 1904, The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris. Today the Federation administers the World Cup. Football— renamed soccer in the States—is a favorite sport around the world because it’s an exciting game, played as a team, and uses inexpensive equipment. But for years soccer remained a relatively unknown […]
Soccer, Sports
In England, May has been designated Local and Community History Month to “increase awareness of local history, promote history in general in the local community, and encourage all members of the community to participate.” This is such a great concept that I want to advocate that we celebrate local history month in America as well. […]
History, Politics, Social Conscience
On May 23, 1935, Susan Cooper was born in England. While at Oxford, she listened to lectures by J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, who had set up the curriculum in English Literature and Language. Although this meant as a student that she didn’t read much written past 1832, it did give her a lot […]
England, Magic, Technology
Today marks the birthday of one of the greatest children’s book creators of the twentieth century, Margaret Wise Brown. Although she died suddenly of an embolism at the age of forty-two, Brown wrote more than one hundred books, including Runaway Bunny and her classic Goodnight Moon. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Brown grew up on Long […]
Animals, Bedtime, Rabbits
Today has been designated Brother’s Day—a celebration of brotherhood for biological brothers, fraternity brothers, and brothers bonded by union affiliation or lifetime experience. As could be predicted, children’s books frequently focus on sibling relationships, both brothers and sisters. After all, in childhood these relationships loom large in our lives. When I think of brothers in […]
20th Century, Family, History, Religion/Spirituality
May has been designed Egg Month—dedicated to the versatility, convenience, and good nutrition of “The incredible edible egg.”TM Children’s book writers and illustrators have always been bullish on eggs—at least as the subject matter for books. Just think of classics like Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg or Oliver Butterworth’s The Enormous Egg. But my […]
Animals, Award Winning, Caldecott, Nature
Organizers of National Bike Month—established to celebrate bicycling for fun, fitness, and transportation—estimate that five million people will participate in biking activities across the country during May. Certainly for many people, nothing says “good weather” and “good times” as much as the idea of a bike trip, however long or short. I just wish the […]
Animals, Ducks, Humor
May serves as both Personal History Awareness Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. When I saw these events, I immediately thought of one of the most amazing novels of the last ten years, Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Although Zusak grew up in Australia, his mother had lived in Munich during the reign of Hitler […]
Award Winning, History, Jewish, Multicultural, Printz, World War II
On May 27, 1818, Amelia Jenks was born in Homer, New York. She married an attorney named Dexter Bloomer, who encouraged her to write for his paper, the Seneca Falls Country Courier. Amelia became a strong voice for both temperance and women’s rights. She also had the good fortune of having a piece of clothing […]
History, Politics, Women's Suffrage
This week we celebrated Memorial Day, a time to honor those who have defended us during wartime. But unofficially it also means the beginning of summer, a time to bring out the barbecue and plan for warmer days. If you have any industrious children ages seven through twelve looking for some summer inspiration, you might […]
Family, Food
Today marks the 103rd birthday of British writer, journalist, and Naval Intelligence Officer, Ian Fleming. If his name sounds unfamiliar, you’re sure to know the character he created “Bond. James Bond,” who has become part of our cultural landscape, just like Sherlock Holmes. Like other authors who first distinguished themselves writing for adults – E. B. […]
Adventure, Cars, Family, Transportation
Get out your party clothes! Today those in the know celebrate National Paper Clip Day. The modern version of this lowly but extremely useful object was patented on November 9, 1899 by William D. Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut. But during World War II the paper clip became the symbol of national unity in Norway. Forbidden […]
Animals, Award Winning, Blindness, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Dogs, Humor, School, Special Needs
Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer. For children summer often means more unstructured time when they can enjoy their own activities. The hero of our book of the day, Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden, Tom Long has been looking forward to his summer idyll with his brother, Peter. But Peter comes down with […]
Adventure, Gardening, Ghosts, History, Time Travel
“It began one day in summer about thirty years ago, and it happened to four children.” So begins the book of the day, a perfect story about summer. This book holds a unique place in the children’s book canon. It is the only one I know where the author admitted to copying, shamelessly, from another author […]
Adventure, Humor, Imagination, Magic, Seasons, Summer
Daily children’s book recommendations and events from Anita Silvey.
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics . . .
The new books on their way to becoming classics . . .
And events from the world of children’s books—and the world at large.
Search the archives for recommendations by age group, book type, subject, date, and more.
