Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
The Lightning Thief
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolAround this time of year we celebrate the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. This date looms large for the hero of our featured book, a kid who just can’t get a break. He’s never seen his father and lives with an odious and repellent stepfather when not away at boarding school for […]
Adventure, Magic, Mythology, Seasons, SummerFeatured on June 21
My Father’s Dragon
Elementary School, Fantasy Around this time of year we celebrate Father’s Day. Now, as a rule, children are not particularly excited to read a book about an adult, even if they love their father. They would rather read about children they want to hang out with. But one of the best children’s books of all times (perfect for […]
Adventure, Animals, ImaginationFeatured on June 19
Brian Jacques
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolSometimes writing the Almanac can be bittersweet, and today is such a day. On my outline for the first year of the Almanac, I set today aside to celebrate the birthday of a very special writer. Unfortunately for me and countless fans, Brian Jacques died suddenly in 2011. He would have been 74 today. During […]
Adventure, Animals, Humor, Mice, RatsFeatured on June 15
Maurice Sendak
Elementary School, Picture BookToday marks the birthday of someone who might best be described as the father of the American picture book—or, probably today, its grandfather. When Maurice Sendak published his masterpiece, Where the Wild Things Are, in 1963, he changed the scope and the possibilities of the picture book for every artist to come after him. He […]
Adventure, Award Winning, Caldecott, Family, ImaginationFeatured on June 10
The Phantom Tollbooth
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle School Today marks the birthday of Norton Juster, a man who should be named the patron saint of all who put pen to paper. One of the things that all writers do, on almost a daily basis, is avoid writing. If most of us put as much energy into writing as we put into not writing, […]
Adventure, Cars, Games, Humor, Imagination, TransportationFeatured on June 2
Half Magic
Elementary School, Fantasy “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, SummerFeatured on May 31
Tom’s Midnight Garden
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolMemorial 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 TravelFeatured on May 30
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Elementary School, FantasyToday 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, TransportationFeatured on May 28
The Wizard of Oz
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle School 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 WorldsFeatured on May 15
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle School 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, ImaginationFeatured on May 14
Holes
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolFor 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, SurvivalFeatured on May 3
The Shakespeare Stealer
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolToday marks both the probable birthday and death day of the most famous author in the English language, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) of Stratford-upon-Avon. In honor of the bard, April 23 has been designated “Talk Like Shakespeare Day.” You can find lots of ideas at TalkLikeShakespeare.org. Call any tormentor a “jackanapes” or “white-livered canker-blossom.” Instead of […]
Adventure, British, History, London, TheaterFeatured on April 23
Gertrude Chandler Warner
Elementary School, FictionToday we honor a writer who has inspired millions of children over the years to fantasize about living in a broken-down railroad boxcar. Born on April 16, 1890, in Putnam, Connecticut, Gertrude Chandler Warner lived across the street from the railroad station. Thirty freight trains might have passed by every day. Young Warner would talk […]
Adventure, Family, SurvivalFeatured on April 16
Ella Enchanted
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolToward the end of March, World Folk Tales and Fables Week has been set up to encourage children and adults to explore the lessons learned from folk tales and fables. I’d like to finish our celebration with one of the most popular retellings of a folk tale published in the last fifteen years. Gail Carson […]
Adventure, Award Winning, Fairy Tale, Magic, Newbery, QuestFeatured on March 27
A Wizard of Earthsea
Elementary School, Fantasy, High School, Middle SchoolMarch has been set aside to recognize the contribution of small presses to our literary heritage. After I had finished selecting books for 100 Best Books for Children, I went back to calculate the percentage that had originally been published by small or independent publishing houses. 10 percent! An amazing figure when you realize that […]
Adventure, Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, QuestFeatured on March 16
A Wrinkle in Time
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle School, Science FictionOn March 12, 1963, the New York Times wrote “A housewife and an artist today won the nation’s top awards for the most distinguished children’s book published in 1962.” This statement doesn’t even hint at the truth—that the most courageous committee in the history of the Newbery and Caldecott Awards had just announced its results. […]
Adventure, Award Winning, Newbery, Other Worlds, ScienceFeatured on March 12
Inkheart
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolOn March 5th we celebrated a relatively new holiday, World Read Aloud Day. I’d like to continue this celebration by talking about my favorite recent read-aloud, written by Germany’s bestselling author for children, Cornelia Funke. Cornelia was brought to the attention of publisher Barry Cunningham by a devoted fan. The girl wrote to Cunningham, who had […]
Adventure, Geography, ImaginationFeatured on March 9
Stone Fox
Elementary School, FictionToday the Iditarod, “the last great race on earth,” begins in Anchorage, Alaska. Dog teams and humans will travel 1,150 miles through Alaskan wilderness to Nome. Some families and classes like to encourage children to pick a team and follow it throughout the month, writing about its journey. And for a story to introduce dog […]
Adventure, Animals, Dogs, Multicultural, Native American, Seasons, Sports, WinterFeatured on March 5
The Notorious Benedict Arnold
Biography, Elementary School, Middle SchoolIn February we celebrate American History Month. When I was a child, I was almost exclusively educated about American history through a series of books, with reddish-orange spines, that told stirring tales about our heroes and heroines. The series was Landmark Books, with titles such as Sterling North’s Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to the White […]
Adventure, History, Revolutionary WarFeatured on February 25
The Story of Babar
Classic, Elementary School, Fantasy, Picture Book, PreschoolNext week, from February 24-28 has been designated as Read Me Week by Reading Is Fundamental to celebrate the importance and fun of reading. All week long, local businesses and organizations who have adopted schools in their area will send out volunteers to read. The week culminates on Read Me Day in Nashville, Tennessee—where local […]
Adventure, Animals, Elephants, France, HumorFeatured on February 23
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Elementary School, FictionToday in 1872 the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its doors for the first time. Founded by a group of businessmen and financiers, the Met was established to bring art and art education to Americans. Over the years, many families, school classes, and children have visited the magnificent collection. But it wasn’t until 1967 that […]
Adventure, Art, Award Winning, Humor, Newbery, SurvivalFeatured on February 20
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolThe sixteen-day celebration of Chinese New Year, marking the year of the Wood Horse, began on January 31. If you want to prepare for this event there is a perfect book to read, published only a few years ago. What does it mean to be a Chinese-American, particularly if most traces of your native culture […]
Adventure, Asian American, Folktale, Multicultural, QuestFeatured on February 3
Lloyd Alexander
Fantasy, Middle SchoolOn January 30,1924, Lloyd Alexander was born in Philadelphia. He knew from the age of fifteen that he wanted to be a writer, and for seventeen years he wrote for adults. Then in 1963, this charming, erudite author published his first children’s book, Time Cat, and 1964, his second, The Book of Three. His editor […]
Adventure, Award Winning, Magic, NewberyFeatured on January 30
Ranger’s Apprentice
All Ages, Fantasy, Middle School, SeriesToday we celebrate Australia Day, when in 1788 the first settlement was established at Port Jackson, now part of Sydney. The Australian writing and illustrating community seems to me to be the most vibrant and original group of children’s book creators working any place in the world. In a few short years Australian writer Marcus […]
Adventure, Magic, QuestFeatured on January 26
The Daring Nellie Bly
Biography, Elementary School, Picture BookOn January 25, 1890, stunt newspaper reporter Nellie Bly arrived in New Jersey, after managing to travel around the world in 72 days. She had set out to beat the record of Jules Verne’s imaginary hero, Phineas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days. This feat was only one of Bly’s accomplishments. In Nellie […]
Adventure, History, Transportation, WomenFeatured on January 25
Black Duck
Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolOn January 16, 1919, the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was certified. The 18th Amendment forbids the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United States. In many areas of the country, people felt justified breaking this particular law. I myself have Ohio ancestors who made and transported illegal liquor during this […]
Adventure, History, Politics, ProhibitionFeatured on January 16
Sorcery & Cecelia
Fantasy, High School, Middle SchoolLetter writing week, celebrating the often-forgotten pleasure of sending a hand-written note, takes place this year from January 9-15. If any book might inspire young readers ages eleven to fourteen, to pick up their pens and start composing, it will be the book of the day, Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer’s Sorcery & Cecelia. Although […]
Adventure, British, History, MagicFeatured on January 14
The Call of the Wild
All Ages, Classic On January 12, 1876, Jack London was born in San Francisco, California. But the event that shaped London’s life occurred in 1896 when he was twenty. Three men who were fishing for salmon – Shookum Jim, Dawson Charlie, and George Carmack—found gold in Rabbit Creek, a small tributary of the Klondike River in Alaska. Because […]
Adventure, Animals, Dogs, Gold Rush, History, SurvivalFeatured on January 12
Robert C. O’Brien
Fantasy, Middle SchoolToday marks the birthday of one of the most reclusive children’s book authors of the 20th century. He was not so, however, because of his personality or because he did not want to engage with children. Robert Leslie Conly was born in Brooklyn in 1918; he studied English at the University of Rochester. Working for […]
Adventure, Animals, Award Winning, Mice, Newbery, SurvivalFeatured on January 11
10 Little Rubber Ducks
Babies and Toddlers, Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolOn January 10, 1992, a cargo of around 29,000 rubber toys—including ducks, beavers, turtles, and frogs—fell overboard from a container ship in the northern Pacific Ocean. Some eventually landed on a remote coast of Alaska. In Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion author Loree Griffin Burns explains what actually happened to […]
Adventure, Animals, Ducks, ToysFeatured on January 10
Walter R. Brooks
Classic, Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle School, Mystery/ThrillerOn January 9, 1886, Walter R. Brooks was born in Rome, New York. Orphaned at an early age, he was sent to a military academy and then attended the University of Rochester. An interest in homeopathic medicine brought him to New York City, where he worked for the Red Cross. He then turned his hand […]
Adventure, Animals, Humor, PigsFeatured on January 9
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.
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