Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
I’m My Own Dog
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday we celebrate National Dress Up Your Pet Day. But not my dog Lancelot. Like many Bernese Mountain Dogs, he possesses an incredible sense of dignity. The only item he has ever allowed added to be added to his already regal appearance is a jingle-bell collar at Christmas. For all who are thinking about dressing […]
Animals, Dogs, HumorFeatured on January 14
Rain Reign
Elementary School, FictionDecember has been designated Read a New Book Month, and today I want to talk about my favorite new book of 2014, Ann M. Martin’s Rain Reign. For some time Ann Martin has qualified as one of the heroines of the 20-something crowd I teach in various graduate programs. Always, when I ask my students […]
Animals, Autism, Dogs, Special NeedsFeatured on December 22
Flashlight
Picture Book, PreschoolIn 1965, UNESCO set aside a day to highlight to individuals and communities the importance of literacy, and deemed it International Literacy Day. People celebrate it around the world every year on September 8. But before children can become verbally literate, they need to develop visual literacy. In our book of the day, Flashlight, Lizi […]
AnimalsFeatured on September 8
Brave Chicken Little
Elementary School, Picture BookAugust has been designated Get Ready for Kindergarten month, so this month’s Almanac entries focus on books that discuss the kindergarten experience. When I think about what reading heritage all kindergarten-bound children should be familiar with, I think of folklore and fairy tales. Robert Byrd’s Brave Chicken Little, a variation on the familiar tale, was […]
Animals, Fairy TaleFeatured on August 28
Farmer Duck
Today I’d like to wish a very happy birthday to Helen Oxenbury, one of our most accomplished children’s book illustrators. Helen turned to illustration as a second career when her own child was born. An accomplished set designer for theater, television, and film, she had already observed the pleasure her husband, John Burningham (whom she […]
Animals, Ducks, Politics, Social ConscienceFeatured on June 2
World Rat Day
Elementary School, Poetry 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, PoetryFeatured on May 5
Pug and Other Animal Poems
Elementary School, Poetry April is National Poetry Month; on the Almanac site I have already talked about one of my favorite books of poetry, Valerie Worth’s All the Small Poems and Fourteen More. Today let’s look at a picture book of Worth’s poems illustrated by Steve Jenkins, Pug and Other Animal Poems. A graduate of Swarthmore who worked […]
Animals, PoetryFeatured on April 21
Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture Book February has been designated Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month. Of course, any time we connect children with a good book, seeds are being planted. But certainly children of the twenty-first century will need both math and science skills for the duration of their lives, and exciting books in this area are far too hard […]
Animals, ScienceFeatured on February 17
The Bear’s Song
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolFrom January 19–25, we celebrate Hunt for Happiness Week. A perfect book for this week has been sitting on my shelf for months: Benjamin Chaud’s The Bear’s Song. A large picture book at 14 ½ inches tall by 9 ¾ inches wide, The Bear’s Song first appeared in France and has been published in the […]
Animals, Bears, ImaginationFeatured on January 20
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Elementary School, Picture BookToday we celebrate a little-recognized holiday, “Thank Goodness It’s Monday,” and an event that lasts for all of January, The Celebration of Life. These two seemingly incongruous observances remind me of one of my favorite picture books of 2013, Peter Brown’s Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. Now, for want of a better term, I am a […]
Animals, HumorFeatured on January 6
Wendell Minor’s America
All Ages Every now and then on the Almanac, I like to discuss a book about children’s books, written for adults. Today, for Read a New Book Month, the Almanac features Wendell Minor’s America: 25 Years of Children’s Book Art, published by the Norman Rockwell Museum in conjunction with their current Wendell Minor exhibit. In this gorgeous […]
Animals, Art, HistoryFeatured on December 9
Mr. Wuffles!
Elementary School, Picture BookDecember has been designated Read a New Book Month. Often in December, we hunt for something recently published that will make the perfect gift. Now, I admit that I favor dog books. And my readers have been patient with me as I rhapsodize over titles like Love that Dog or Homer, month after month. But […]
Animals, Cats, Humor, Imagination, TechnologyFeatured on December 2
Bunnicula
Elementary School, Fantasy Around this time of year, I prepare myself for Halloween madness. I’ve never enjoyed scary nights or stories. So today my recommendation is for anyone who wants a quasi-horror story that uses the elements of horror but blends them with a lot of humor. First published in 1979, Deborah and James Howe’s Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale […]
Animals, Humor, RabbitsFeatured on October 28
Just So Stories
Classic, Elementary School, Short Stories Today we celebrate the birthday of an illustrator who can list among his many accomplishments creating art for The Bible. Barry Moser was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then came East to teach. While living in western Massachusetts, he met and worked with Leonard Baskin, premier illustrator and printmaker. Moser himself became renowned […]
AnimalsFeatured on October 15
Flora & Ulysses
Elementary School, Fantasy October is National Reading Group Month, and our author of the day, Kate diCamillo, has always been one of my favorite choices for reading groups. Now, I admit I am a sucker for a Kate DiCamillo story. From the beginning of her first book Because of Winn Dixie to the last page of Flora & […]
Animals, SquirrelsFeatured on October 8
Lulu and the Duck in the Park
Elementary School, Fiction During the week of August 11–17 a relatively new cause is celebrated: feeding the pets of the homeless. The philosophy behind the Give a Dog a Bone campaign is that “No pet should go hungry or suffer.” In a book of the day, Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay, the heroine […]
Animals, Ducks, SchoolFeatured on August 12
Where Is the Green Sheep?
Babies and Toddlers, Picture Book, Preschool Around this time of year Ohio celebrates Sheep Day! In Wayne County at the Sheep Research Unit, Ohio State University faculty, staff, and students convene to discuss how to successfully raise sheep. If I were anywhere near this event, I’d go because I have a soft spot for sheep. Instead I’ll pick up the book […]
Animals, BedtimeFeatured on July 13
Waiting for Wings
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday we celebrate Butterfly Day, a time to go out and gaze at some of nature’s most beautiful creatures. They lift their wings and our spirits. My favorite butterfly book since 2001 has been Lois Ehlert’s Waiting for Wings, an oversized volume that highlights butterflies and the plants that sustain them. Lois Ehlert always knew […]
Animals, Gardening, Insects, Science, ZoologyFeatured on June 19
Lucky Ducklings
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool At the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam on June 5, they acknowledge Dead Duck Day and discuss ways to prevent these winged city dwellers from colliding into windows. I, however, don’t like to use Almanac pages to feature dead ducks or dead dogs. But our book of the day, Eva Moore’s Lucky Ducklings, does explore […]
Animals, Ducks, True StoryFeatured on June 5
One-Eyed Cat
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolToday marks the birthday of writer Paula Fox, born in New York City. Her memoir Borrowed Finery tells the haunting story of her childhood and her rejection by her mother who left her in an orphanage. Paula was initially raised by Reverend Elwood Corning and his bedridden mother; later Fox’s Cuban grandmother took care of […]
Animals, Award Winning, Cats, Family, Great Depression, History, NewberyFeatured on April 22
Book of Animal Poetry
Elementary School, Poetry, PreschoolApril 15 is, of course, tax day—but I have never found a suitable book on the subject for the Almanac. Some concerns really are not appropriate for children. Instead I will focus on a perfect title for Poetry Month, J. Patrick Lewis’s Book of Animal Poetry. In March at the Charlotte Huck Festival in Redlands, […]
Animals, Science, ZoologyFeatured on April 15
Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems
Elementary School, Poetry Happy April Fools’ Day! As someone quite gullible, I find this day taxing. But since April is also Poetry Month, I have a reason to celebrate today. In a new offering that will appeal to both adults and children, Jack Prelutsky has teamed up with the talented Carin Berger to create a book that provides […]
Animals, Art, ScienceFeatured on April 1
Good Night, Gorilla
Picture Books, PreschoolToday marks the birthday of Peggy Rathmann. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Peggy studied commercial art and crafted picture books at the Otis Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles. In 1991 she published her first book, Ruby the Copycat, and was immediately hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “Promising New Author.” Promising indeed. Within […]
Animals, BedtimeFeatured on March 4
Road Trip
Elementary School, FictionFebruary has been designated Responsible Pet Owners Month. The book of the day, Jim Paulsen and Gary Paulsen’s Road Trip, has been dedicated to “everyone who’s ever loved and been loved by a really good dog.” It was pressed into my hands recently by Carol Stoltz of Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when I […]
Animals, DogsFeatured on February 11
The Tree House
Elementary School, Picture BooksIn the first week in February, we celebrate Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week. Of course, on the Almanac I celebrate them every day of the year. But still I appreciate a week where everyone can focus on these extraordinary people. After being in the field for more than forty years, I love finding an author-illustrator […]
Animals, Art, Award WinningFeatured on February 4
Homer
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolNovember has been designated Adopt a Senior Pet Month. Most families want to find a puppy or kitten when they chose a pet, but there are so many benefits in bringing a more mature animal into the house. My own senior pet, a Bernese mountain dog named Lady, turns twelve this month. Two years ago […]
Animals, Dogs, FamilyFeatured on November 6
Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals
Elementary School, Nonfiction, PreschoolToday marks the birthday of Ed Emberley. Ed was born in Malden, Massachusetts, graduated from the Massachusetts School of Art, and then painted signs for the army and worked in commercial illustration. In the late fifties he began publishing books with the then-Boston firm of Little Brown and Company. For Ed Emberley, working on books […]
Animals, Art, NatureFeatured on October 19
George and Martha
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolWere he still living, I’d be sending birthday greetings to Jim Marshall today. He died at the age of fifty, much too young and with too many great books still to come. And I have missed him, personally and professionally, for twenty years. A highly sophisticated human being, Jim grew up in San Antonio, Texas, […]
Animals, FriendshipFeatured on October 10
The Fire Cat
Beginning Readers, Elementary School, FictionOctober happens to be Fire Pup Month. But even old dogs can learn new tricks—and today I will be writing about a cat, not a dog! This year I’ve been meeting with a group of children’s book experts and enthusiasts to choose a small library of the best children’s books. Through this project I have […]
Animals, Cars, Cats, TransportationFeatured on October 1
The Animal Family
Elementary School, Fiction 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, FamilyFeatured on May 6
Step Gently Out
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool In April we’ve been celebrating Poetry Month. I actually wish every day were Poetry Day for children and that a poems were part of their daily literary diet. In the last couple of years, single poetry volumes for children ages two through eight—the work of Joyce Sidman and books like Marilyn Singer’s Mirror Mirror—have increased. […]
Animals, Insects, NatureFeatured on April 24
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.
-
Tools
SUBSCRIBE
SEARCHFind A Book!
Search the archives for recommendations by age group, book type, subject, date, and more.
-
