Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
Ivy and Bean
Elementary School, Fiction 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, ImaginationFeatured on May 7
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
Shark vs. Train
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool 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, ToysFeatured on May 2
Brontorina
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool From April 26- May 5, we celebrate National Dance Week, a time to reflect on the benefits and beauty of dance and its ability “to enrich our lives, our bodies, our spirits and our culture.” Dance, dancers, and ballet have always proved fertile ground for children’s book creators. Angelina Ballerina and Ballet of the Elephants […]
Dance, Dinosaurs, HumorFeatured on April 28
Library Lion
Elementary School, Picture Book This week we have been celebrating National Library Week. All kinds of libraries—school, public, and academic—participate in this annual event that celebrates the contributions of our nation’s libraries. If you haven’t registered a child for a library card recently, you will be pleasantly surprised about the offerings in children’s rooms of modern public libraries. Videos, […]
Animals, Humor, Imagination, LionsFeatured on April 15
My Dog May Be a Genius
Elementary School, Poetry April marks National Poetry Month and on April 18 we celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day, a day much beloved by school children and poetry enthusiasts. The idea behind the event is quite simple: select a poem that you love and carry it with you today to share with classmates, coworkers, family, and friends. Activities […]
Animals, Dogs, HumorFeatured on April 14
Henry Huggins
Elementary School, FictionAll 95th birthdays are special, but today marks this important milestone for one of America’s most beloved writers for children, Beverly Cleary. When Cleary’s characters are listed—Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, Ribsy, Ralph S. Mouse—they remind people of childhood favorites, even friends. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, on April 12, 1916, Beverly Alice Bunn lived for a […]
Animals, Dogs, Family, Humor, SchoolFeatured on April 12
Maniac Magee
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolTwenty-one years ago, in April 1990, Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee was published. I first read an advanced reading copy of the book before it was published and then watched it sweep the prizes, including the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and Newbery Medal. Still going strong, it has now become a classic, one of the books […]
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Family, Humor, Newbery, SchoolFeatured on April 8
The Teacher’s Funeral
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolOn April 5, 1934, Richard Peck was born in Decatur, Illinois. After training to be a teacher, he spent years working with students and did not write his first novel until he was thirty-seven. Then he made up for lost time! If ever there was a Renaissance figure in the field of children’s and young […]
Award Winning, Family, History, Humor, Newbery, SchoolFeatured on April 5
The Enormous Egg
Elementary School, FantasyApril has been designation National Humor Month. Many children tell adults that they just want funny books. One of my favorites in this category, Oliver Butterworth’s The Enormous Egg was created in 1956 and concerns a favorite topic of children: dinosaurs. Nate Twichell, an ordinary boy in Freedom, New Hampshire, helps on the family farm […]
Dinosaurs, HumorFeatured on April 4
Rules
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolIn 2007, April 2 was designated World Autism Awareness Day by the General Assembly of the United Nations, because of the prevalence and high rate of autism in children. In the past few years several notable children’s books have included a child with autism or a focus on autism. My favorite book on the topic […]
Autism, Award Winning, Family, Humor, Newbery, Special NeedsFeatured on April 2
Clementine
Elementary School, Fiction March has been designated Exotic Winter Fruit Month and Leeks & Green Onions Month. When I think of winter fruit, my mind instantly conjures up one of the most engaging heroines developed in the past few years in children’s books—a very fresh and cheeky third grader named Clementine. She also has a baby brother, and […]
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Family, HumorFeatured on March 28
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Classic, Elementary School, FictionOn March 26, 1908, Betty MacDonald was born in Boulder, Colorado. Because her father worked as a mining engineer, she spent many years of her childhood traveling around the West. Eventually settling in Seattle, MacDonald attended the University of Washington and wrote The Egg and I, a funny account of her married life on a […]
Family, Humor, Imagination, MagicFeatured on March 26
Everything on a Waffle
Elementary School, FictionToday marks International Waffle Day, a holiday that originated in Sweden. Waffles have a long, glorious history. In Colonial times President Thomas Jefferson brought a long-handled waffle iron from France to the U.S. In 1869 Cornelius Swarthout, a man with a great Dutch name, patented the first U.S. waffle iron. Believe it or not, there […]
Family, Food, HumorFeatured on March 25
Busy, Busy Town
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday has been designated International Goof-Off Day—a day to relax, be yourself, and avoid what you are supposed to do. If you are in the position to celebrate International Goof-Off Day, you first might want to read Tony Fucile’s Let’s Do Nothing for tips. But I myself am happiest when working at something I like […]
Animals, Humor, ImaginationFeatured on March 22
Spoon
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool Today marks National Cereal Day, so raise a glass of milk or a cup of coffee to your favorite brand. Americans are, as group, addicted to cereal. I recently a saw a Facebook post by someone overseas who lamented she could not get her favorite American cereal in this foreign country. Our book of the […]
Food, Humor, ImaginationFeatured on March 7
Doctor De Soto
Elementary School, Fantasy, Picture BookToday we celebrate National Dentist Day. Suggestions for the day include delivering a thank-you note to your dentist—although I would recommend giving them the book of the day instead. For me, the greatest book ever written about a dentist is also one of the best picture books of the twentieth century: Doctor De Soto by […]
Animals, Award Winning, Humor, Imagination, Mice, NewberyFeatured on March 6
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
Babies and Toddlers, Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolOn March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize for lifetime contribution, one of the few children’s book creators ever so honored, and his books have sold over 200 million copies. Like so many of our pivotal children’s book creators, Seuss struggled to get his first book […]
Humor, ImaginationFeatured on March 2
Babe
Elementary School, FantasyToday marks National Pig Day. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of pig books for me to choose from. Intelligent and humorous, pigs make a naturally intriguing subject for children. I first read the book of the day in 1984, and I have never fallen so hard or so fast for a new title for […]
Animals, Humor, Imagination, PigsFeatured on March 1
Tooth Fairy Day
Elementary School, Fantasy, Picture Book, PreschoolOn February 28, Tooth Fairy Day commemorates our love and affection to the kindly tooth fairy and her generosity to children. Many retain wonderful childhood memories of placing a tooth under the pillow and finding some coins in the morning. But does the tooth fairy visit everyone—all over the globe? In Throw Your Tooth on […]
Bedtime, Family, HumorFeatured on February 28
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolIn February we celebrate Black History Month, and today I want to present one of the finest debut novels of the 1990s, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. Although Christopher Paul Curtis has emerged as one of the most brilliant and beloved writers of his era, he did not immediately find a publisher. I know two […]
African American, Civil Rights, Family, History, Humor, MulticulturalFeatured on February 26
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
Smile
Elementary School, Graphic Novel, Memoir, Middle SchoolFebruary has been designated National Children’s Dental Health Month—to increase awareness and stress the importance of regular dental care. In 2010 New York Times bestselling author Raina Telgemeier published a graphic memoir, ideal for ten- to fourteen-year olds called Smile. In 214 pages Telgemeier presents the struggles of her protagonist, Raina, who has two front […]
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Family, Health, Humor, SchoolFeatured on February 16
Simms Taback
Babies and Toddlers, Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday marks the birthday of one of our most innovative illustrators and Caldecott winners, Simms Taback. When Simms won the award in 2000 for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, so many members of the illustration community delighted in this news not only because they had long admired his work but also because he had worked […]
Art, Award Winning, Caldecott, Humor, Jewish, Multicultural, MusicFeatured on February 13
Pinocchio
Classic, Elementary School, Middle School On February 7, 1940, RKO Radio Pictures released the second Walt Disney animated film, Pinocchio. As a child who fell under its spell, I remember many of its virtues—cutting edge animation, Academy Awards for the Best Original Score and Original Song, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and the delightful Jiminy Cricket. Hence, imagine my […]
Dolls, Humor, Imagination, School, ToysFeatured on February 7
Harry the Dirty Dog
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool Today for children’s authors and artists week, I’d like to honor a nonagenarian who published her first children’s book sixty years ago, Margaret Bloy Graham. Born in Canada, Margaret moved to New York in the 1940s to work as a commercial illustrator. During that time she became good friends with two other U.S. immigrants, Hans […]
Animals, Bedtime, Dogs, HumorFeatured on February 5
Flat Stanley
Elementary School, FantasyIn this age of the Internet, tweets, Facebook, and e-mail, we may not take time for today’s celebration: Thank the Mailman Day. Even titles like James Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice seem a bit arcane. Mine doesn’t even ring once. But there is at least one classic children’s book that owes everything to postal […]
Humor, ImaginationFeatured on February 4
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool Today Judith Viorst, author, poet, and journalist, celebrates her birthday. She became known as a writer through her Redbook columns, full of witty and stylish prose, often about family life. They naturally led to a series of children’s books, some of them addressing childhood psychological issues. The Tenth Good Thing About Barney helps children process […]
Family, HumorFeatured on February 2
Bill Peet
Elementary School, Picture BookIn the next two days, I’m going to celebrate the birthdays of two of the twentieth century’s great creators—one an illustrator, one an author. For several decades January 29 has been a birthday dear to me. In the last week of January, during Bill Peet’s lifetime, thousands of cards and greetings arrived from children across […]
Animals, HumorFeatured on January 29
Martha Speaks
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolJanuary is appropriately named National Soup Month. Inevitably, when the weather turns chilly, I gravitate toward warm soup, a fire, and a good book. Susan Meddaugh began her career as a graphic designer in the children’s book department of Houghton Mifflin. She worked with James Marshall, Bill Peet, Bernie Waber, and David Macaulay, among others, […]
Animals, Dogs, HumorFeatured on January 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.
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