Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
Words to My Life’s Song
Elementary School, Memoir, Middle SchoolToday marks a very special birthday: the 88th of author and illustrator Ashley Bryan. Born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Ashley has lived on an island off the coast of Maine for years. He gets to stay there less than he might like, because he is in so much demand as a speaker. […]
20th Century, African American, Art, Award Winning, History, MulticulturalFeatured on July 13
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolJuly has been designated both Family Reunion Month and National Black Family Month. We all need to take time to celebrate the strengths and virtues of our families. For some writers, their family and their family stories provide the necessary ingredients for great books. Such is the case of our author of the day, Mildred […]
African American, Award Winning, Family, History, Multicultural, NewberyFeatured on July 3
Pink and Say
Elementary School, Picture BookIn April of 2011 the five-year-long Sesquicentennial of the Civil War began; the Civil War Trust has an excellent website of resources. Over this period of time, we’ll be given hundreds, probably thousands, of new resources to use with children to explore the War Between the States. But if I were going to start observing […]
African American, Civil War, History, Multicultural, True StoryFeatured on June 22
Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures
Elementary School, Middle School, NonfictionOn June 12, 1929, a young German girl was born. Had history played out differently, she might well have been celebrating her 82nd birthday today. Anne Frank lived in extraordinary times—and in recording those times, she ultimately became the world’s most famous young writer. Scores of books providing supplementary reading for The Diary of Anne […]
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, History, Jewish, Multicultural, Social Conscience, World War IIFeatured on June 12
When My Name Was Keoko
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolToday Koreans celebrate Memorial Day — to pay tribute to those who died in war. Although very few books for children are set in Korea, Linda Sue Park’s extraordinary novel When My Name Was Keoko, published in 2002, explores World War II as seen by Korean citizens. For this powerful novel, Linda Sue Park, winner of the Newbery […]
Asian American, Family, History, Multicultural, Politics, World War IFeatured on June 6
Hurricane Dancers
Elementary School, Middle School, Poetic NovelThis month marks the beginning of the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico hurricane season. June also marks Caribbean-American Heritage Month. Both events are celebrated in the book of the day, Margarita Engle’s Hurricane Dancers. In a powerful, 145-page poetic novel, Engle presents a fresh and unusual look at Cuba, its history from 1509–1510, and […]
16th Century, History, Hurricanes, Latino, Multicultural, WeatherFeatured on June 5
Tom Feelings
Elementary School, High School, Middle School, Picture BookOn 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, SlaveryFeatured on May 19
The Circuit
Elementary School, High School, Memoir, Middle SchoolMay 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, MulticulturalFeatured on May 16
Esperanza Rising
Elementary School, High School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolIn 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 BelpréFeatured on May 12
A Chair for My Mother
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday 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, WomenFeatured on May 8
Marching for Freedom
Elementary School, Middle School, NonfictionOn March 21, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began the five-day protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama—a triumphant event in the Civil Rights Movement. A few months later the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, outlawing literacy tests and other measures used to keep African Americans from registering to vote. A remarkable […]
African American, Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Civil Rights, History, Multicultural, Politics, Social ConscienceFeatured on March 21
The Snowy Day
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolIn 1963 when Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time won the Newbery Award, an artist who had struggled a long time to find his voice received the Caldecott Medal. Born in Brooklyn, Ezra Jack Keats was the son of Polish immigrants. Although his mother encouraged him to create art, something he delighted in doing, his […]
African American, Multicultural, Seasons, WinterFeatured on March 15
Dave the Potter
Elementary School, Picture Book March has been designated Arts and Crafts Month. History, as the saying goes, is written by the winners. The disenfranchised, those who struggled for recognition, left few clues for those who read the record of history. That is one of the reasons why Laban Carrick Hill’s Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave is such an important […]
African American, Art, Award Winning, Caldecott, MulticulturalFeatured on March 8
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
Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday marks National Polar Bear Day, to celebrate the world’s largest carnivore. Although we have honored a lot of penguins on this website (Mr. Popper’s Penguins and 365 Penguins), polar bears have received scant notice. So today I’d like to honor a polar bear—although he happens to be the best friend of a penguin. In […]
Animals, History, Jewish, Multicultural, Penguins, World War IFeatured on February 27
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
Baseball Saved Us
Elementary School, Picture Book Executive order 9066: On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt sent 110,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of them U.S. Citizens, to concentration camps in remote desert areas. Not allowed to return to their homes until January 2, 1945, these families lost an estimated $400 million worth in property—not to mention their own freedom and sense of […]
Asian American, Baseball, History, Multicultural, Sports, World War IIFeatured on February 19
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
Henry’s Freedom Box
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture Book Since 1976 Black History Month has been celebrated in the United States during February. We’ll look at a couple of superb titles this month, beginning with one of the best picture information books of the decade, Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Ellen is […]
African American, Award Winning, Caldecott, Civil War, History, Multicultural, True StoryFeatured on February 10
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Elementary School, Historical FictionFor authors and artists week, I’d like to talk about the most impressive author I ever worked with, Scott O’Dell. Scott was in his mid seventies and I was in my late twenties when we first met. A tall man, large in body, spirit, and charisma, he could tell stories like no one I had ever […]
20th Century, Award Winning, History, Multicultural, Native American, Newbery, True StoryFeatured on February 6
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
Julius Lester
All Ages, Picture BookOn January 27, 1939, Julius Lester was born in Saint Louis, Missouri. Son of a Methodist minister, he lived in Kansas City and Nashville, where he attended Fisk University. Later Lester embraced the Jewish religion, which he wrote about in Lovesong: Becoming a Jew. One of those rare multi-talented individuals who can do many things […]
African American, Award Winning, Caldecott, Folktale, MulticulturalFeatured on January 27
Martin’s Big Words
Biography, Elementary School, Preschool Today marks Martin Luther King Day. When we come to the third Monday in January, I am often reminded that I did not celebrate this holiday as a child. But I did have an opportunity to witness the incredible life and amazing accomplishments of Dr. King. When I was a student in rhetoric at Indiana […]
African American, Award Winning, Caldecott, Civil Rights, Coretta Scott King, History, Multicultural, Social ConscienceFeatured on January 17
Zora and Me
Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolBorn on January 7, 1891, Zora Neal Hurston become one of the most renowned Black writers of the twentieth century, part of the Harlem Renaissance, and pioneer of collecting regional black folklore. During her lifetime she was often compared to, and sometimes competed against, Richard Wright, but for a period of time her work vanished, […]
African American, Civil Rights, History, Multicultural, True StoryFeatured on January 7
Diamond Willow
Middle School, Poetic NovelToday marks Alaska’s statehood day, when in 1959 Alaska became the forty-ninth state in the Union. Of the myriad books for children that have been set in Alaska, my favorite, Diamond Willow by Helen Frost, appeared recently in 2008. Frost lived and taught for three years in a small Athabascan community in interior Alaska. Many […]
Adventure, Animals, Dogs, Multicultural, Native American, Religion/Spirituality, SurvivalFeatured on January 3
You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!
Biography, Elementary School, Picture Book December 30, 1935, marks the birthday of Sandy Koufax, left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. When inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, Koufax became the youngest player to receive that honor. But 1972 happened in the dark ages if you are six to ten. How can a baseball player of that […]
Baseball, Jewish, Multicultural, SportsFeatured on December 30
One Crazy Summer
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolToday begins the celebration of Kwanzaa, extending through the first of January. Honoring African culture, Kwanzaa was created in 1966 to “give Blacks an alternative to the existing holidays.” Today, December 26, marks the day to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. But if you wanted to explain to […]
African American, Civil Rights, History, Holidays, Kawanzaa, MulticulturalFeatured on December 26
All-of-a-Kind Family
Elementary School, Historical FictionFor those hunting for a book about Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, today I want to remind some people of—and introduce others to—one of the most memorable books about Jewish life and customs ever written, All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. When Taylor published this gem in 1951, books featuring religious Jewish children were hard to […]
Family, History, Immigration, Jewish, MulticulturalFeatured on December 4
1621: A New Look At Thanksgiving
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture Book Today Americans worship those twin pastimes of indulging in food and football. How did this day, Thanksgiving, become a holiday? In searching for the best book on the topic, I discovered that there aren’t as many Thanksgiving books as you might think. Certainly the most intriguing on the subject is 1621: A New Look at […]
Colonial America, History, Holidays, Multicultural, Native American, ThankgivingFeatured on November 25
Grandfather’s Journey
Biography, Elementary School, Picture BookOn October 28,1886, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s sculpture, Liberty Enlightening the World, was officially dedicated on Bedloe’s Island in New York. A sonnet by Emma Lazarus had been inscribed on the pedestal: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, […]
Asian American, Award Winning, Caldecott, Family, History, Immigration, MulticulturalFeatured on October 28
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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