Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolJuly 28, 1866, one year after the end of the American Civil War, a baby girl was born into an affluent English family. She would eventually create the world’s bestselling picture book. Helen Beatrix Potter loved drawing as a child, both images of the natural world and of the multitude of pets her family kept—rabbits, […]
Animals, London, Rabbits, ScienceFeatured on July 28
Tar Beach
Elementary School, Picture BookJuly has been designated National Black Family Month, a month for Black Americans “to invest in their families as well as themselves.” The organizers hope that participants will have family reunions, dinners, or network with each other. Today I want to focus on one of the most magical family dinners ever portrayed. Faith Ringgold created […]
African American, Family, Food, Imagination, Multicultural, New York, Seasons, Summer, True StoryFeatured on July 25
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday is National Hot Dog Day, and July is National Hot Dog Month. So it seems a good time to focus on hot dogs, one of America’s favorite and “most patriotic” foods according to promoters. Although the book of the day seems like a natural for publication, Mo Willems’s first book about the pigeon, Don’t […]
Animals, Birds, Food, Humor, ImaginationFeatured on July 23
Lost & Found
Elementary School, High School, Middle School, Picture BookOver the last week we have been exploring superb books about our furry friend, the bunny rabbit. This year a book by Shaun Tan, Lost & Found, takes an entirely original look at this beloved creature. Containing three separate books that were previously unavailable in the United States, Lost & Found presents The Red Tree, […]
History, Politics, Social Conscience, TrendsettingFeatured on July 20
The Story of Ferdinand
Elementary School, Picture Book On July 18, 1936, General Francisco Franco led an uprising of army troops in North Africa against the elected government of Spain. So began the Spanish Civil War, sometimes called “the first media war” because foreign correspondents and writers became involved—people like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell. One would not expect this event to have […]
Animals, HistoryFeatured on July 18
The Runaway Bunny
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool For National Rabbit Week, we’ll look at several books, starting with two bunny books ideal for preschoolers. We have a bumper crop of rabbits in my neighborhood this year, and my Bernese Mountain Dog Lancelot is obsessed with them. Possibly he is a candidate for both books of the day. A graduate of Bank Street […]
Animals, Family, Imagination, RabbitsFeatured on July 17
My Friend Rabbit
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolJuly 15–21 has been designated National Rabbit Week to pay tribute to this animal for being such a great companion for humans. What is it about rabbits that so inspire children’s book authors and illustrators? Ever since Peter Rabbit went lippety, lippety down the road, rabbits have multiplied like—well—bunnies in children’s books. I’ll be talking […]
Animals, Award Winning, Caldecott, Humor, Imagination, RabbitsFeatured on July 16
Henry Hikes to Fitchburg
Elementary School, Picture BookOn July 12, 1817, Henry David Thoreau, American author, poet, naturalist, historian, and philosopher, was born in Concord, Massachusetts. Neighbor to other radical thinkers of his day, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott—the father of Louisa May—and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thoreau believed in living simply. He built a small cabin near Walden Pond, where he stayed alone, and […]
Geography, HistoryFeatured on July 12
John’s Secret Dreams
Biography, Elementary School, Picture Book On July 6, 1957, in Saint Peter’s Parish Church in Woolton, England, a young musician performed with his band, The Quarrymen. Another young guitarist attended the event. As Elizabeth Partridge writes in John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth, the guitarist “was dressed to kill. He’d come to the garden fete hoping to pick […]
History, MusicFeatured on July 6
America the Beautiful
Elementary School, Picture Book Today we celebrate Independence Day in the United States with fireworks and patriotic songs. The best-loved melody about America does not happen to be our national anthem, which even trained singers perform with difficulty. Most Americans prefer an easier and more haunting song, first published over a hundred years ago: “America the Beautiful.” The words […]
Geography, History, NatureFeatured on July 4
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Elementary School, Picture BookJune has been designated National Safety Month to promote safety at work, at home, on the road, and in our communities. Safety might seem a bit dull as a topic for a book for children, but the book of the day, Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann, demonstrates that highly creative people can make […]
Award Winning, Caldecott, Humor, SchoolFeatured on June 30
June 29, 1999
Elementary School, Picture BookToday is June 29 and even saying that phrase makes me think of our most awarded children’s book illustrator, three-time winner of the Caldecott Medal, David Wiesner. David began his work at Rhode Island School of Design, a student of David Macaulay. Even as a boy, David knew that he wanted to be an artist, […]
Imagination, ScienceFeatured on June 29
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
Elementary School, Picture Book Today marks the birthday of Charlotte Zolotow, legendary publisher, editor, and writer. Sometime in the late seventies I first met Charlotte; Bill Morris, Harper’s devoted head of Marketing, adored her and wanted us to get to know each other. From that day on, I suddenly had a new goal—I wanted to grow up to be […]
Animals, Award Winning, Caldecott, Imagination, RabbitsFeatured on June 26
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool On June 23, 1868, the first American typewriter was patented by Luther Sholes. Beginning in 1937 the dairy industry has dedicated June as National Dairy Month, a time to call attention to the important role that milk and milk products play in our diets and the outstanding contributions made by dairy farmers. So how do […]
Animals, Cows, HumorFeatured on June 23
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
The Wall
Elementary School, High School, Middle School, Picture BookOn June 17, 1969, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, ten months after the Soviet Union invaded the city with tanks, the Beach Boys gave a concert in Lucerna Hall. Although police with dogs waited nearby, in this dark time the American band provided “a glimmer of hope.” Peter Sís, recipient of a MacArthur genius grant, captured these […]
Autobiography, Award Winning, Caldecott, Cold War, History, SibertFeatured on June 17
Curious George
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolSeventy years ago in 1941, three days before Hitler’s army marched into Paris, two German Jews who had come to the city on a honeymoon and stayed for a couple of years, found themselves trapped in Paris. Although Hans and Margret Rey had secured railroad tickets, the trains stopped running. So Hans scoured bicycle stores, […]
Animals, History, Humor, Imagination, Monkeys, World War IIFeatured on June 11
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
One Morning in Maine
Elementary School, Picture Book“I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ice cream,” goes the old ditty, and today marks National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. What a wonderful idea—two of the world’s most popular foods, chocolate and ice cream, celebrated together. For me, chocolate ice cream in June conjures up wonderful summer days, the ocean, sea gulls wailing, […]
Award Winning, Caldecott, Geography, Nature, Seasons, SummerFeatured on June 7
Jumanji
Elementary School, Picture BookJune 4 has been designated Drawing Day or Pencil Day. Today we are encouraged to create art and to remember the joy we had when we first picked up a pencil and drew. If I ask myself what is the most amazing book I ever watched being published that was created by a pencil, the […]
Animals, Award Winning, Caldecott, Family, Games, ImaginationFeatured on June 4
You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer!
Biography, Elementary School, Picture Book 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 SuffrageFeatured on May 27
Duck on a Bike
Babies and Toddlers, Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolOrganizers 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, HumorFeatured on May 26
First the Egg
Babies and Toddlers, Picture Book, PreschoolMay 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, NatureFeatured on May 25
Margaret Wise Brown
Babies and Toddlers, Picture Book, PreschoolToday 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, RabbitsFeatured on May 23
Imogene’s Last Stand
Elementary School, Picture Book 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 ConscienceFeatured on May 22
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 Relatives Came
Elementary School, Picture Book 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, HumorFeatured on May 18
The Carrot Seed
Babies and Toddlers, Picture Book, Preschool 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, GardeningFeatured on May 17
Lilly’s Plastic Purple Purse
Elementary School, Picture BookThis 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, SchoolFeatured on May 13
Ballet for Martha
Elementary School, Middle School, Nonfiction, Picture Book 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, WomenFeatured on May 11
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
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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