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Home of the Brave

by Katherine Applegate

April 20th, 2015 | ,

During National Poetry Month, I have been featuring some of the best single poetry volumes of recent years. But today I want to take a look at a free-verse novel, Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate. She is best known for her Newbery novel The One and Only Ivan, which was published in 2012. […]

African American, Animals, Cows, Multicultural, Politics

Balloons Over Broadway

by Melissa Sweet

November 22nd, 2012 | , ,

For more than eighty years, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has entertained Americans. For many households the viewing of the parade is as essential as eating turkey. But how did such an event come about? In Balloons Over Broadway, author and illustrator Melissa Sweet takes readers behind the scenes of the parade as she presents […]

History, Holidays, Humor, Thankgiving, Toys

Homer

by Elisha Cooper

November 6th, 2012 | , ,

November 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, Family

Make Way for Ducklings

by Robert McCloskey

August 28th, 2011 | ,

In August of 1941 a picture book appeared that has become synonymous with the city of Boston for millions of readers. While he was an art student there, Robert McCloskey got the idea for Make Way for Ducklings from a true story that appeared in the newspaper. However, he developed the book in New York […]

Animals, Award Winning, Boston, Caldecott, Ducks

The Runaway Bunny

by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Clement Hurd

July 17th, 2011 | , ,

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, Rabbits

A Dog’s Way Home

by Bobbie Pyron

February 14th, 2011 | ,

Today, of course, we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Today also marks the beginning of the Westminster Dog Show, a time when the top dogs arrive in New York to compete for the crown. My first Valentines on this day always go to my dogs. Some people say that the dog/human connection is one of unconditional love. […]

Animals, Dogs

The New Way Things Work

by David Macaulay

January 31st, 2011 | ,

On January 31, 1930, 3M began marketing Scotch Tape, an invention of Richard Drew. The familiar plaid design, an adaptation of the Wallace tartan, did not come along for another fifteen years. But Scotch Tape, like so many other simple inventions, changed everyday life. If I were to recommend to parents a single reference source […]

Award Winning, Technology

The (Mostly) True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

by Rodman Philbrick

November 20th, 2010 | , ,

On the third Saturday in November, the town of Gettysburg celebrates Remembrance Day with a parade of Civil War groups and organizations. One of the most dramatic events of the battle at Gettysburg occurred on the second day when Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Bowdoin College professor who commanded the 20th Maine, was sent to defend Little […]

Adventure, Award Winning, Civil War, History, Newbery

Viva Frida

by Yuyi Morales

May 26th, 2015 | , , ,

May has been designated both Personal History Month and Latino Book Month, and our book of the day, Yuyi Morales’s Viva Frida, could be used effectively for either celebration. In this passionate celebration of Frida Kahlo for very young readers, ages 2-8, Morales captures the spirit of an artist who has been her inspiration from […]

Art, Award Winning, Caldecott, Latino, Multicultural, Women

Hidden

by Loie Dauvillier
Illustrated by Marc Lizano

May 11th, 2015 | ,

Last week was Children’s Book Week, when kids around the country celebrated the books they love to read. I’d like to continue the conversation this week with a topic always on my mind. How does an author create a book that will really make a difference in the life of a child, one that will […]

20th Century, History, Jewish, Multicultural, World War II

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.