FIND A BOOK

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Mark Teague

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The first week of February has been set aside to celebrate children’s authors and illustrators. I’ve already written about the author of the book of the day, How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? Jane Yolen. Today I would like to sing the praises of illustrator Mark Teague. I recently had the pleasure of sharing an […]

Bedtime, Dinosaurs
Featured on February 4

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Illustrated by Judy Horacek

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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, Bedtime
Featured on July 13

The Moon Jumpers by Janice May Udry
Illustrated by Maurice Sendak

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March 30th marks the New Moon, and moon cycles always remind me of a 1957 title by Janice May Udry, The Moon Jumpers, which won a Caldecott Honor for its illustrator, Maurice Sendak when he was just thirty years old. It has now been almost two years since Maurice’s death, and the outpouring of affection […]

Award Winning, Bedtime, Caldecott
Featured on March 27

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

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Today 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, Bedtime
Featured on March 4

Stories 1 2 3 4 by Eugène Ionesco
Illustrated by Etienne Delessert

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Today illustrator Etienne Delessert celebrates his birthday—he has been creating children’s books for more than fifty years. When I was a young critic in the 1970s, the avant guard of illustration consisted of Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are), Tomi Ungerer (No Kiss for Mother), Edward Gorey (The Shrinking of Treehorn), and Etienne Delessert, […]

Art, Bedtime, Imagination, Trendsetting
Featured on January 4

Corduroy by Don Freeman

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On August 11, 1908, Don Freeman was born in San Diego, California. Freeman showed early skills as both a musician and an artist. In the late twenties he moved to New York City to make a living. He arrived a few days before the stock market crash and always carried a guilt complex about the […]

Bedtime, Teddy Bears, Toys
Featured on August 11

Margaret Wise Brown by Margaret Wise Brown

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Today 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, Rabbits
Featured on May 23

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
Illustrated by Erin E. Stead

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Today marks National Doctor Day, when we should show our personal doctor appreciation with a card or a gift. It commemorates March 30, 1933, the first use of anesthesia in surgery. If by any chance you want to give a book as a gift, for yourself or your doctor, I can think of no better […]

Animals, Award Winning, Bedtime, Caldecott
Featured on March 30

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

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From March 22–28, we celebrate World Folk Tales and Fables Week, established to encourage children and adults to explore the lessons learned from folk tales and fables. Although folk and fairy tales form the basis of world literature and culture, adults have often questioned introducing them to children. After all, the material in these legends […]

Award Winning, Bedtime, Caldecott, Fairy Tale, Family, Folktale
Featured on March 23

Tooth Fairy Day

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On 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, Humor
Featured on February 28

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham

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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, Humor
Featured on February 5

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.