Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
Amelia Bedelia: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition
Elementary School, Picture Books From May 13–19 we celebrate Children’s Book Week, a great time to look at old classics and new favorites. Last year for Scholastic Book Clubs, I worked with more than twenty children’s book experts to identify the best books to include in their offerings. When we took our original ballot, before discussion, one book garnered [...]
HumorFeatured on May 13, 2013
A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Elementary School, FictionToday I am recommending a book to chase the holiday blues away. Sometime during this joyous, or not so joyous, season, people find themselves a bit depressed. When that feeling comes upon you, make sure you have a copy of Linda Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect nearby. Urban’s first novel, published in 2007, provides [...]
Family, Humor, Music, SchoolFeatured on December 17, 2012
Balloons Over Broadway
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture BookFor 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, ToysFeatured on November 22, 2012
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Elementary School, FictionThe first entry of our book of the day, Wendy Mass’s Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life occurs on July 22, and so today seemed an appropriate time to look at this beloved book by one of today’s most popular writers for children. Our hero Jeremy beings his saga with words that grab readers’ [...]
Family, HumorFeatured on July 22, 2012
My Life as a Book
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle School Lazy July days—perfect for summer reading. But what if you don’t like to read; what if you actively avoid reading? Such is the dilemma of our protagonist of the day, twelve-year-old Derek, who begins his saga in My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian with these bold words: “I DON’T WANT TO READ THIS [...]
Family, Humor, SchoolFeatured on July 9, 2012
I Want My Hat Back
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday we celebrate International Hat Day. I personally love, wear, buy, and covet hats—all kinds of hats. Since the book of the day I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen was published last year, it has already gained an enormous number of fans. Klassen is a master of the minimalist form. Starting with sumptuous [...]
Animals, Bears, Humor, RabbitsFeatured on November 25, 2011
Freak the Mighty
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolFrom November 11–17, we celebrate National Young Readers Week. I wish that all young readers had access to the books we celebrate every day on the Almanac. Today we’ll look at one, published in 1993, which I consider a contemporary classic, Rodman Philbrick’s Freak the Mighty. When I first read this book about ten years [...]
Humor, School, Special NeedsFeatured on November 7, 2011
Horton Hatches the Egg
Elementary School, Picture BookIn October 1940 a new children’s book author and illustrator published his fourth book, one destined to become a classic. Admittedly since he had been rejected some twenty times for his first book, and then only been picked up by a small press, Vanguard, he did not necessarily seem to be poised to become America’s [...]
Animals, Elephants, HumorFeatured on October 19, 2011
Danny and the Dinosaur
Beginning Readers, Elementary School, PreschoolOctober is International Dinosaur Month. Except for cats and dogs, few creatures seem as appealing to children as dinosaurs. In fact, to have a dinosaur as a pet must be one of the great childhood fantasies, an idea explored by Oliver Butterworth in The Enormous Egg. Well our dinosaur of the day isn’t exactly a [...]
Dinosaurs, HumorFeatured on October 18, 2011
Gregory, the Terrible Eater
Elementary School, Picture Book October has been designated Vegetable Awareness Month and today also marks National Dessert Day. Certainly, I embrace both causes. The book of the day, Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat, brings these two holidays together in a humorous and totally satisfying story. Like many children, Gregory was a fussy eater; he wants only fruits, [...]
Food, HumorFeatured on October 14, 2011
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute
Elementary School, Graphic NovelNext week America celebrates National School Lunch Week. And as that old ditto goes: “Teachers come and teachers go,/It’s the lunch lady who you get to know.” But how well do you really know the lunch lady? Do you know what she does when she leaves the school? In our book of the day, an [...]
Humor, SchoolFeatured on October 13, 2011
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Elementary School, Middle School, Picture Book Just when I think I can’t be surprised about the existence of a holiday, one comes along that amazes me. Today we celebrate Moldy Cheese Day. Molds play an important part in the production of delicious—but often stinky—blue cheeses like Roquefort and Gorgonzola. Even the milder Brie and Camembert get created by the introduction of [...]
Fairy Tale, HumorFeatured on October 9, 2011
Arthur’s Nose
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday for Great Books Week (October 7-13) , I’d like to look at a modest picture book that launched an empire: Marc Brown’s Arthur’s Nose. In 1976 a failed television weatherman, Marc Brown, published his first picture book under the astute guidance of Emilie McLeod of Atlantic Monthly Press. Emilie, one of those most respected [...]
Animals, Friendship, HumorFeatured on October 7, 2011
Encyclopedia Brown
Elementary School, Mystery/ThrillerBorn on October 4, 1924, in New York City, Donald Sobol served in the Army Corps of Engineers in World War II and then attended Oberlin College. There he became interested in writing and worked as a reporter for the New York Sun and the New York Daily News. In the late fifties Sobol began [...]
HumorFeatured on October 4, 2011
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile
Elementary School, Picture BookToday I get to wish a happy birthday to one of the nicest human beings on the planet, Bernie Waber. A quiet, unassuming man, Bernie has a gentle sense of humor—one that he relied on for books like Ira Sleeps Over and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. Born in Philadelphia, Bernie moved frequently during his childhood years; [...]
Animals, HumorFeatured on September 27, 2011
The Agony of Alice
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolFrom September 30 through October 6, the American Library Association celebrates Banned Books Week. Often your local public library will display some famous banned books. I am always surprised to see what makes list of “top banned/challenged books” of the decade. Harry Potter leads the list—possibly Harry Potter is going to lead all lists (sales, censorship, [...]
Family, Humor, SchoolFeatured on September 26, 2011
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolSeptember 25 has been designated National Comic Book Day. From Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm’s Babymouse series to Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid offerings, comic books (sometimes called graphic novels) have been the hottest publishing phenomena of the past few years—including in books for children. Entire imprints, like First Second, have been established to explore what [...]
Humor, ImaginationFeatured on September 25, 2011
Punctuation Takes a Vacation
Elementary School, Picture Book What if we had the English language as we know it, but no punctuation had been invented? The sentences you are reading now would be nearly impossible to comprehend. The importance of punctuation in communication lies at the heart of today’s holiday, the annual National Punctuation Day. For the organizers, today serves as a “celebration of [...]
Humor, SchoolFeatured on September 24, 2011
Go, Dog. Go!
Beginning Readers, Elementary SchoolThe heroes of our book of the day do not even have names. But the canines in P. D. Eastman’s Go, Dog. Go!, an offering for National Dog Week, which begins on Sunday, are some of the fastest, and funniest, dogs to appear in a children’s book. After the success of Dr. Seuss’s, Cat in [...]
Animals, Dogs, HumorFeatured on September 20, 2011
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
Elementary School, Graphic NovelSeptember has been designated Happy Cat Month. But the cat featured in our book of the day isn’t really happy. In fact, her owners have found a way to make her extremely miserable—by giving Bad Kitty a bath. I believe, however, that Nick Bruel, Bad Kitty’s creator, must certainly be laughing as he works on [...]
Animals, Cats, HumorFeatured on September 17, 2011
Strega Nona
Elementary School, Picture BookOn September 15, 1934, in Meriden, Connecticut, a boy who would become one of the world’s best storytellers was born. Tomie dePaola always credited his Irish and Italian family for providing him with the material for many of his sagas. I don’t know if he came out of the womb spinning tales, but he claims [...]
Award Winning, Caldecott, Food, Humor, MagicFeatured on September 15, 2011
Joey Pigza
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle SchoolSeptember has been designated Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Month to educate everyone about effective treatments for the disease. In 1998 Jack Gantos published a book called Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key that not only became a National Book Award finalist but also goes a long way in educating young readers about ADHD. Joey Pigza [...]
ADHD, Award Winning, Humor, National Book Award, School, Special NeedsFeatured on September 14, 2011
Little Bear
Beginning Readers, Elementary School Born in Denmark on September 13, 1920, Else Holmelund Minarik came to the United States when she was four. At first she hated English, the new language that she had to learn, but she became devoted to it—and to teaching first graders how to read words that had once perplexed her. As she observed her [...]
Animals, Bears, Family, HumorFeatured on September 13, 2011
David Goes to School
Elementary School, Picture BookOver the last two months, we’ve been looking at some optimistic books about a child going back to school. Whether it is The Magic School Bus or Kindergarten Diary, these books end happily with their protagonists very satisfied to be in school. But for some children, school may be a bit more of a challenge. [...]
Humor, SchoolFeatured on September 8, 2011
Pinkerton, Behave!
Elementary School, Picture BookSeptember has been designated World Animal Remembrance Month. So since I like to think about dogs, I’m going to feature some famous dog protagonists who deserve to be remembered: Spot, Art Dog, the unnamed heroes of Go, Dog. Go! and Steven Kellogg’s irrepressible Pinkerton. Possibly September should just be designated Steven Kellogg appreciation month. Steven [...]
Animals, Dogs, HumorFeatured on September 3, 2011
Miss Nelson Is Missing!
Elementary School, Picture BookAs August comes to a close, many children head back to or have already started school. Today I’m recommending one of my favorite stories about school, one that some teachers like to use at this time. It not only tells a great story, but also sends a subtle message. By the time James Marshall created [...]
Humor, SchoolFeatured on August 31, 2011
Kindergarten Diary
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolOur book of the day yesterday, Wemberly Worried, has been around for a decade. But last year, Antoinette Portis added a new book to read during Get Ready for Kindergarten Month. Kindergarten Diary explores what a young child might think and experience each day in a new school. Portis, the very creative inventor of Not [...]
Humor, Imagination, SchoolFeatured on August 20, 2011
Wemberly Worried
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolFor some children, the end of August means preparing to go to school for the very first time. For them August has been designated Get Ready for Kindergarten Month. If you are hunting for a book that might help the very young overcome some of their anxieties about school, today we’ll look at Kevin Henkes’s [...]
Animals, Humor, Mice, SchoolFeatured on August 19, 2011
The Penderwicks
Elementary School, FictionAs the Almanac has evolved, frequently I get ideas, directly or indirectly, from the readers of this column. Every year John Schumaker, @MrSchuReads, takes a character from a beloved children’s book, travels with it, and takes photos that he shares on his website. You can see his video of his trip with year on Read, [...]
Family, Humor, Seasons, SummerFeatured on August 16, 2011
The Rescuers
Elementary School, Fantasy This year, from July 29 through August 4, the 40th Norway Cup took place. More than fourteen hundred international youth soccer teams traveled from different countries to compete. Well, our book of the day doesn’t have much to do with soccer. But it begins when Nils, one of the book’s three heroes, has to be fetched [...]
Adventure, Animals, Humor, MiceFeatured on August 5, 2011
Whales on Stilts
Elementary School, FictionIt is amazing how many holidays exist, and what strange ones some of them are. Today is National Walk on Stilts Day. According to those who observe this day, walking on stilts allows you to build coordination and have a lot of fun at the same time. The holiday organizers want you to get out, [...]
Adventure, Humor, ImaginationFeatured on July 27, 2011
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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