Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture Book February has been designated Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month. Of course, any time we connect children with a good book, seeds are being planted. But certainly children of the twenty-first century will need both math and science skills for the duration of their lives, and exciting books in this area are far too hard […]
Animals, ScienceFeatured on February 17
The Port Chicago 50
Elementary School, Middle School, NonfictionFebruary has been designated Black History Month since 1976, and this observance has allowed for both the acquisition and publishing of many fine children’s and young adult books. But although there are so many stories from Black American history to be told, these books often focus on the same subject areas or heroes. Hence I […]
20th Century, African American, History, Multicultural, World War IIFeatured on February 10
Ghost Hawk
Elementary School, Fantasy, Historical FictionThis week we celebrate Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators week, and I’d like to use the day to talk about an author whom I have admired for more than forty years. As a young Horn Book assistant editor, I read the galleys of the second children’s book by Susan Cooper, The Dark Is Rising, and […]
Colonial America, History, Multicultural, Native AmericanFeatured on February 5
The Other Side
Elementary School, Picture Book Today, many in the blogging community will be celebrating multiculturalism in children’s books. For a list of those participating, check pragmaticmom and Jump Into a Book. In a society where our children come from a variety of racial backgrounds, the plea for high-quality content, featuring characters of all races, has never been more important. On […]
African American, Civil Rights, History, MulticulturalFeatured on January 27
The Bear’s Song
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolFrom January 19–25, we celebrate Hunt for Happiness Week. A perfect book for this week has been sitting on my shelf for months: Benjamin Chaud’s The Bear’s Song. A large picture book at 14 ½ inches tall by 9 ¾ inches wide, The Bear’s Song first appeared in France and has been published in the […]
Animals, Bears, ImaginationFeatured on January 20
The Abominables
Elementary School, Fantasy January has been designated National Book Blitz Month, which is a month-long campaign that aims to encourage reading. If you are hunting for an author who will make your worries disappear and who will allow you to cuddle up with one good book after another, then look no further than the British writer Eva Ibbotson. […]
HumorFeatured on January 13
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Elementary School, Picture BookToday we celebrate a little-recognized holiday, “Thank Goodness It’s Monday,” and an event that lasts for all of January, The Celebration of Life. These two seemingly incongruous observances remind me of one of my favorite picture books of 2013, Peter Brown’s Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. Now, for want of a better term, I am a […]
Animals, HumorFeatured on January 6
The Year of Billy Miller
Elementary School, FictionFor Read a New Book Month, today I recommend one of 2013’s real gems, Kevin Henkes’s The Year of Billy Miller. Henkes has always shifted between picture books that delight young readers, such as Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse and novels for readers grades five and up like Olive’s Ocean. But in The Year of Billy […]
Family, Humor, SchoolFeatured on December 23
How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Team of Hired Sportsmen
Elementary School, Picture Book Today on the Almanac, I send birthday greetings to Sir Quentin Blake, born outside of London. While still a teenager, he began contributing to Punch magazine. After studying English at Cambridge, he took life-drawing classes at the Chelsea Art School and, in 1960, began a glorious career as a children’s book illustrator—one that has resulted […]
Humor, Imagination, SportsFeatured on December 16
Mr. Wuffles!
Elementary School, Picture BookDecember has been designated Read a New Book Month. Often in December, we hunt for something recently published that will make the perfect gift. Now, I admit that I favor dog books. And my readers have been patient with me as I rhapsodize over titles like Love that Dog or Homer, month after month. But […]
Animals, Cats, Humor, Imagination, TechnologyFeatured on December 2
On My Honor
Elementary School, FictionToday marks the seventy-fifth birthday of one of the loveliest ladies in the children’s book field, Marion Dane Bauer. I first met Marion, who has lived in Minneapolis most of her life, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at Hattiesburg’s fabulous book festival. I already knew I loved her work; but after meeting Marion, I realized that the […]
Award Winning, Feelings, Friendship, NewberyFeatured on November 20
How I Learned Geography
Elementary School, Picture BookNovember has been designated Life Writing Month, dedicated to the idea that each person has a story to tell from his or her own history. Next week, we celebrate National Geography Week. Our book of the day, Uri Shulevitz’s How I Learned Geography, can be used for both occasions. This powerful picture book, perennially popular […]
Geography, History, World War IIFeatured on November 12
Exclamation Mark
Elementary School, Picture Book This week has been designated World Communication Week to remind us that computer access has made worldwide communication possible. Even this blog, read around the globe, and my national and international friendships on Facebook and Twitter would not be possible without all the technological breakthroughs that have sustained the Internet. If Twitter were a country, […]
ImaginationFeatured on November 4
Bunnicula
Elementary School, Fantasy Around this time of year, I prepare myself for Halloween madness. I’ve never enjoyed scary nights or stories. So today my recommendation is for anyone who wants a quasi-horror story that uses the elements of horror but blends them with a lot of humor. First published in 1979, Deborah and James Howe’s Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale […]
Animals, Humor, RabbitsFeatured on October 28
Locomotive
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture BookOctober has been designated National Reading Group Month. Usually, reading groups select novels. But today I recommend an unusual and brilliant work of narrative nonfiction published last month: Brian Floca’s Locomotive. With a career that began when Brian illustrated books for Avi in the early 1990s, the artist has continued to grow and get better […]
History, Science, Technology, Trains, TransportationFeatured on October 21
Just So Stories
Classic, Elementary School, Short Stories Today we celebrate the birthday of an illustrator who can list among his many accomplishments creating art for The Bible. Barry Moser was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then came East to teach. While living in western Massachusetts, he met and worked with Leonard Baskin, premier illustrator and printmaker. Moser himself became renowned […]
AnimalsFeatured on October 15
Flora & Ulysses
Elementary School, Fantasy October is National Reading Group Month, and our author of the day, Kate diCamillo, has always been one of my favorite choices for reading groups. Now, I admit I am a sucker for a Kate DiCamillo story. From the beginning of her first book Because of Winn Dixie to the last page of Flora & […]
Animals, SquirrelsFeatured on October 8
Redwoods
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture BookOctober 2, 1968 marks the establishment of California’s Redwood National Park, which protects slightly less than half of the remaining coast redwoods. Unfortunately, I have never personally seen one of these beauties, but hearing about the raging fires in Yosemite National Park in August and September led me to return to one of my favorite […]
Ecology, Nature, ScienceFeatured on October 2
The Real Boy
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle School Continuing in the spirit of Read a New Book Month, today marks the publication of a book that I’ve been eager to share with Almanac readers: Anne Ursu’s The Real Boy. I thought Anne’s Breadcrumbs was a spectacular book. But I am ever more impressed with her storytelling abilities in The Real Boy. Oscar, an […]
Adventure, Magic, QuestFeatured on September 24
The Egypt Game
Elementary School, FictionSeptember has been designated Read a New Book Month. But for me, rereading a book I haven’t picked up for decades often seems like reading a new one. At the beginning of every school year, I ask my graduate students to talk about the book they most loved as a child. Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s The […]
Ancient, Award Winning, History, Multicultural, NewberyFeatured on September 16
The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdös
Biography, Elementary School, Picture Book Today we can celebrate Wonderful Weirdos Day, created by the citizens of Austin, Texas. The organizers suggest that we all need to recognize those individuals in our lives who are not normal or average. Our book of the day does just that; even its subtitle suggests that it celebrates a wonderful weirdo as it chronicles […]
History, Science, TechnologyFeatured on September 9
Salt
Elementary School, Historical FictionOn September 5, 1812, the siege of Fort Wayne, Indiana, began, one of the incidents in the War of 1812. As a child growing up in Fort Wayne, I always thought that important American events happened elsewhere, in towns like Boston. And I believed that the Miami people, who had lived for centuries in the […]
History, Multicultural, Native American, War of 1812Featured on September 5
Princess Posey and the First Grade Parade
Elementary School, Fiction Around this time of year, many children head back to school—often feeling anxious and as though they are unequal to the task. Scary teachers or buildings may await them. What if they are not grown up enough to enter a new grade? Such is the dilemma of our heroine of the day, Posey, entering first […]
Family, SchoolFeatured on August 26
Lulu and the Duck in the Park
Elementary School, Fiction During the week of August 11–17 a relatively new cause is celebrated: feeding the pets of the homeless. The philosophy behind the Give a Dog a Bone campaign is that “No pet should go hungry or suffer.” In a book of the day, Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay, the heroine […]
Animals, Ducks, SchoolFeatured on August 12
Turtle in Paradise
Elementary School, Historical FictionOn July 21, 1899, Noble Prize–winning author Ernest Hemingway was born. Although raised in Oak Park, Illinois, during his later years Hemingway lived in Key West, Florida, and Cuba. This booze hound and bullfighting advocate seems an unlikely candidate for an upbeat and whimsical children’s novel. But in 2010 Jennifer L. Holm used Papa in […]
Award Winning, Family, History, NewberyFeatured on July 21
Let’s Do Nothing!
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolFor some reason, although it is summertime, things seem busier than ever during the month of July. I suppose I always secretly long for the summers I remember from my youth—with long periods of unstructured time. New Englanders tend to cram six months of living into the days of sunshine. But when I feel frantic, […]
HumorFeatured on July 1
Revenge of the Witch
Elementary School, Fantasy, SeriesJune has been designated Audio Book Appreciation Month. It’s the time of year when many families hit the road—and turn to an audio book in the car. The right audio can save countless repetitions of that familiar question: Are we there yet? One of the best audio books that I have listened to lately, the […]
GhostsFeatured on June 24
Waiting for Wings
Elementary School, Picture Book, PreschoolToday we celebrate Butterfly Day, a time to go out and gaze at some of nature’s most beautiful creatures. They lift their wings and our spirits. My favorite butterfly book since 2001 has been Lois Ehlert’s Waiting for Wings, an oversized volume that highlights butterflies and the plants that sustain them. Lois Ehlert always knew […]
Animals, Gardening, Insects, Science, ZoologyFeatured on June 19
Curse of the Blue Tattoo
Elementary School, Historical Fiction, Middle SchoolJune has been designated Audio Appreciation Month. Today I am going to talk about an audio series that was recommended to me by my two favorite audio experts: Ellen Myrick, who created the audio section of 500 Great Books for Teens, and Alison Morris of Scholastic. If you are headed out for a road trip […]
Colonial America, History, WomenFeatured on June 10
Lucky Ducklings
Elementary School, Picture Book, Preschool At the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam on June 5, they acknowledge Dead Duck Day and discuss ways to prevent these winged city dwellers from colliding into windows. I, however, don’t like to use Almanac pages to feature dead ducks or dead dogs. But our book of the day, Eva Moore’s Lucky Ducklings, does explore […]
Animals, Ducks, True StoryFeatured on June 5
The Book Thief
Elementary School, High School, Historical Fiction, Middle School May serves as both Personal History Awareness Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. When I saw these events, I immediately thought of one of the most amazing novels of the last ten years, Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Although Zusak grew up in Australia, his mother had lived in Munich during the reign of Hitler […]
Award Winning, History, Jewish, Multicultural, Printz, World War IIFeatured on May 27
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.
