Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
Coaltown Jesus
Elementary School, Fiction, Middle School, PoetryJune has been designated Rebuild Your Life Month. In Ron Koertge’s extraordinary book Coaltown Jesus, the protagonist, fourteen-year-old Walker, who lives in Coaltown, Illinois, does indeed need to rebuild his life. Two months ago his brother Noah died at age seventeen, and his mother hasn’t stopped crying. Walker struggles with guilt, believing that he might […]
Poetry, Religion/SpiritualityFeatured on June 16
World Rat Day
Elementary School, Poetry Today I would like to wish a happy birthday to J. Patrick Lewis. Among the many things Pat and I share in common is a Hoosier childhood; he grew up with a twin brother in Gary, Indiana, and attended Indiana University and Ohio State, where he received his doctorate in economics. But Pat left the […]
Animals, Holidays, PoetryFeatured on May 5
What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms and Blessings
Elementary School, Poetry All month we have been celebrating National Poetry Month. As I mentioned in the essay on Firefly July, a large number of quality poetry picture books have started to appear over the last year or so. My mentor once told me that publishing trends are like sunspots—things come and go for no earthly reason. Well, […]
Feelings, PoetryFeatured on April 28
Pug and Other Animal Poems
Elementary School, Poetry April is National Poetry Month; on the Almanac site I have already talked about one of my favorite books of poetry, Valerie Worth’s All the Small Poems and Fourteen More. Today let’s look at a picture book of Worth’s poems illustrated by Steve Jenkins, Pug and Other Animal Poems. A graduate of Swarthmore who worked […]
Animals, PoetryFeatured on April 21
Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems
Elementary School, Poetry April is, of course, National Poetry Month, and there is good news to report this year. For a period of time, well-chosen and well-illustrated poetry compilations were as rare as hen’s teeth in the children’s book world, mainly because of the costs of poetry permissions. But recently, thanks to the success of poetry picture books, […]
Poetry, SeasonsFeatured on April 14
My Mother Goose
Poetry, PreschoolThis week the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, and Saturday marks Small Business Saturday. Author Sherman Alexie has spearheaded a movement this year for independent bookstores, which he has named Indies First, by asking authors to help sell books in bookstores: “We book nerds will become booksellers.” And so many of us will help […]
PoetryFeatured on November 25
Book of Animal Poetry
Elementary School, Poetry, PreschoolApril 15 is, of course, tax day—but I have never found a suitable book on the subject for the Almanac. Some concerns really are not appropriate for children. Instead I will focus on a perfect title for Poetry Month, J. Patrick Lewis’s Book of Animal Poetry. In March at the Charlotte Huck Festival in Redlands, […]
Animals, Science, ZoologyFeatured on April 15
Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems
Elementary School, Poetry Happy April Fools’ Day! As someone quite gullible, I find this day taxing. But since April is also Poetry Month, I have a reason to celebrate today. In a new offering that will appeal to both adults and children, Jack Prelutsky has teamed up with the talented Carin Berger to create a book that provides […]
Animals, Art, ScienceFeatured on April 1
Carver
Elementary School, High School, Middle School, PoetryAugust has been designated National Inventor’s Month. Possibly because my engineer father held many telecommunications patents, as a child I always felt that invention was something exciting and possible. Certainly in the book of the day, Marilyn Nelson’s Carver, George Washington Carver emerges as a figure any child would want to emulate. Marilyn Nelson has […]
19th century, African American, Award Winning, History, Newbery, ScienceFeatured on August 6
Mirror Mirror
Elementary School, Picture Book, Poetry On October 3rd we celebrated National Poetry Day. Normally people set aside the month of April to celebrate poetry, but I actually think children’s poetry should be honored at least once a month. Even for children who think they don’t like to read, a poem can be a magical entry into the literary world. I […]
Fairy TaleFeatured on October 6
On the Farm
Elementary School, Poetry, Preschool Since the eighties the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi has been honored with World Farm Animals Day. If I were to pick a single book that celebrates living farm animals, it would have to be On the Farm, an inspired collaboration between poet David Elliott and illustrator Holly Meade. David once actually worked on a farm—although […]
AnimalsFeatured on October 2
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats
Elementary School, Poetry In the 1930s, an author who called himself “Old Possum” sent his godchildren (Tom Faber, Alison Tandy, Susan Wolcott, and Susanne Morley) a series of poems about cats. Playful, irreverent, and brilliantly written, these fourteen poems (a fifteenth “Cat Morgan Introduces Himself” appeared in 1952) were published in England by Faber and Faber in September […]
Animals, Cats, Humor, ImaginationFeatured on June 28
His Shoes Were Far Too Tight
Elementary School, Poetry This week, on June 10, in Australia, Belieze, Cayman Islands, and Fiji they celebrated the “Queen’s Official Birthday.” Queen Elizabeth II actually was born on April 21. Celebrating the Queen’s Official Birthday on a day when she wasn’t born would be just the kind of corkscrew logic that our English author of the day, Edward Lear, […]
Animals, Humor, ImaginationFeatured on June 13
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
Elementary School, Poetry For Poetry Month, we’ve looked at some great poets—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jack Prelutsky, and Joyce Sidman—and some individual volumes like Sharon Creech’s Love that Dog. I’d like to conclude the festivities of this month by celebrating one of the twentieth century’s finest poets for children, Valerie Worth. After graduating from Swarthmore College, Worth moved to […]
Animals, Nature, SeasonsFeatured on April 20
Paul Revere’s Ride
Elementary School, Picture Book, Poetry I must admit that today is truly one of my favorite holidays, if not my absolute favorite, of the year. Although I try to avoid being “Boston centric” in the Almanac, I have lived in or near the city for more than forty years. Writers often get told to write about what they know—and today […]
History, Revolutionary WarFeatured on April 18
My Dog May Be a Genius
Elementary School, Poetry April marks National Poetry Month and on April 18 we celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day, a day much beloved by school children and poetry enthusiasts. The idea behind the event is quite simple: select a poem that you love and carry it with you today to share with classmates, coworkers, family, and friends. Activities […]
Animals, Dogs, HumorFeatured on April 14
This Little Piggy
Babies and Toddlers, Classic, Poetry April is National Poetry and later in the month we celebrate the Week of the Young Child (WOYC). More information and a handbook can be found at the National Association for Education of Young Children website. What are the books that introduce poetry to the young and that every young child should know? I am often […]
Animals, PigsFeatured on April 10
Joyce Sidman
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Poetry Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month takes place in April. The Academy lists a variety of projects, including a Poem-A-Day, where new poetry is e-mailed to those who register. Like the rest of the country, we’ll be celebrating National Poetry Month on the Almanac and will recognize Poem in […]
Animals, Award Winning, NewberyFeatured on April 3
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.
