Book-A-Day Almanac
Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics and the new books on their way to becoming classics.
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 Odyssey
Elementary School, Graphic Novel, Middle SchoolAccording to Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician and poet, on June 11, 1184 BC the city of Troy was sacked and burned by the Achaeans, ending the Trojan War. Although throughout the years, the very existence of Troy itself has been debated by scholars, one truth remains: Whether real or fabled, these events form the backdrop […]
Adventure, Ancient, History, QuestFeatured on June 11
Theodosia
Elementary School, Fantasy, Middle SchoolMany states observe Archaeological Month during September, with activities for children to think about this profession as a career. Even to me as an adult, the lure of going on an archaeological dig remains one of my unfulfilled fantasies. The book of the day R. L. LaFevers’s Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos definitely flames […]
Ancient, Archeology, History, London, ScienceFeatured on September 9
Pompeii Lost and Found
Elementary School, Nonfiction, Picture Book On this day in 79 A.D. an active volcano in southern Italy, Mount Vesuvius, erupted and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Escaping the disaster, Pliny the Younger wrote: “[B]lack and horrible clouds, broken by sinuous shapes of flaming winds, were opening with long tongues of fire.” What a stylist! Modern authors can […]
Ancient, Art, HistoryFeatured on August 24
Pyramid
Elementary School, Middle School, Nonfiction, Picture BookIn Luxor, Egypt, on November 4, 1922, the English archaeologist Howard Carter, funded by the wealthy Lord Carnarvon, discovered a pharaoh’s tomb that had not yet been plundered by grave robbers. This tomb contained more than five thousand artifacts of Tutankhamun from Ancient Egypt. For children, King Tut, as he became known, is naturally interesting, […]
Ancient, HistoryFeatured on November 4
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.
