Find a Book by Date
Books featured in March
1
Today marks National Pig Day. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of pig books for me to choose from. Intelligent and humorous, pigs make a naturally intriguing subject for children. I first read the book of the day in 1984,…
Animals, Humor, Imagination, Pigs
Featured on March 1
2
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
On March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize for lifetime contribution, one of the few children’s book creators ever so honored, and his books have sold over 200 million copies. Like…
Featured on March 2
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4
On March 4, 1791, Vermont became the 14th state admitted to the Union. Certainly at the time, the event did not seemed connected to the children’s book community. But by the beginning of the twenty-first century, Vermont had emerged as…
Award Winning, Great Depression, History, Newbery
Featured on March 4
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,…
Featured on March 4
5
March has been designated Write a Letter of Appreciation Month. I always say that the Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac is my daily love letter to an author. So today I want to write an almanac letter of appreciation to Jeanne DuPrau…
Featured on March 5
6
Today we celebrate National Dentist Day. Suggestions for the day include delivering a thank-you note to your dentist—although I would recommend giving them the book of the day instead. For me, the greatest book ever written about a dentist is…
Animals, Award Winning, Humor, Imagination, Mice, Newbery
Featured on March 6
This week has been designated Write a Letter of Appreciation Week. Consequently, I will use this essay to send a note to Rebecca Stead about her novel When You Reach Me. Many of my readers have probably already picked up…
Award Winning, Newbery, Science
Featured on March 6
7
Today marks National Cereal Day, so raise a glass of milk or a cup of coffee to your favorite brand. Americans are, as group, addicted to cereal. I recently a saw a Facebook post by someone overseas who lamented she…
Featured on March 7
10
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?
Since 1987, Women’s History Month has been celebrated in March—a time to look at all the unsung heroines and their contributions over the years. In 2013 the talented duo of Tanya Lee Stone and Marjorie Priceman teamed up to create…
History, Science, Social Conscience, Women
Featured on March 10
11
The game’s afoot! This weekend in Cape May, New Jersey, one of my favorite events of the year, Sherlock Holmes Weekend, takes place. Anyone lucky enough to attend can don Victorian garb and stalk gas-lit streets to solve an intriguing…
Featured on March 11
12
On March 12, 1963, the New York Times wrote “A housewife and an artist today won the nation’s top awards for the most distinguished children’s book published in 1962.” This statement doesn’t even hint at the truth—that the most courageous…
Adventure, Award Winning, Newbery, Other Worlds, Science
Featured on March 12
On March 12, 1912, a new organization had its first meeting in Savannah, Georgia. Based on the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides in England that were founded by Sir Robert Baden-Powell and his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell , the Girl…
History, Women, Women's Suffrage
Featured on March 12
13
On March 13, 1928, Ellen Raskin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At first she pursued a career in fine arts, graduating from the University of Wisconsin. After she moved to New York, she began designing book jackets and created over…
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Games, Newbery
Featured on March 13
15
In 1963 when Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time won the Newbery Award, an artist who had struggled a long time to find his voice received the Caldecott Medal. Born in Brooklyn, Ezra Jack Keats was the son of Polish…
African American, Multicultural, Seasons, Winter
Featured on March 15
16
March has been set aside to recognize the contribution of small presses to our literary heritage. After I had finished selecting books for 100 Best Books for Children, I went back to calculate the percentage that had originally been published…
Adventure, Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Quest
Featured on March 16
17
March has been designated March into Literacy Month, and when I think of that idea, a particularly brilliant book comes to mind—We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and illustrator Helen Oxenbury. This book completely belongs to both…
Featured on March 17
19
For our celebration of mysteries that began last week, let’s look at one of our best-written mysteries for young readers, Philip Pullman’s The Ruby in the Smoke, first published in the United States in 1987. With this book, Pullman, a…
Featured on March 19
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22
Today has been designated International Goof-Off Day—a day to relax, be yourself, and avoid what you are supposed to do. If you are in the position to celebrate International Goof-Off Day, you first might want to read Tony Fucile’s Let’s…
Featured on March 22
23
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,…
Award Winning, Bedtime, Caldecott, Fairy Tale, Family, Folktale
Featured on March 23
As the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War continues from March 21-23 in Jackson County, Alabama, one of the largest reenactments of the war takes place. The Siege of Bridgeport attracts thousands of people for this annual event with period…
Featured on March 23
24
Calvin Coconut #9: Extra Famous
March has been designated Humorists Are Artists Month. I totally agree with this sentiment. So often, when children are asked what kind of book they want to read, they respond, “a funny book.” And yet the craft of making this…
Featured on March 24
25
Today marks International Waffle Day, a holiday that originated in Sweden. Waffles have a long, glorious history. In Colonial times President Thomas Jefferson brought a long-handled waffle iron from France to the U.S. In 1869 Cornelius Swarthout, a man with…
Featured on March 25
26
On March 26, 1908, Betty MacDonald was born in Boulder, Colorado. Because her father worked as a mining engineer, she spent many years of her childhood traveling around the West. Eventually settling in Seattle, MacDonald attended the University of Washington…
Family, Humor, Imagination, Magic
Featured on March 26
March has been set aside to celebrate the idea that “Humorists are Artists.” Funny books are among the hardest things to write for children—and often the writers get less respect than their more serious counterparts. I am, therefore, always happy…
Featured on March 26
27
Toward the end of March, World Folk Tales and Fables Week has been set up to encourage children and adults to explore the lessons learned from folk tales and fables. I’d like to finish our celebration with one of the…
Adventure, Award Winning, Fairy Tale, Magic, Newbery, Quest
Featured on March 27
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.…
Award Winning, Bedtime, Caldecott
Featured on March 27
28
March has been designated Exotic Winter Fruit Month and Leeks & Green Onions Month. When I think of winter fruit, my mind instantly conjures up one of the most engaging heroines developed in the past few years in children’s books—a…
Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Family, Humor
Featured on March 28
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909
Today marks the birthday of Clara Lemlich, born in 1886 in Ukraine to a Jewish family. Following a pogrom in 1903, Clara and her family immigrated to the United States. She stood a mere five feet tall, but as Brave…
20th Century, Clothing, History, Jewish, Multicultural, New York, Women
Featured on March 28
31
Today I’d like to acknowledge two holidays. March has been designated Ethical Awareness Month, and today is National She’s Funny That Way Day, a time for people to list the five ways that the women in their lives make them…
Animals, Award Winning, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Dogs, Family
Featured on March 31