Maurice Sendak’s Birthday

Author/illustrator Maurice Sendak was born on this day in 1928. He died in 2012. He wrote and illustrated many books for children and won many awards, even though he was often considered controversial. One of his best known books is Where the Wild Things Are. The story is about Max, a boy who misbehaves and is sent to bed with no supper. He retreats into his imagination where he travels “through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are.” He encounters incredible beasts of all kinds and tames them with a magic trick before leading a “wild rumpus.” Before too long, he grows tired of all that and yearns for home where he is loved “best of all.” He travels back and returns to his room where his supper is waiting for him–still hot. This book is a classic for many reasons. it’s a story that addresses childhood fears and imagination with illustrations that creatively and beautifully bring the words to life.

Gregory Maguire’s Birthday

Today is Gregory Maguire’s birthday. He was born in Albany, New York, June 9, 1954. He is probably best known for writing Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. A master of revisionist fairy tales, he has written books for children and adults. Leaping Beauty and Other Animal Fairy Tales is a collection of tales that are sure to amuse children ages eight and older. “Leaping Beauty” is the story of the beautiful baby frog who was cursed by Old Dame Hornet, a powerful fairy in the animal kingdom. The other seven stories are “Goldie Fox and the Three Chickens,” “Hamster and Gerbil,” “So What and the Seven Giraffes,” “Little Red Robin Hood,” “The Three Penguins and the Big, Bad, Walrus,” “Cinder-Elephant,” and “Rumplesnakeskin.” I love fairytales, and I was quite entertained by the layers of meaning in these retellings. If you haven’t read Maguire before, this book is a great place to start.  

National Best Friends Day

This true story of Owen, a baby hippo, and Mzee (Mm-Zay), a 130 year old Aldabra giant tortoise, is a beautiful example of friendship. Owen was separated from his mother during the 2004 tsunami in Kenya. He was left stranded on a sandy coral reef. Many people worked hard to rescue the 600 pound baby. But the hippo was frightened and tried to fight the rescue efforts. One of the rescuers, named Owen, managed to get him to safety, and so the hippo was named Owen. Once on shore, Owen the hippo was taken to an animal sanctuary for care and safety. At the sanctuary, Owen immediately identified with a giant tortoise, Mzee. This was the start of a slow developing friendship between two different species, but it’s been a lasting and beautiful friendship. Now Owen and Mzee are known worldwide. The photographs of them by Peter Greste are wonderful. This is not a typical picture book; it’s one that spans all ages because the story is so appealing and teaches us so much about friendship.

Daniel Boone Day

Today is Daniel Boone Day, and the perfect day to introduce young readers to the classic comic book series. Daniel Boone (Classics Illustrated), written by John Bakeless and Kenneth W. Fitch and illustrated by Alex A. Blum, is one of more than 200 classic tales in the series. A new edition was released in 2017. Intended for readers ages 9-12, the book has appeal for all ages with its historical format and its story of Daniel Boone.

D Day

Andrew Higgins built boats that could “crunch through driftwood, bounce over logs, climb a beach,” and “wham up on a sloping concrete sea wall.” In World War II, these boats became known as Higgins boats. Thousands of Higgins boats carried soldiers from ship to shore on D Day, June 6, 1944, the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. Years later President Dwight Eisenhower, who as a general in WWII oversaw the D Day operation, said that Andrew Higgins was “the man who won the war for us.” Nancy and I wrote Andrew Higgins and the Boats that Landed Victory in WWII as a biography for young readers. It starts out with a little boy from Nebraska who loved boats and learned about them by fixing up old boats. It’s the story of how Andrew Higgins used his imagination and creativity to solve problems and build better boats. When there was a need for his boats in WWII, he stepped up. He built factories in New Orleans in unlikely places, hired people of all ages and races and paid them equal wages, and he made sure the boats were delivered on time. The book includes a note from the authors to encourage children, a timeline, and a glossary. D Day is a day to remember our history and to be thankful for those who used their imagination and their skills to make our world better.

Hot Air Balloon Day

Today is Hot Air Balloon Day, and today’s Kidlit Book tells one of the most remarkable escape stories of the Cold War years. Flight for Freedom: The Wetzel’s Family’s Daring Escape from East Germany written by Kristin Fulton and illustrated by Torben Kuhlmann is the true story of the Wetzel family who, along their best friends, secretly sewed a balloon in the attic of their home in East Germany. One dark cloudy night, the two families took the balloon into the forest and rode in it to freedom. When the balloon landed after running out of fuel, the families were relieved to find they had made it to West Germany and freedom. The back of the book also has several pages of information to help readers understand more about the conditions of the time. This book is an excellent choice for classrooms and home libraries.

National Hug Your Cat Day

It’s true that there are people who will love National Hug Your Cat Day, and those who won’t. But all people, especially kids, will love They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel. The premise is simple, a cat “walks through the world, with its ears, whiskers, and paws.” Along the way, the cat is seen by a child, a dog, a bird, a mouse, a bat, a snake, a worm, a skunk, a fish… Illustrations are brilliant, and each time the cat is seen by a person or animal, it is seen differently; sometimes it’s barely recognizable as a cat as we know it. This is a book of few words but so much is spoken through the illustrations. The book is recommended for ages 3 to 5, but older kids will like it and so will adults. It’s a thought provoking book on how we see a cat, or any animal or person.

World Clubfoot Day

Today is World Clubfoot Day. A book by one of my favorite authors has Ada, who was born with a clubfoot, as the main character. The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is set in World War II. Ada has lived her entire life imprisoned in a small apartment in London by her heartless mother. When her mother sends her little brother Jamie out of London to the safety of the countryside, Ada manages to escape and join the children who are being shipped out of London. Don’t expect a simple solution to Ada’s problems, because she ends up with Susan Smith who is forced to take Ada home with her. Written for middle grade readers, this is a book you will long remember, whatever your age.

Norton Juster’s Birthday

Norton Juster wrote The Phantom Tollbooth in 1961, and it has sold almost 5 million copies since then. Line drawings by Jules Feiffer capture the whimsy and wonder of the story. It’s about a boy named Milo who “didn’t know what to do with himself.” He discovers a package in his room, a tollbooth. Since Milo has nothing else to do, he rides his toy electric car through the tollbooth and onto a road to adventures. He visits places like Dictionopolis,, Digitopolis, and Confusion. The only way to get to the island of Confusion is to jump; the only way off the island is to swim through the Sea of Knowledge. Milo is accompanied on his journey by a watchdog named Tock with a ticking clock for a body. Along the way, he meets many characters, including a Spelling Bee and a disagreeable Humbug and rescues two princesses named Rhyme and Reason. The story is a wonderful romp through puns and word play, and it is also a thought provoking book on the excuses we make and how much we miss when we don’t think for ourselves. The book is recommended for ages 8 to 12, but it’s really a book for all times and all ages.

Say Something Nice Day

Today is Say Something Nice Day. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale is a fun read that teaches the importance of saying something nice. Miri lives on a mountain where her family has lived for generations. The mountain people are not the nobility of the kingdom, so it comes as quite a surprise when the priests say the prince is destined to marry a mountain girl. In response, a princess academy is opened for the teen mountain girls, so they can learn the niceties of life and be an acceptable bride for the prince. The girls attend the academy and learn, among other things, to be diplomatic. Miri is quite conflicted between her love for her life on the mountain with her family and her desire to be the prince’s choice as a wife. Her year in the academy brings unexpected challenges and changes. A book with a bit of fantasy, a tad of romance, and an unusual twist in the ending, The Princess Academy has appeal for preteen and teen readers.