Month: August 2023

National Radio Day

Today is Radio Day, in honor of the day the first commercial radio station began broadcasting in 1920. In the 20s, 30s, and 40s, most American homes had radios. Americans turned to the radio for news and entertainment in the days before TV. The Boxcar Series began in 1942, and I thought reading a book from that series would be the perfect way to celebrate the day.    

The Radio Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner is Book 97 in the classic Boxcar Children Series. While the Aldens are in Pennsylvania visiting Jocelyn Hawley, an old family friend who has a radio station, they learn the station may be haunted by the ghost of Daphne Owens. Daphne Owens, who had worked at the station, disappeared one day. When screams and flickering lights interrupt a live mystery show, the whole cast quits. Luckily, the  Alden children volunteer  to do a mystery show, but they want to solve the real mystery of the haunted radio station. With the help of Gwen, Jocelyn’s daughter, they are able to solve the mystery.

Aviation Day

The Story of the Wright Brothers: A Biography for New Readers by Annette Whipple is a good choice for young readers on Aviation Day. With eight chapters and about fifty pages in the actual story, it can be divided into segments and read over a few days if it’s too long for reading in a single sitting. The back of the book has some questions for discussion and an extensive glossary. Alessandra Santelli’s illustrations help children visualize life in the early 1900s. This book is one in a series of biographies for new readers.

Ice Cream Pie Day

Ice cream pie is one of those creative ways to eat ice cream. In the book Ice Cream King written and illustrated by Steve Metzger, a little boy’s ice cream dreams come true. He can have any kind of ice cream he wants in any shape or form. In these dog days of summer, that sounds dreamy–and delicious. But, is it? The boy discovers having all the ice cream you want is wonderful, but it’s better when it’s shared with friends and family. This is a cute book and a fun read for summer when ice cream is king of the snack foods!

National Roller Coaster Day

Roller Coaster, written and illustrated by Marla Frazee, is a great picture book for kids who are curious about roller coasters. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed. Frazee captures the range of emotions and the variety of people waiting in line to ride the roller coaster. Then she narrows the view as a group of people, including one who has never ridden a roller coaster before, to one train car. The car slowly climbs to the top and the rushes down in a fast swooshing, swirling, dizzying ride. Roller coasters usually have height restrictions for riders, so many young children reading this book may not be tall enough to ride, just yet. But, if they have been to an amusement park, they have probably noticed the large, noisy, brightly colored roller coaster with it’s speeding train cars. This is a great book to help explain the roller coaster ride and show through illustrations why some people love it, and some don’t.

Best Friends Day

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin is a book about best friends and what happens when middle school comes and one of the friends changes. Told from the perspective of a twelve-year old girl whose atypical perceptions of her world color every word in book, this book explores some difficult issues from facing death to grieving to being ostracized to feeling different. Yet, beneath all is a strength that brings optimism. This is one of the best middle-grade novels I’ve read recently, and I think it’s a great read for any age–even adults.

P.S. You will learn a lot about jellyfish and other random facts.

VJ Day

Today is known as Victory Over Japan Day. Depending on your time zone, August 14, 1945, was the day the U.S. and allies declared victory over Japan in WWII. War has consequences that affect all of us. Kirby Larson’s book Dash, written for middle grade kids, is about a family caught up in the anxiety and terror in the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. For Japanese Americans and immigrants living on the west coast in the U.S., it was a life changing event. There were fears and rumors that they would help Japan in World War II. This resulted in War Relocation camps. Families were taken from their homes and put in barracks behind fences. Dash is the story, based on a true story, of a child who wanted to bring her dog with her. She wrote a letter to a general to ask if the dog could come with her, and he said no. A neighbor kept the dog and wrote a diary of the dog’s activities. After a year in camp, the dog was allowed back with its owner. Dash is heart warming and uplifting.

Water Quality Month

Author illustrator Lara Hawthorne was inspired to write this story after hearing about a rougheye rockfish that was caught off the coast of Alaska and then lived to be 205. What might this fish have seen and experienced over those years? Alba is Hawthorne’s fictionalized version of the rockfish. Alba lives in an old spotted shell in a city of coral with colorful sea creature friends who scuttle and dart into interesting and hidden places. Alba loves to collect beautiful things. “I have an eye for such things,” she says. Every year on her birthday she finds something special and adds it to her collection. As time goes on, it becomes harder for Alba to find something beautiful. The coral reef is less colorful, there are fewer sea creatures, and strange objects clutter the ocean. One day Alba sees a pearl and swims to get it, but it’s inside a discarded plastic bottle, and Alba becomes stuck. The bottle drifts to shore where a young girl rescues Alba. When the girl realizes that Alba is in danger because of the debris and plastic thrown in the ocean by the people in her town, she takes action. She encourages everyone to clean up the ocean. The sea becomes beautiful again, and Alba is returned to her home in the spotted shell, and the coral reef begins to regain its color. This is a lovely story with beautiful illustrations that show the cause and effect of water pollution and what we can do about it. A good story to begin showing young children the importance of keeping our waterways clean.

World Elephant Day

The Elephant Girl by James Patterson and Ellen Banda-Aaku is fiction based on true events. Jama, a young Kenyan girl who has lost her father, relates how she has a special place to be alone near a watering hole. She watches the birth of a baby elephant whom she names Mgebu, which is the Swahili word for seed. Later, in a tragic turn of events, the elephants stampede when frightened by poachers and trample her mother. The villagers want to take revenge on the elephants, and Jama wants to save them. This story showing the bond between animals and people is sure to appeal to teens who love animals or who love reading about other cultures. It is also a great read for adults.

Presidential Joke Day

For Presidential Joke Day, Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country) by Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer talks about Abraham Lincoln and how he like humor and used it to defuse tense situations. Not everybody loved his sense of humor, but it helped him make friends and win elections. Stacy Innerst’s illustrations contribute to the fun of the book. I think if you choose this book, you will agree with Honest Abe that today is a great day for the race. The race, you may ask, what race? Ah, that would be the human race!