A Book Treasure Chest

I grew up with a love of reading. I saw my parents reading. I saw books in our house (my dad's office is overflowing with books with folded corners and notes written on pages ... hmmm I just realized that may help explain why most of my books have folded corners and notes written in them). I remember stories being read to me, for some reason I really remember hearing Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst (one of my mom's favorite authors). I enjoy reading and learning about reading and books. I enjoyed teaching reading and writing when I taught 4th grade. I especially enjoyed connected reading and writing as well as helping students make those connections.

Even though I now work in Instructional Technology, I still love learning about reading and finding great children's books (I also have a 5 year daughter who I hope will enjoy reading too). I was delighted on day to find Anita Silvey's Children's Book-A-Day Almanac. Each day on her site, a book is presented along with some background of the story and/or the author. Anita Silvey has a nice way of telling just enough to get you interested but not giving away the whole story.

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.

But there is more to look at that just one story each day! There is always an image of the book/story she is going to focus on the next day. You can also search the book archives by age group, book type, subject, date the book was showcased and more. I decided to look at the book searches and see what I could find!

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo was one of my favorite books to read and study with my 4th grade students (here are a few of the projects they did with this book). In that book, one can find some many opportunities to introduce, practice, assess, and reinforce so many reading and writing skills. (Not only did I enjoy reading it with students, I just enjoy the book too!). You can find this book discussed on Anita Silvey's site by looking for fiction books. You could also find it in the elementary school category.

As someone who likes to say that I try to learn something new each day, I am so glad to have found Anita Silvey's Children's Book-A-Day Almanac. Not only does she introduce a book each day, but a reader can find a box on the side with information about other events that happened on that day in history related to books and reading.

Since I wanted to remember to check her site each day since I was sure I would find lots of great information. I wrote to Anita Silvey and got her permission to place the Children's Book-A-Day Almanac's logo on the sidebar of my blog. (I added a picture gadget and then linked it to her site). I am glad she agreed because I love looking at the book treasure chest she is creating ...