2014 marked several landmark birthdays for Scholastic publications. Our new library assistant, Katie, investigated the archive and pulled out some of the favorites that celebrated anniversaries this year – check them out!
10th BIRTHDAYS
Polar Bear Night, written by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Steven Savage – A starred review in Kirkus describes “the deft craftsmanship, like carving an ice sculpture,” which propelled this beautiful story to The New York Times ‘Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year’ list in 2004, as well as several other best books lists in the years to follow.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, the first installment of the popular Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton – In its 2004 review of this title (which has a Lexile measure of 1120L!), Children’s Literature notes, “Benton nails the attitude of a middle school girl and all her pessimistic drama.”
SWEET 16 BIRTHDAYS
No, David! by David Shannon – Identified as a book of special distinction by The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and referred to as a “dead-on take on childhood shenanigans” by Publishers Weekly, this title earned the 1998 Caldecott Honor.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling – Reviewing this first volume in the bestselling book series of all time, The New York Times declared, “Much like Roald Dahl, J. K. Rowling has a gift for keeping the emotions, fears and triumphs of her characters on a human scale, even while the supernatural is popping out all over.” How true!
25th BIRTHDAYS
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon, written by Mike Thaler and illustrated by Jared Lee – The first book in the bestselling Black Lagoon series, it is an ideal read aloud for the first day of school, and it was the featured story in a traveling musical revue put on by Theaterworks USA.
My Secret Identity, by Jovial Bob Stine (a pen name for our beloved Fear Street and Goosebumps author) – Dating myself here… I watched the TV show that this novelization is based on, and apparently so did R.L. Stine!
Is Your Mama a Llama?, written by Deborah Guarino and illustrated by Steven Kellogg – Guarino’s “lilting verse that begs to be read aloud”, as described by Booklist, works seamlessly with Kellogg’s illustrations, and earned this title a spot on NEA’s Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children list.
50th BIRTHDAYS
These old timers are from the beginning years of Scholastic printing original publications. How far we’ve come!
If You Lived in Colonial Times, by Ann McGovern
The Story of Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor: The Wizard of Menlo Park, written by Margaret Davidson and illustrated by Jerome B. Moriarty
The Bird in the Hat, by Norman Bridwell
How to care for your dog, written by Jean Bethell and illustrated by Norman Bridwell
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to these great books!
Be sure to have a slice of cake in their honor over the holidays.
