This essential guide has exactly the right books to help you celebrate special days throughout the year―even "holidays" you've never heard of―and provides hundreds of fun titles and activities that could inspire your students to become life-long readers. Young students need to continually be presented with a vast variety of types of books, authors, illustrators, and subject matter in order to find the perfect concept or image that sparks their imagination, takes their comprehension to a new level, or helps them turn the corner to becoming a book lover. Nancy J. Polette's The Picture Book Almanac: Picture Books and Activities to Celebrate 365 Familiar and Unusual Holidays can be used year-round as a key to open that great literary treasure vault. The books Polette has painstakingly selected for their value as learning opportunities tie into both familiar and unusual holidays, ranging from official, nationally recognized holidays to obscure ones such as Milk Day and Thesaurus Day. The daily featured book titles cover the classics, such as books in the Paddington Bear series and Cinderella to outstanding current and just-published titles, collectively representing the best choices for collection building over time. This book is an excellent tool for collection development as well as an indispensable resource for reading teachers and classroom teachers. “The book would make a great addition to any children's librarian or elementary educator's reference shelf and could be useful for those home-schooling or caring for children at home as well.” ― ProtoView Nancy J. Polette is professor emeritus at Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO.