In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Children’s Book Week (April 29 to May 5, 2019), the Library of Congress has launched a unique online collection of 67 historically significant children’s books published more than 100 years ago. Drawn from the Library’s collections, Children’s Book Selections are digital versions both of classic works still read …
To kick off our celebration of Children’s Book Week (April 29-May 3), we invite you to tune into our live stream on Monday, April 29th, beginning at 10 am EDT.
We will be livestreaming a special program from the Young Readers Center in the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Local authors who are members of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC, will be reading twenty special children’s books from the Library’s collections.
Mark Twain's reputation spans the centuries: He spent much of his lifetime as one of the most famous writers in the United States, and his works continue to appear in classrooms, as well as in debates over the curriculum. Even now, more than a century after his death, the discovery of an unpublished Twain tale has led to the publication of a new children’s book, which is the subject of an upcoming program at the Library of Congress.
Helen Keller had been eagerly writing since she had first gained the ability to do so several years before. Although an illness in her infancy had left her unable to see or hear, an inventive teacher, Annie Sullivan, introduced her to language, and soon she was reading and writing using braille and the assistance of interpreters.
During the last week of September, a number of organizations observe Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the freedom to read. As the Library of Congress is currently commemorating the hundredth anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I, this is an opportunity to explore a wave of book burnings in American towns that took place during the war.
In July 2014, when Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced that Billy Joel would receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, he described Joel as being, "a storyteller of the highest order."
Talented songwriters can be great storytellers! Not only do their songs often include elements of a short story, but they do so in ways that listeners can easily imagine and relate to.