5-Minute Displays
This calendar list of birthdays and other special days will allow you to quickly put together a small display of materials from your collection. Simply gather a few books, print a small sign to explain the theme of the display, and you're ready to go! You might also display a simple biography of birthday honorees (check online -- some links are provided here).
Sample birthday signs (in Word document format so that you can
edit!):
Bill Peet
Lois Lowry
Isaac Asimov
January
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2 -- Isaac Asimov B-day |
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3 -- Alma Flor Ada B-day (http://www.almaflorada.com/) & J.R.R. Tolkien B-day (http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/index.html) |
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4 -- Phyllis Renolds Naylor B-day (http://www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/mtai/naylor.html) & the B-day of Louis Braille |
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11 -- Amelia Earhart Day |
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12 -- Jack London B-day & Charles Perrault (founder of the fairy tale) B-day |
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15 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. B-day (MLK Day will be celebrated January 17th in 2011) |
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17 -- Ben Franklin B-day & Robert Cormier B-day (http://www.carr.org/mae/cormier/cormier.htm) |
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18 -- Winnie the Pooh Day & Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
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19 -- Pat Mora B-day (http://www.patmora.com/) |
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21 -- Squirrel Appreciation Day |
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27 -- Lewis Carroll B-day |
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29 -- Bill Peet B-day & National Puzzle Day & Rosemary Wells B-Day |
February
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1 -- It's Black History Month. Display books and recordings about African American composers and musicians. Later in the month you might change your display to African American writers or scientists. |
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2 -- Groundhog Day |
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3 -- Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit -- 2011) |
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7 -- Laura Ingalls Wilder B-day & Charles Dickens B-day |
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8 -- Mardi Gras 2011 (You might display books about New Orleans with some beads or paper chains in purple, gold and green.) |
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12 -- Abraham Lincoln B-day (2010 marks his 201st!) & Judy Blume B-day (http://www.judyblume.com/) |
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21 -- President's Day 2011 |
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25 -- Edward Gorey B-day |
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28 -- Daniel Handler B-day |
March
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2 -- Dr. Seuss B-day (http://www.catinthehat.org/) & "Read Across America Day" |
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5 -- Iditarod 2011 begins (display related books; draw the route on a map of Alaska -- see http://www.iditarod.com). |
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6 -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez B-day (http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/) |
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6-12 -- Teen Tech Week 2011 |
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8 -- Mardi Gras in 2011 |
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11-- Ezra Jack Keats B-day |
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12 -- Carl Hiaasen B-Day (http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.shtml) |
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17 -- St. Patrick's Day (Display books about Ireland; hand out shamrock bookmarks -- available from SWILSA.) |
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20 -- Lois Lowry B-day (http://www.loislowry.com/) & Lois Sachar B-day (http://www.louissachar.com/) |
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24 -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti B-day (http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/lawrence_ferlinghetti) |
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25 -- Kate DiCamillo B-day (http://www.katedicamillo.com/) |
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28 -- Mario Vargas Llosa B-day |
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31 -- Cesar Chavez B-day |
April
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1 -- April Fool's Day (joke books); April is also Poetry Month (display poetry books all month long) |
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6-12 -- National Library Week 2012 |
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12 -- Gary Soto B-day & Beverly Cleary B-day & D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Day (See http://www.dropeverythingandread.com/ -- includes a printable flyer.) |
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12 -- Support Teen Literature Day (2012) (http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Support_Teen_Literature_Day) |
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22 -- Earth Day (display your newest environmental books; add a few recycling symbols -- available from SWILSA) |
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29 -- Arbor Day 2011 (last Friday in April) -- (display books about trees; print the poem by Joyce Kilmer -- http://www.bartleby.com/104/119.html; scatter a few die cut leaves -- available from SWILSA) |
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26 -- John James Audubon B-day |
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28 -- Terry Pratchett B-day (http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/) |
May
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National Bike Month (display any materials about bicycle repair, area bike trails, etc.) -- see http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/promo.php for more ideas. |
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1-7 -- Be Kind to Animals Week (2011) |
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5 -- Cinco de Mayo (display books about Mexican heritage) & Leo Lionni B-day (http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/lionni/) |
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10 -- Christopher Paul Curtis B-day |
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11 -- Salvador Dali B-day |
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12 -- Limerick Day |
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17 -- Gary Paulsen B-day |
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18 -- Lillian Hoban B-day |
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22 -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle B-day |
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23 -- Margaret Wise Brown B-day |
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24 -- Mo Willem's B-day (http://www.mowillems.com/) |
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27 -- Rachel Carson B-day |
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29 -- John F. Kennedy B-day (display biographies) |
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28 -- International Jazz Day (display books and recordings -- always on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend) |
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30 -- Memorial Day (The Wall by Eve Bunting, Memorial Day by Robin Nelson, etc.) |
June
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6 -- Cynthia Rylant B-day and Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (2011) |
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18 -- Chris Van Allsburg B-day |
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22 -- Dan Brown B-day (http://www.danbrown.com/) |
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25 -- Eric Carle B-day (http://www.eric-carle.com/) |
July
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2 -- Jean Craighead George B-day (http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/) |
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8 -- Raffi B-day |
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11 -- E. B. White B-day |
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17 -- Chris Crutcher B-day |
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20 -- Anniversary of the First Moon Landing (1969) |
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21 -- Hemmingway's B-day |
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22 -- S. E. Hinton B-day (http://www.sehinton.com/) |
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28 -- Beatrix Potter B-day |
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29 -- Sharon Creech B-day (http://www.sharoncreech.com/) |
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31 -- J. K. Rowling B-day (http://www.jkrowling.com/) |
August
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5 -- Neil Armstrong B-day |
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6 -- Frank Asch B-day |
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11 -- Alex Haley B-day |
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12 -- Walter Dean Myer B-day |
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18 -- "Bad Poetry Day" (always the 18th) |
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19 -- Ogden Nash B-day |
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21 -- Winnie the Pooh's B-day (he turns 90 in 2011!) |
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22 -- Ray Bradbury B-day |
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24 -- Paulo Coelho B-day (http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/engl/) and National Punctuation Day (http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/) |
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26 -- Women's Equality Day (passage of the 19th Amendment) (http://www.nwhp.org/resourcecenter/equalityday.php) |
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30 -- Mary Shelley B-day |
September
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It's National Honey Month -- decorate with honeybee stickers or cut-outs. Display some books about bees & honey. Include a few Winnie the Pooh books and coloring pages for the children. |
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8 -- John Scieszka B-day & Jack Prelutsky B-day (http://www.jackprelutsky.com/) |
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13 -- Roald Dahl B-day (http://www.roalddahl.com/) |
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15 -- Tomie dePaola B-day (http://www.tomie.com/) & Agatha Christie B-day |
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16 -- Display Curious George books in honor of H.A. Rey's B-day (Southwest libraries can order die cut monkey shapes from SWILSA) |
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17 -- Constitution Day (1787) |
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18-24 -- Fall Hat Week (4th week of September) |
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19 -- Talk Like a Pirate Day (display pirate books; find some pirate jokes online) (Southwest libraries can order die cut pirates, sailing ships, skull-and-crossbones and parrot bookmarks from SWILSA) |
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21 -- Stephen King B-Day |
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24 -- F. Scott Fitzgerald B-Day |
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25 -- Shel Silverstein B-day (http://shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html) |
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26 -- Johnny Appleseed's B-day (Southwest libraries can order die cut apple shapes from SWILSA) |
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30 -- Laura Esquivel B-day & Truman Capote B-day |
October
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2-8 -- National 4-H Week 2011 (Southwest libraries may order 4 leaf clover shapes from SWILSA) |
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9-15 -- Fire Prevention Week 2011 & (Southwest libraries may order die cut fire engines from SWILSA) |
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6 -- American Library Association founded in 1876 |
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7 -- Sherman Alexie B-day |
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9 -- Leif Erikson Day |
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12 -- Columbus Day (observed on nearest Monday) (Southwest libraries can order die cut sailing ships from SWILSA) |
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14 -- Lois Lenski B-day (http://www.purplehousepress.com/sig/lenskibio.htm) & Winnie-the-Pooh first published in 1926 |
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15 -- National Grouch Day (find children's books about Oscar the Grouch) |
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16 -- Dictionary Day (Noah Webster's b-day) |
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17 - 23 -- Teen Read Week 2010 |
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21 -- Ursula LeGuin B-day |
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24 -- United Nations Day (display print-outs of world flags) |
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25 -- Pablo Picasso B-day |
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27 -- Teddy Bear Day (Teddy Roosevelt B-day) (Southwest libraries can order die cut teddy bear shapes and bookmarks from SWILSA) |
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29 -- Anniversary of the Creation of the Internet (1969) |
November
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Aviation History Month |
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4 -- Anniversary of the discovery of King Tut's tomb. (display some books about Egypt) |
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10 -- Neil Gaiman B-day (http://www.neilgaiman.com/) |
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12 -- Kevin Henkes B-day (http://www.kevinhenkes.com/) |
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15 -- America Recycles Day |
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17 -- Christopher Paolini B-day (http://www.alagaesia.com/christopherpaolini.htm) |
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18 -- Mickey Mouse B-day |
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25 -- P. D. Eastman B-day and Andrew Carnegie B-day |
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30 -- Mark Twain B-day |
December
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1 -- Jan Brett B-day (http://www.janbrett.com/) & World AIDS Day |
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7 -- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day |
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13 -- National Cocoa Day (see www.cocoatree.org) |
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20-28 -- Hanukkah in 2011 (look for books to display -- there is a good list of books for children in the December 2004 issue of Library Sparks magazine) |
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23 -- Avi B-day |
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25 -- Pam Munoz Ryan B-day (http://www.pammunozryan.com/) |
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26 -- Kwanzaa begins (do you have children's books about Kwanzaa?) |
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30 -- Mercer Mayer B-day (Print a few coloring pages from http://www.littlecritter.com/) |