Chinese New Year Starts Today and Lasts for 15 Days

 Events
Feb 102024
 
Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year starts today and lasts for 15 days. The year 2024 is the year of the dragon. Customs vary from region to region. However, most Chinese thoroughly clean their homes to welcome in the gods. Family meals are essential, and fireworks are common. The color red is lucky, and children are often given red packets of money. Children could read Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith’s Celebrating Chinese New Year. Lawrence Migdale provided the amazing photographs for the book. Children can learn more at: Chinese New Year.

French and Indian War Officially Ended in 1763

 Events
Feb 102024
 
George Washington in British Uniform

George Washington in British Uniform

French and Indian War officially ended in 1763. The French and the British signed the Treaty of Paris. The war meant that the British greatly expanded their territory in North America. However, the war was a tremendous financial burden to Great Britain. That financial burden was passed on to the American colonists in the form of various taxes. The French and Indian War eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Did you know George Washington was an officer on the British side? Children could read Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars 1689-1763 by Betsy Maestro and Giulio Maestro.

Amendment Twenty-Five to the Constitution Was Adopted in 1967

 Events
Feb 102024
 

Amendment Twenty-Five to the Constitution was adopted in 1967. It delineated presidential succession requirements under four conditions and clarified Article II of the Constitution.

1. Should the President die, the Vice President becomes President.
2. Should there be no Vice President, the President can nominate someone and both portions of Congress must confirm the candidate with a majority of votes.
3. Should the President be unavailable (for example, a medical operation), the Vice President can take over.
4. Should the President be unable to discharge powers, the Vice President, with the support of Congress, can take over the responsibilities. This has never happened.

Older children can learn more at: Amendment Twenty-Five.

 

Birthdays

 Birthdays
Feb 102024
 

Adrienne Adams (born Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1906; died Rolla, Missouri, December 3, 2002) wrote and illustrated books for children. She received a 1960 Caldecott Honor Award for her illustrations in Houses from the Sea. Adams earned a 1961 Caldecott Honor Award for her work in The Day We Saw the Sun Come Up. Alice E. Goudy wrote both of those books. Children can learn more at: Adrienne Adams.

Lucy Cousins (born United Kingdom, 1964) has written at least 38 books for children. She is best known for her series Maisy the Mouse. Children can view her website at: Maisy.

Stephen Gammell (born Des Moines, Iowa, 1943) has illustrated over 50 books for children. He received a Caldecott Honor Award in 1983 for Where the Buffaloes Begin. He earned the 1989 Caldecott Medal for Song and Dance Man. He illustrated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and its sequels.

Elaine Lobl Konigsburg (born New York, New York, 1930; died Falls Church, Virginia, April 19, 2013) was a children’s author. She wrote among other works Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, which received a 1968 Newbery Honor Award. In that same year Konigsburg was awarded the Newbery Medal for the classic From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. She received another Newbery Medal in 1997 for A View from Saturday. Children can learn more at: Elaine Lobl Konigsburg.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (born Moscow, Russia, 1890; died Moscow, Russia, May 30, 1960) was an author. One of his most famous works is Doctor Zhivago; he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 for the book. Children can read some of his poems at: Pasternak.

Leontyne Price (born Laurel, Mississippi, 1927) is an opera singer. She rose to fame as one of the first African Americans to perform in leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1997 she wrote Aida, a book for children, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon.