Children's Book Columns

 Check the back seat of the car and under the bed – it’s Food for Fines Week, and that means you can return your overdue library books and do a good deed at the same time. Through next Sunday, for every canned good or non-perishable item that you bring to any branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, we'll deduct a dollar from your overdue fines, up to a maximum amount of $10.00. All contributions go to local food banks.

          While you’re at the library, be sure to take a look at the exhibits. This month at the Headquarters Library, matchbox cars from the collection of Jeremy Harrison fill the second floor exhibit case. Dozens of brightly painted metal cars are set up in and around a garage, complete with service bays, ramps and even a heliport. 

          After your children have had their fill of the exhibit, be sure to check out a few books for young auto enthusiasts.

Well-behaved women seldom make history, as historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich famously said. Julie Cummins’ new book, “Women Daredevils, Thrills, Chills, and Frills,” introduces ten somewhat ill-behaved but admirable women to young readers.

Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2 has become cause for celebration in libraries and schools across the land.  At the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, free festivities for kids will be held this Saturday and Monday at various branches.  Check librarypoint.org for details.

What’s the most popular picture book of all time? If you, like me, guessed “Goodnight Moon” or “The Cat in the Hat,” you’d be close, but wrong. The children’s picture book that has sold more than either of those classics is Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” with more than 29 million copies in print.