Book+of+the+Day+-+Mar

Mar - slide show



__Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets__ by J.K. Rowling (BOTD Mar 1)

Harry and his best friend Ron miss the train back to Hogwarts at the beginning of the 2nd book of the mega-popular series so Ron “drives” them back to school in his father’s magical, flying car. Ron was 12 years old at the time so it would be several years before he was of legal driving age. According to author J.K. Rowling, Ron turned 16 years old on March 1 during the 6th book of the series. __The Cat in the Hat__ by Dr. Seuss (BOTD Mar 2)

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was born on Mar 2, 1904. A 1954 __Life__ magazine article drew attention to the fact that most grade school reading books were very boring and had very bland pictures. Geisel's friend, a director of a textbook company, challenged him to "Write a story that 1st graders can't put down!" The result was this children's masterpiece! __The Miracle Worker__ by William Gibson (BOTD Mar 3)

Helen Keller had been blind and deaf since a severe illness just before her 2nd birthday. At the age of 6 she became frustrated and violent because of her inability to communicate. In desperation her parents hired a tutor named Annie Sullivan who arrived on Mar 3, 1887. Through persistence and love Annie broke through Helen’s walls of silence and darkness and taught her to communicate through sign language. __A Year Down Yonder__ by Richard Peck (BOTD Mar 4)

President Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated on Mar 4, 1933 at the height of the Great Depression. This Newbery Award winning book is set during the Great Depression. 15 year old Alice is sent to live with her rough and irrepressible grandmother in a small, rural town for a year while her parents try to eke out a living in Chicago. __2001: A Space Odyssey__ by Arthur C. Clarke (BOTD Mar 7)

An eerie, towering black obelisk has been excavated on the Earth’s moon and when the rays of the sun fall on it for the first time in eons it transmits a signal to the alien race that left it behind. In 1968 the book was adapted into a one of the most visually innovative, groundbreaking films in Hollywood history. Famed director Stanley Kubrick died on Mar 7, 1999. __The Old Man and the Sea__ by Ernest Hemingway (BOTD Mar 8)

Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, has gone 84 days without catching a single fish before venturing far out into the Gulf Stream and hooking a giant marlin and struggling to bring it to shore. Other than fishing his great love is baseball. In particular he is fan of Joe DiMaggio, a legendary New York Yankee center fielder and son of a fisherman. DiMaggio passed away on Mar 8, 1999. __The Crucible__ by Arthur Miller (BOTD Mar 9)

This 1953 play is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials, but was also intended as an allegory about McCarthyism. President Eisenhower and members of the U.S. Senate leveled criticism at Joseph McCarthy on Mar 9, 1954, a clear sign that McCarthy's glory days as an investigator on communist activity in the U.S. were coming to an end.

__Lost Horizon__ by James Hilton (BOTD Mar 10)

After crash landing in Tibet, a group of British subjects seek refuge in a mysterious monastery in a hidden valley known as Shangri-La where the nuns and monks are incredibly wise and never grow old. In 1939 this became the 1st American book published in paperback format. The term Shangri-La has become synonymous with an earthly paradise. On Mar 10, 1959, Tibetans revolted against Chinese occupation. __The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy__ by Douglas Adams (BOTD Mar 11)

A hapless Englishman named Arthur Dent is caught up in a series of adventures that span the galaxy. Written with a dry, British sense of humor a la Monty Python, this book is a unique combination of science fiction and comedy. The origin of the story can be traced back to a BBC radio broadcast. Author Douglas Adams was born on Mar 11, 1952. __Life of Pi__ by Yann Martel (BOTD Mar 14)

The hero of this 2001 adventure novel is an Indian boy named Piscine "Pi" Patel. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger. Mar 14 (3.14) is National Pi Day. Pi is an important mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. __Julius Caesar__ by William Shakespeare (BOTD Mar 15)

In the ancient Roman calendar Mar 15th is referred to as the "Ides of March." This was the day that Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by members of the Roman Senate in 44 BC. In Shakespeare's version, Caesar encounters a fortune teller who warns him to "Beware the Ides of March." __The Scarlet Letter__ by Nathaniel Hawthorne (BOTD Mar 16)

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Even though the infamous Salem witch trials had taken place more than 100 years earlier, they were still influential in many of his novels. This story of adultery and betrayal was 1st published on Mar 16, 1850.

__Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings__ by Ingo Walther (BOTD Mar 17)

11 years after his death, an exhibition of paintings by Vincent van Gogh cause a sensation at a Paris art show on Mar 17, 1901. In his lifetime he sold only 1 painting, died penniless, and could never have envisioned the fame that awaited him. 7 of the 25 most expensive paintings ever sold are by Van Gogh. Those 7 paintings sold for a combined $670 million. __The Giver__ by Lois Lowry (BOTD Mar 18)

Jonas is a boy who lives in what appears to be a utopian society, but he begins to realize the darker truth when he is apprenticed to the Giver, an elderly man who knows things that the rest of the citizens do not. Author Lois Lowry was born in Hawaii. The U.S. Congress passed an Act on Mar 18, 1959 that allowed Hawaii to be admitted to the Union later that year.

__Heart of Darkness__ by Joseph Conrad (BOTD Mar 21)

This symbolic story depicts a ferryboat ride up a dangerous river in Africa. The war movie __Apocalypse Now__ was loosely based on this story. On Mar 21, 1871, journalist Henry Stanley began a search for Dr. David Livingstone who had disappeared while searching for the source of the Nile River. After a 7 month search he found him and uttered the famous words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

__Hondo__ by Louis L’Amour (BOTD Mar 22)

At a remote desert ranch in New Mexico a woman named Angie and her 9 yr old son come across a stranger drinking water from their river, carrying only a sadle and a rifle that is inscribed “Hondo.” John Wayne starred as the mysterious “Hondo” Lane in the 1953 film version. Author Louis L’Amour was born in North Dakota on Mar 22, 1908. __Give Me Liberty!__ by Russell Freedman (BOTD Mar 23)

On Mar 23, 1775, Founding Father Patrick Henry spoke the immortal words “Give me liberty or give me death,” in opposition to British rule in America. Noted historian Russell Freedman chronicles the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and the formation of the United States of America. __Walk Two Moons__ by Sharon Creech (BOTD Mar 24)

As part of the grieving process, a young girl travels cross country with her eccentric grandparents to the place where her mother died in a bus crash a year earlier. A famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who died on Mar 24, 1882, is woven throughout the story:

“The little waves, with their soft white hands, Erase the footprints in the sands And the tide rises, the tide falls. The day returns, but nevermore Does the traveler to the shore And the tide rises, the tide falls.” __The Republic__ by Plato (BOTD Mar 25)

The Ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are some of the most influential thinkers in the history of mankind. This is Plato’s best known work and one of the key books on philosophy. During the early 1800’s the Greeks were ruled by the Ottoman Turks. They began a successful revolt on Mar 25, 1821, and Greek Independence Day is still celebrated each year on Mar 25.

__For Whom the Bell Tolls__ by Ernest Hemingway (BOTD Mar 28)

This novel is set against the background of the Spanish Civil War which officially ended on Mar 28, 1939. The protagonist, an American named Robert Jordan, travels to Spain to help fight an oppressive government. Jordan, a demolitions expert, leads a mission to destroy a vital supply bridge. Jordan’s character was based on Hemingway’s real life experiences in the war. __Beethoven’s Hair__ by Russell Martin (BOTD Mar 29)

In the days after Beethoven’s death in 1827, a young musician snipped a lock of the composer’s hair as a keepsake. The relic was passed down for generations. In 1994 it was bought at an auction by an American doctor who made arrangements for the hair to be tested with modern DNA tests. 20,000 people from Vienna lined the streets to watch Beethoven’s funeral procession on Mar 29, 1827. __Dogsong__ by Gary Paulsen (BOTD Mar 30)

A 14 year old Eskimo boy is frustrated with the many changes coming to his culture so he takes his sled dogs and goes off to find some answers to his questions. But what he finds instead is a dying pregnant girl who ran away from her village. U.S. Secretary of State William Seward concluded an all-night negotiating session at 4:00 a.m. and agreed to buy Alaska from Russia on Mar 30, 1867. __The Hunchback of Notre Dame__ by Victor Hugo (BOTD Mar 31)

The Eiffel Tower opened in Paris on Mar 31, 1889. Another famous icon of Paris is the Notre Dame Cathedral which is the main setting of this sweeping novel. The epic tale covers the entire scope of existence from the King of France all way down to street rats, but mainly focuses on Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre Dame, and Esmeralda, a beautiful gypsy with a kind and generous heart.