This list creatively kicks off the system’s 125th anniversary celebrations. They’ve also prepared all sorts of rad events and new merchandise to commemorate the occasion. I spend about 89% of my waking hours wishing I lived in New York, so with these events happening, my yearning will bump up to be all consuming.
There is new merchandise—please cast your eyes upon the super cute tote!—and two special limited edition library cards honoring the 1st place book, which is Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day. For $1, trade in your regular library card for one featuring an image from The Snowy Day (available throughout the system). Additionally, you can buy a commemorative MetroCard at ten stations across five boroughs. However, they are only available while supplies last. NYPL has planned a series of programs for all ages, from author talks to branch-specific merriment (creating fake snow for kids, panel discussions for adults). There will also be the reopening of the system’s newly renovated central circulating library and the opening of the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library Treasures, a permanent, free exhibition that will display items from the Library’s research collections. Now, what you are really here to learn about is the books and their checkout numbers: You can find out more about the top ten here, and read down the list to find out why Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon was made an honorable mention. To sum it up, the book might have been number one on the list if not for a very influential hater. Overall, The Snowy Day is a great story and a great early example of diversity in children’s books. Hurray for its victory!
