The Year You Were Born, 1986 Book

Every child makes family history the day they are born. These books let young readers check out what else happened that day—and every other day of that year. "Trends and trivia as well as standard history furnish the entries in this almanac, ordered like a calendar....Kids will love this singular and inventive [series]....Lanfredi enhances the pages with numerous small cartoons and....cheerful, seasonally inspired borders."—Publishers Weekly.

Author Biography: In Her Own Words...

"I have always been intrigued by the notion that what is happening at the exact moment in history when we are born shapes us as human beings-in ways about which we can only speculate.

"In 1958, the year I was born, the beatnik movement was spreading throughout the U.S.; the cha-cha was the hot dance craze; the first parking meters appeared in London; de Gaulle was elected president of France; Khrushchev became the premier of the Soviet Union; Alaska was voted the 49th state in the U.S.; Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote was published; the Nobel prize for Literature was won by Boris Pasternak; the Guggenheim Museum opened in New York City; Gigi won best picture at the Oscars; the first domestic jet airline passenger service in the U.S. opened; and the first U.S. satellite, Explorer I, was put into orbit. I am not quite sure how (or if) all these happenings affected me, but I still find it interesting to contemplate.

"As a child I was fascinated by astrology for the same reason; I thought it not at all unlikely that a person could somehow be influenced by the position of Earth in relation to the stars and the planets. In the chaotic and confusing world in which welive, I believe it is natural for us to look for ways that connect us-to each other, to the events of history, to the planet. In today's hi-tech age of computers and virtual reality, children need this sense of context and continuity more than ever.

"When I begin working on a book for The Year You Were Born series, I have to totally clear the decks in my life. The research for the book is very intense—it never seems as if there will be enough time to find a perfect event for each day of the year. I want so much for kids to have an interesting, exciting or fun entry on their very own birthday or in their birth month. In sifting through the events, trends, fads and statistics of the year, I make an effort to keep a good balance between entertaining and informing the reader. When I was young I loved reading about weird happenings, crazy contests, and fantastic world records, so I try to include as much of that kind of thing as I can. I think parents enjoy these books as much as their children do, but most of all, I love watching kids' eyes light up whenever I read to them from The Year You Were Born about something that took place on the very day they came into the world."

Presents an assortment of events, news items, and facts for each day of the year 1986.