October Holidays by Brenna

In October, most Americans have their eye on Oct. 31—Halloween.  It has become the second most popular holiday after Christmas.  However, many countries around the world also spend October celebrating the needs of people and animals. Though there are several holidays that take place, I’ve chosen my three favorites to share. 

On the Oct. 4, “World Animal Day” celebrates the lives of animals in all their forms from common pets to the endangered creatures we barely know.  A couple of books to get “World Animal Day” going are

“50 Games to Play with Your Dog” by Suellen Dainty and 

“The Smartest Animals on the Planet” by Dr. Sally Boysen. 

The next day, Oct. 5, we acknowledge teachers and all they do for their students and communities with “World Teacher Day.”  For this observance, check out

“A School like Mine” by Penny Smith, where children get to learn about the habits and customs of 78 different school children.  Another good choice is

“The Promise”by Oral Brown which is a record of her journey in helping that classroom of first graders in 1987 through high school and upon graduation, her willingness to pay for their college educations.

 And last, Oct. 24 is “United Nations Day” which highlights the U.N.’s achievements throughout the year and its plans for further improvement.  If you want to learn more, look for

“An Insider’s Guide to the UN” byLinda Fasulo which is an overview of the workings of the United Nations and the how and why it all began.

“Every Human Has Rights” from National Geographic is full of pictures and poems from communities around the world based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But, for all of us who love Halloween, we’ve got plenty of items to check out to you too.  And don’t miss the October edition of our new series, “Bucket Books.”  We’ll be covering the best horror titles of all time.