Betsy Bird's Blog, page 105

Review of the Day – Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon by Sarah Dvojack

Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon
By Sarah Dvojack
Imprint (a part of Macmillan)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250774507
On shelves now

When people are giving up-and-coming authors of children’s books advice, one thing you’ll often hear is, “Read read read.” You want to write picture books? Read what’s going on the shelves right now. You want to write a fantasy for 10-year-olds? Then find yourself the best fantasies for kids and read them. And if you want to write a picture book biography of ...

Review of the Day – Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon

Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon
By Sarah Dvojack
Imprint (a part of Macmillan)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250774507
On shelves now

When people are giving up-and-coming authors of children’s books advice, one thing you’ll often hear is, “Read read read.” You want to write picture books? Read what’s going on the shelves right now. You want to write a fantasy for 10-year-olds? Then find yourself the best fantasies for kids and read them. And if you want to write a picture book biography of ...

I Get to Interview Elizabeth Warren!!! . . . There May Also Be a Book Involved in Some Way.

A Complete History of All My Encounters With Politicians Right Up To This Precise Moment:

Met Senator Paul Wellstone at a party in Minnesota in 2001. He mistakenly seemed to think that my friends and I were donors. The food was good.Had tea (with a bunch of other librarians and booksellers) in NYC with then Vice-Presidential First Lady Dr. Biden when she released her picture book Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops in 2012. Interviewed Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2021.

Thaaaaaat’s right! I ...

My Parents Won’t Stop Talking! A Tillie Walden and Emma Hunsinger Interview Joint

So, if you’re a reviewer you get a lot of email promoting upcoming titles. And frankly, it’s a lot. After a while it just sort of feels samey. This one’s about a cat. This one’s about a chicken. This one’s about a cat that’s chicken. This one’s about a chicken that’s a fraidy cat. They blur. Your enthusiasm drains and dwindles and eventually you just can’t work up the energy to feel excited about upcoming books anymore.

And then…. something changes.

You see a book. Your eyes, half-gla...

Newbery/Caldecott 2022: Fall Prediction Edition

Has ever a Caldecott/Newbery prediction year faced such interesting challenges? Oh sure, 2020 might count if by “interesting” you mean “harrowing and terrifying”. But for those of us that hoped that 2021 might restore some semblance of normalcy, no such luck. Some of the largest publishers didn’t send out physical galleys this year, making discoverability a real issue for a lot of creators. Then too we’ve had to deal with shipping delays and publication dates getting pushed back and back and...

Introducing Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids 2021 List!

Six years ago I left New York Public Library as a thief. My crime? I stole an idea for a very good list. Since 1901, NYPL has consistently produced a best books list. So, when I started working at Evanston Public Library in Illinois, I thought it might be fun to create a list of our own.

For at least four years now, the staff of EPL has helped me to read untold gobs of books in the hopes of creating a list of 101 really great titles for kids between the ages of two and twelve. All year staff ...

Introducting Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids 2021 List!

Six years ago I left New York Public Library as a thief. My crime? I stole an idea for a very good list. Since 1901, NYPL has consistently produced a best books list. So, when I started working at Evanston Public Library in Illinois, I thought it might be fun to create a list of our own.

For at least four years now, the staff of EPL has helped me to read untold gobs of books in the hopes of creating a list of 101 really great titles for kids between the ages of two and twelve. All year staff ...

A Giant Interview with T.A. Barron (see what I did there?)

Years and years ago, a fine fellow by the name of Tom (or T.A.) Barron took me to the Bemelman’s Bar in the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. I should probably mention as well that we were both living in the area and it was just for a sit down talk. Even so, I’d heard of the bar (illustrated entirely by the man behind Madeline) for a number of years and yet had never made it there. I still think back on it fondly, and I think fondly too of Mr. Barron. Now, lo and behold, he has a new book out ...

I Eat Poop. Now That I Have Your Attention, an Interview…

If Charlie Brown were a dung beetle, he would be this beetle

I’m not much of what you might call a fan of the scatalogical. Poop jokes? None for me thanks, I’m all good. So while I can sit back and appreciate the marketing chutzpah of a picture book with the title I Eat Poop, it wouldn’t normally be something I’d pick up . . . unless the creator was someone I found interesting. Mark Pett? He is interesting. I think the first Pett book I came to really love was The Girl and the Bicycle back in...

There’s Room for Everyone In This Interview with Naaz Khan

If you’re anything like me then you tend to begin your day by seeing what’s going on at fellow children’s literature blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Over there you’ll find that Jules Danielson has her finger firmly on the pulse of what’s going on in the world of children’s illustration. And as recently as yesterday, the site featured spreads from the remarkable Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan, illustrated by Mercè López (you can read Jules’s review of the book for BookPage here...