Betsy Bird's Blog, page 11

Here Is an Interview: A Talk with Elisha Cooper About Here Is a Book

Sometimes when I look back at the eleven years I lived in New York City I think about how the town was so good at randomly throwing me in the general vicinity of the authors and illustrators I admired, in kooky ways. Take Elisha Cooper. By the time I became a children’s librarian he’d already established himself with a number of picture books. From the start, his style was distinctive. Nobody’s books looked like his books. Then, I was invited to a celebration of his picture book Farm, held i...

Review of the Day: The Black Mambas by Kelly Crull

By Kelly Crull
Millbrook (an imprint of Lerner)
$19.99
ISBN: 979-8-7656-2725-9
Ages 4-9
On shelves now

There comes a point in every child���s life when they realize that not only do their parents/guardians not know everything, they not even be all that cool. I mean, parents are inherently uncool, but we get a bit of a grace period before our offspring figure it out for themselves. Now this realization can hit at a variety of different ages. I���ve known kids as young as six come to grips with th...

Book Giveaway: Foundling by D.M. Cornish

Hey hey, folks!

Now as anyone will tell you, I’m just not a fan of participating in giveaways of books. But if you saw my interview with D.M. Cornish earlier this week then you know what a fan I am of his Monster Blood Tattoo series. Well, as it just so happens, I was informed that Noble Beast Publishing has 12 beautiful copies of the book to give away for those who would like them.

So this is a first come, first served case. If you would like a copy of this incredible first book in ...

Publisher Preview: Nosy Crow (Fall/Winter 2025)

A whole new preview! I’m so excited! While I have included Nosy Crow in the past in smaller quantities in my Publisher Spotlight previews, today they’re getting the stage aaaaaall to themselves. And what better way to begin than with this incredible title?

This Is Not a Small Voice: Poems by Black Poets by Traci N. Todd, ill. Jade Orlando

Publication Date: September 30, 2025

ISBN: 9798887772042

. . . .

Well, THAT’S badass!

The name Traci N. Todd raising some memorie...

A Brand New Substack (and Some Thoughts on Picture Books Without Plot Or Conflict)

Blogging, such as it is in the year 2025, is a fine enough occupation but I’m not surprising anyone when I say that Substack is where it’s at right now. I’ve been having a fair amount of fun seeking and finding a variety of different children’s book creators on the site. And now, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I’m on there as well.

Why? To direct folks here, of course! This site has always been delightful, but it does have one intrinsic flaw: No way to make a daily subscriber ema...

A Monster Blood Tattoo Return! The Ultimate High-Fantasy Middle Grade Series Comes Back to the States and I Interview Creator D.M. Cornish

I’m so excited. So very very excited.

It’s not often that I fangirl out completely over an author or illustrator. I like loads of them, but only a very select few are elevated enough in my esteem to make me legitimately nervous when I encounter them. And for today’s guest, I really have never met him in person before but, oh, I wish that I could. This has less to do with my own shyness and more to the fact that he’s sort of Australian-based and all.

I’ve been writing about children’s l...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Martha by Gennady Spirin

Recently Kirkus Reviews came up with their own list of the Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far). And it seemed to me that it would be a good idea if we tackled one of those books that neither of us knew. Looking into it, they included the 2005 title Martha by the illustrious and highly talented Gennady Spirin. This autobiographical title was never placed in the nonfiction section of any library, but it would fit in there perfectly by today’s standards.

Listen as we repeatedly misprono...

A Good Story Well Told: The Story Craft Podcast You Need In Your Life Right Now

There’s a new podcast in town.

Though the literary podcasts I listen to tend to focus primarily on children’s literature in some fashion (The Sartorial Librarians, Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest, The Yarn, etc.), I’ve always had a soft spot for podcasts that look at the larger craft of writing itself. One of my favorites was between an author and his editor called Marlon and Jake Read Dead People. That show, however, hasn’t posted a new episode in two years. Now that Marlon and Jake-sized hole...

Tentacles!! I Talk Hilarity and Board Books with Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

The current Supreme Court case Mahmoud v. Taylor has been on a lot of our minds lately. It is rare that the Supreme Court itself rules on picture books and whether parents can “opt out” of them, but here we are. And since we’re dealing with broad broad terms, you know what book could be included in this ruling? Why, Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, of course! After all, in 2023 it was flagged in Texas as being “sexually suggestive.” Mmm hmm. Yup.

Credit wher...

Climate Shock Realized: A Cover Reveal and Conversation with Nicholas Day About A World Without Summer

Today is my birthday. And because it is my birthday, I get to do whatever I want (or so American society has led me to believe). And what I want to do the MOST in the world right now… is interview Nicholas Day and reveal the cover of his latest book.

Can you blame me?

No doubt if you too read Day’s The Mona Lisa Vanishes, when it was published two years ago, it has stayed with you. Now he returns to us, and in the interim has grown even more ambitious. A World Without Summer (out September...