Betsy Bird's Blog, page 121

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting / Tim O’Toole and the Week Folk by Gerald McDermott

St. Patrick’s Day comes early this year! Is it the worst classic-picture-book-holiday of all time? That’s my take. But Kate challenged me to find such a beast, so I figured I’d cut my losses and hand her two to choose from. I didn’t anticipate that she’d choose BOTH! Doggone it. I mostly chose one because it was the first time I’d seen that particular author/illustrator pairing. I chose the other because libraries pull it out every single year for their displays. No spoilers, but in the end...

Review of the Day: Jo Jo Makoons by Dawn Quigley, ill. Tara Audibert

Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-To-Be-Best Friend
By Dawn Quigley
Illustrated by Tara Audibert
Heartdrum (an imprint of Harper Collins)
$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-06-301537-1
Ages 7-9
On shelves May 11th

I purchase the adult materials for my library system. Just this year, I ran across an interesting book called We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff. And looking at it, it got me to thinking about children’s books. The world of children’s literatu...

Extra Extra! Viral Video Sparks Middle Grade Debut! A Q&A with Dwayne Reed of Simon B. Rhymin’

Who amongst you remembers this?

Cute, right? Well that little homemade video by 4th grade teacher Dwayne Reed currently clocks in at a whopping 1.8 million views on YouTube. And ever since its massive viral success, Mr. Reed has been busy. He teaches, sure, but he also presents at educator conferences across this great big beautiful country of ours.

You see where this is going. Yep. Dude wrote a book. Now take a look at this cover and see if you can see what element popped out at me ...

The Genius Under the Table: A Cover Reveal and Q&A with Eugene Yelchin

And now for something completely different.

Plenty of authors have written lightly fictionalized memoirs of their youth. Such books have a tendency to follow a rough pattern. There are bullies and a kind teacher. There’s the overachieving sibling and the parents that just don’t understand. But set the whole kerschmozzle in Cold War Russia while maintaining the humor? That is different! That is new! THAT is fascinating!

Eugene Yelchin has been working in the field of children’s books for ye...

Amina Returns! A Q&A with Hena Khan About AMINA’S SONG

Charm. You can’t teach it. Possibly you can learn it, though it would take some doing. A middle grade author that can charm readers a leg up over the competition. And when AMINA’S VOICE by Hena Khan was released back in 2017, it had oodles of the stuff.

Today, I am pleased to announce, is the publication day of a new sequel by Hena Khan called AMINA’S SONG. The plot, you wonder? I thought you’d never ask:

It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

And to think we had never read this book before. When we heard that the Dr. Seuss estate was pulling six relatively obscure Seuss titles from publication due to offensive content, we thought we might try one on for size. We’d already done the worst of the bunch (inarguably If I Ran the Zoo) but since we just did Eric Carle’s very first illustrated picture book last week, why not do the very first Dr. Seuss circa 1937? That was a while ago. Beatrix Potter liked it, but will we? Mmm.

Listen...

International Video Day: I Wish by Toon Tellegen, ill. Ingrid Godon

Back in September I reviewed an odd, and most enjoyable, little Dutch import. Called I Wish, it was the kind of book that could inspire a woman to write something like, “I Wish isn’t going to sit quietly in a category. It’s the kind of book that would rather wander off and make up its own categories, expecting you to follow dutifully behind.” When I review such books it’s partially because I really and truly do like them and, sometimes, it’s also because I want the books to get more attention. E...

Review of the Day: The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer, ill. Mariachiara Di Giorgio

The Midnight Fair
By Gideon Sterer
Illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio
Candlewick Press
$16.99
ISBN: 9781536211153
Ages 3-6
On shelves now

The trick with any wordless book lies in how well it conveys information. Ask yourself the following question: When you finish reading the story, did you miss having words? If so then I don’t think that particular wordless book did its job well. Decoding the images in such books can be enjoyable, absolutely, but the best wordless titles are the ones that tamp...

J.D. and the Great Barber Battle: A J. Dillard Interview

Folks, there’s no two ways about it. It’s time to have a little fun. For the first time, I’m gonna say ever, we’re seeing a publishing uptick in fun middle grade books starring Black boys. And one of those books is J.D. and the Great Barber Battle by J. Dillard, illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts. Funny and fast, I take a deep dive into it with Mr. Dillard himself. But who is he? Here’s his bio in brief:

“J. Dillard (known as the “Barberpreneur”) is a former managing partner for ConAllegiance, a...

“The possibility of a generous frugality”: Re-releasing M.B. Goffstein – An Interview with Susan Barba

When I first became a children’s literature blogger, I was immediately fascinated by the concept of the out-of-print book. I guess on some level I understood that it makes no sense to keep books in print in perpetuity, but at the same time it’s such a visceral thing to think of a book’s life disappearing without a blip.

Fast forward to 2021 and I have learned that two of M.B. Goffstein’s books (FISH FOR SUPPER and BROOKIE AND HER LAMB) are back in print today (how’s that for timing?) thanks t...