Betsy Bird's Blog, page 126

Gary Paulsen: Videos, Conversations, and a Brand New Book

No trumpets blast when an author, one that has penned countless classics (and, just as an example, three Newbery honorees) has a new book out for the first time in five years. Sometimes the release sneaks up on you. The man behind Hatchet, and countless other stories, always kind of struck me as the Ernest Hemingway of children’s literature. Now, after all these years, he’s finally turned the pen fully on himself. He’s written Gone to the Woods, which is his own story about his own life. And...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: 2021 Caldecott Contenders

I wish I could tell you that it took me a long time to figure out what the three books we’d be discussing for the Caldecott Contender episode of our podcast would be this year, but honestly it wasn’t difficult at all. I love all three of these books down to the cold cockles of my shriveled little heart. I seriously believe that each one of these books has a very good chance at some kind of Caldecott love in 2021. Our track record on this show hasn’t been too shabby either. In 2020 we identif...

Review of the Day: The Rock From the Sky by Jon Klassen

The Rock From the Sky
By Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press
$18.99
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1562-5
Ages 4 and up
On shelves April 13th

I do not think I would want to be Jon Klassen. Not because he isn’t a nice guy or anything. He’s nice as they come. But when he broke, he broke hard. I Want My Hat Back was a sensation above and beyond the predictable. One minute it’s just a cute book about a bear and his missing hat, and the next you’re seeing Dr. Who memes referencing it on Buzzfeed. Klassen’s style also beca...

Root Magic Interview with Eden Royce

Last year I just didn’t read enough fantasy novels to my liking. This year? I’m making up for lost time. And what better way to kick everything off than with a debut that really gets you thinking?

Check out this description:

Debut author Eden Royce arrives with a wondrous story of love, bravery, friendship, and family, filled to the brim with magic great and small. It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police dep...

Cover Reveal of Ann Clare LeZotte’s Sequel to Show Me a Sign: Set Me Free

I don’t think I’m surprising anyone when I say that one of the great middle grade hits of 2020 has been Ann Clare LeZotte’s Show Me a Sign. If you’ve somehow missed the book, do not worry. Here’s a quick encapsulation of the plot:

“If you are reading this, I suppose you want to know more about the terrible events of last year – which I almost didn’t survive – and the community where I live.” So begins Mary Lambert’s story. Deaf from birth, she lives on Martha’s Vineyard (land “sold” by the W...

An Unspeakable Interview: Talking with Carole Boston Weatherford About the Tulsa Race Massacre

When I tell you that there is an informational picture book out this year on the topic of the Tulsa Race Massacre, how do you react? Are you incredulous or do you nod slowly? Are you curious or do you try to guess how it could be done? Carole Boston Weatherford has been writing for children for years and years and years. Her books have an incredible tendency to win major awards (Freedom in Congo Square, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Becoming Billie Holiday, etc.), to tell stories of pe...

A Look Back: The Swag of 2020

This is one of the weirder posts I do anyway, with or without a pandemic in the mix. As a reviewer I will sometimes receive the swag that would normally be designated for bookstores, professional review journals, morning talk shows, etc. Swag has one very important job: To grab the attention of those folks that would otherwise just toss the galley they’re sent into the massive To Be Read pile behind their desk (or is that just me?). Swag can be edible or practical. It can be attention grabbing o...

In Memorium: Remembering Those Lost in 2020

Each year we look back not just as what was accomplished in the previous year but also who died. Here are the creators and promoters of children’s literature that we remember.

Edith Kunhardt Davis

Sept. 30, 1937 – January 2, 2020

“The 3-year-old girl who inspired “Pat the Bunny” was Kunhardt’s daughter and grew up to be Edith Kunhardt Davis, author of dozens of children’s books, including a set of sequels to her mother’s classic work.” – The Washington Post

Susan Jeff...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2020 Picture Books

You know how 4th of July fireworks will end with an incredible light show that goes on for a seemingly endless amount of time? Well, consider this the light show of the 31 Days, 31 Lists!! Today I end with the biggest, longest list of them all. Picture books galore!

It’s been a wild and crazy ride this month. I have never, EVER, been so happy to welcome in the new year. So let us all lift a glass to better times. To children’s books reflecting the world around us, giving our kids somethi...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Great Middle Grade Novels of 2020

The penultimate list. And, as with all lists you will ever see, entirely subjective. As I write this, I think of the tough row all those authors and illustrators of children’s books had to hoe. Very few had a chance to do the bookstore debut parties, conferences, meetings, library appearance, school visits that typically surround new titles. For debut creators it was even worse. How do you get the info out there about a book when most means of creating word-of-mouth are closed to you? And so...