Betsy Bird's Blog, page 13
April 6, 2025
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
Kirkus released its list of the Best Picture Books of the 21st Century and I wanted to do one of the books they included! So I went to GREAT LENGTHS to get my hands on today’s book. Folks… I had to go all the way…. to Skokie. That doggone beautiful library system. But it was worth it! Our very first Lauren Child is on the podcast!
We talk about how Charlie and Lola were the Bluey of their day, weird Girl Scouts, and I’ll tell you that our own picky eating definitely comes to the fore.
...
April 4, 2025
Review of the Day: Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
When I tell you that I prefer picture books that respect kids to the ones that talk down to them, do you understand what I mean by that? I find that it���s a little hard to explain. You see, the picture book that respects the child reader, takes kids seriously. And I���m not saying that they���re serious books. I mean that they treat kids like people. Small peo...
April 3, 2025
This Whole Interview Is a Mistaco: And I Get to Talk to Eliza Kinkz in the Course of It!
It’s no secret that I’m desperately fond of funny female author/illustrators of children’s picture books. As far as I’m concerned, when you find a good you, one you cling to them with both hands and do NOT let go. Happily, in 2025 we’re seeing a plethroa of such titles on our shelves! There’s Broken by X. Fang, The Interpreter by Olivia Abtahi and Monica Arnaldo, We Are the Wibbly! A Tadpole���s Tail by Sarah Tagholm and Jane McGuinness, The Baby Who Stayed Awake Forever by Sandra Salsbury, ...
April 2, 2025
Press Release Fun: Happy Inaugural We Need Diverse Books Day!
That’s right! At a time when we need it more than ever, it’s the inaugural We Need Diverse Books Day!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NONPROFIT WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS LAUNCHING INAUGURAL
WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS DAY
BETHESDA, MD (March 13, 2025) ��� Nonprofit We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) has helped to change what is read across America, and with their grants and programs turning ten this year, as announced by USA TODAY, WNDB is launching the inaugural We Need Diverse Books Day on April 3,...
April 1, 2025
The Shockingly Good Children’s Poetry of 2025
Happy Poetry Month!
Honestly, every month is Poetry Month when you do it right. Now back in January, I happened to notice something a bit odd. 2025? Chock full of some SHOCKINGLY strong poetry! I mean, we’re only a couple months in and already I’ve been seeing scores of books with excellent verse. It all got me to thinking that maybe I should give these books their very own post today.
So if you are looking for some of the best poetry of 2025, I haven’t seen everything out there yet, but I...
March 31, 2025
Happy April-Fool’s-First-Day-of-Poetry-Month! A Goofy Talk with Tom Angleberger About Dino Poet
Two things.
Today is April Fool’s Day. Historically, it is a day for pranks, silliness, and a general goofiness of the universe.Today is also the first day of Poetry Month.
April Fool’s Day. Poetry Month. April Fool’s Day. Poetry Month. Put ’em both together and what do you get? If you said, “Why Betsy, you would definitely get a hilarious Tom Angleberger poetry/graphic novel called Dino Poet, wouldn’t you?” then you have just earned yourself a cookie, my darling.
Yes! Today i...
March 30, 2025
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney with Special Guest Stars Berol and Cordelia Dewdney
It’s the 20th anniversary of the publication of Llama Llama Red Pajama, and you know how we’ve chosen to celebrate? With none other than Anna Dewdney’s own daughters, that’s how! Berol and Cordelia Dewdney join us as we explore a Llama Llama book for the very first time.
Listen to the whole show��here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify,��Google��Play,��PlayerFM, Audible, Amazon Music, or your preferred method of podcast selection.
Show Notes:
Prio...
March 27, 2025
Myrick Marketing Publisher Preview Spring/Summer 2025: Part Three Featuring Red Comet Press, Scallywag Press, Soaring Kite Books, Tapioca Stories, and Tiger Tales
As usual, today Ellen Myrick and Publisher Spotlight are helping me to shine a spotlight on some of the little guys with big books coming out this season. Here are a couple titles I suspect you may not have heard of quite yet.
Downpour: Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash! by Yuko Ohnari & Koshiro Hata, translated by Emily Balistrieri
Publication Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781636551142
Who’s in the mood for a little onomatopoeia today? Welp, this toddler storytime may well be your go-...
March 26, 2025
How to Co-Write a Book and Stay Friends: A Guest Post from the Creators of The Rehearsal Club
I jump around a lot saying which titles are the most difficult to write for kids. Some days I’ll say poetry. Other days, board books. Still, I think a lot of credit has to be given to those authors that attempt to write cozy mysteries. Kid readers LOVE mysteries and get very few of them on an annual basis. Why? Because they’re so hard to write! It would be better if everyone wrote them with a buddy. But how do you do that and not, y’know, sabotage your friendship along the way?
Today, we are ...
March 25, 2025
Review of the Day – Five Little Friends: A Collection of Finger Rhymes by Sean Taylor, ill. Fiona Woodcock
When I was trained as a children���s librarian a decade or two ago, there were a variety of learned skills I had to learn and learn fast. How to do a booktalk for a classroom of 5th graders. How to memorize a folktale and present it outdoors in Central Park. And, of course, how to conduct a baby and/or toddler and/or preschooler s...
