Betsy Bird's Blog, page 154

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Unconventional Children’s Books

How dull the world would be if all the children’s books fulfilled the same, rote expectations. If books never surprised or shocked then we’d find the world filled with dull books creating dull brains in dull children. Blah. Happily, we know this is not the case. There were a host of books out this year like nothing you’ve ever seen before. The kinds of books that make Americans blink, blush, and occasionally run for the hills. If a book makes you do a double take, it’s worthy of today’s...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Science and Nature Books

I always forget how much I enjoy this particular topic. When my library is constructing its year 101 Great Books for Kids list, two types of Nonfiction always threaten to dominate the list: Biographies and Science & Nature titles. Any why not? Only, within the world of Science & Nature there are so many smaller categories. Animals, Space, Germs, etc.

Today, a lovely long list of the books I particularly know and love from this year.

2019 Science & Nature

Beware of the Crocodile by Martin...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 American History

Let’s make today’s list a little more interesting, shall we? Here’s what I propose. There were a great slew of children’s books published in 2019 and set in America’s past. For them to appear on today’s list they must fulfill the following requirements:

Each book must says something specific about a particular aspect of American history.Biographies will be avoided, with the sole exception of those biographies where the subject is important within the context of an event or object. Fiction...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Nativity by Julie Vivas

Funny story. Usually when I type up the posts for this post I have the book by my side so that I can take photos of the images we’re discussing. But it’s the holiday season, my head is not screwed on correctly, and somehow in the course of things the book was returned to the library. No matter! I have been able to find MOST of the images we discuss here. Let’s see how I do.

Today’s book is sort of a favor to our mom. She’s always been very fond of this particular telling of The Nativity, and...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Informational Fiction

This weekend I received a question via twitter from author Deborah Hopkinson. She said:

This led to an interesting conversation amongst several folks over what the best term might be for a book that, “has some documentable information but also some made up parts–invented dialog, animal narrators, fantasy elements, etc.” (according to Melissa Stewart’s definition). So, for the first time ever, we’re switching the title of this particular list from “Fictionalized Nonfiction” to “Informational...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Science Fiction

It never gets the attention of Fantasy and, too often, is lumped in alongside it. Science Fiction, man. It’s one of my favorite genres for kids, but like Mysteries it can be hard to find a whole slew of them in a given year. To combat that problem, for today’s list I’m pulling equally from the comics as I am the middle grade fiction. We’ll leave picture books out of the mix this time around. Maybe in the future I’ll put them in.

Enjoy!

2019 Science Fiction

Apocalypse Taco by Nathan Hale

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31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Older Funny Books

Ever since I edited Funny Girl (a collection of stories, comics, etc. from some of the funniest women writing for kids today) I’ve been keeping a sharp sharp eye on those books that I personally deem hilarious. Each and every year I make a note if I find a title significantly funny. A lot of books out in 2019 had laughs, but today’s list is of the ones where I felt like the humor was integral to the storytelling. This marks my first list of 2019 that includes middle grade fiction, but it will...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Comics & Graphic Novels

It’s finally here! One of this month’s more popular lists. Due to the fact that my children are comic lovers, I read a LOT of them in a given year. Today, I’m sharing the ones that made it through the rotation and were found to be above par. There’s something for everyone on this list. The usual suspects and a few surprises along the way . . .

2019 Comics and Graphic Novels

Apocalypse Taco by Nathan Hale

I cannot praise this book enough. I keep saying that we’re in the thick of a new...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Early Chapter Books

Yesterday I said that Easy Books might be the hardest books to write, and I stand by that statement. However, though they might be difficult to create, at least they have a lovely award of their own (the Geisel) to reward them for their efforts. The same, alas, cannot be said for younger chapter books. While they are technically capable of winning Newberys, they don’t. And yet, as transitional texts they are vital to the lifeblood of any healthy children’s room. Often they provide that...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Easy Books

Call them easy books, beginning books, early readers, whatever term you prefer. Today, I’m highlighting the books that are best for new readers. Simple texts, simple sentences, simple words. None of that fancy dance chapter nonsense. Of course, is a great deal of variety even within Easy Books, so tread carefully.

Today, I am beyond pleased to praise the books that are, to my mind, the most difficult to write in the English language. Or, rather, to write well. This crew met the challenge...