Betsy Bird's Blog, page 156

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Picture Book Reprints

Shel Silverstein once wrote, “The saddest thing I ever did see / Was a woodpecker peckin’ at a plastic tree.” Maybe that was true for you, Shel, my man, but for me the saddest thing are the great picture books that go out of print. Nothing worse than seeing your pet favorite disappear into the mists of time. Of course, every once in a while they get resurrected in some form. You might see the book find new life in a new printing, or perhaps a new illustrator on an old text. Today we celebrate...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Caldenotts

Every publisher that dares to bring into this world a book that either originated in another country or was illustrated by a person who is not a citizen of The United States of America knows, in their heart of hearts, that no matter how grand the book, it will never win the top award for picture books here in the States. The Caldecott Award was created to reward America artists, and so only they may reap its rewards. For that reason, I salute those publishers with the courage of their...

31 Days, 31 Books: 2019 Funny Picture Books

Here’s an interesting question for you: What was the last funny picture book to win a Caldecott Award? Not Honor, Award. You may have an idea, but as it happens the answer to this question is entirely subjective. Someone might think that Finding Winnie had some levity while others prefer Beekle or Kitten’s First Full Moon. For my part, I think the last Caldecott winner that was both meant to be funny and then worked to actively promote a funny storyline was This Is Not My Hat back in 2013.

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31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Rhyming Picture Books

In a recent guest piece on the site Goodreads With Ronna, editor Frances Gilbert spoke eloquently on the subject of rhyming picture books. Initially, because editors often cannot stand them. She writes:

“I’ve been a children’s book editor for over 25 years and one of the most common reasons I reject picture book manuscripts is that they rhyme badly. So why, for my first foray into writing a picture book myself, would I choose to write Go, Girls, Go! in rhyme??! Rhyming, we’re so often told –...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Picture Book Readalouds

The other day I had the unique pleasure of promoting some of my favorite 2019 books of the year with a room full of librarians. As in any kind of promotion, you tailor your talk to the needs and wants of your listeners. And what do librarians need at any and all times?

Readalouds!

Now when I was doing regular storytimes, back in the day, I had a nasty habit of reading the same dang books over and over again. I knew I was supposed to be trying new things with the kids, but it’s so hard to...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

This was new. For the first time, when I announced that I’d be doing my usual 31 Days, 31 Lists schtick I received a request from some readers wondering if I could post this particular list earlier in the month. Typically I post it on December 25th, but this does folks little good if they want to buy stuff for that day in particular. As such, voila! A new timing for an old list.

Not that these are all Christmas books. We’ve got some Thanksgiving, some Valentine’s Day, some Halloween, and...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

Why spend an entire day discussing reprints and adaptations in the board book genre? Well, it all goes back to the fact that these books consistently sell well. And when something is a success, publishers will try very hard to take advantage of that fact any way that they can. You can hardly blame them. Still, the fact of the matter is that only some picture books truly work well when adapted to a board book format. I think we’ve all seen those adaptations that try to cram too much text into...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: A Kiss for Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, ill. Maurice Sendak

Sometimes you just gotta read something awkward. Today, in spite of my determination never to do so, I skipped over ALL the previous Little Bear books produced by Minarik and Sendak and handed my sister the strangest of them all. Will Kate or I think that this book is essentially the cringe comedy easy book of children’s literature? Will Kate find a good image for a tattoo? Is there any situation where it is not weird to “kiss the bride”? Before I discussed this book with Kate I actually...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Great Board Books

Ahhhhhh. I actually feel a deep seated sense of relief when I begin publishing these lists. All throughout 2019 I was a good girl and wrote down the descriptions for each book appearing on these lists long ahead of time so that I wouldn’t kill myself this month. And what better way to kick off 31 days of my favorite children’s books of the year than with the most successful (I’d argue) format?

As with last year I will note that though it looks like I’ve included every single last board book...

Review of the Day: Rat Rule 79 by Rivka Galchen

Rat Rule 79
By Rivka Galchen
Illustrated by Elena Megalos
Yonder (an imprint of Restless Books)
ISBN: 9781632060990
$19.99
Ages 7-12
On shelves now

I do not trust adult novelists. Not, as a general rule, when they start dipping their toes into the world of children’s literature. I am interested, in their attempts, yes, and, truth be told, I am more inclined to pick up their books than with a hitherto unknown writer. Yet time and again I am disappointed by the results. I am not saying that an adult...