Betsy Bird's Blog, page 161

Hello, Neighbor. Matthew Cordell Brings the Life of Mr. Rogers to Life

If you could choose any children’s illustrator, past or present, to create a picture biography of you, whom would you choose? It’s a pity, but you don’t get to choose the people that tell the story of your life. The most you can hope for is that it will be someone who feels a kinship with you on some level. An artist that can see where you were coming from. Talent helps too. It would be nice if they had loads of it.

Half a year ago I heard that Caldecott Award winner Matthew Cordell was worki...

Breaking the Wall of Narrow Nationalism: A Talk with Etienne Delessert

It’s funny who you meet while blogging. Around 2011 I made the acquaintance of the author/illustrator Etienne Delessert. Later, in 2015, I spoke at a conference he had organized called Where the Wild Books Are, which discussed the state of global publishing in America. We kept in touch ever since and just last year I posted a piece on his Swiss foundation, Les Maîtres de l’Imaginaire. Its aim?  To assemble a rich collection of original art by some of the best artists who have worked on child...

Review of the Day: Paws + Edward by Espen Dekko, ill. Mari Kanstad Johnsen

Paws + EdwardBy Espen DekkoIllustrated by Mari Kanstad JohnsenEnglish edition edited by Yvette GhioneKids Can Press$16.99ISBN: 978-1-5253-0135-3Ages 4-7On shelves now

Once, a long time ago, I worked in the Children’s Center at 42nd Street, in the main location of New York Public Library. One of the perks of the job was speaking with tourists from all over the world that, one way or another, would somehow find themselves (often accidentally) on the ground floor of the building where the child...

Press Release Fun: Children and Authors To Collaborate on The Story Seeds Podcast, Launching this Fall

Folks, there’s something I have to tell you. There’s a new podcast in town. And its host? Actually, that would be . . . . ah . . well . . . .

Me!

Behold:

NEW YORK, September 24, 2019—The independent and award-winning children’s media studio, Literary Safari, will launch The Story Seeds Podcast this fall, matching children ages 7-12 with best-selling, diverse authors who grow original stories inspired by kids’ story ideas. (Listen to the trailer here.)

“By recognizing children as the creati...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, ill. Crockett Johnson

I’ve been avoiding today’s book, not because it isn’t famous enough, but because it’s on the simple side. 101 words simple, in fact. At the start I tell Kate that this is by the same woman who wrote A Hole Is to Dig and then think to myself, “This woman and holes, man. I dunno what was up with her.” We get a little silly in the course of things, but boy do I learn all kinds of things in this episode. Lawnmower parenting! How have I not known about it all these years? Kate decides that the bo...

Press Release Fun: The Secret Mountain Announces Fall Picture Books with Audio

The Secret Mountain Announces Fall Picture Books with Audio, 
Including Ana Gerhard’s Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music in September

The Secret Mountain, a Montreal-based publisher known for award-winning children’s books that include audio recordings, will release three new titles this fall.

Coming September 1st are two books inspired by the natural world: Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music, and Animal Musicians. In October, a new book-with-music in The S...

Review of the Day: Monument Maker by Linda Booth Sweeney, ill. Shawn Fields

Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln MemorialBy Linda Booth SweeneyIllustrated by Shawn Fields$19.95ISBN: 978-0-88448-643-5Ages 6-9On shelves now

Having a childlike sense of wonder is a double-edged sword. In my capacity as a reviewer of children’s books who left behind her kid years decades and decades ago, I pride myself on how well I can tap into my younger self when I read a book for that age range. But while it’s all well and good to cultivate a sense of childish wonder...

Library As Canvas: The Extraordinary Art of Elisha Cooper

The box came covered in cats:

The cats, one should note, are familiar ones. Anyone who has seen the Caldecott Honor winner Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper would instantly recognize their winnowy curves. But these cats were different. They decorated a box. A box for my library. A box full of wonderful things.

To go back a bit in time, I’m going to direct you to a blog post I did in 2012 called Art in the Children’s Room: Elisha Cooper Style. In it, I explained that Cooper is a resident o...

Wild in the Streets: A Marilyn Singer Interview + Blog Tour

They say, “Hey, do you want to be part of a Blog Tour?” And I say, “Probably not. Who’s it for?” And they say, “For Marilyn Singer and it’s poems about urban animals around the world.” And I say, “Hasn’t that been done before?” And they say, “Yeah. But never like this.” So I pick up the book. I read the book. And darned if they aren’t right. But then, that’s Marilyn for you. You want something high class and snazzy? You know who to turn to.

Today I sit down (virtually) with Marilyn and I pu...

Blogger Blitz Cover Reveal: Fly on the Wall by Remy Lai

Here’s a new idea. Let’s see what you think of it. We’re all familiar with “blog tours” at the moment. Heck, I’m hosting one today. The “blogger blitz” is a little different. Essentially, a publisher takes a high quality author (say, one Remy Lai of the magnificent 2019 release Pie in the Sky) then, instead of releasing their new cover on a single site, does so across the internet on a plethora of them.

A hoard of people who love Lai’s work and have been itching to see more of it. And lo, t...