Betsy Bird's Blog, page 167

Cover Reveal – Fred’s Big Feelings: The Life and Legacy of Mister Rogers

While at ALA this past weekend I wrote the following tweet:

Getting away from whether or not that’s in the works (don’t fool yourself – it’s probably in final edits as we speak) I have been struck by the wave of PBS-related nostalgia that’s sweeping children’s book publishing. It would be problematic if (A) I weren’t part of the generation it’s appealing to and (B) If the books weren’t so darned good.

Maybe that’s why I got so curious with the release of another Mister Rogers picture book bi...

I Spy with My Little Eye: Conference Floor Findings

When I was young and full of vinegar I wouldn’t just blog about an ALA Conference when I returned from my sojourns. Oh no, my dear, I would do it friggin’ ON THE CONFERENCE FLOOR! Imagine 20-something Betsy splayed out against a wall, typing for all that she was worth.

Well, time has passed. I’m no spring chicken anymore. But one thing has remained utterly and completely the same since my younger days. I make it a point of pride to look at everything I am sent, and I am sent quite a lot of up...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Tuesday by David Wiesner

While normally we might post our podcast episodes on Mondays, it seemed that for this book, of all books, a Tuesday debut was the most appropriate. When my mother suggested we do a David Wiesner title, specifically this one, I pooh-poohed her. Silly mother. Surely we’d already done it. Turns out, not so much. So it was with great joy that I handed it over to Kate. In this episode you’ll get to hear my dead-on theremin imitation (which sounds oddly similar to my playing-the-saw imitation), as...

Christmas in June? Book Trailer Premiere: The Great Santa Stakeout by Betsy Bird and Dan Santat!

Ho ho ho! They complain that Christmas arrives in stores earlier and earlier every year. Well I’m about to make such stores look like late lucys because today we’re celebrating my holiday-themed picture book collaboration with Dan Santat, coming out (interestingly enough) in September!

So a little background on today’s video. Many months ago Scholastic asked Dan and I to film ourselves doing a little back and forth action regarding our book. Dan filmed his side first and I added my own touche...

Review of the Day: Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis

Hey, Water!By Antoinette PortisNeal Porter Books (an imprint of Holiday House)$17.99ISBN: 978-0-834-4155-6Ages 4-7On shelves now

Grown-ups are problematic. Somehow, they’ve managed to work it so that they’re on all the review committees that determine the best books for kids. How is that fair? Tell me, can you think of any book committees that have an honorary child member? I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m just saying it doesn’t happen all that often. I don’t need to spell out the problem...

Newbery/Caldecott 2020: Summer Prediction Edition

I write “summer” in the headline here in spite of the fact that the temperature outside in the Evanston/Chicago area is hovering around the low 60s. And still onward we proceed!

It seems fitting that with the Newbery/Caldecott/Legacy Awards Banquet on the horizon this weekend in Washington D.C. that I should produce a list of some of the titles you might want to take a look at while on the conference floor. But before I begin, I would like to have a word with Canda.

Ahem.

Dear Canada,

Please e...

Books for Dyslexic Child Reader: Why the British Do It Better

The other day I was talking to someone about what my library could do to meet the needs of those kids that find it difficult to engage with books, for a variety of reasons. At first we talked about the usual things like large print titles, audiobooks, Playaways, ebooks where you can adjust the background or the font size, etc. But the person I spoke with surprised me entirely when they said, in an off-handed way, “You know, there’s actually a British publisher out there that specializes in p...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: A Hole Is to Dig by Ruth Krauss, ill. Maurice Sendak

Once in a while I’ll see a new book coming out and it will inspire me to turn to an older text on this podcast. In this case I was perusing an upcoming Ruth Krauss book and it reminded me of that old chestnut, A Hole Is to Dig. My question, walking into this podcast, was to figure out whether or not this book has anything to actually say to the 21st century child. Is it still pertinent or is it like some kind of archaic Kids Say the Darndest Things? I talk about the historical view of Americ...

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

Scary Stories for Young FoxesBy Christian McKay HeidickerHenry Holt (an imprint of Macmillan)$16.99ISBN: 97801-250-18142-8Ages 9-12On shelves July 30th

Horror. Kids eat that stuff up with a spoon. At some point in a human life, a little switch gets flipped in the brain and suddenly, instead of dreading that moment at night when you clutch your bed sheets and pull them over your head, you seek it out. And book publishers, realizing that kids love scary stories, have turned them into a neat an...

Cover Reveal: Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry, ill. by Juana Martinez-Neal

I’ve changed my whole strategy when it comes to cover reveals these days. Gone are the days when I was content to just show you the cover itself. You deserve better than that. Therefore, from here on in, I shall accompany any and all reveals with interviews. And when you have a picture book as keen as today’s, a single interview seems paltry. Why stop with one when you can have TWO? So it is my supreme pleasure to introduce you to a charming picture book slated for 2020. Too early, you say? N...