Betsy Bird's Blog, page 180

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Translated Picture Books

I guarantee you won’t find this grouping of creative characters anywhere but here, my friends.

Americans, I ask of you, do you know how lucky we are? We have access to a world of children’s books from all over the globe! Insight into the hearts and minds of other countries’ creators. Yet all too often we discard these titles as “weird”. Sometimes they are, I won’t deny it (see: Hiznobyuti) but open yourselves up to the possibilities people! It’s like I always say. Windows and mirrors are grea...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Bilingual Books for Kids

Let’s define our terms a bit here. When I say that something is a “bilingual book” I can mean one of two things. I might be saying that the book contains two languages in the text or I might mean that the book was simultaneously published alongside another version in another language. Oh, and there’s a third possibility. Sometimes a book in English will be published in a new language in a subsequent year. I count them all! As far as I can ascertain, the more the merrier.

With that in mind, he...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket, ill. Lisa Brown

“It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream.”

Understanding that this podcast is appearing a day after the last day of Hanukkah, that’s not Kate’s fault. That’s my own (darn 31 Days, 31 Lists series). And let me tell you, after doing Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins last year, I was having a devil of a time figuring out what another Hanukkah classic might be. After some seriou...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Math Books for Kids

I’m not entirely certain how I ended up on the Mathical Book Prize committee, but it’s one of the best darn things that’s ever happened to me. Do you know what it’s like to be an English major with a math wariness that must constantly confront the world of numbers on a regular basis? It’s eye-opening, that’s what it is!!  Suddenly I’ve this sympathy for the mathematicians amongst us. They want books too. Books that can show other people how great math is in its every iteration and what do we...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Picture Book Reprints

On the podcast I run with my sister, we spend a lot of time considering what it is that makes a picture book a “classic”. Popularity seems to be a key factor, but with whom? The general public? The people who work with kids every day? Is it a mix or does one slowly seep into the consciousness of the other? For example, if enough librarians, booksellers, and teachers make it clear that Susan Schade’s The Noisy Counting Book is the greatest board book readaloud for toddlers of all time (which i...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Calde-notts

What is the mark of a great Calde-nott? What, for that matter, even is a Calde-nott? Plainly said, it’s an illustrated book for children that for one reason or another is ineligible for consideration as a Caldecott Award contender. This might be because the illustrator isn’t American. It might be because it was published previously in another country, or in another year. For the full listing of what makes a picture book eligible for the Caldecott, please check out ALSC’s Terms and Criteria pa...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Funny Picture Books

Oh, humor, you subjective little cuss. How do we even begin to judge you in picture books? Are we to go by what kids would find the funniest or the adult gatekeepers? Just the other night, for example, I was reading my 4-year-old I Want To Be In a Scary Story by Sean Taylor and he was howling over that book. A year ago? He found it scary. So there’s age to take into account as well. And do all kids have the same sense of humor? Not even! So this is sort of a hit-and-miss list. I’d be grateful...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Alphabet Books

Of all the concept books, the alphabet book is the one with the most potential. With its 26 letters it’s perfectly sized for 32-page picture books. They are flexible beyond measure, and can be used to disseminate factual information or tell a story. Every year we see alphabet books coming out in a variety of different ways. These are the ones that I think really took the ball and ran with the premise. See if you agree.

2018 Alphabet Books

A is for Australian Animals by Frané Lessac

More of...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Rhyming Picture Books

Oh, Dr. Seuss, what hath thou wrought? Up and coming children’s authors everywhere should be taught one very important lesson before they set fingers to keyboards: Rhyming is a privilege. Not a right. And, quite frankly, not everyone is good at it. There is no pain quite like the pain a librarian feels when they must stumble through a book’s ill-begotten rhyme schemes and clunky scansion (Clunky Scansion is going to be the name of my next cat, by the way).

When done well, however, such a book...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Picture Book Readalouds

Until today the lists that I’ve produced this month haven’t been all that subjective. No one can argue that a pop-up is a pop-up or a board book a board book. A book has no words? Then it’s wordless. Pretty cut and dried. Readalouds are a different kettle of fish altogether. What works for me during a storytime might fall flat on its face during yours.  And what you find invaluable during your class visits might seem odd to me.

And then there’s the additional difficulty to this list: I don’t...