Betsy Bird's Blog, page 187

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

As surely as you must be saying, “Didn’t Kate and Betsy just do a Robert McCloskey book?” so too I answer you, “Yep,” and “Indubidably,” and “Is that how you spell that word?” and “No, actually it’s ‘Indubitably’ which just looks wrong but it’s true.” All this you must be saying, but the only point I can answer directly is whether or not we just did a Robert McCloskey book. We did, but it is not his most famous work. So it was that I sprang the tale of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard on my poor unsuspec...

Photos Tell the Story: Fictional Picture Books with Photographic Illustrations

Years ago at NYPL I had the pleasure of hosting a panel, as part of my Children’s Literary Salon series, that I’d been looking forward to doing for years. Back in my college days I was convinced that I had a future as a photographer. That plan didn’t pan out (my technical skills with a shutter are akin to that of a stoned sloth) but fortunately for me I’d hedged my bets and gotten an English degree to match. Still, my love of photography never waned and so on March 1, 2014 I lined up photogra...

Writing So That Barriers Might Fall: Ellen Klages Discusses Out of Left Field

It was in 2006 that I read the book Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages. Long before STEM was a common term and there was a national push for girls to embrace math and science, Klages told the story of two friends living in the very heart of the Manhattan Project. Two years later (after GGS had won a Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction) it was followed up with White Sands, Red Menace with the same girls. A decade went by. This year, I’m so pleased to see that the third book in the series (i...

Review of the Day: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

Fox & Chick: The Party and Other Stories
By Sergio Ruzzier
Chronicle Books
$14.99
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5288-2
Ages 4-7
On shelves now

Have you ever sat down and looked at books meant to instruct children in the art of reading from the early 18th to 19th centuries? When Americans colonists first came around to the idea of teaching children to read via books, the titles weren’t exactly what we’ve come to associate as kid friendly. “In Adam’s Fall we sinned all,” reads one particularly striden...

Cover Reveal & Interview: Bob Shea Talks Up Unicorn Is Maybe Not So Great After All

When I am a good little blogger, and I mind my Ps and Qs, and catch all my spelling errors, and reign in my less than charitable attitudes for at least a good four hours, then once in the while the Blogging Gods will smile down upon me and I will be granted a boon. Today, that boon comes in the form of Bob Shea’s next book. No, not any of his 2018 titles (lovely though they might be). I’m talking about a sequel years in the making. A book that I didn’t know I needed until I understood that it...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Fiiiiiiiiiish . . .

An aquatic creature that has absolutely NOTHING to do with this week’s book!

So first and foremost, I am happy to announce that we now have our very own Twitter and Instagram accounts for this podcast. Woot! So tune in on Twitter @fuse_kate or on Instagram at fuse8kate. As for the podcast itself, Kate was semi-familiar with this book already. But did she remember anything about it at all? No, sir!  As it turns out, we were able to really dive into some of the details. Will...

Weathering the Bully Spectrum: An Interview with Torrey Maldonado of Tight

Years ago I was at a house party in Brooklyn for a lovely writer friend. It was the kind of event where you could find a writer tucked away in every pantry, cupboard, and spare room. Lots of writers, is what I’m saying. Anyway, I’m not the world’s greatest mingler when it comes to people I don’t know, but there was this one guy who was just the most personable, easy to talk to fellow. Turned out he was a teacher, which made perfect sense. Who better to put awkward people at ease? Of course he...

Review of the Day: Jabberwalking by Juan Felipe Herrera

Jabberwalking
By Juan Felipe Herrera
Candlewick Press
$22.99
ISBN: 9781536201406
Ages 10 and up
On shelves now

Not too long ago I taught a six-week summer creative writing course for teens. Now I’ve never taught creative writing before. Truth be told, I had no idea where to start. So, like any good librarian, I hit the books. My idea was to take a different book each week and use it as a creative writing guide for the kids. And since these were teens we were talking about, I mixed up th...

Dual Cover Reveals from Denene Millner Books, the Imprint That Brought You Crown . . .

We are upping the game. Not content to have a single cover reveal, I am cranking this blog up to 11 and presenting TWO cover reveals in a single post. Why the change?  Because today is momentous.  But stop a moment. Take a breath. Let’s give it the proper lead up.

In the year 2017 a book was published from the Denene Millner Books imprint of Agate Publishing that took the world by storm. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, penned by Derrick D. Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James, wasn’t like a...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

I think this is the clearest case of my pulling out a book for Kate that is well-known amongst children’s librarians and is pretty obscure when you talk to your average layperson on the street. If for no other reason, you should listen to this episode of our podcast to hear Kate’s exclamation of pure confusion and tiny squeaks of bafflement when I mention how well it did on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll (it was #14). So sit back and enjoy as we discuss the logistics of how exactly one would...