Betsy Bird's Blog, page 206

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Six – 2017 Alphabet Books

There’s always one. One sneaky little abecedarian delight that manages to elude my notice when I type up this list. This year it was almost The Little Red Cat, but I managed to remember it just in time. Still . . . I don’t trust myself. Someone’s not here. Can you figure out who it might be? Let’s review these truly lovely alphabet books until either you or I figure it out. You’ll note that there aren’t a lot here today. That’s mostly because alphabet titles weren’t in abundance in 2017, whi...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Six – 2017 Rhyming Picture Books

There’s always one. One sneaky little abecedarian delight that manages to elude my notice when I type up this list. This year it was almost The Little Red Cat, but I managed to remember it just in time. Still . . . I don’t trust myself. Someone’s not here. Can you figure out who it might be? Let’s review these truly lovely alphabet books until either you or I figure it out. You’ll note that there aren’t a lot here today. That’s mostly because alphabet titles weren’t in abundance in 2017, whi...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Five – 2017 Rhyming Picture Books

This year something struck me about the rhyming picture book crop that usually eludes my notice. I think it’s easy to assume that because a book rhymes, it’s automatically funny. But some of the books on today’s list, like The Road Home or even The Pomegranate Witch, dare to be touching. This begs the question as to why some rhyming books end up on the poetry list and some on the rhyming picture book list. I’d argue that none of the books here really constitute a poem. To my mind, a poem sta...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Four – 2017 Picture Book Readalouds

When I became a children’s librarian the most nail-biting aspect of the job was, without a doubt, storytime. Granted, this may have had something to do with the fact that part of my training meant doing a storytime for adults. Kids, as it turns out, are a completely different ballgame. My earliest attempts at reading aloud to large groups were awkward at best. I had to learn which picture books worked well with the smallest of children and which ones were better suited for school aged kids....

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Corduroy by Don Freeman

The gift giving season is upon us so it seemed appropriate to foist upon Kate that old tale of copious consumption and old-fashioned department stores (with just a touch of multiculturalism for spice). Yep! Corduroy it is! I find it very very important to begin this podcast by laying down the law on Marry, Kiss, Kill. Then we do Star Wars, and it pretty much goes from there. And yes. We’re both marrying Yoda.

This episode was brought to you by . . . Viola Davis.

Listen to the whole show here...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Three – 2017 Wordless Picture Books

You know what’s funny? Last year I fully intended to do a wordless picture book list, but wasn’t able to find enough books. This year I was going to do nursery rhymes, and then found a complete and utter lack of them. But wordless? Not a problem! Wordless appears to be back, to the point where there are even picture books making fun of wordless books (I’m looking at you Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins).

Now I should preface this by saying that when I attended Bookfest at the Bank Street College...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Two – 2017 Board Book Reprints and Adaptations

All right, class. Let’s define our terms. This year board books fell into three distinct categories. First, there are the original publications, such as you might find on yesterday’s 2017 Board Books list. Then there are reprints. These are books that were published originally as board books but went out of print at some point. Finally, there are adaptations. These are titles that started life as hardcover picture books and then were adapted into board books in time. Often such adaptations a...

31 Days, 31 Lists: Day One – 2017 Great Board Books

The lists begin! And as with last year we’re kicking off with the youngest of readers. This is by no means the only list you’ll find out there of best board books of 2017. However, I do like to distinguish between my age groups when I present this list. As far as I’m concerned, board books for those with a yen to gnaw and board books for kids that can actually turn the pages themselves with interest are vastly different. For further suggestions be sure to check out Chicago Public Library’s l...

Announcing the Return of 31 Lists, 31 Days!

The time is almost here! Almost here I say! Cast your mind back a year ago when, for whatever reason, I decided it might be a good idea to do 31 days of Best Of lists as they pertain to children’s books. That was then. This is now. And I am prepared to do it again.

Yep! Starting later this week you’re going to see the very familiar 31 Days, 31 Lists back in play. I warn you that some days I will be tired and the most I’ll be able to work up will be the titles and the covers. Other days I’ll o...

Fusenews: “Luminous with the beauty and fragility of life”

Good morning, everyone. To begin today I’d like to note with sadness the passing of Sheila Barry, a publisher at Groundwood Books, who was always very kind to me. We’d often discuss the titles coming out of Groundwood and hers was a face I’d look for at every library conference. You can read the Quill and Quire piece on Sheila here.

Very sad news: Groundwood Books publisher Sheila Barry, who edited and published many acclaimed books for children, died last night of complications from cancer....