Betsy Bird's Blog, page 207

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Kate is under the distinct impression that she sounds like Dracula in this episode, but I say she’s Luigi-tastic. She also had to edit the living heck out of this one because I just kept flubbing the lines repeatedly. I have no idea what was going on with my tongue that day. She in turn has written, “Never make me do Italian again, I beg you.”  Which, naturally, makes me DESPERATELY want to make her do Italian again. But what kind of Italian shall I have her do? Something a little more Godfat...

HIC! by Anushka Ravishankar, ill. Christiane Pieper

HIC!
By Anushka Ravishankar
Illustrated by Christiane Pieper
Tara Books
$18.00
ISBN: 9789383145645
Ages 4-7
On shelves now

Ladies and gentlemen I ask you, and I ask you truly, can you think of a more international childhood experience than the hiccups? Here we have an unwanted occurrence that comes to every nation in the world. Hiccups care not for nationalities. They treat the poor and rich with equal contempt (you cannot buy your way out of the hiccups, no matter how hard you try). A...

101 Great Books for Kids 2017 (Evanston Public Library Edition)

This week the “Best of” lists just started hopping out of the woodwork like fleas. On the one hand you have Kirkus, slowly releasing their lists in dribs and drabs, and on the other you have NYPL simultaneously dropping its YA and JUV lists with a great big thunk. I hear that even Chicago Public will be announcing their 2017 books soon.

As you may know, for years and years I helped contribute to the NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing list. It was delightful. In fact, I can’t help but rec...

Cover Reveal: Ocean Meets Sky by Terry Fan and Eric Fan

Now it’s no secret that I’m keen on one of this year’s Caldecott contenders, The Antlered Ship. As it turns out, this was just the prelude. Illustrated by The Fan Brothers, the two have shown a distinct liking for naval adventures. The proof?  Today, ladies and gentlemen, we present the cover reveal for their upcoming May 2018 picture book Ocean Meets Sky. I am pleased to show you both the cover and some interior spreads. Due to the limitations of my blog, I won’t be able to present them in t...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

She’s no household name, though Verna Aardema has been behind some of the most memorable books in the field of children’s literature. And yet, we could easily have a lot of debate about authenticity and appropriation as it relates to her books. Her best known to this day, I would argue, would have to be Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, notable for a number of reasons. As Barbara Bader wrote in Horn Book back in 2006:

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, published in 1975, brought instan...

A Gantos In My Lap: Getting Kids Excited About Writing

If, best beloved, you are invited to see Jack Gantos speak, you do it. You do it even if you have to pay money. Even if you are a cheapskate who spends most of her days finding ways to avoid shelling out cold hard cash for authors, you do it. You do it because you haven’t seen Gantos speak since he delivered his Newbery speech and you do it because you know it’s bound to be entertaining. You also do it because food is involved and you suspect that there may be brownies. You are not disappoint...

Wonder No More: A Look at a Book to Screen Adaptation

And I wonder.

I wah wah wah wah wonder!

Why.

Why why why why why . . .

Just me? Alrighty then.

Yep, so though I live far far away from my beloved New York City, this Chicagoland I’ve landed in is pretty darn hopping. They have jazz. They have some kind of ungodly pizza that’s as thick as a New York steak. They have a lake that has all the benefits of the ocean without any of the problems (nothing living in that puppy is gonna pinch, sting, or otherwise pain me). And it has motion picture scre...

Historical Nonfiction Children’s Books I’d Like to See (Based Entirely on Stuff You Missed in History Class Episodes)

Two’s a coincidence. Three’s a pattern.

So far I’ve found a couple different unexpected places concerning cool history that’s just pitch perfect for children’s books. First I did a post called Picture Books Bios I’d Like to See (Based Entirely on Hark, A Vagrant Comics), (and I’m still waiting for those Katherine Sui Fun Cheung and Mary Seacole bios, y’all) which was followed shortly thereafter by History Nonfiction Children’s Books I’d Like to See (Based Entirely on Drunk History Episodes)....

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett

In lieu of a famous Thanksgiving picture book (which does not exist) I decided a good way to go would be to do something food-related. And what’s more foodie than food falling from the sky? This one is easy since it had a film of the same name. It’s remembered . . . sorta. Due to its length it isn’t really performed in storytimes, and affection for it has more to do with nostalgia than anything else. Or is it fantastic? A little gem we’ve all ignored? Kate and I tackle the book head on and fi...

Review of the Day: I’m Just No Good at Rhyming by Chris Harris, ill. Lane Smith

I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups
By Chris Harris
Illustrated by Lane Smith
Little, Brown and Company
$19.99
ISBN: 978-0-316-26657-4
Ages 7 and up
On shelves now

What exactly constitutes a celebrity children’s book these days? See, it all used to be so simple when it was just actors and musicians inflicting their words on our young. In the good old days you could count on a book by Madonna to be crummy, Jay Leno to be offensive,...