Betsy Bird's Blog, page 210

Cover Reveal (and Interview!): The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr

I don’t know about you but I haven’t read nearly enough fantasy novels this year. It’s so funny that I’ve been so bad, since fantasy was the genre I loved the most when I was a kid. Remember when they released those Dragonriders of Pern books starring Menolly as children’s middle grade novels (Dragonsong, Dragondrums, and Dragonsinger)? I was there. I feel bad I’ve fell down on the job in 2017. Word on the street has it that there are a couple really good dragon-related books out there (anyon...

Spooky, October-Infused Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak

BOO!

Happy October, everybody! In keeping with the season I’ve decided that this month of Fuse 8 n’ Kate we should go spooky. I’m talking Werewolf Bar Mitzvah spooky (Kate didn’t get the reference either, don’t worry). With that in mind I wanted to find a book that might not have been meant to be spooky when it was originally published, but came off that way anyway. It’s a bit of a cheat to do another Sendak quite so soon, but them’s the breaks.  The happy news (that I fail to mention on the...

Surprising Jolts of Children’s Literature

Yes, dearies, it’s that time again. As I purchase adult materials for my library system I stumble across books with distinct connections to children’s books. Here are some of the latest finds from the other side of the reading spectrum.

First off . . .

Awwwwww. There he is. That’s our guy! You may not know it but aside from penning such marvelous middle grades like Better Nate Than Ever, and besides hosting one of the finest Twitter feeds this side of the Potomac, and besides putting togethe...

Diversity Resources Explode: What Are Some Current Options?

Yesterday a little blog post floating in the ether caught my eye. Called Selecting While White: Breaking Out of the Vendor Box, the article is written by Chelsea Couillard-Smith, the Senior Librarian in Collection Services at Hennepin County Library in Minnesota. I was particularly interested in the subject because I’ve been tossing about the idea of a similar blog post along the same veins. These days, I’m very interested in how what I was taught about book selection in library school (rules...

Diversity Resources Explode: What Are Your Current Options?

Yesterday a little blog post floating in the ether caught my eye. Called Selecting While White: Breaking Out of the Vendor Box, the article is written by Chelsea Couillard-Smith, the Senior Librarian in Collection Services at Hennepin County Library in Minnesota. I was particularly interested in the subject because I’ve been tossing about the idea of a similar blog post along the same veins. These days, I’m very interested in how what I was taught about book selection in library school (rules...

New Fuse 8 n’ Kate Episode: Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

When we recorded this episode I had no idea that Dr. Seuss easy readers would become such a hotbed of controversy, all thanks to the story of the librarian that refused a recent “gift” from Melania Trump. Had we but known, we would have touched on that element as well. Or maybe I should have gone with Cat in the Hat. There is a LOT to talk about with that right now. As it stands, I wanted to pair the last episode’s worst Dr. Seuss book with one that was much better, but also banned somewhere....

Secret Coders Blog Tour: In Which I Am Asked to Code

Under normal circumstances the blog tours I participate in don’t require me to do any homework. Today’s tour is a notable exception. I kind of respect that.

When anyone with even the slightest approximation to Gene Luen Yang asks me to do something for him, my first inclination is to say, “You betcha”. A blog tour for his Secret Coders books? But of course! My six-year-old daughter’s a huge fan of the series and my personal belief is that any series where a character randomly misplaces his n...

Video Sunday: In Retrospect, I Probably Should Have Saved These for Halloween

Are you ready to be scared? Because I don’t know about you but I find this new adaptation of Peter Rabbit for the screen to be absolutely terrifying.

What’s rather remarkable is how they managed to avoid poop jokes. Normally awfully trailers are just rife with them. Now there is a distinct possibility that if this wasn’t Peter Rabbit it would be okay. Take that blue jacket off of him and all is well. I mean, the deer joke (for someone who lives in a part of the country where they’re fairly c...

Review of the Day: Crown by Derrick Barnes, ill. Gordon C. James

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
By Derrick Barnes
Illustrated by Gordon C. James
A Denene Millner Book, Bolden (an imprint of Agate)
$17.95
ISBN: 978-1-57284-224-3
Ages 4-7
On shelves October 10th

You ever wonder if a book is too good to be true? Publishers are sneaky little devils. They know just how to lure in an unsuspecting reader. Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a picture book on your hands that’s mediocre in some way. At the same time, you know how many people purchase books...

And Now . . . A Word on the Accuracy of Goat Eyeballs in Picture Books

Alternate Title: Betsy Postulates Ponderous Problems Involving Irritating Irregular Irises.

Alternate Alternate Title: She’s Getting Gooooooooofy . . .

So. The time has come. You knew it was bound to happen someday. A reckoning, by all accounts. It is time for us to stop whatever it is that we are doing, to sit down, and to think seriously about the shape of pupils and how they effect our affection towards illustrated characters in children’s books.  But first, let’s look long and hard at thi...