Betsy Bird's Blog, page 220

Review of the Day: York – The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby

York: The Shadow Cipher
By Laura Ruby
Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062306937
Ages 9-14
On shelves May 9th.

A wise bookseller friend of mine once said (and I’m paraphrasing here because she bloody tweets too often to locate the precise words), “If you work in a bookstore you are only allowed to invoke The Westing Game three times. The first time I did it for Greenglass House by Kate Milford. The second time will go to Laura Ruby’s York.” Naturally a l...

Fusenews: Because it’s not like you can just buy a mitochondria dress anywhere

Yesterday was spent at the New England SCBWI Conference in Springfield, Mass.  Today is being spent moving all my stuff across the street into my brand new home.  As will tomorrow.  And the day after that.  And the day after that.  And the day . . . you get the picture.

To combat this incessant moving, here is a lovely little Fusenews to get the blood pumping to your respective brains.  And, while I’m thinking of it many many thanks to all the lovely people yesterday who watched me blabber fo...

Review of the Day: My Valley by Claude Ponti

My Valley
By Charles Ponti
Translated by Alyson Waters
Elsewhere Editions (an imprint of Archipelago Books)
$24.00
ISBN: 978-0914671626
Ages 4-8
On shelves now.

I’ve written a lot about the state of translated children’s books in America lately. It is what it is. Generally speaking, Americans can be a bit cagey when it comes to literature for kids from other countries. Either we’re weirded out by the art, or the storyline doesn’t meet our expectations. It’s so peculiar. So odd. So . ....

Review of the Day: My Valley by Charles Ponti

My Valley
By Charles Ponti
Translated by Alyson Waters
Elsewhere Editions (an imprint of Archipelago Books)
$24.00
ISBN: 978-0914671626
Ages 4-8
On shelves now.

I’ve written a lot about the state of translated children’s books in America lately. It is what it is. Generally speaking, Americans can be a bit cagey when it comes to literature for kids from other countries. Either we’re weirded out by the art, or the storyline doesn’t meet our expectations. It’s so peculiar. So odd. So . ....

Surprising Jolts of Children’s Literature: Spring 2017 Edition

Not a terribly long list today, I’ll confess, but want to know a little secret?  Come close.

I’m buying a house.

Yep!  After living in nothing but apartments (and currently renting a home that doubles as both a mystery house and a hospice for yellow jackets) I’m finally being a great big grown-up and owning my very own place.  You know what that means don’t you?  Let the search for a Little Free Library I can afford commence!

The official move begins on Monday, which means my internet may get...

Holiday Books: There Can Be Only One (Part Two)

And we’re back!  Okay, so to continue yesterday’s post, let’s look at each holiday (post-Easter) and I’ll list the one book that typifies that holiday to me.

Earth Day

Green City by Allan Drummond

Paired with his other books (Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World and Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their World, Mr. Drummond has made a career out of giving us hope.  He finds people who do the right thing for the environment and...

Holiday Books: There Can Be Only One (Part One)

I was tooling about the Twitter feeds yesterday, as one does, when I came across some folks promoting John Hendrix’s Miracle Man as an Easter book.  A great book, no question, though like most Christ stories (Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, and yes all my references are 1970s musicals, why?) it sorta leaves the resurrection for the last possible second of the tale.  And, of course, most folks would go the Easter Bunny route with Easter books anyway.  I know you’ve seen the statistics on how...

Cover Reveal: Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion by Chris Barton

It stands to reason. I mean, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Author Chris Barton has specialized in the un-specializable.  From the moment his career began he has maintained an unerring love for stories that haven’t just been untold in the realm of children’s nonfiction books, but adult nonfiction as well.  Remember when he shone a light on the Day-Glo Brothers?  How about The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch?  A behind-the-scenes look at The Nutcracker Comes to America?  Or per...

New Kinds of Poetry: Title Poems (2017 Edition)

It’s Poetry Month, my dulcet darlings!  That can mean only one thing.  Time to come up with a new way of writing poetry.

Today, the challenge is simple.  Write original poetry, that makes sense, entirely out of the titles of books published in 2017.  For my purposes today I think I’ll work entirely in the picture book medium.  That said, I have little doubt that a person could do just as well with middle grade or YA.  And if this sounds a bit too close to spine poetry, you are correct.  The o...

Review of the Day: A New School Year – Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby, ill. Mika Song

A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices
By Sally Derby
Illustrated by Mika Song
Charlesbridge
$16.99
ISBN: 978-1580897303
Ages 5-12
On shelves June 27th

Sometimes I think that easy readers are the hardest books for kids to write. Those are the beginner books where the word count is limited and you have to somehow pack emotion and story and imagination into a very small space with very few pages. We can’t all be Dr. Seuss, but after reading A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by S...