Betsy Bird's Blog, page 221
April 9, 2017
The Biographical Explosion: Creating the Creators
Not every children’s book creator deserves a picture book about their life.
Does that sound harsh? Well, it’s Monday. It’s also something I’ve been thinking about.
Without any numbers before me, I get the distinct impression that we’re seeing a marked increase in the range of picture book biographies printed in a given year. In the past it was usually the same ten individuals, presented in ever-so slightly different ways. These days we’ve an abundance of riches. We haven’t hit our peak ye...
April 4, 2017
Fusenews: Correlation Does Not Imply Causation!
Days like today exist to remind you that spring is not summer. Here in Evanston it is wet and rainy and altogether cool and unpleasant. Think then of the folks in Bologna right now. Sunny. Warmer. Full of gelato. *sigh* With that in mind, here’s a Fusenews that is occasionally drenched in a bit of sweet Italian ennui. Lift your glass to warmer days!
First up, the big news out of Bologna is the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is the biggest monetary award in childr...
April 3, 2017
Economics, Money, and Class in 2017 Picture Books Today
What do we talk about when we talk about income disparity with our kids? Yep, it’s Cheery Topic Day over here at A Fuse #8 Production. I have lots of passions when it comes to children’s books and I have a tendency to indulge them one at a time. Today, I’m very interested in how picture books set in contemporary times display class barriers and realities. Generally speaking, if you’re poor in a children’s book then you’re Charlie Bucket Poor a.k.a. so poor that it’s actually silly. For l...
April 2, 2017
Even More Outlandish: Further Thoughts on the Role of Translation and Children’s Literature
In 2002 I was spending my lunch hour as I usually did: reading through academic children’s literature journals for fun. There was one in particular that dealt with international children’s books that I took a shine to. Called Bookbird, one particular issue presented an article comparing and contrasting different translations of Hans Christian Andersen. I was absolutely flabbergasted by it. For whatever reason, it had never really occurred to me that (A) All of Andersen’s fairy tales are t...
April 1, 2017
Video Sunday: “It has to be perfect”
This past Monday I had the honor of being Illinois State University’s 2017 Lois Lenski Lecturer, following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Leonard Marcus, Phil Nel, and many others. Intimidating, to say the least. The campus news team was on hand to film it. Sometimes when I am filmed, I like to watch myself with the sound completely off. Naturally this is because without sound I look positively deranged. Try it sometime. Definitely improves the experience, you betcha.
Many thanks to...
March 29, 2017
Review of the Day: Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan, ill. Meilo So
Bronze and Sunflower
By Cao Wenxuan
Illustrated by Meilo So
Translated by Helen Wang
Candlewick Press
$16.99
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8816-5
On shelves now
It’s odd. Parents these days. I meet so many of them that believe that to live in a globalized society it is imperative for their children to learn another language. That’s not the odd part. That’s a great thing. Suddenly you have all these immersion classes (usually just for kids that can afford them, but still) and six-year-olds speaking...
March 27, 2017
Updated: The Complete Listing of All Public Children’s Literature Statues in the United States
In 2013 I had a crazy notion to list every single children’s literature statue I could think of in a single blog post. I did. It was fun. And now almost four years have gone by and I’ve thought often of the piece. Honestly, I never finished incorporating some of the suggested statues from my comment section. Why not do so now? So today, ladies and gentlemen, I’m giving you an updated post on the very same topic. In case you missed it, this is as complete a listing of children’s literatu...
March 26, 2017
Cover Reveal: Marabel and the Book of Fate by Tracy Barrett
You’ve got your cover reveals, and then you’ve got your cover reveals. Sometimes I’ll get asked to do a reveal and it’ll be for a book that I already have in my possession. In those cases the book jacket reveal isn’t really all that surprising at all. In some cases I’ll be asked to reveal a book from someone pretty darn famous. In those cases the reveal gets traction without any additional information. And once, in a very great while, I’ll be asked to reveal a book that isn’t out for alm...
March 23, 2017
Review of the Day: Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
Wolf in the Snow
By Matthew Cordell
Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan)
$17.99
ISBN: 978-1250076366
Ages 4-7
On shelves now
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why it is that I love picture books as much as I do. Putting aside the usual reasons (brain growth, increasing a child’s capacity for wonder, parent/child bonding, and so on, and so forth) on a purely personal level I think what draws me to them time and again is that the form is so open to artistic expression and change. Unle...
March 22, 2017
Guest Post: Marc Aronson and the Design and Flow of Nonfiction
It is difficult to pin down the first time I became aware of the work of Marc Aronson. The likelihood is that it occurred when I read his books. Or was it his work as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University? How about his support of international children’s literature and translations? Regardless of how I came to him, I always find the work that he does engrossing. Today’s post is no exception. In 2017 Marc is publishing the b...
