Betsy Bird's Blog, page 23

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Religious Tales

One of my favorite lists I produce. Before we begin, I’d like to state that I name this list “folk” AND “fairy” AND “religious” because from what I can tell, one person’s folktale is another person’s religion. It is important to remember that when discussing the traditional tales that dot this list today. At the same time, I’m no stickler. If an original tale strikes me as fantastic, it makes the list too. I have my standards, but I can also recognize quality. The end result is a list that c...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Translated Children’s Books

Just now I sat down to work on today’s post and I saw the topic: Translated Children’s Books. Immediately, I gave a bitter chuckle. “Oh ho ho… THAT’s a big list.” And it is, you know. Though they can only win a handful of awards here in America, the sheer plethora of amazing translated works for kids only improves every year. So today I’m going to highlight the ones that stood out to me. The books themselves are good, sure, but let’s make sure to give a shout out as well to the hardworking t...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Fabulous Photography Books for Kids

I don’t know if you know this, but each year I reserve the right to cancel a topic on this 31 Days, 31 Lists list and replace it with a wholly new one, should my mood dictate such a switcheroo. For example, this year, due to the sad downtick in gross books for kids, I replaced that topic with Bilingual Books for Kids. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I considered getting rid of this year’s Photography list. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE photography. I was a photography major in college...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Message / SEL Books for Kids

The very origins of American picture books are rooted firmly in the tradition of teaching our children strong messages about what is good and what is bad. Those origins are alive and well… in celebrity picture books. Honestly, I swear that 90% of them are trying to instill some kind of a “message” about what kids should do or be. I worry then that people might give up on the whole notion. But if picture books are here to inform and teach then morality is a keen part of that. This year, we’re...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Math Books for Kids

Math! It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The perfection of it. Its logic. Cadences. Sublime applications. And yes, many a fine teacher, librarian and bookseller fears it (many of us were English majors after all). Even so, you can’t help but respect the talents of the authors on display today. These are people who have found ways to meld mathematical concepts to kid-friendly texts. Not just kid-friendly either… legitimately good texts! I have infinite loads of respect for anyone who is capable of usi...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord and Janet Burroway

You may have recollections of this book so vague you almost wonder if it was a fever dream you had a child. Well, wonder no longer! Today we’re taking a trip to Itching Down where four million wasps cause all kinds of commotion. Like a surreal combination of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and maybe Who Needs Donuts?, join us as we determine whether or not it truly deserves to be remembered as a classic or not. Today we discuss the long forgotten Good Witch of the North, the location of th...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Bilingual Books for Kids

A word or two to begin on what I constitute as “Bilingual” on this list. To my mind, there are two distinct types of “bilingual books for kids” (by my own definition). The first include books in which the text of the book is in two different languages. The second, is where you’ve an entire book in one language and then that same book, entirely, in a different language. This list today encompasses both types of books, and hopefully I’ll have noted which of the two designations applies to each...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Picture Book Reprints

The title of today’s post is a bit of a misnomer, as there is at least one reprinted novel for kids on today’s list as well. Consider today’s list a bit of a low-key companion to the ones we’ve seen before. Picture book reprints are always risks. There’s no built in market for them. They cannot win literary awards anymore. Their existence, however, is proof of love. Someone, somewhere, remembered these books. Not only did they remember them, they adored them. They fought tooth and nail to br...

31 Days, 31 lists: 2024 Caldenotts

What precisely is a “Caldenott”? Put simply, it is any book where the illustrator is inconveniently from a country other than America. Why does that matter? Because, best beloved, the Caldecott Award (given to the most distinguished illustrated work for children every year) can only go to people who either reside in the United States of America or are residents. A Caldenott is a book that for all intents and purposes should win, but cannot because its creator doesn’t fall into our rigid requ...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Funny Picture Books

These lists I do are like my children. How could I possibly choose my favorite amongst them?

Easily. It’s today’s list. No question. None. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Humor being the subjective business that it is, it can be a difficult thing to master in a book for younger readers. You have to balance your desire to provide entertainment that the adult readers (read: purchasers) will enjoy alongsie jokes a kid will actually find funny. Today we look at a slew of books that are doing it right. From ...