Betsy Bird's Blog, page 231

Beware of Exploding (Numbers of) Nutcrackers

It sort of feels like someone took a starting pistol and called out to the universe, “Nutcracker picture books! On your mark . . . get set . . . . GO!” And off they went!

2016, for whatever reason, has turned out to be a VERY Nutcracker heavy year. If you are unaware or only vaguely familiar with what The Nutcracker is, I will sum up. In 1816 Prussian Romantic author E.T.A. Hoffman wrote an odd little children’s story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was this wild bit of imagining...

Review of the Day: Snow White by Matt Phelan

Snow White: A Graphic Novel
By Matt Phelan
Candlewick Press
$19.99
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7233-1
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

I’d have said it couldn’t be done. The Snow White fairytale has been told and retold and overdone to death until there’s not much left to do but forget about it entirely. Not that every graphic novel out there has to be based on an original idea. And not that the world is fed up with fairytales now (it isn’t). But when I heard about Matt Phelan’s Snow White: A Graphic Nove...

The Slush Pile Myth

Kids who love books sometimes find themselves at a crossroads when it comes to determining their future career. For some, the choice boils down to librarian or a publisher. Librarianship lacks the sophistication and potential glory of publishing, but feeds very well into a certain type of person’s need to work on a grounded level with members of the immediate public. We don’t make the big bucks but we have our own levels of influence, often directly, with our patrons. Publishers, in contrast,...

Announcing the Ultimate End of the Year List Sequence: 31 Days, 31 Lists

The Best Books of the Year lists are beginning to come out right around now. First we saw the Publishers Weekly List. Then the School Library Journal List was presented as part of a live feed on Kidlit TV. The New York Times released their Best Illustrated list for the year. Soon enough the other review journals will get on board, as will Brain Pickings with their annual picks of eclectic, original, artistic books. Marjorie Ingall will do a list of the best books of the year with Jewish theme...

Review of the Day: Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders

Five Children on the Western Front
By Kate Saunders
Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House)
$16.99
ISBN: 978-0-553-49793-9
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

Anytime someone writes a new prequel or sequel to an old children’s literary classic, the first question you have to ask is, “Was this necessary?” And nine times out of ten, the answer is a resounding no. No, we need no further adventures in the 100-Acre Woods. No, there’s very little reason to speculate on precisely what happened to An...

Fusenews: But you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Remember the moment at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when he funds Fred and George’s joke shop? What is it he says to them? Ah yes. “I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to need them more than usual before long.” I feel like, once again, Rowling put her finger on the pulse of what we need to hear. Today’s post is in honor of that spirit.

Here’s a little happy news for you to kick it all off. The World Science Fictio...

The Children’s Literary Salon and the World of Rebecca Dudley

For those of you in the Chicago area, here’s a bit of happiness. This Saturday I’ll have the pleasure of hosting artist Rebecca Dudley of the incomparable Hank Finds an Egg in my Literary Salon. Here’s the long and short of it:

Evanston Literary Salon: Rebecca Dudley’s Miniature World

Saturday, November 12th, 1:30 – 2:30, Community Meeting Room, 1st Floor

Artist Rebecca Dudley wowed the publishing world when she adapted her remarkable tiny world into the picture books HANK FINDS AN EGG...

Around This Time It Would Make Sense to Do an Election Day Post

Though, to be perfectly honest, Saturday’s post sort of covered all the bases there. Still and all, I wanted to do something in honor of the day. It’s tricky. I could do a post of links, like 100 Years of Women in Congress—12 Political Pioneers to Introduce to Kids or Vote Here:Books for Tweens About Elections or If Boys Could Vote. Or I could whip up a list of recent picture books about elections in all their myriad forms. But none of that seems special enough.

So I sat down with my husband...

Cover Reveal: And it’s for my own book!!!

Ladies and gentlemen . . . the moment I’ve been waiting for.

Wait! Wait! Background information first!

So for years I worked as a children’s librarian and I’d get girl after girl after girl coming up to my desk asking for funny books. I credit some of this to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The boys and the girls loved that series and wanted more of the same. Sometimes they wanted it in a notebook novel format, like Kinney’s book. Sometimes they just wanted something hilarious, and they seriously didn’...

Video Sunday: Creepiness Abounds!

Stranger Things, I credit you with this finally happening.

Let’s think about doing a Girl With the Silver Eyes film next! Thanks to Liz Burns for the link.

Now when I heard that Nieman Marcus was offering 36 Caldecott Award winning picture books for $10,000 . . . *checks notes* I’m sorry. I typed the wrong number there. I’ll begin again.

When I heard that Nieman Marcus was offering 36 Caldecott Award winning picture books for $100,000 (that’s better) I was a bit baffled. Perhaps these would...