Betsy Bird's Blog, page 257

Walking and Talking with . . . Deborah Wiles!

I’m happy to say that Steve Sheinkin’s “Walking and Talking” series is back in full swing. For those of you unaware of the Sibert winner’s predilection for drawing his conversations with his fellow literary luminaries, this is a bit of a treat. And for me, to see David Levithan fully drawn . . . well that’s just the icing on the cake, isn’t it? Here is the latest.

Once again I cannot help but thank Steve for creating this series and allowing me to post it on this site.

Previous editions of t...

Football Season Arrives: A Quick Look at “Don’t Throw It to Mo!”

I’m two-timing you, SLJ. Yes, the ugly truth had to come out sometime. I admit all. You see, I’ve been blogging elsewhere.

Crazy but true? It is, but this is a kind of blogging I’ve never really done before. Because while my specialty is children’s literature, my new job here in Evanston, IL requires that I have a deep and abiding familiarity with books for adults. The end result? I’ve been occasionally blogging for EPL about adult titles.

Of course finding topics upon which to speak can be t...

Review of the Day: The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton

The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch
By Chris Barton
Illustrated by Don Tate
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
$17.00
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5379-0
Ages 4-8
On shelves now

“It’s the story of a guy who in ten years went from teenage field slave to U.S. Congressman.” Come again? That’s the pitch author Chris Barton pulled out when he wanted to describe this story to others. You know, children’s book biographies can be very easy as long as you cover the same fifteen to twenty people over and over a...

Book Trailer Premiere: Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants

In this day and age it is prudent of the self-sufficient blogger to warn readers when they may encounter something that will affect the rest of their day, nay, week. And so I say unto you, BEWARE! Be Wary! For in today’s book trailer premiere video for Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants (words by Eric Litwin, art by Scott Magoon) you may find the dreaded earworm. The dreaded catchy catchy earworm. Apparently earworms like nuts. Who knew?

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. And many thanks to Li...

Video Sunday: Kinda makes you wanna watch more ballets, don’t it?

Boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. So MUCH very very good stuff to show you today. Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. Hrm. Howzabout we begin with one of my favorite tropes: things that parody other things that you’ve never seen. It was Dana Sheridan who directed my attention to this video about The Queen of Hearts from an Alice ballet. A lot of time is spent explaining how one of her dances parodies a very specific dance from Sleeping Beauty. All I know is that we need more funny ballets...

Bring Out Your Dead (Reviews!): Today’s Feature – Wings by William Loizeaux

Leaving one library system to enter another can give one a sense of
déjà vu. At least when it comes to weeding the books.

Back when the Donnell Central Children’s Room across the street from the MOMA had to weed down its books to fit in the new location on 42nd Street, we did some EXTREME WEEDING (I’m using capital letters to emphasize the extremity of the situation). A lot of oldies but goodies fell by the wayside. Then I moved to the Evanston Public Library system. They are undergoing a big...

Fusenews: Anagnorisis, Masks of the Oculate Being, and More . . .

Morning, folks. I’ve been looking to expand my knowledge beyond just children’s literature, so I figured a good podcast would be the best way to go. After reading Bustle’s 11 literary podcasts to get your bookish fix throughout the day I settled onBooks on the Nightstand as the closest thing out there to a Pop Culture Happy Hour of books alone. Yet even at that moment I couldn’t escape the world of kidlit. The aforementioned Bustle piece also recommended a podcast called Dear Mr. Potter, des...

Interview – Lauren DeStefano and A Curious Tale of the In-Between

First things first. Look at that book jacket.

Gaze upon it. Feast thine peeper upon its delightful creepy factor. That’s a cover, my friends. And it takes a good book to live up to it. Fortunately, A Curious Tale of the In-Between hasn’t exactly been lacking for the stellar reviews. As Kirkus put it, “DeStefano artfully concocts a moving and multilayered tale that is an effective mix of genres and tones, at times contemplative and philosophical yet also macabre and psychologically sophistica...

Girls: Beyond Eyelashes and Bows

Not too long ago The Guardian had a piece out called Picture books that draw the line against pink stereotypes of girls. I was keen on it, particularly since in the midst of all these children’s books about breaking down stereotypes, I’ve seen awfully few “tomboy” titles. Books about girls who won’t wear dresses or care two bits about makeup and pink sparkles. They exist, but they’re not often commented on, so I liked the piece.

In the midst of all its books mentioned, I was particularly intr...

Press Release Fun: A 2016 Children’s Literature Fellow Program Accepts New Applications

MFA in Creative Writing and Literature

CONTACT: Emma Walton Hamilton
Stony Brook Southampton emma.waltonhamilton@stonybrook.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2016 Children’s Literature Fellows Program
Now Accepting Applications from Aspiring Children’s Authors Worldwide

August, 2015. Southampton, NY. The Children’s Literature Fellows, a one-year graduate level certificate program sponsored by Stony Brook Southampton’s MFA in Creative Writing and Literature, is now accepting applications for 2016.

Th...