Betsy Bird's Blog, page 260
July 15, 2015
The Kidlit Swap Method: Children’s Literary Equivalents of Popular Adult Titles
Look, I know how hard you work. You’re busy. And when it comes to your pleasure reading you don’t always have time to dip into the latest 450 page history or novel. Who does these days?
Now there’s a timesaver that will solve all your woes. Introducing the Kidlit Swap Method. All you need to do is to take a work for adults and then locate its children’s literary equivalent. You’ll get all the meaning, with none of the hassle. Some examples!
Instead of This – My Struggle: Books 1-6 by Karl Ove...
July 13, 2015
Fake Newbery Winners: Create Your Own Title
So I’m reading through the latest issue of School Library Journal, checking out which books got some stars in the back, and I notice something in the middle grade novel section. Three titles in particular catch my eye:
All starred books with great authors. I’ve not read any of them yet, but I’m looking forward to doing so. Yet as I’m looking at their names, it oc...
July 12, 2015
When Clothing Approximates Sexism (and other woes)
A friend of mine who is not particularly into the children’s literary world, except that she has small children and reads to them, forwarded on to me this recent article in Vox. It sports the clickbait title I never noticed how racist so many children’s books are until I started reading to my kids. It’s one of those pieces that sort of write themselves. Periodically we’ll see articles come out from new parents, shocked and horrified by some aspect of children’s literature. Whether its disdain...
July 8, 2015
Kidlit Drink Night Returns! For One Night Only
They said it was dead. They said it was over. They said it would never return again. But what they didn’t count on was the fact that when I leave a city I doggone LEAVE a city! Ladies and gentlemen, I have grabbed my jumper cables, attracted a lightning storm of epic proportions, and rejuvenated the monster. In short, I’m having a final Kidlit Drink Night to say goodbye to New York City.
The details:
What: Kidlit Drink Night: Bye Bye Birdie Edition
When: Tuesday, July 14th at 6:00 p.m.
Where:...
July 7, 2015
Review of the Day: Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley
Boats for Papa
By Jessixa Bagley
Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan)
$17.99
ISBN: 978-1626720398
Ages 4-7
On shelves now
So I’m a snob. A children’s literature snob. I accept this about myself. I do not embrace it, but I can at least acknowledge it and, at times, fight against it as much as I am able. Truth be told, it’s a weird thing to get all snobby about. People are more inclined to understand your point of view when you’re a snob about fine china or wines or bone structur...
July 6, 2015
Karen Cushman Cover Reveal (are you ready for a fantasy novel?)
You read that right, folks. Karen Cushman has a new book coming out (hooray!) and it’s not like her books in the past. Cushman has embraced her fantastical side in her latest title, Grayling’s Song. Here’s the plot description:
“When Grayling’s mother, wise woman Hannah Strong, starts turning into a tree, Hannah sends Grayling to call “the others” for help. Shy and accustomed to following her mother in everything, Grayling takes to the road. She manages to summon several “others”—second-strin...
July 4, 2015
Video Sunday: Living dolls, shark costumes, buried books and goats in pjs
As you may have noticed, I’ve not done a Video Sunday in a while. It now appears that what I was waiting for all this time was Dan Santat’s parody of Serial, turning it into a reenactment of his Caldecott Award call. I’m just ashamed that when he won it didn’t immediately occur to me that, “Wow. We’re going to get a really great video out of this.” Hindsight is 20-20.
Nice that he got to take the shark suit out of mothballs, right?
As a children’s librarian I associate American Girl dolls fa...
July 2, 2015
Fusenews: [Enter Obligatory Winnie-the-Pooh/James Bond Pun Here]
Did I mention that my new workplace has peregrine falcons? FALCONS, I SAY!
As the House of Bird prepares for its inevitable move, I find myself rather entranced with my incipient home of Evanston, Illinois. I’m coming to it with almost no prior knowledge of its existence, and find it to be completely and utterly lovely. Example A: Check out this Humans of New York-esque photo series on Tumblr where the library talks to everyday citizens. Good stuff! Last month I participated in the 21st Cent...July 1, 2015
Review of the Day: The Case for Loving by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls
The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage
By Selina Alko
Illustrated by Sean Qualls
Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic)
$18.99
ISBN: 978-0545478533
Ages 4-7
On shelves now.
When the Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015 that same-sex couples could marry in all fifty states, I found myself, like many parents of young children, in the position of trying to explain the ramifications to my offspring. Newly turned four, my daughter needed a bit of context. After a...
June 30, 2015
Interview with Lynne Jonell: Cats, Rats, and Squishing Machines
Folks, one of the things I love about this job is the fact that I get to watch authors’ careers bloom and blossom. I see authors starting out or at the beginning of their careers and watch as they garner praise and flourishes throughout the years. Today’s example is author Lynne Jonell. Back in 2007 I very much enjoyed her book Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. She’s written so much since then, but her latest is the one that caught my eye. Recently Kirkus said of The Sign of the Cat in a...
