Betsy Bird's Blog, page 264
May 9, 2015
Review of the Day: Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
By Lindsay Mattick
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
$18.00
ISBN: 978-0-316-32490-8
Ages 4-7
On shelves October 20th
What is it with bears and WWI? Aw, heck. Let’s expand that question a tad. What is it with adorable animals and WWI? Seems these days no matter where you turn you find a new book commemorating a noble creature’s splendor and sacrifice on the battlefields of Europe.If it’s not Midnight, A True Story of Loyalty in...
May 7, 2015
The Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala or I’m Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. Scieszka
Photo credit: Sophie Blackall
Subtlety was never my strong suit.
And speaking of suits, how crazy is that one? Yes, if you happened to be at this Monday’s8th annual Children’s Choice Book Awards gala then you may have cast thine peepers on this understated little ensemble. Twitter at the moment is vacillating between whether or not it belongs in the Willy Wonka camp or is the legal property of The Joker. I remain neutral on the matter, though the spats clearly tip the balance in favor of The...
May 5, 2015
Ben Hatke and the One and Only Miracle Molly
I’ve always been a particular fan of author/illustrator/cartoonist Ben Hatke. From the moment I first laid eyes on a little graphic novel by the name of Zita the Spacegirl, I was well and truly hooked. Now Ben’s working on a couple different projects and he’s been making the internet rounds talking about them. Today, here at A Fuse #8 Production, he discusses the book Miracle Molly. Here, in his own words, is what Matt has to say about the title, as well as a little sketch art to give you a t...
May 4, 2015
Fusenews: Gravel in the bed
“If kids like a picture book, they’re going to read it at least 50 times, and their parents are going to have to read it with them. Read anything that often, and even minor imperfections start to feel like gravel in the bed.” – Mark Haddon
I’ve just returned from speaking at a magnificent writing retreat weekend at Bethany Hegedus’s Writing Barn in Austin, Texas. That quote was one that Bethany read before Alexandra Penfold’s presentation and I like it quite a lot. Someone should start a pic...
May 1, 2015
Cover Reveal: Sweatherweather by Sara Varon
Cover Reveal Day is here once more! This time it’s a true doozy. A Sara Varon (and you know how the kids clamor for her). Here’s a bit of a description and the book itself. And I know my mom would approve of how they’re holding their knitting needles:
Back before Odd Duck, before Robot Dreams, Sara Varon created Sweaterweather. This endearing, quirky volume is a captivating look into Varon’s creative process. It combines short comics stories, essays, and journal entries, and invites the reade...
April 29, 2015
“Smart girls are funny girls”. Announcing FUNNY GIRL at long last
Call it fate. Call it kismet. Call it the stars aligning, the moon in ascendance, the converging of the planets, whatever you like. When I saw last week that there was a topic trending on Twitter called #WomenWriteFunny, started by Angie Manfredi, it was clear that the hour had come. For a long time a project has been incubating. I’ve kept it quiet as long as possible, but if you saw the following in your PW Children’s Bookshelf yesterday evening then it’s safe to say that the jig is official...
April 28, 2015
Review of the Day: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
The Jumbies
By Tracey Baptiste
Algonquin Young Readers
$15.95
ISBN: 9781616204143
Ages 9-12
On shelves now
“All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” So sayeth Leo Tolstoy (at least in theory). Regardless of whether or not it’s actually true, it is fun to slot books into the different categories. And if I were to take Tracey Baptiste’s middle grade novel The Jumbies with the intention of designating it one type of story or another,...
April 27, 2015
Christian Children’s Literature in the Library: A Quick Accounting
So I’m sitting at my desk the other day, paging through some children’s books I was sent from who knows where (my records are spotty at best and comparable to what happens when a raccoon is set free in a paper factory at worst) when I stumble across this book Stories of the Saints by Margaret McAllister, illustrated by Alida Massari. I don’t need to tell you that here in New York there is a HUGE need for books on saints for kids. The local Catholic schools regularly assign such a project to t...
April 24, 2015
Review of the Day: On the Shoulder of a Giant by Neil Christopher
On the Shoulder of a Giant: An Inuit Folktale
By Neil Christopher
Illustrated by Jim Nelson
Inhabit Media
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1-77227-002-0
Ages 4-7
On shelves now
My daughter is afraid of giants. She’s three so this isn’t exactly out of the norm. However, it does cut out a portion of her potential reading material. Not all giants fall under this stricture, mind you. She doesn’t seem to have any problem with the guys in Giant Dance Party and “nice” giants in general get a pass. Still, we...
April 23, 2015
Displays Every Day! An April 23rd Sampler
Yesterday was Earth Day, and I suspect a fair number of you librarians out there did some killer Earth Day displays of books for the kiddos, teachers, and parents out there. I love thematic book displays. But who says you need an official holiday to create one? Let us say, for the sake of argument, that you wanted to do a really eclectic display on (just to pick a random date) April 23rd. Honestly you could make a truly crazy but interesting series of books if you wanted to. After all, April...
