Betsy Bird's Blog, page 271
January 20, 2015
Review of the Day: Over the Hills and Far Away collected by Elizabeth Hammill
Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
Collected by Elizabeth Hammill
Illustrations by Various
Candlewick Press
$21.99
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7729-9
Ages : All
On shelves March 10th
Not all nursery rhyme collections are created equal. That is something you discover when you have small children. A parent, even a children’s librarian type parent, will inevitably come to a shocking realization sometime during their child’s early years that when you read a nursery rhyme, the kiddo rea...
January 19, 2015
Graphic Novels for Kids: A Year in Review
I like comics. I like ‘em a lot. Always have, and as a librarian I’ve watched with interest the changing mores in my profession concerning their presence in a library setting. Who has two thumbs and a copy of Seduction of the Innocent on her bedroom bookshelf? This guy, that’s who!
So with the turn of the new year it seemed like a good idea to check in with the folks at First Second, Macmillan’s graphic novel wing, to see what they thought of comics in 2014/15. Speaking with me today are Gina...
January 18, 2015
Video Sunday: “Some tenderness to the tree, Will.”
Over Christmas break I got to go to an Alamo Drafthouse in Kalamazoo to see Into the Woods. The theater? Remarkably fun! The show? Um . . . well there were some problems with it. Enjoyable, sure, but . . . some problems. Problems that I suspect would not be replicated in this fabulous pared down version currently being performed by the Fiasco Theater
Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.
Okay. So let us say that you’re a celebrity. You have written a children’s book. For whatever reason, you though...
January 16, 2015
Morning Mailbag: Changes, Rarities, and Surprises
In a given day I dive through gobs of mail. Boxes of books from publishers for myself, my current co-workers, my former co-workers, this blog, you name it. And since I pay attention to what’s being buzzed, I notice oddities. In this new series I’ll show you some of the more interesting fare. The items being published for kids that it’s possible you haven’t heard about yet.
I keep this book on my desk at all times. It amuses me. Deeply. If ever I am feeling down or out, all I need to do is to l...
January 15, 2015
Fuse #8 TV: Victoria Jamieson!
I didn’t really plan it this way, but this week is basically just wall to wall videos of me yammering till the cows come home. Fortunately, in the case of the latest episode of Fuse #8 TV I’m at least joined by the lovely and infinitely talented graphic novelist Victoria Jamieson.
In this, the latest of my video series, I decide to take you guys on a tour of a castle. A castle chock FULL of children’s literature. Don’t believe me? Then prepare to be amazed.
After that I sit down with Ms. Jamies...
January 14, 2015
KidLit TV: Not Bird, Nor Plane, Nor Even Frog Just L’il Ole Me
This falls directly into the category of “Me Stuff”. That said, some of you may be aware of the presence of Kidlit TV out there. Just to recap, it’s the closest thing we have right now to an all-children’s literature related blog channel. The brainchild of Julie Gribble with host Rocco Staino and a whole crew of fellow staff members, I’ve been watching the consistently interesting and intelligent fare over the last few months. And now? Now they’re talking to me. I am with the gabby gab, as th...
January 13, 2015
Review of the Day: Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
Cuckoo Song
By Frances Hardinge
Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams)
$17.95
ISBN: 978-1419714801
Ages 10 and up
On shelves May 12, 2015
I was watching the third Hobbit movie the other day (bear with me – I’m going somewhere with this) with no particular pleasure. There are few things in life more painful to a children’s librarian than watching an enjoyable adventure for kids lengthened and turned into adult-centric fare, then sliced up into three sections. Still, it’s always interesting to see...
January 11, 2015
Video Sunday: Meeting All Your Sleer n’ Thneed Needs
2014 marked a distinct increase in attention spent on children’s books with diverse characters. However, this is not to say that all books with diverse characters got the same amount of attention. Take, for example, Saving Baby Doe by Danette Vigilante. It was one of the only middle grade books in 2014 to sport a Latino boy protagonist (go on . . . name me two others in 2014). It had great writing as well, so why has almost no one talked about it? NYPL put it on their 100 Titles for Reading a...
January 9, 2015
Fusenews: Chock full o’ NYPL
Some me stuff to start us off. NYPL turned its handy dandy little 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2014 list into an interactive bit of gorgeousness. So as to help it along, I wrote a blog post on the library’s website (I have two blogs, if you want to get technical about it, but only one of them has my heart) with the following clickbait title: They Put THAT Into a Book for Kids?! Forgive me, oh blogging gods. I couldn’t help it. It was too much fun to write. Oh, and while we’re on the NYP...
January 8, 2015
Risky Business: Trying Something New in the 21st Century Children’s Publishing Market
This past Saturday I hosted a Children’s Literary Salon at the main branch of NYPL that discussed the topic of middle grade science fiction for children, its history and future. Consisting of a panel of editor Andrew Harwell, author Jason Fry (of the “Jupiter Pirates” series), and librarian Stephanie Whelan (who gave a fantastic encapsulation of how sci-fi for children has changed over the decades) there came a moment when I was able to ask Harwell about acquiring the Jupiter Pirates books fo...
