Betsy Bird's Blog, page 272

Review of the Day: Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman

Wolfie the Bunny

By Ame Dyckman

Illustrated by Zachariah OHora

Little, Brown and Co.

$17.00

ISBN: 978-0-316-22614-1

Ages 3-6

On shelves February 17th

Not every child views the imposition of a new sibling as an interloper, but a fair number of them do. They’re just tooling along, enjoying the natural bliss that comes with being the one and only star in their parents’ firmament when BLAMMO! A squalling person of inadequate size is there, hogging the attention. Unsurprisingly a low burn (or, in o...

Book Trailer Premiere: RED – A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall

I’m pleased as punch to be premiering the book trailer for Michael Hall’s rather magnificent picture book RED today. The simple tale of a blue crayon labelled with a red wrapper, it’s rather subtle and brilliant. Naturally I wanted to know where Hall got the idea for it in the first place. Here’s his response to that query:

My interest in crayons began when I fell in love with Mickey Myers’ Crayola prints (see below) in the 80s. Crayons — when represented in two dimensions on paper — make an a...

Librarian Preview: Chronicle Books (Spring 2015)

It’s a new year but the librarian previews just ah-keep on coming. Generally you’ll read my previews of “The Big Six/Five” (they haven’t really gone down to a proper five yet, but it’s coming). My heart always belongs to the little guys, though. The folks who aren’t necessarily located in NYC. Folks like Chronicle Books, located more in the San Francisco area part of the country. If Candlewick is the publisher of books that are gorgeous in a classical sense then Chronicle is her mod younger s...

100 Magnificent Children’s Books 2014

If I’m going to be honest about it, this is a list I do every year strictly for myself. It sort of helps me get my head in order. Figure out what I liked. What I didn’t. What I reviewed. What I missed. I recommend you make your own sometime. The categories are from the 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing List as created by New York Public Library. I like how they help me parcel out the genres.

Picture Books (For Children Ages 2-6)

Anna Carries Water by Olive Senior. Illustrated by Laura James. T...

Betsy Regretsy: Books I Most Regret Not Reviewing in 2014

Babies. They just sorta throw the whole reviewing machine into a tizzy. When I first started blogging I was actually able to do a review a day. That was crazy. Then kiddo #1 was born and that slowed to 2-3 reviews a week. Manageable. This year (2014) kiddo #2 made his debut and now I feel inordinately accomplished if I can get one review out a week.

All this is to say that there’s a whole host of fabulous children’s books out there that I missed my chance to review in 2014. I have a tendency t...

Review of the Day: Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman

Hansel and Gretel

By Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti

Candlewick

$16.95

ISBN: 978-1-935179-62-7

Ages 6 and up

When a successful writer of books for adults decides to traipse headlong into the world of children’s literature, the results are too often disastrous. From Donald Barthelme’s self-indulgent Slightly Irregular Fire Engine to the more recent, if disastrous in an entirely different way, Rush Revere series by Rush Limbaugh, adult authors have difficulty respecting the unique pe...

Press Release Fun: Stephen Barbara on the Move!

My agent has just found a new home. And since he’s a stellar feller, here are the details of the matter.

LITERARY AGENT STEPHEN BARBARA JOINS INKWELL MANAGEMENT

After six years at Foundry Literary + Media, literary agent Stephen Barbara will join InkWell Management, effectiveJanuary 5th, 2015. Barbara, who was instrumental in building Foundry’s books for young readers presence, will be followed by all fifty of his clients.

His list of authors includesNew York Timesbestseller Lauren Oliver, Newbe...

Fusenews: On the bocce ball court with a banjo

In the realm of “How crazy is this?” I have a whopper of a weirdo story. As you may or may not know, for many years I worked with the delightful Winnie-the-Pooh toys in the Children’s Center at 42nd Street. Because the toys originally hailed from Britain I become well and truly familiar with folks insisting that they be sent “home”. In fact, if you’d like to read the entire history of the British M.P. who made it her misbegotten mission, you can do so here. I hadn’t thought of the debacle in...

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas! Or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate. My week here’s a bit off thanks to the holidays and travels to Kalamazoo (which is to say, Bookbug). Still, we can’t help but do a happy little holiday post once in a while. And with that in mind . . . .

First off, Rudolph! Or, rather, the book of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Last year NPR told the true story behind the manuscript. But even sweeter, the answer to a well known Rudolph urban legend . . . and it’s true!

And now, as p...

We Need Diverse Comic Books: Meet Mafalda

My husband’s best friend returned to us the other day from his vacation in South America bearing gifts. Amongst them was a t-shirt for my daughter featuring this cartoon tyke:

Know her? If you’re American the answer is probably no. But if you were Argentinian you’d instantly recognize her as Mafalda. She was Argentina’s answer to Charlie Brown from 1964 to 1973 and is basically recognized all over the world . . . with the exception of the U.S.

She gets me to thining. When we talk about the #WeN...