Betsy Bird's Blog, page 28
October 4, 2024
Review of the Day: How It All Ends by Emma Hunsinger
I was tooling about the internet the other day when I happened upon one of those this-is-why-my-generation-rocks posts about Generation X that you occasionally see. This one bragged that the reason Generation X doesn’t ban books (which��� what?) is that we grew up reading Flowers in the Attic one moment then Choose Your Own Adventure Books then Stephen King t...
October 2, 2024
In the Midst of the Swirl: A Cover Reveal and Chris Raschka Interview for Peachaloo In Bloom!
They sez to me, “Betsy! Howzabout a Chris Raschka interview?” To which I sez right back, “You betcha!” That’s paraphrased, by the way, but you get the idea.
Yes, were you aware that the multi-Caldecott Award winning author/illustrator Chris Raschka has been dabbling in novels as of late? He’s acquired quite a taste for middle grade chapter book titles, and today’s newest book is no exception. Peachaloo in Bloom is slated for our library and bookstore shelves on July 1, 2025, but it’s never to...
October 1, 2024
Process and Cold Fish: A Talk with Jacob Grant About the Upcoming Book Umami!
When one thinks of the term “umami” what comes to mind? Savoriness? Yes. Penguins? No. And yet here we are today, talking with author/illustrator Jacob Grant about his upcoming October 29th release, Umami. In a world of cold fish, Umami is a little different. Here’s the plot description from the publisher:
Umami is tired of eating cold fish.
But fish is what the penguins eat. Fish for every meal and birthdays too. To find new exciting foods, Umami adventures across the sea and discovers f...
September 30, 2024
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: CROSSOVER EPISODE: The Yarn Presents Travis Jonker with Thirteen by Remy Charlip and Jerry Joyner
“If you’re looking for a typical story with words and a plot, this ain’t it. Go somewhere else.”
It’s the podcast we’ve wanted to do for months. The ultimate crossover. For the first time, TWO School Library Journal podcasts have come together to consider the classical status of a picture book of the past. You know him. You love him. You cannot help but be aware of his blog (100 Scope Notes), his picture books (The Ship in the Window, Just One Flake, etc.), or his podcast (The Yarn). His ...
September 26, 2024
Cover Reveal! Q&A! Introducing the Upcoming Betsy Bird / Andrea Tsurumi Collaboration: Pop Goes the Nursery Rhyme!
Before we go any further, I have two animals I would like to introduce to you. The first, is the common weasel. Observe the following video:
Cute, right? That video was sent to me by artist Andrea Tsurumi.
Now allow me to direct your attention to another animal. This is a bird, and one that I only just relatively recently learned about. Have you heard of the secretary bird? You really should:
Folks, today it is my incredible pleasure to announce that I have created a book wi...
September 25, 2024
“Heck, yeah, collapsible ribs!” A Talk with Candace Fleming about Her Incredible New Title, Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic
It is not the first narwhal nonfiction picture book to grace our children’s bookshelves. Yet when I first saw Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic by Candace Fleming, with art from Deena So’Oteh (out on shelves October 22nd), I was floored. Much as she did with books like Honeybee or Giant Squid, Fleming has a preternatural ability to deep dive into critters and creatures that might otherwise not get the full attention they deserve. And how much, really, do you know about narwhals vs. what you think y...
September 24, 2024
Publisher Preview: Eerdmans Spring 2025 Sneak Peek!
There’s nothing I like better than a glimpse into the near future. Publishers produce so many books in a given year that it can be difficult to get a sense of what they’re putting out into the world. That’s why I eschew the Big Five and prefer to highlight some of the smaller folks. Eerdmans, the Michigan-based publisher, has a tendency to release seriously high quality fare. As such, take a gander at some of the books they have on the not-so-far horizon.
Ramon Fellini the Dog Detect...
September 23, 2024
Tragedy + Time = Funny: A Q&A with Jes��s Trejo & Eliza Kinkz About Mam�����s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas
A show of hands. How many of you, like myself, were howling, screaming, and giving general jumps for joy when Pap�����s Magical Water-jug Clock won TWO 2024��Pura Belpr�� Honors? I hope whole heaping tons of you were, because it was such a blooming deserved win. I loved that book so much when it came out that, I admit, it never even occurred to me that a sequel was in the works. And yet a sequel is precisely what we find ourselves with today!
Mam�����s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas is once a...
September 22, 2024
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Fox by Margaret Wild, ill. Ron Brooks
“Hurt creatures hurt creatures.” Initially I heard about today’s book on the podcast The Sartorial Librarian, and they discussed it so brilliantly that I absolutely had to grab it for our recording today. This is an Australian title that somehow has escaped the greater notice of America until now. We aim to change this! Originally published in 2000 in Australia and American in 2001, this is unlike any other book you’ve ever seen. From the typography to the writing the deeply disturbing and w...
September 19, 2024
Review of the Day: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, ill. Ashley Mackenzie
She���s the George R.R. Martin of middle grade fantasy, says School Library Journal. No. Wait. Scrap that. She���s actually reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin and Philip Pullman, says Publishers Weekly. No. No no, I���m still wrong because the Washington Post is saying she���s her generation���s J.R.R. Tolkien. Meanwhile you���ve The Ne...
