Betsy Bird's Blog, page 285

Review of the Day: Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Greenglass House

By Kate Milford

Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

$17.99

ISBN: 978-0-544-05270-3

Ages 9-12

On shelves August 26th

When I was a kid I had a real and abiding love of Agatha Christie. This would be around the time when I was ten or eleven. It wasn’t that I was rejecting the mysteries of the children’s book world. I just didn’t have a lot to choose from there. Aside from The Westing Game or supernatural ghostly mysteries sold as Apple paperbacks through the S...

Press Release Fun: Teachers Are Givers Contest

For what it’s worth, this contest is for librarians as well as teachers.

To Honor Educators and to Highlight the August Movie Release of “The Giver,” Walden Media Announces its “Teachers are Givers” Contest

Educators Will Receive Cash Prizes for Themselves, Their Schools, and Libraries as well as a Special Hometown Screening of “The Giver”

Los Angeles, CA – June 11, 2014 – Walden Media, known for its film adaptations of literary classics like “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” “Holes,” “Br...

Newbery / Caldecott 2015: The Summer Prediction Edition

Sloooooowly the predictions begin. As I post this I’m hitting the sweet spot right between Book Expo and the annual American Library Association conference. Which is to say, this is the moment in time when some folks have seen the fall galleys from BEA while other folks are about to see them at ALA. On maternity leave, I am hampered significantly by what I see. Most galleys are being sent to my workplace where they are out of my reach. So while I’ve still seen a wide swath of things, I know t...

Video Sunday: Not that anyone doubted LeVar’s godlike qualities

A couple thoughts on that video. First off, it is sung by author Deborah Underwood (whatta pretty pretty voice, eh?) and editor Arthur A. Levine (whatta pretty pretty voice, eh?) at what Vimeo calls an “agency retreat in Brandon, Vermont”. So I had to wonder what precisely an “agency retreat” really is. Well, there’s a perfectly logical explanation for it right here. I wouldn’t mind having the chance to go on a retreat but what I really want is to be in a band. Anyone wanna start one with me?...

Video Sunday: Not that anyone doubed LeVar’s godlike qualities

A couple thoughts on that video. First off, it is sung by author Deborah Underwood (whatta pretty pretty voice, eh?) and editor Arthur A. Levine (whatta pretty pretty voice, eh?) at what Vimeo calls an “agency retreat in Brandon, Vermont”. So I had to wonder what precisely an “agency retreat” really is. Well, there’s a perfectly logical explanation for it right here. I wouldn’t mind having the chance to go on a retreat but what I really want is to be in a band. Anyone wanna start one with me?...

Posthu-must we?*

I was listening to a Pop Culture Happy Hour show the other day when the topic turned to posthumous works published after a creator’s death. When is it okay to raid a dead author or illustrator’s drawers for unpublished material? Is it ever okay? And is there a significant difference between works that someone finished midstream vs. works they finished entirely but never submitted?

All this comes to mind this year since the Margaret Wise Brown trunk of never ending material has yielded yet anot...

Review of the Day: Hug Machine by Scott Campbell

Hug Machine

By Scott Campbell

Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

$16.99

ISBN: 978-1-4424-593509

Ages 3-7

On shelves August 26th

Do you remember that old Shel Silverstein poem “Hug O’ War”? This may be considered sacrilege but did you ever notice how the guy could do something brilliant one moment, like “Sister For Sale” and then turn around and do something just doggone maudlin like “Hug O’ War” the next? Here’s a taste of what I mean: “Where everyone hugs / Instead of tugs / Where ever...

Fusenews: Of talking tigers and square penguins

So the big news this week was that a writer at Slate decided that now was an ideal time to take a potshot at adults reading young adult books. And, as you might expect, everyone got quite hot under the collar about it. To arms! To arms! Considering that this sort of thing happens pretty much every time a new YA book hits the mainstream I wasn’t quite as upset as some. Honestly, I thought Roger Sutton’s piece Why Do We Even Call It YA Anymore? was much more along my own thinking. I could not h...

#DadsRead Because Dads are Awesome

Howdy, folks! We’re approaching Father’s Day here which makes today’s post a bit premature. Then again, the concept of dads reading to their kids is for forever, not a single day. You see Zoobean is launching this campaign in conjunction withThe Good Men Projectfrom June 2 – June 15, just in time for Father’s Day. It’s called the #DadsReadcampaign and is designed to get dads reading. Always a good thing.

I was asked if I wanted to do something in conjunction with this campaign. Of course, I do...

Review of the Day: Roller Derby Rivals by Sue Macy

Roller Derby Rivals

By Sue Macy

Illustrated by Matt Collins

Holiday House

$16.95

ISBN: 978-0-8234-2923-3

Ages 5 and up

On shelves July 1st

In my next life I will come back as a roller derby queen. Since the majority of my adult life has come and gone in complete and utter ignorance of this sport, I figure that means it’s too late for me now. But the more I learn about the sport the more I like it. Women on roller skates knocking the bejeesus out of each other in a circular fashion? Yes, please...