Betsy Bird's Blog, page 286
June 6, 2014
Press Release Fun: Sponsor a child for the Summer Illustration Art Academy
The Society of Illustrators will make a difference in the lives of 30 at-risk youth ages 9-13 from the most vulnerable neighborhoods in New York City this July through their Summer Illustration Art Academy. This project with the Department of Parks & Recreation is supported in-part by private, corporate and government grants including New York State Council on the Arts.
Students attending the Academy learn multi-media drawing techniqu...
June 5, 2014
Librarian Preview: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group (Fall 2014)
And the hits just keep on coming! Ain’t no party like a Macmillan party, cause a Macmillan party has superior brownies. So there I was, HUGELY pregnant with some major back pain attending my penultimate librarian preview in a publisher’s home base (I actually have three more to write up after this, so no worries about me running out anytime soon). As you may know, Macmillan is based out of the Flatiron Building here in NYC and a nicer little ancient structure with teeny tiny elevators you wil...
June 4, 2014
My First Re-Review: The Qwikpick Papers – Poop Fountain by Tom Angleberger
Here’s something I’ve never done before. For years I’ve been waiting for the moment when a book I loved and reviewed dipped out of print only to come back again. Since I’ve only been doing this gig since 2006 I wasn’t sure what that first book would be. Then, this year, I got my answer. Back in October of 2007 I reviewed a book by a newcomer going by the moniker of Sam Riddleberger. The book? The Qwikpick Adventure Society. I absolutely adored it, floored by some of the new things it was doin...
June 3, 2014
The Best of the Underrated Middle School Books
In the world of children’s literature we are creatures with short memories. The new and shiny is always far more preferable to the old and worn. I’ve been in the children’s book reviewing game for roundabout eight years now and I’ve fallen in love with a fair amount of titles. But time goes on and I end up forgetting so many of them. Fortunately, I long ago had the idea of creating this handy dandy wiki of all the books I’ve reviewed. It’s been invaluable to me over the years, reminding me of...
June 2, 2014
Review of the Day: brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
brown girl dreaming
By Jacqueline Woodson
Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin)
$16.99
ISBN: 978- 0399252518
Ages 9-12
On shelves August 28th
What does a memoir owe its readers? For that matter, what does a fictionalized memoir written with a child audience in mind owe its readers? Kids come into public libraries every day asking for biographies and autobiographies. They’re assigned them with the teacher’s intent, one assumes, of placing them in the shoes of those people who found their...
June 1, 2014
Video Sunday: But he was STILL hungry
Well, had this post just about wrapped up when the whole computer crashed on me. Viva la internet! Let’s see if I can recover what I lost.
First off, the best thing in the world. Best. The world. Ever.
He is, for the record, on Twitter now. I’m a bit reluctant to tell you this since I like being one of his few followers. Ah well. It was there that I discovered this video as well. Oh, Huffington Post. You knew not what you wrought.
Bet Angelina Jolie looks positively easy in comparison now, eh? G...
May 31, 2014
Fusenews: The Bear grumbleth “mum mum”
Honestly, I don’t quite know why I even bother doing Fusenews posts on Saturdays. As you might suspect, my readership dips considerably when the weekends hit, but an old Fusenews post is like a week old fish. Time does it no favors. As such, I shall cut through my seething envy of everyone at BookExpo this week (honestly, why are you folks having SO much fun anyway?) and pretend that Maureen Johnson’s tweets about how bad the coffee is there will convince me that it’s not that interesting any...
May 29, 2014
Un Cri de Coeur: The Masses Demand New Book Jackets (Please?)
Here we are on the cusp of summer. It always surprises me when the weather gets warm and yet the kids are still in school here in NYC. Still, they’ll be out soon enough, running into my libraries with their summer reading lists clenched in their hot little hands. Here in New York City each school, each teacher even, can have their own reading lists. There is absolutely no consensus amongst them. Some things in life are certain, however. By and large, the same books show up over and over on th...
Un Crie de Coeur: The Masses Demand New Book Jackets (Please?)
Here we are on the cusp of summer. It always surprises me when the weather gets warm and yet the kids are still in school here in NYC. Still, they’ll be out soon enough, running into my libraries with their summer reading lists clenched in their hot little hands. Here in New York City each school, each teacher even, can have their own reading lists. There is absolutely no consensus amongst them. Some things in life are certain, however. By and large, the same books show up over and over on th...
May 28, 2014
Review of the Day: The Grudge Keeper by Mara Rockliff
The Grudge Keeper
By Mara Rockliff
Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Peachtree Press
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1-56145-729-8
Ages 4-7
On shelves now.
If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the phrase, “There’s no use crying over spilled milk” was invented with the intention of comforting a two or three-year-old. Small children, one learns, are capable of great waves of hurt at the smallest, silliest things. You want to really know why the picture book Pete the Cat is the massive success it is? Becaus...
