Betsy Bird's Blog, page 287

Librarian Preview: Lerner Books (Fall 2014)

Lest we grow complacent in our maternity leave, I’ve quite a few librarian previews just ah-waiting postings. And what better way to begin than with Lerner Books here? Everyone’s favorite Minnesotan publisher came to town in the guise of Lindsay Matvick. We ate pizza. We talked shop. We heard about what Lerner has on offer and what we can expect this coming fall. So hold on to your hats, folks. This is one of those previews that just get better and better the deeper you go.

First off . . .

Why...

Video Sunday: Pregnant iguanas galore

This may sound a little crazy, but even though I’m on maternity leave for three months or so, this video made me nostalgic for my system. It’s the rather remarkable Why Libraries Matter short documentary from The Atlantic. Beautifully shot and LOOK! There’s Rita Meade again! Somebody give that gal her own show.

While we’re loving our libraries, let’s keep on keeping on. Here’s Brooklyn Public Librarian Alla Roylance on her own journey and time in the library. And yes, there are pregnant iguana...

Benjamin Chaud: You Know Him. You Just Don’t Know You Know Him.

Tell me and tell me true, what do the following have in common?

From the title of this post you have no doubt concluded that they all share the same illustrator. However, had you asked me prior to my recent meeting with French artist Benjamin Chaud, I don’t know that it would have necessarily occurred to me.

Over the years I’ve noticed Chaud’s work, but only in the vaguest possible sense. You see, I’m a big fan of the Pomelo books by Ramona Badescu, published by Enchanted Lion Books here in NYC...

Review of the Day: A Pond Full of Ink by Annie M.G. Schmidt

A Pond Full of Ink

By Annie M.G. Schmidt

Illustrated by Sieb Posthuma

Translated by David Colmer

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

$16.00

ISBN: 978-0-8028-5433-9

Ages 7 and up

On shelves now

International children’s authors are great. They’re just not particularly well known in America. There are various reasons for this. Some of it has to do with the dearth of international children’s book importing. Bringing a book over sometimes requires translation, and there’s often little hope of the writ...

Fusenews: “What’s the matter with kids today?” – with apologies to Bye, Bye, Birdie

Giving birth! All the kids are doing it these days. And you know what giving birth means, right? It means having a little extra time to blog and get my non-work related projects done. Though, naturally, I wrote 50% of this post a day ago and then must have failed to save the darn thing. *sigh* C’est la vie, kids.

I was called upon recently to speak with a writer from the National Endowment for the Arts. The topic? Why Children’s Books Matter. Done in conjunction with Leonard Marcus’s exhibit a...

We Interrupt Our Regular Blogging for This Special Announcement

How was your Friday yesterday? Cause here’s how I spent mine:

Ain’t he just adorable? So forgive the spotty blogging in the coming weeks, folks. I’ve a son to raise.

Woot!

“How I Met Julie Andrews” or “Braggy Braggy, Name Drop, Braggy”

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

I don’t want there to ever be a single day where I don’t realize how lucky New York City public librarians can be. Ours is a weird, privileged, one-of-a-kind world. When I moved to this city, I knew it believed itself to be the center of the universe and that by moving here I would slowly, over time, come around to its point of view. It also scared the crap out of me. My vision of NYC was formed by bad 80s films where you can’t walk the street without being mugged...

Review of the Day: West of the Moon by Margi Preus

West of the Moon

By Margi Preus

Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams)

$16.95

ISBN: 978-1-4197-0896-1

Ages 10 and up

On shelves now.

These are dark times for children’s literature. Pick up a book for the 9-12 year-old set and you just don’t know what you’re going to find. Whether it’s the murderous foliage of The Night Gardener, the implications of Nightingale’s Nest, or the serious subject matter of The Red Pencil, 2014 is probably best described as the year everything went dark. Don’t expect We...

Press Release Fun: Brooklyn Teacher Lab

Today’s Press Release is probably going to be mostly interesting to teachers in the NYC area. It’s awfully cool stuff, though, so if you happen to know of a teacher in the area you might want to give them a heads up.

I am very excited to share with you news of a project that is launching this week. This August, we will be hosting the first-ever Bklyn Teacher Lab: a free, 2-week course for classroom teachers happening in the Info Commons classroom.

The Lab is meant to introduce teachers to some...

We Need Diverse Books . . . But Are We Willing to Discuss Them With Our Kids?

For my birthday my husband picked me up a copy of the bestselling book NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. To be frank, I hadn’t heard of it. Though its been called “The Freakonomics of child rearing” and lauded by reviewer after reviewer it’s from the world of adult books. I traipse there but rarely. Still, I’m great with child (ten days away from the due date, in fact) and this promised to be a fascinating read. Covering everything from the detrimental effects that come with tel...