Betsy Bird's Blog, page 296
January 23, 2014
Video Trailer Debut: Saving Baby Doe by Danette Vigilante
Not too long ago I wrote a post called 2014 Kids of Color: Things Are Looking Up. I wasn’t kidding. The number of book jackets with kids of color on them in 2014 puts 2013, and pretty much every other year up until now, to shame. Yet even with this strong beginning, it’s hard not to notice the kids that aren’t getting their moment in the sun. I don’t think I’m surprising anyone when I say that Latino boys are the rarest kiddos you’ll find on a jacket, regardless of whether it’s a board book,...
January 22, 2014
Librarian Preview: Blue Apple Books (Spring 2014)
Last one of the season, folks! But I figure what with the approaching ALA Conference in Philly, there’s no harm in letting people know last minute about some of the fine and fancy titles that may or may not be available to peruse at the event. Today we focus on small, gutsy, rather lovely little publisher Blue Apple Books and their line-up for the current season.
Elliot Kreloff was kind enough to give me a rundown on what’s happening with his books. Here then is a sneaky peek at some of the ti...
January 21, 2014
The Fairytales and Folktales of 2013: An Accounting
If you’ve sat in the audience during one of my talks of 2013, any of them really, then at some point during my presentation I probably mentioned that my deep and abiding love for small publishers is due, in no small part, to the rise in the fairytales and folktales in the marketplace. It’s not a surprise to anyone when I say that while in previous years folktales were plentiful to purchase, in recent years they’ve become rarities. Well, in 2013 I started to keep track of any and ALL fairytale...
January 20, 2014
Introducing the First Ever, Absolutely Fantastic, SLJ Pre-Game and Post-Game Show!!!
This is me. No surprises there. Photo by Sarah Hampton.
Here’s the situation. The ALA Youth Media Awards are going to air this coming Monday, January 27th. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been waiting for them for quite a long time. You’ve read the Mock Newberys and Caldecotts. You’ve read some of the contenders and thought things through. Now’s the time to find out what the committees were thinking.
You know that at 8:00 a.m. on 1/27 the awards will air live at this address: http://live.web...
January 19, 2014
Video Sunday: “He cried at the BEGINNING of Old Yeller”
It’s always wonderful when I run across a video that declares to me MAKE ME THE FIRST ONE IN THE VIDEO SUNDAY POST! But when I heard that Shaun Tan has a new book coming out on what appears to be April 24th of this year called Rules of Summer, it was just a matter of time before I was able to track down this video. I heard its siren cry and I obeyed.
“Colored mud dragged across cloth.” Brilliant. This book looks like it’ll be the new Harris Burdick. And seriously, when was the last time we had...
January 16, 2014
Fusenews: Red-bearded ghosts welcome!
I begin today with news that is only tangentially children’s literature related. My excuse is that it makes me so happy I can hardly breathe. For Christmas I got the soundtrack of the musical Matilda, and I’ve been cooing over the brilliant lyrics and music ever since. Tim Minchin was the man behind said lyrics and music. Now I discover that Matthew Warchus (the director of Matilda) and Tim will pair together once more . . . for a Groundhog Day musical!! And yes, that would be the 1993 movie...
January 15, 2014
Press Release Fun: The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival Comes to NYC!
It’s that time of year again. So break out your creativity and reserve your seat for our March 22nd showing. Note that if you live in NYC and you want to submit, the deadline is March 8th. Plenty of time to come up with something fantastic!
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January 14, 2014
Review of the Day: Everybody Paints! by Susan Goldman Rubin
Everybody Paints! The Lives and Art of the Wyeth Family
By Susan Goldman Rubin
Chronicle Books
$16.99
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6984-3
Ages 9-12
On shelves February 4th
For years it was my pleasure to work in the New York Public Library’s Central Children’s Room, located in the Donnell Library. The Central Children’s Room was the crown jewel of children’s literature in the city, and amongst its many treasures (which included a parrot-headed umbrella owned by Mary Poppins/P.L. Travers and the original W...
January 12, 2014
Video Sunday: At the speed of light, she arrives just in time . . .
Some weeks can go by without a single solitary interesting video in sight. Other weeks, you drown in brilliance. This week inclines far more towards the latter than the former.
I could not lead off today with anything other than the latest bit of Bookie Woogie brilliance. You keened to their 90-second rendition of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. You hooted to their Black Cauldron encapsulation. And you had to rewire your jaw after it smashed to the floor after seeing their Frog and Toad Tog...
January 11, 2014
Review of the Day: Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Under the Egg
By Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Dial (an imprint of Penguin Group)
$16.99
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4001-3
Ages 9-12
On shelves March 18th.
Let me ask you a question. You seem like an intelligent individual. Have you ever read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? And, if your answer is yes, did you love it? At the very least, do you remember it? I think it fair to say that for significant portions of the population the answer to both these questions would be yes. But before we g...
