Betsy Bird's Blog, page 299

Introducing the Browse-O-Rama!

I will, on occasion, get ideas for posts on this blog from friends and internet companions. Some of these ideas are good. Some of these ideas are unfortunate. And today’s idea? Top-notch fabulousness. It’s actually probably best suited for children’s librarians but the rest of you can stick around if you want. It is, after all, the brainchild of the daughter of a Newbery winner and her Newbery winning buddy. I kid you not.

For lo, little children, there is a fabulous school in Baltimore called...

Fusenews: Nailed It!

Don’t you hate it when you’ve saved oodles of links for a Fusenews only to find your computer apparently ate them without informing you? Fun times. So if I promised some of you that I’d post something and then I didn’t, remind me of the fact. Clearly me brain is running on fumes.

Stop. Before you go any farther I will show you something that will make you laugh. It is this post by my sister on making a particularly unique gingerbread creation. If nothing else the photos at the end will make yo...

Video Sunday: Gobs of authorial types (and the filling of pants with tacos)

This is probably going to be of the most interest to those of you who have an interest in comic book inking in general. Paul Karasik, who is the head of programming for Comic Arts Brooklyn, interviewed Jeff Smith while he (the creator of the Bone graphic novel series) inked a Bone illustration for the audience. I admit it. I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff.

Thanks to Phil Nel for the link.

Someday I hope I’m a big enough picture book author that I’m able to encourage grown people to put tacos...

New York Public Library releases the 2013 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing List

Happiness is a new list.

For 102 years, NYPL has consistently been producing the same list highlighting some of the best books for kids in a given year. Now we’re pleased to announce our 2013 list and all the myriad titles it holds. Admit it. This is one of the most gorgeous covers on a booklist you ever did see, isn’t it?

The back cover isn’t shabby either.

Enjoy!

Press Release Fun: The 2014 National Latino Children’s Literature Conference

This was, quite simply, too cool not to promote in some way. It’s precisely touching on a topic we’ve all been discussing for a while. I would kill to go:

The University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies is pleased to announce the 2014 National Latino Children’s Literature Conference to be held in Tuscaloosa, AL onMarch 13-14, 2014. This exclusive conference was created for the purpose of promoting high-quality children’s and young adult books about the Latino cultures and t...

Review of the Day: Written in Stone by Rosanne Parry

Written in Stone

By Rosanne Parry

Random House

$16.99

ISBN: 978-0-375-86971-6

Ages 9-12

On shelves now

Finding books of historical fiction for kids about Native Americans is an oddly limited proposition. Basically, it boils down to Pilgrims, the Trail of Tears, the occasional 1900s storyline (thank God for Louise Erdrich), and . . . yeah, that’s about it. Contemporary fiction? Unheard of at best, offensive at worst. Authors, it seems, like to relegate their American Indians to the distant past...

Backing the matter

Now that we’re all back at work (though, naturally, there are a LOT of librarians out there who had to work the day before and after Thanksgiving, and so a hat tip to them) we have time to ruminate on matters that are aided and abetted by ample time. Finding myself awash in 2014 materials but determined to finish reading as many 2013 books as I can, I still can’t help but notice certain interesting trends in the coming year. Trends that actually make me happy, that is. We’ll have plenty of ti...

Review of the Day: Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon

Herman and Rosie

By Gus Gordan

Roaring Brook (an imprint of Macmillan)

$17.99

ISBN: 978-1596438569

Ages 3-7

On shelves now

New Yorkers are singularly single minded. It’s not enough that our city be rich, popular, and famous. We apparently are so neurotic that we need to see it EVERYWHERE. In movies, on television, and, of course, in books. Children’s books, however, get a bit of a pass in this regard. It doesn’t matter where you grow up, most kids get a bit of a thrill when they see their home...

Gobble with the gobble with the gulp

Happy Turkey Day, y’all! A day to eat large birds, stare at large balloons, and generally feel happy. It’s not much of a post but I do have three little Thanksgiving links I’d love to share with you today.

This post is a year old but it’s just as cool as it ever was. Over at Book Riot Ms. Cassandra Neace listed all the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons that could be conceivably based on children’s literature characters. Anyone who can find an image of the Wild Thing balloon will have my...

Fusenews: I ain’t too proud to beg

Happy Tuesday to you, one and all! Hope your weather isn’t as bitingly cold as ours has been. Time to warm up with some fresh and festive children’s literature tidbits. Personally, I’m trying to figure out why I wrote today’s headline a couple days ago. I’m sure there was a reason for it. Hmmm.

The recent NPR piece on Gertrude Stein’s children’s book reminds me that it would be great if someone wrote a fun article for The Horn Book that consisted of a systematic accounting of cases where adult...