Betsy Bird's Blog, page 34

From Grumpiness to Love: An Emma Full of Wonders Interview with Elisha Cooper

“… the epitome of a��summertime tale with its warm, scenic views and bounding dogs.”

You know, you’ve gotta hand it to the publicity team at Macmillan. Here we are on the cusp of summer, a moment when it still retains a hint of the romance we felt for it back in March, and here they are knowing just how to talk up a picture book that, as they say, epitomizes lush green hills, blue skies, and sunny days.

Recently I was in New York City with my family for a three day trip. Naturally, I c...

Publisher Preview: Transit Children’s Editions (Fall 2024)

It’s that time again!

Now you may be a touch unfamiliar with the publisher Transit Children’s Editions, and that is completely understandable. They’re still relatively new! An imprint of Transit Books (which has really only been around since 2015 itself), their focus is, “to inspire a younger generation to read beyond our borders, to bring joy and wonder, to challenge and excite, with a list that features a diversity of languages, perspectives, and literary approaches of the highest artis...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Baby, Come Out! by Fran Manushkin, ill. Ronald Himler

My logic behind this week’s choice is that it is hot outside right now, so why not do a picture book featuring nudity? Now we currently live in a country where so much as a bare butted goblin picture book can get banned by Moms for Liberty at the drop of a hat. May as well go all in and do a book that unapologetically doesn’t care about such puritanical mores. This book is an odd one, but I’ve an equally odd affection for it. With this podcast episode we talk about screaming at women’s stoma...

Review of the Day: The Noisy Puddle by Linda Booth Sweeney, ill. Miki Sato

The Noisy Puddle: A Vernal Pool Through the Seasons
By Linda Booth Sweeney
Illustrated by Miki Sato
Owlkids Books
$18.95
ISBN: 9781771475310
Ages 407
On shelves now

The notion of the readaloud nonfiction book is still a relatively recent concept. Of course, I like to hope that things are changing on that front. Maybe in library school, or when library workers receive on-the-job training on how to conduct storytimes, newbies are told to always try to include a nonfiction book to read once in a whil...

Guest Post: Author Jan Carr and Illustrator Kris Mukai Discuss the Buddy and Bea Series

Today I am pleased to announce a guest post from none other than author Jan Carr and illustrator Kris Mukai. Their Buddy & Bea early chapter book series premiered last year with Peachtree Press and has been going strong ever since. Today, they join us for a conversation about the series and their process to boot.

Enjoy!

If you know anything about kids��� books, you might know that though authors and illustrators ���collaborate,��� they���re discouraged from talking directly. This ens...

“Tell the truth. Always”. A Juneteenth Interview with Sandra Headen on Warrior On the Mound

Listen to your librarians. They’ll show you where the good stuff is.

Long before a publicist from Holiday House reached out to me about Sandra W. Headen’s multi-starred middle grade novel Warrior On the Mound, I already knew all about it, all thanks to the incredible reading of my fellow librarians. They’d told me that the book contained, “an undeniable power,” and used words like “compelling”, “engaging”, and “lean.” Little wonder that I’d want to know more about it.

Its publisher descri...

Newbery/Caldecott 2025: Summer Prediction Edition

Okay! This is good! I’m feeling a little more confident about this year. After discussing it with my fellow librarians, I think we all have come to the agreement that in 2024 it was the picture books that came barrelling straight out of the gate. It’s taken the middle grade a little longer to find its footing, but at this point things are beginning to settle down. We all have our favorites. I’ll confess that I’m still feeling more certain on the Caldecott side of things than the Newbery (there a...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse by Frank Asch, ill. Devin Asch

Kate’s crie de coeur for more blood and guts in children’s picture books once again finds its mark. Usually you might associate a book of this sort with titles of a more European bent, but Asch and son are 100% ‘merican, baby. With enough weirdness to choke a cat, this one’s just so very strange. Not to give anything away but I am exceedingly pleased to state that this book is still in print in paperback form today. We discuss houndstooth suits, Itchy and Scratchy, the sinking of the Titanic...

Father’s Day Discussion: Let’s Talk About My Daddy Is a Cowboy with Stephanie Seales and C.G Esperanza

This happened this past Thursday. In my library we conduct regular meetings of staff members where we discuss children’s books of all types. The one stipulation? They have to come out in 2024. So in this last meeting a co-worker of mine is talking about picture books. He has an array that he’s enjoyed but there is one book, and one book alone, that stands apart from the pack for him. He places before us My Daddy Is a Cowboy, written by Stephanie Seales with art by C.G. Esperanza (and just ou...

Guest Post – Writing Two Mysteries in One: What We Found Writing Finder’s Creatures

Okay, folks, we’re gonna do something a little different today. It is my esteemed pleasure to introduce to you authors Kevin and Rebecca Kelly. They’re going to sit down and discuss the process of writing two alternating mystery storylines in one book, in conjunction with their new graphic novel series, Finder���s Creatures. What is Finder’s Creatures precisely? Allow their publisher to explain:

Last August, Kevin and Rebecca Kelly – writing under the pen name P. Knuckle Jones ��� launched ...