Betsy Bird's Blog, page 42

Using Well-Placed “Humour” As a Trojan Horse for Information: An Interview with Philip Bunting About Ants!

In the backmost corner of my brain, down the hall from the water cooler, the whiteboard, and the various cubicles producing god-knows-what-all, there is a list. It’s not a particularly noticeable list and, I suspect, you could probably walk right by it without giving it a glance. Nevertheless, it’s a list I consult with great frequency. Scrawled in crayon, right at the top, are the words “PEOPLE I WANT TO INTERVIEW”. And prominent amongst them, for a number of years, has been the name “Philip Bu...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner

Originally released in 2003, Skippyjon Jones is a fascinating study of a picture book that was controversial prior to the rise of We Need Diverse Books. When first it came out, the book received loads of praise and awards … and then loads of controversy. While still in print today, we identify the probable reasons why this book doesn’t have a Netflix show, a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a live-action film, etc. Let’s just say there may be a reason why the last book in this series came out...

The War in Ukraine, Part Two – Cover Reveal: A Star Shines Through by Anna Desnitskaya

Today marks the second post commemorating the fact that one year ago today Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Yesterday we looked at a wordless Ukrainian picture book that was released in 2023. Today we are revealing the cover of a picture book not available until August of 2024. A Star Shines Through��by Anna Desnitskaya is fiction but was inspired by Anna’s family’s real-life experience emigrating to Israel (then Montenegro) from Russia upon the outbreak of the...

The War in Ukraine, Part One: A Yellow Butterfly Interview with Oleksandr Shatokhin

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. We now find ourselves at the anniversary of that war, and so for the next two days I’ll be featuring posts that discuss that war and the children’s books that have come out of it.

When Yellow Butterfly by Oleksandr Shatokhin was first released it received multiple starred reviews and raves from journals, like Kirkus calling it, “Provocative, powerful, breathtakingly beautiful,” ...

Review of the Day: Touch The Sky by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic WITH Bonus Q&A

I never do this, but sometimes a book is so good that you’ve just gotta double dip. Today I am engaged in the particularly rare twofer: Areview AND Q&A with Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic about her upcoming picture book. And you know I don’t do that with just anybody. So here’s how it’s gonna go down.

First, I will review the book.

Second, I will talk to Stephanie about the book.

Now sit back and enjoy one heckuva great title:

Touch the Sky
By Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic
Illustrated by ...

Still Life: Cover Reveal AND Q&A with the Illustrious Alex London and Paul O. Zelinsky

That’s a double whammy of a combo, isn’t it? On the one hand you have author Alex London, who’s been doing novels for kids for years, but is getting more and more into picture books these days. On the other you have Caldecott Award winning illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky, producing a book in his own uniquely inimitable style. Put ’em both together and you have STILL LIFE, out everywhere September 3rd of this year. Here’s the plot, for the curious:

Every young artist has drawn or painted a still...

Interview and Exclusive Excerpt: Alison Pearce Stevens Brings Us Some True Animal Climate Heroes

There is a temptation, when running a children’s literature blog, to stay entirely in the fictional lane. Interviewing picture book authors and novel writers is fun, no question, but what about the informational book creators? Where’s their parade? Where’s their appearances on late night shows?

The time is now! Today we’re talking to author Alison Pearce Stevens about her upcoming Animal Climate Heroes, out March 5th. And better still, we’re going to give you a peek at an excerpt from it as ...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Moon Jumpers by Janice May Udry, ill. Maurice Sendak

Deep in the heart of February, it’s not uncommon for folks to start yearning for warmer days and summer nights. While shivering in Illinois, Kate and I dip into some early award-winning Udry and Sendak. Why did Sendak win a Caldecott Honor for this title? We deign to find out. There are ghosts and giants and a cat with a face Kate would tattoo on her arm tomorrow, if she could. There are also long discussions of how precisely these four children of approximately the same age are all related ...

Review of the Day: Outspoken Paul Robeson by Carole Boston Weatherford, ill. Eric Velasquez

Outspoken Paul Robeson, Ahead of His Time: A One-Man Show
By Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Eric Velasquez
Candlewick Press
$18.99
ISBN: 9781536212976
Ages 9-12
On shelves April 16th

The other day a woman of my acquaintance, who happens to be a rather famous individual in her own right, was in my library looking through the children���s biographies. She told me that a friend of hers had suggested that she write her own picture book autobiography and she was looking for ideas. I wa...

Veggie Tattletales: An Interview with Kyle Lukoff About, There’s No Such Thing As Vegetables

It seems a bit appropriate that a mere day after Valentine’s Day, the chocolatest day of the year, I should do an interview with someone about vegetables. Or… wait. Am I interviewing Kyle Lukoff today about vegetables? Or is the very title of his book, nay, his entire PREMISE, There’s No Such Thing As Vegetables?

Now the fact of the matter is that I’ve known Kyle for years and years and years and I’ve a number of reasons to be excited about his latest. First and foremost, it is Kyle. Recent ...