Betsy Bird's Blog, page 43

Talking Freedom Fire: A New Imprint Discussion with Kwame Mbalia, Tracey Baptiste, and Leah Johnson

So, look. Here’s the deal. You hear that there’s a new children’s book imprint and what’s your immediate reaction? “Another one?” you might say. “How can I keep track of them all?” And normally I might be with you, but here’s the deal. You know Kwame Mbalia? Maybe the name is striking a faint chord of recognition, so I’ll help you out. Mr. Mbalia is probably best known for the Tristan Strong series. You ever read one of those books? They’re desperately fun, and no question. That’s probably what ...

Nina Crews on Virginia Hamilton: The Complete Interview

If you received your February edition of School Library Journal then you probably encountered the cover article dedicated to my interview with Nina Crews about her incipient picture book biography of Virginia Hamilton. Called Extraordinary Magic, the book is already out on bookstore and library shelves everywhere.

The article printed in SLJ was a truncated version of my full talk with Ms. Crews. Today. I am pleased to present to you the final unexpurgated version. Enjoy!!

One of the g...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: David Goes to School by David Shannon

It’s officially the 25th anniversary of No, David! by David Shannon and in celebration I decided to do our second “David” book in the series. Having previously done No, David! before (heard here), I figured that the sequel was the right way to go with today’s episode. Kate, for her part, experiences a curious form of amnesia, capable of remembering our recording of Shannon’s A Bad Case of Stripes, but not the first David book. In that sense she’s the perfect person to read this book, unencum...

Review of the Day: The Book of Whys by Gianni Rodari, ill. JooHee Yoon, translated by Antony Shugaar

The Book of Whys
By Gianni Rodari
Illustrated by JooHee Yoon
Translated by Antony Shugaar
Enchanted Lion Press
$27.95
ISBN: 9781592703647
Ages 6 and up
On shelves now

I���m beginning to get the impression that Gianni Rodari was kind of a big deal.

Maybe it���s just the fact that the publisher Enchanted Lion Books has been doing a stand up and cheer job of publishing his books in the States (WITH new illustrations by hot illustrators, no less), one per year. Even so, I don���t have to tell you ho...

Cover Reveal: The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

Woot woot! Cover reveal day! It only comes but once a . . . (checks blog) . . . week!

And today we’re featuring a new cover from none other than Mr. James Ponti. You may remember Mr. Ponti from such series as City Spies. Now he’s coming out with a new title and we have the cover.

But first! A little info about the book:

First there were the City Spies, now there’s the Sherlock Society! Nancy Drew meets Miami Vice in this action-packed, exciting, and funny new middle-grade series ...

Sydney Taylor Book Blog Tour: Interview with Honor Winner Deke Moulton

One does not normally associate vampires with the Sydney Taylor Award, but then one does not usually have the magnificent Deke Moulton on hand. When contacted by the Sydney Taylor Award Book Blog Tour organizers about hosting someone on my site, I had only one request: I want Deke Moulton. Don’t Want to Be Your Monster was

Betsy Bird: Deke! Congrats on your fantastic (and much deserved) Honor! So to start us right off, I was a gigantic fan of DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR MONSTER. Can you te...

The Last Stand: A Talk with Antwan Eady and the Newly Caldecotted Pumphreys About the Book

I have a treat for you today.

If you’ve already seen a copy of the new picture book THE LAST STAND by Antwan Eady with art from Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey then you know how good it is. This is a book that’s already been raking in the starred reviews. Four of ’em, to be precise. We’re talking Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and BookPage. Not too shabby, right? I didn’t know any of that when I picked the book up to read for myself, and what I found on the page I found particularly intrigu...

Book Recommendations: Hearing Impaired Picture Book Titles (Featuring Hearing Aids)

An old friend texted me the other day with a request I hadn’t encountered before. She told me that her son was, “getting his first hearing aids just after Xmas, and I’m looking for a book or two … to buy for him at home and/or to share with his classroom to help them understand. Any insights?”

I had at least one book come immediately to mind, but I knew better than to rely just on that one. Our social media society may be coming apart at the seams, but if you go online and ask people to reco...

Press Release Fun: Get Ready for the 13th Annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival!

It’s that time of year again���time for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! It’s an annual video contest founded by James Kennedy (author of the YA fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish and some books for adults) in which kid filmmakers create supershort movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in just a few minutes���preferably with a fun twist. Weird interpretations are encouraged: previous standouts include Charlotte’s Web in the style of a horror movie, or The Twenty-One Ba...

Review of the Day: Two Together by Brendan Wenzel

Two Together
By Brendan Wenzel
Chronicle Books
$18.99
ISBN: 9781797202778
Ages 3-7
On shelves April 23rd

Name me, if you would be so kind, the greatest examples of cat/dog friendships. I���m dating myself here but the first things that come to mind tend to be Milo and Otis (ask your parents, kids), Rita and Runt (natch), maybe something from Oliver and Company, and that���s it. Essentially my entire frame of reference is stuck in the 80s & 90s. But where television and movies have let me do...