Betsy Bird's Blog, page 7

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Tadpole’s Promise by Jeanne Willis, ill. Tony Ross (Second in a Two-Part Series!)

As promised, here is the SECOND caterpillar-and-tadpole-are-friends book we’re featuring, two weeks in a row. I would like to point out that in both cases, the caterpillar is 100% the problem friend in the relationship. This probably says more about human attitudes towards fancy folks than anything else, but feel free to write your own insightful thesis on the subject if you so choose. As we go through this book, we realize that it should have been renamed TADPOLE’S UNKNOWING REVENGE since i...

Press Release Fun: We Need Diverse Books, Authors, and Indie Bookstores Support Trans and Nonbinary Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bestselling Authors, We Need Diverse Books, and Indie Bookstores Celebrate Diverse Magic Stories In Support of Trans and Nonbinary Youth

Holly Black, Soman Chainani, Dhonielle Clayton, Shannon Messenger, Charlie Jane Anders, and Aiden Thomas Discuss the Power of Diverse Magical Literature and Raise Funds to Support Trans and Nonbinary Youth and Storytelling

Bethesda, MD (June 2025) ���  On June 26th, 2025, We Need Diverse Books and over 25 critically acclaimed auth...

Myrick Marketing Publisher Spotlight Publisher Preview of Kalanoit Books, Lantana, Little Island, and New Frontier Publishing (Summer/Fall 2025 & Winter 2026)(Part Two)

Thaaaaat’s right! It’s that time again! I may be at the American Library Association conference but a whole host of the books I’m presenting to you today have more than a smidgen of international flair. We have some gorgeous titles on display here, just ready for you. And for our previous Summer/Fall preview, seek ye no further than here.

Now on to the books!!

With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba / Con Hilo y Augiuja by Jennifer Stempel, ill. Libi Axelrod, translated by...

Book Ban Bounty: A Cover Reveal and Q&A for Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier

Even the most cursory glance at the news these days will reveal terrible things happening around the world. Book bans. Trouble in Iran. And when I was asked to do a cover reveal and Q&A for Jarrett Dapier’s 2026 YA graphic novel Wake Now in the Fire, I was skeptical. I almost never do anything YA on this site, after all. I mean, what was the topic of the book anyway?

A book ban. Concerning a book set in Iran.

Well…. shoot. That’s too good. Plus it’s Jarrett Dapier. I mean, aside from bein...

Moms Ride: A Q&A with Ishita Jain on Midnight Motorbike

I’ve noticed something. It’s not a huge something, but it’s something just the same. Have you ever happened to notice how many picture books are about daughters traveling with their dads on motorcycles, or on horses, or in cars? Ever wondered where all the vehicular mamas have been hiding themselves? I hadn’t. Not really. It’s not one of those things I really paid attention to until the publication of Maureen Shay Tajsa and Ishita Jain’s Midnight Motorbike. Deep and lovely, with a star from Kirk...

A Lone Wolf Chat with Kiah Thomas and K-Fai Steele

I need more misanthropic wolves in my life.

No. Wait. Scratch that. Correction.

I need only one misanthropic wolf in my life… and he already exists. You’re probably aware of his work. If you are not, I envy you because you now have the chance to meet Lone Wolf for the very first time.

Not that he hasn’t been around. When the first two Lone Wolf books in this series debuted last year, reviewers were stunned. Horn Book said the books were, “reminiscent in tone and style to William S...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent (First in a Two-Part Series!)

Jack Kent returns!

Not content to rest on his laurels following our episode on There’s No Such Thing As a Dragon, we’ve decided to use one of Kent’s books in our VERY FIRST two-part series. And folks? I want you to guess the #2 in this series. Now this book was turned into a Weston Woods video but that’s not why it’s remembered today necessarily. If I had to make a guess, I’d say that this book is probably remembered primarily because teachers around the country have used it in the sprin...

Publisher Preview: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (Fall 2025)

Woohoo! Here’s a new one! I am pleased to premiere one of my favorite small (and Michigan-based!) publishers here on the site. We’ve been having a lot of fun with your average Brooklyn-based small fry, but today let’s get a little more Midwestern. And Eerdmans is SUCH an interesting case. They first came to my attention way back in 2009 when A River of Words (by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet) won a Caldecott Honor. For a small pub, that can be the equivalent of winning the lottery...

Happy Juneteeth! Celebrate in Style with SO MANY YEARS and a Discussion with Anne Wynter and Jerome Pumphrey

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What is the best Juneteenth picture book ever made?

Even as recently as 10 years ago this question would have led to a relatively short conversation. As Juneteenth has grown in national recognition over the years, children’s book publishers have been scrambling to fill the gap. Ten, or even five, years ago there weren’t a slew of books to choose between. Today? I’d wager it’s the fastest growing holiday in our libraries’ Holiday Book sections (talking about the last popular holidays is a...

Throw Wide Those Cemetery Gates: Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio Discuss The Invisible Parade

I need you to see something.

Here. Look at this:

Wow. Just…

Wow.

And let me tell you, the insides of this book are just as enticing as its outsides. Out August 26th, this collaboration between Bardugo and Picacio, the artist who did interior character work for a special edition of NINTH HOUSE, has a long and storied history. We’re going to get to all of that, but first I’d like you to hear a description of the plot of The Invisible Parade. From the publisher:

“It���s time t...