Betsy Bird's Blog, page 74

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Science Fiction Books

Poor old, science fiction. Publishers are convinced it doesn’t sell. As a result, the number of books for kids that come out with that designation seems to shrink every year. I try to locate them. Honest I do! But if you find this year’s list a bit on the paltry side, know that I’m doing what I can to seek them in every nook and cranny. I love this much maligned genre, and I am determined to give it the attention it so richly deserves.

Want to read other science fiction lists that ALSO de...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Funny Books for Older Readers

I respect funny books so much that I dedicate not simply one list to them every year, but TWO! By now you may have already seen my Funny Picture Books list from earlier this month. Now we’re moving away from that to longer books for kids. Hilarious longer books for kids. Humor being as subjective as it is, if you don’t find one of these books funny then surely another one will do it for you. Something to please everyone, that’s the goal! So get ready for funny poetry, nonfiction, biographies...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Comics and Graphic Novels for Kids

Would I call this my favorite list? That would be picking favorites, and like any good parent I love all my babies equally. But if I were to admit to the list that feels closest to what my 10-year-old self would have loved back in the day, then yes. It’s this one. Comics are growing increasingly prolific these days, and it’s almost all I can do to keep up with them. Which is wonderful! I dream of a day when they might rival picture books in terms of output. Until that happy day arrives, thou...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Easy Books and Early Chapter Books

In no particular order, here are the types of children’s books that I think are the most difficult to write well: Easy Books, Early Chapter Books, and Board Books. You could dash any of these off with a wave of your hand, but would they be any good? Sit down with a Frog and Toad book one of these days and just gape for a while over the perfection of that writing.

The books on today’s list may not all be up to Arnold Lobel standards of literature, but by gum they pack a lot into their tin...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Unconventional Children’s Books

Recently the internet was all ah-flutter at an AI-created picture praising (you guessed it) AI created products. It was, in the broadest sense of the term, an unconventional children’s book. That kind of schlock, however, will not stand. I prefer my children’s books completely different. Out there. Original. One-of-a-kind. So today, we salute the creators and talents that went into making books that are just a little bit (or, in some cases, a LOT) different. And no, they’re not all European ...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Poetry Books for Kids

It always catches me a bit by surprise how soon the poetry books appear on these 31 Days, 31 Lists. While we still have tomorrow’s “Unconventional Books” to go through, poetry is where we really begin to shift from the picture books to the older titles. All too soon we’ll be discussing all kinds of books for the 9-12 year old set. And, truth be told, some of them are on today’s list. Poetry knows no age borders. At the same time, I was delighted by some of the offerings this year. There are ...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Wordless Picture Books

The older I get, the more and more I love those wordless books. They cross boundaries. They cross time. They’re a method of communication that cannot be tied down. And this year I was delighted to find a wide range of the things. Some are from America. Some from overseas. And each and every last one of them (on this list anyway) worth discovering.

Love wordless titles? Then check out some lists from previous years:

202120202019201820172022 Wordless Picture Books

All Around ...

A Vaccine Is Like a Memory: Interview and Cover Reveal with None Other Than Rajani LaRocca

You know an interview has to be pretty darn good if it comes in the middle of my 31 Days, 31 Lists series. But when I read the latest coming out from Newbery Honor winner Rajani LaRocca, I just knew I couldn’t wait another minute to talk to her about it. If you know Rajani, then you know that in her spare time she’s a (checks notes) internal medicine physician. Who better, then, to talk to kids about vaccines? And with a tridemic surging, the time could literally not be better . . .

Bet...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Religious Tales

I still love them. I do. I love them and they don’t quite get the attention that they used to in the past, but I don’t care. There’s something uniquely satisfying about reading both traditional and original folk, fairy, and religious tales. Somehow they feel simultaneously classic and contemporary. There’s really not that much more to say about them, except that I’ve been pleased with the slow uptick in these titles over the last few years. So with that in mind, here are the stories and lege...

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Translated Picture Books

2022 turned out to be quite the interesting year for those of us that love international children’s books in translation. The Batchelder Award, the only ALA award given out each year specifically to translated titles, is “awarded to a United States publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States and in a language other than English and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United ...