Betsy Bird's Blog, page 8

Throw Wide Those Cemetary 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 usually does the book jackets of her YA novels, 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 to join the party! ...

2026 Newbery/Caldecott Summer Prediction Edition

AH HA! I was having a kind of crummy day today, but now that I see that THIS is to be my next post, things are clearly looking up. Marvelous!

Yes, it is time for the SECOND prediction post on this site this year. We already did our Spring prediction post way back in March and in the intervening three months I regret to inform you that more and more and more great books have hit the American market. It’s awfully inconvenient. We shall have to do something about that fact. Something like… w...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, ill. David Diaz

“This is definitely not a boring book.”

Here at Fuse 8 n’ Kate, I’d like to clarify a few points before we start to discuss today’s podcast. First and foremost, this podcast was recorded approximately two weeks ago, well before the events in California right now started to occur. It would not, in a million years, have occurred to us that a discussion of the events that take place in Smoky Night would have had any bearing on the current political situation. To be perfectly frank, more than...

How To Say Goodbye in Cuban: Excerpt Reveal PLUS Q&A with Daniel Miyares

It is probably fair to say that you folks have seen a fair share of cover reveals + Q&As on this site. And while I wouldn’t call them the bread and butter of A Fuse #8 Production, I will admit that it’s a format that I enjoy. Today? We’re switching things up a little. We’re not revealing the cover of today’s book. I mean, it was revealed a while ago. You want to see it? Here you go:

Nice, right?

No. That’s not why we’re here today. Today we’re doing the far rarer (and, I would argue, ev...

Door’s Open! A Cover Reveal and Q&A with Mel Rosenberg on Emily Saw a Door

Sometimes I find myself in front of a group of children within my capacity as an author. Inevitably, sometimes because I bring it up and sometimes because they do, the dreaded question, “What advice can you give to young writers?,” arises. And the advice that I like to give… well, it probably isn’t necessarily what the adults in the room want to hear. Because as someone who came to writing a bit later in life, part of what I adore about the children’s book world is that anyone can be a writer pr...

Clue Meets Knives Out: A Tontine Caper Interview with Dianne Salerni

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a mystery? Any mystery. I don’t just mean following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie or anything like that. I mean mystery easy books, graphic novels, picture books, YA novels, you name it! It’s hard, man. I feel like a person needs to have a particular knack for the genre. Every year I look at the books nominated for the Edgar Awards in the young person’s category and every year I’m a bit shamefaced to admit that I just don’t know most me...

Clue meets Knives Out: A Tontine Caper Interview with Dianne Salerni

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a mystery? Any mystery. I don’t just mean following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie or anything like that. I mean mystery easy books, graphic novels, picture books, YA novels, you name it! It’s hard, man. I feel like a person needs to have a particular knack for the genre. Every year I look at the book’s nominated for the Edgar Awards in the younger person’s category and every year I’m a bit shamefaced to admit that I just don’t know mos...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

The Queen of Board Books is in the house! I would argue that to be the board book king or queen, you need to work primarily in the genre of board book. And Sandra Boynton is that queen. Fight me. Now I agree that Moo, Baa, La La La might have been a better book to do today, but don’t worry. We’ll get to it eventually. Today, we look at one of my favorite Boyntons. It has everything! Running around! Evening exercise! Hidden pigs! We discuss the role of bedtime books for small children and whe...

Review of the Day: The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

The Trouble with Heroes
By Kate Messner
Bloomsbury Children���s Books
ISBN: 9781547616398
$17.99
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

Jerks. They���re great. On the page, that is. If you���re an adult that reads loads of middle grade children���s novels on a regular basis then you might, like me, be a bit sick of the nice kids. Nice kids are the bread and butter of children���s literature. They���re good-hearted, relatable, kind, and deeply, deathly dull. They get picked on by bullies and stand up for their ...

Annoyingly FABULOUS Picture Books of 2025 (So Far): Picture Books Are WAY Too Good This Year and I Am Taking It As a Personal Attack

Was it too much to ask for 2025 to be a weak picture book year?

Look, my book Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme, out as of March, is a book that has been doing really well straight out of the gate. I am delighted by its success and every time someone tells me that a kid gets a kick out of it, I grin like a fool. But it is not the only picture book out in 2025. Turns out that there are others. And there is a problem.

They. Are. Jaw-Droppingly. Good.

I feel like, this is an issue. My book shou...