Betsy Bird's Blog, page 84

Review of the Day: The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson, ill. Leo Espinosa

The World Belonged to Us
By Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by Leo Espinosa
Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780399545498
On shelves now

The parent that grew up reading books with their own parents as a child is the parent that will fall back on those same books when they have children of their own. Usually. I’m dealing in vast generalizations here, but I don’t think I’m that far off. As a children’s librarian I would watch countless new parents come in the do...

Celebrating Muslim Literature with “Unadulterated Joy”: A Talk with Publisher Asmaa Hussein

How do you learn about the lives of interesting people? You might be lucky enough to bump into one at a party. You might read about one in a random blog post. Or you might encounter one as a friend of a friend. Author Rukhsana Khan was actually the person who introduced me to the work of one Asmaa Hussein. A registered social worker, writer, mother and widow, she’s the founder of Ruqaya’s Bookshelf, a publisher dedicated to, “bright, fun, and engaging children’s books to add to your home and sch...

Publisher Preview: Ellen Myrick Presents Small Presses of Fall 2022 (Part Five!)

This preview of a host of smaller publishers continues! If you missed the first part of this multi-pronged publisher preview, you can catch Part One here, Part Two here, Part Three, and Part Four here. At the rate I’m going I should probably be able to get these done before fall is actually here. Dare to dream, right?

Lionel Poops by Éric Veillé and Lionel Eats All By Himself by Éric Veillé

The name “Éric Veillé” may not ring any bells for you, but this particular artistic style . ...

Guest Post: Libraries and Librarians Enrich Lives Far Beyond Books by Hanh Bui

Today, we are pleased to host Hanh Bui, author of two upcoming books for children. Hanh reached out to me about possibly saying something about the debut some refugee children owe to libraries. I figured she could say it far better than I ever could.

As a refugee child, my family and I did not have a home library or extra money for special outings. But libraries were free, safe, and welcoming. When I first visited a library in America and could not speak English, the librarians patiently ...

Review of the Day: Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega, ill. Rose Bousamra

Frizzy
By Claribel A. Ortega
Art by Rose Bousamra
First Second (an imprint of Macmillan)
$21.99
ISBN: 9781250259622
Ages 9-12
On shelves October 18, 2022

Children’s books in which authority figures perpetuate hurtful beauty standards are becoming increasingly common these days. From the colorism of Genesis Begins Again to the fatphobia of Starfish, it’s not just that parents don’t understand. It’s that a kid can’t take comfort in a parental figure since it’s that very figure that’s making them fee...

Best Picture Book Bios of 2022 (So Far)

This one feels like it was somebody’s request. As you may know I tend to collect books throughout the year in different genres, presenting them in 31 different posts over the course of the 31 days in December. One of those topics is Biographies. I love the darn things.

Actually let me be a bit more precise. I love them when they’re done well. When they’re done poorly they’re like knives to the eyes. And unfortunately, the vast majority published for children out there aren’t either magnifice...

The Hospital Book by Lisa Brown: A Cover Reveal AND Interview

Isn’t it high time that we got a really good book for kids that takes them to the hospital the modern 21st century way? I don’t really want to start this post off with a rant, but when a parent comes up to your reference desk (in this scenario we are all children’s librarians, apparently) and says that their child is scared of hospitals, or has to go to a hospital soon, or simply needs to learn what a hospital is like, what do you hand them? Do you give them old books? If you give them new ones ...

Guest Post: The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival Is Back, Baby!

Do you know about the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? It’s an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers create short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds (adult help OK). Participants often put creative twists on the material—think Charlotte’s Web in the style of a horror movie, or The Tale of Despereaux reimagined as a musical, or Where the Mountain Meets the Moon done with shadow puppets.

I’m James Kennedy, the founder of the 90-Second Newbery a...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner, ill. P.D. Eastman

I was in my library’s children’s room the other day and a staff member saw me looking perturbed in the easy book section. When she asked what I was looking for I confessed that what I really needed was a copy of Robert the Rose Horse. Though in the business for many years, she’d not heard of that particular P.D. Eastman collaboration with Joan Heilbroner, and could you blame her? I myself would have probably have missed it if (A) I hadn’t had children that I read to and (B) I hadn’t stumbled...

Review of the Day: Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone by Tae Keller

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone
By Tae Keller
Random House Children’s Books
$17.99
ISBN: 9780593310526
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

I don’t like bully books. That’s a tough thing to say when you’re a librarian that reads tons of children’s titles for a living. It’s kind of like saying “I find breathing air annoying” or “I wish water were less inside my cells.” If you work with children’s literature then bully books are ubiquitous. Omnipresent. The lazy writer’s method of conjuring up quick conflict at a m...