Betsy Bird's Blog, page 90

Where We Come From: The Rare Cover Reveal AND 4-Way Interview!

Okay. We’ve graduated from mere cover reveals and single person interviews to the next level. Friends, Romans, and countrymen, are you ready . . . . for a four-way interview!??!

What’s that you say? It cannot be done? Nonsense! Behold! As I wrangle four collaborators into a single, solitary interview. But here’s the catch. The book we’ll be discussing? It’s not an anthology. Not a novel. Not a nonfiction work or a poetry collection or any of that.

It’s a picture book.

Meet Diane Wilson ...

Excerpt and Cover Reveal: The Storyteller by Brandon Hobson

Normally, I don’t like to do a cover reveal too far in advance of its publication date. It just doesn’t seem fair to tease my readers with promises of 2023. And yet, and yet . . . once in a while a book is so interesting that I simply can’t ignore it. And though today’s title won’t see shelves until April 18, 2023, I think you’ll agree with me that it’s something special. Something, I dare say, you’ll be glad you knew about in advance.

THE STORYTELLER by Brandon Hobson (Cherokee Nation Tribe ...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Crow Boy by Taro Yashima

Usually I know at least a tiny bit about the authors/illustrators we do on this show. But Taro Yashima? I knew literally nothing about him walking into this one. You’re going to have to forgive me for saying it was a translation at the very beginning. I correct myself almost immediately, but it’s still a bit of a flub on my part. I got the idea to do this from The Rabbit hOle, who had mentioned recently that they’re working on a Crow Boy exhibit. Looking at this 1955 winner of a 1956 Caldeco...

Review of the Day – Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler
By Ibi Zoboi
Dutton Children’s Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House)
$16.99
ISBN: 9780399187384
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

The term “ignorance is bliss” isn’t a completely accurate recounting of the original line. In Thomas Gray’s 1742 poem “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College” (and gee whiz, can’t we all relate to that one?) he wrote, “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” This is, generally speaking, a whole...

Halloween in May: A Witch Hazel Interview with Molly Idle

Look, I know that I do a lot of interviews on this site. I know that. And I know that not every single one of the books I do is necessarily going to blow your socks off. I have standards, but that doesn’t mean that I’m always looking for award winners when I talk to people.

Yeah. So. Today’s interview? Um… this book we’re talking about is kind of a potential award winner.

I know! I know! I’m sorry! I say that a lot sometimes. But see, I’ve got something special for you today. It’s none oth...

Bloody Unicorns: AF Steadman Talks About Skandar and the Unicorn Thief

Oh man. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a fantasy novel that wasn’t associated with someone whose name rhymes with, oh I dunno, “Mick Miordan” get as grand a publicity push as today’s featured title. If you traipse even lightly in the world of children’s books, you may have heard whispers and discussions surrounding Skandar and the Unicorn Thief. It was released just yesterday and plotwise? Here’s the deal via the publisher:

Skandar Smith has always yearned to leave the Mainland and esc...

Apple Crushing It with Lucy Knisley

Around seven years or so ago I moved from New York City to Evanston, IL. At the time, I had no idea that my new town was such a children’s literature magnet. Indeed it wasn’t long before I came to realize just how lucky I was in terms of the wealth of centralized talent. And not just children’s book creators either! There are a great deal of comic and graphic novelists here as well. Folks like Emil Ferris, Keiler Robert, Jessica Abel, Ozge Samanci, and . . . Lucy Knisley!

They’re all cool, b...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Dear Mrs. LaRue by Mark Teague

Last week we cheated by doing a teacher favored picture book that was a mere 19-years-old. This week we’re doing a teacher favored picture book that is a FULL 20-years old instead! It occurred to me that we’ve never tried a Teague before. And since I’m coming up on my 20 year mark as a librarian, I can actually remember when this book was originally published. It was SUCH a huge hit at the time. As you’ll see, there are just loads of teacher resources out there. Kate likes books with details...

GARVEY IN THE DARK: That’s Right. It’s a Nikki Grimes Cover Reveal Day!

It’s a banner day for the following reasons:

A brand new Nikki Grimes novel is on the horizonI have the cover reveal for the novel in questionThe art of the cover is by artist Fatinha Ramos

What’s the book? GARVEY IN THE DARK (coming out 10/25/22) is the Nikki Grimes follow-up to her previous title GARVEY’S CHOICE. A novel-in-verse for ages 8 – 12, it’s a continuation of Garvey’s story… and it’s set during the pandemic.  Here’s how the publisher describes it:

Garvey’s finally happy—he’s...

Considering the Content: A Cover Reveal of Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Tucholke, ill. Khoa Le

Often a cover reveal is just that. You reveal a book jacket for a title that will appear on shelves some time in the far flung future and that is that. Me? I like a little content with a reveal. And what could be better content than the author and the illustrator of a single picture book both weighing in on why a particular book engendered a particular book jacket?

Today is my great pleasure to announce that on September 13th of this year Ms. April Genevieve Tucholke will be penning Algonqui...