Betsy Bird's Blog, page 92

Publisher Preview: Meet Hippo Park!

One pandemic change that I wasn’t unhappy to discover was the sudden democratization of publisher previews. In the old days publishers would present their upcoming lists to a small handful of New York and New York adjacent librarians, or at gawdawfully early breakfasts during ALA Conferences. COVID changed some of that. Virtual previews are now available to anyone who wishes to attend, and it has been a great good thing. That said, such previews are almost inevitably held by the “Big 5” children...

Unexpected Jolts of Children’s Literature: 2022 Debut!

You know, sometimes you just get so wrapped up in interviews and reviews that you fail to stop, and take some time, and breathe deep, and appreciate the weird moments in adult publishing when they publish books with children’s literature connections. But then you find yourself in an airport waiting to go speak in Missouri to a group of school librarians and it all comes together.

That’s right folks! Unexpected Jolts of Children’s Literature returns! Let’s see what’s going on in the adult publ...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson

“I’m sorry, you’re PROUD? What are you ‘proud’ of exactly? Your family owned slaves, killed Native Americans, fought for the Confederacy, and almost killed a parrot! So I don’t know what you’re proud of!!!”

Those of you familiar with today’s book are whistling under your breath and saying quietly, “Here we go.” Those of you unfamiliar? Prepare to meet the very first book on this podcast to receive the lowest rating we have ever assigned. If we could give negative numbers, we would. Inargu...

Review of the Day: Red Scare by Liam Francis Walsh

Red Scare
By Liam Francis Walsh
Graphix (an imprint of Scholastic)
$24.99
ISBN: 9781338167092
On shelves now

To what extent has the age of disparaging comics passed? In the old days, books like Seduction of the Innocent by Frederic Wertham argued that comics were a morally repugnant form of entertainment. It took decades upon decades for graphic novels to pull themselves up out of the morass of ill-favored commentary and start winning major awards. The Pulitzer for Maus. The Newbery for New Kid. No...

Horror for the Kiddies: I Declare a Thumb War by Lisi Harrison and Daniel Kraus – Exclusive Excerpt & Cover Reveal

I was a horror kid.

Not a sneak-Stephen-King-into-the-7th-grade-gym-class kid. More a straight up horror-related middle grade kid. Wait Till Helen Comes. The film of The Watcher in the Woods (still freaks me out). The Dollhouse Murders. All that good stuff. That’s why I keep a sharp eye out for middle grade novels with legit scares inside of them. Scary Stories for Young Foxes and Hide and Seeker and Small Spaces come immediately to mind. Seems like the fellow that’s written books with Guille...

Bringing Adventure Back From the Brink: A Scott Magoon Interview About The Extincts

I’m just sitting here, trying desperately to remember to remember the first Scott Magoon picture book I ever read. If his website is to be believed, he came on the scene with one of the finest the-protagonist-gets-eaten picture books of the modern era, Ugly Fish. Whatta debut! Over the years I then proceeded to read my kids books like The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster, Mostly Monsterly, and more. Was the transition to comics just a natural next step? Certainly folks like Vera Brosgol, Dan Santat...

Art Appreciation: Karen Provensen Mitchell Discusses the Legacy of The Provensens and a New Monograph of Their Lives and Work

Alice Provensen speaking at the Carle Honors in 2009

“When you’re little, your sense of things is heightened.”

It was 2009 and the Eric Carle Museum was honoring Alice Provensen for her lifetime of work. Each year the Carle bestows four specific honors (Artist, Angel, Mentor, Bridge). That year, Ms. Provensen was accepting, in person in New York City, as the “Artist” of that year. She was introduced by Paul O. Zelinsky who spoke on a very personal level about his appreciation, in both chil...

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

The other day a documentary film crew came to my library. They were creating a movie on American picture books through the decades and, at one point, they needed some b-roll of some of the better known picture books out there. So we hit the usual titles like Harold and the Purple Crayon and Millions of Cats. We worked in some Perez Y Martina and Stevie. And then they asked if we could do Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young. That got me to thinking that, crazy as it sounds, Kate and I have never don...

Review of the Day: The Legend of Gravity by Charly Palmer

The Legend of Gravity: A Tall Basketball Tale
By Charly Palmer
Farrar Straus Giroux (an imprint of Macmillan)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780374313289
On shelves now.

Years and years ago in 2006 or so, Patricia McKissack wrote a book for kids that has stayed in my mind ever since. The book was called Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters and it was this marvelous collection of “liars’ tales”. Which is to say, tall tales told, in this case, historically in Black communities. Si...

Nature Meets Environmental Activism: A Footprints Interview with Jennifer Swanson

Okay, let’s switch our focus to nonfiction now, folks. Specifically, that of the science and nature variety. And I don’t usually do this but I want to begin by showing you something really neat. Feast your eyeballs on this cover, front AND back:

Ist not gorgeous? So this book, Footprints Across the Planet by Jennifer Swanson marks a fascinating intersection between your average animal footprints title and books for kids with a wider environmental focus. The shockingly brief description fr...