Betsy Bird's Blog

I’m going to make a confession to you. While it may appear that when I interview middle grade authors about their latest releases I’ve read their titles cover-to-cover, the sad and sorry fact is that some of the time I’m still halfway or three-quarters through their books by the time the interview runs. Oh, I fake it for my Q&As, but deep down I’m squirming with guilt. Now here’s the odd part: Today? I’m not squirming. I am, in fact, relieved. You see, if I HAD finished N.D. Stevenson’s debu...

Is it too early to call Caldecott 2027?

Yeah. Too early. I get it… I get it…

How about now? Can I start calling it now?

You’ll have to forgive my enthusiasm but I just saw one heckuva book. By one heckuva guy. And now I get to interview that heckuva guy about that heckuva book AND reveal its cover while I’m at it.

It’s a good day.

So just to catch you up, the man in question is Steven Weinberg and the book in question is I Am the Mountain, out June 9, 2026. That’s a day or two aw...

It pays to have a long memory.

Two years ago I interviewed author Carole Lindstrom, who is Anishinaabe/Metis and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, about her picture book biography Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior. Now in the course of our discussion I did the thing that I pretty much do in all my interviews (because it yields such delightful results much of the time) and asked Carole what she might be up to next. She responded:

“I am working on a middle grade historic...

It pays to have a long memory.

Two years ago I interviewed author Carole Lindstrom, who is Anishinaabe/Metis and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, about her picture book biography Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior. Now in the course of our discussion I did the thing that I pretty much do in all my interviews (because it yields such delightful results much of the time) and asked Carole what she might be up to next. She responded:

“I am working on a middle grade historic...

Personally, I don’t know why we don’t talk more about this book. While John Steptoe is well-known for Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters and, to a lesser extent, Stevie, today’s book is rarely discussed. Yet can you even think of another case where a picture book creator wrote something as autobiographical AND as problematic ABOUT THEMSELVES as this? John Steptoe was working on another level with this title and we intend to break it down as much as possible on the podcast today. We discuss picture...

Personally, I don’t know why we don’t talk more about this book. While John Steptoe is well-known for Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters and, to a lesser extent, Stevie, today’s book is rarely discussed. Yet can you even think of another case where a picture book creator wrote something as autobiographical AND as problematic ABOUT THEMSELVES as this? John Steptoe was working on another level with this title and we intend to break it down as much as possible on the podcast today. We discuss picture...

Sometimes I truly do believe that it’s the little presses that get to have all the fun. I really do.

Once again, we’re treated to a wide array of titles both domestic and international for kids. If you���d like to see what we covered previously, check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series so far!

Banana, Banana, Banana by Sarah Finan

ISBN: 9798895090275

Publication Date: August 5, 2025

There’s just something about bananas this year. Whether it’s the picture books If...

Yeah, okay, so I’ll just tell you right now that when I decided to talk to Nathan Pyle about his latest picture book, I legitimately didn’t know who he was.

A bit of context. As a book reviewer I’m sent a fair number of physical galleys (pre-publication books for review) alongside a bunch of e-copies of books as well. Reading a physical book is, in many respects, the easier job. I’ll just grab five or so picture books and maybe a graphic novel and a middle grade book with my lunch and ge...

You know, if I ever go for that children’s literature PhD I’ve been hankering after, there are just so many different kinds of thesis topics to consider. Here’s one that I hope to high heaven someone has tried before: Bears and war in books for kids. Think about it. First you have your living bears like Voytek or Winnie. Then you have your stuffed bears, like Otto by Tomi Ungerer. Add in the armored bears of His Dark Materials and you’ve got yourself an overarching theme, my friend. Yet for ...

When we talk about great science fiction/fantasy/magical-realism Newbery winners throughout history, I feel like all too often we forget about Tuck Everlasting. This is understandable. Even when it was first released it was a bit of an outlier. Its original cover was quiet, reflective, and downright mysterious. Its first page is deeply literary, only barely hinting at its contents. And like Newbery Award winner A Wrinkle in Time, it has never slotted neatly into a single genre. Is it historical ...