Betsy Bird's Blog, page 2

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 ...

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 ...

Nothing like a nosy little crow to spice up a publisher preview, eh? Thanks to the efforts of one Avery Cook, I’ve an opportunity with you here today to give you all a bit of a sneak peek into ye olde crow’s upcoming offerings. Today we’ve a bit of science, a round of board books, and even some soccer related hijinks. Here’s what’s on the menu for the upcoming spring:

Wonder World Earth: The Science of Soil by Ben Lerwill, ill. Xuan Le

ISBN: 9798887772332

Publication Date: Marc...

This month you may have seen that in the latest issue of School Library Journal there was a piece entitled Authors Tackle Complex Topics in Children���s Nonfiction. Written by my pretty little self, the intention is clear: I wanted to highlight how hard it can be to write a book for kids about a difficult or complex subject, whether that’s glitter, history, or the life of someone who wasn’t saintly 24/7. In doing so, I spoke to a range of incredible authors. These are folks that I highly re...

While there is no universal understanding of what kinds of books for kids are the most difficult to write, I think that we can all agree that some forms of literature can be trickier to pull of than others. Take the hard subjects, for example, specifically grief. It shows up in books for kids constantly and can offer a real impact on their reading lives, so I have nothing but respect for the folks who write about it well. And author Joanne Levy? She very much writes grief well.

Though I’ve kn...

This is going to strike you as a little strange. Lord knows it wasn’t something I noticed. So… you know how we’ve done 376 episodes of this podcast until now? That’s 376 different books. Of those books, we have done books both written and illustrated by creator Eric Carle precisely one, singular, solitary time. That book? The Very Hungry Caterpillar (duh). Listener Megan recently pointed out this odd aberration and I have to admit I was a little embarrassed. We recorded our Very Hungry Cater...

** spoiler alert ** Before we begin, I would like to warn everyone that I am filling this review to brimming with spoilers. If you are the kind of person who likes to be surprised by a read, this is not the review for you. You may wish to read it after you���ve finished the book itself, and I highly recommend that you consider doing so. Know then that I am a big fan of this title. So, if you haven���t picked up on it until now, SPOILER ALERT!!

The Experiment
By Rebecca Stead
Feiwel and Friend...

Children’s poetry is such a fascinating genre to follow closely. From a publishing perspective, the push is often to get books out before April (Poetry Month). Yet in spite of that imperative, there are a fair number of books that don’t come out until well after April showers. This year, for example, I’ve been impressed by such titles as Black Diamond Kings by Charles R. Smith Jr., ill. Adrian Brandon (May 6th), Dinos That Drive by Suzy Levinson, ill. Dustin Harbin (Sept 30), Nightmare Jones...

There are certain illustrators that I keep on my watchlist. Each publishing season I eye the books as they come out, and I wait. Now, obviously I could follow these people on social media or check their websites once in a while, but there’s a special thrill to discovering that someone you admire has a new book out and you had no idea that it was on the horizon. For me, Erika Meza is one of those creators.

I don’t know if I can pinpoint the first Erika Meza book I ever saw. She’s had an i...

Dear lord. If I thought I was about to give Kate a lovely birthday present with today’s recording then I was SORELY disabused of that notion from the start. I never expected Frances to fall into Kate’s obliterating list of “brats”, but them’s the breaks in this, one of our more contentious episodes. Listen in as we tackle our second Frances book (after Bread and Jam for Frances). Along the way we discuss Chompo Bar theme songs, party favors for 2-year-olds, and why Mother might have a grudge...