SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

October 8, 2014 by Betsy Bird

Cover Reveal: Who Was Steve Irwin?

October 8, 2014 by Betsy Bird   3 comments

Have a seat, children.  Let me tell you a little tale.

The year was 2000.  I was a recent college graduate making her way in the world, fighting the good fight against an inevitable career in librarianship (a fight that I happily lost in the end).  While tooling around Portland, Oregon I came across the wild televised stylings of one Steve Irwin and it was love at first sight.  The fellow was a nutcase in the best sense of the term.  Whether he was fleeing hippos or climbing trees to escape Komodo dragons I was very attached to his boyish looks and seemingly genuine enthusiasm.  With my friends we would buy little documentary videos of his personal life. When he died it wasn’t a surprise (see: previous mentions of his escapades) but it was shockingly sad.  This was a fellow with so much life and vitality to him.  Sure, sometimes he could be a bit much but he was just so doggone endearing.  And then poof!  Gone.

Fast forward.  The year is 2014 and Grosset & Dunlap have hit the 100th book in their Who Is? / Who Was? / Quien Fue? series.  I’m a fan of those books.  They’re quick and catchy and act as good gateway nonfiction for longer bios.  Well with the 100th book looming, Grosset & Dunlap held this book contest, which ran from March 1st through June 1st, 2014, and allowed readers to cast their vote for the personality they wanted to see featured in the 100th biography in the series. Say they, “With over 67,000 votes cast in total, Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin was the winner with over 14,000 votes. Runners up included religious icon Mother Teresa, the country music group Florida Georgia Line, King of Pop Michael Jackson, and Kenyan political and environmental activist Wangari Maathai. Who Was Steve Irwin? will be released in Summer 2015.”

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

They asked if I wanted to take part in the cover reveal of the latest and you know what?  I still love old Steve.  I would have devoured his videos as a kid.  He had pep and verve, a sense of humor and an honest-to-goodness love of the natural world that trumped everything else.  So here you go, Steve my man.  This one’s for you.  You deserve it:

 

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
cover reveal

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

June 2022

Have You Seen the Darkness? A Richard Fairgray, Black Sand Beach Interview

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Publisher Preview: Ellen Myrick (Part Three!)

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Newbery/Caldecott 2023: Summer Prediction Edition

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

School's Out for Summer So We're Talking About Lunch Lady Day!

by Betsy Bird

May 2022

The Sun Does Shine: How Does an Adult Title Get Adapted for Young People? A Talk with Olugbemisola Ruday-Perkovich and Anthony Ray Hinton

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Notes on June 2022

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: Listen to the Language of the Trees by Tera Kelley, ill. Marie Hermansson

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Banana Fox and The Gummy Monster Mess | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Mock Newbery Update – Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

by

The Classroom Bookshelf

by

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

16 Middle Grade Titles on Germs, Vaccines, and Pandemics

4 Middle Grade Novels About LGBTQIA+ Lives Across Time

10 Manga Titles for Teens Who Watch Anime

Two YA Fiction Titles About Artificial Intelligence and Grief

14 Nonfiction Titles for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nathan Hale says

    October 8, 2014 at 8:04 am

    Have you seen the Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course movie? It’s a lost gem. Steve Irwin spends the entire movie thinking he’s filming his regular documentary show. He mistakes some CIA agents for “poachers” so he’s trying to bring them to justice, but they are chasing him, trying to get some kind of spy device that an alligator swallowed.

    It’s a found footage/action/family feature–a decade before that was even a thing. Steve Irwin is constantly talking to the screen, not realizing he is in an action movie.

    It’s both way cleverer and way dumber than it has any right to be.

  2. marjorie says

    October 8, 2014 at 9:27 am

    That cover is going to give me nightmares. I am lost in Steve’s eyes, and not in a good way!

Trackbacks

  1. Around the Web: Links - Never Too Old for Pictures says:
    October 9, 2014 at 8:19 am

    […] Bird’s Fuse #8 blog is my first stop for book recommendations. She has a cover reveal of the newest in the middle grade Who is? […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022