The Last Dance of the Tiger King: Kidlit Connections For Quarantine Times

May 6, 2020 by Betsy Bird 8 comments

I’ve been stuck inside too long, people. It’s bad. I can feel something stirring deep inside of me. I thought I’d buried it for good, but it’s no use. It’s coming to the surface and I just . . . can’t . . . stop it . . . .

IT’S TIME TO GET SILLY!!!!!!

Specifically, it’s time to find children’s literary connections to the times in which we live. And the times in which we live are weird. Buckle up.

Did You Like the Documentary Series, Last Dance? Well, Remember When Our Current Caldecott Winner Did Art for Michael Jordan’s Mom?

. . . and mo . . . hey! Where’d Kadir go?

Books We’re Looking at a Little Differently Now That We’ve Watched Tiger King

All right, you cool cats and kittens, who here can figure out what the little girl is doing wrong?

Personal space, guys. Say it with me. PERSONAL SPACE!!

Stories That Sure Look Like They Feature Sourdough Starters

What Homeschooling Feels Like If You’re Doing It for the First Time

Lady peeling the potatoes, I feel you. I aspire to BE you.

Books Unready for Our World Right Now

Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
Full credit to Eric Carpenter for finding this one

Books That Know How to Social Distance

Turtle and Fox have it right, guys. Could the rest of you give them a liiiiiitle more space? Back it up.

You Want Masks? I’ll Give You Masks!!

When robbing pigs, please consider covering your nose and mouth and . . . oh, my freakin’ heck what is going ON HERE?!?

The Most Blatant Misuse of Precious Precious Toilet Paper I Could Think Of

I hope you know somewhere I can buy more of that Charmin, baby.

**I Always Knew Living Without Pants Was the Better Way to Go**

I mean, he just looks so happy. Why have we denied ourselves this option for so long?

And Somehow the World Started Playing the Game Animal Crossing, Which As I Understand It, Is Apparently This . . .

Plus This (Am I Wrong?)

Books in this post include, in order, the following:

Salt In His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan with Roslyn M. Jordan, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Michael’s Golden Rules by Deloris Jordan with Roslyn M. Jordan, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Dream Big: Michael Jordan and the Pursuit of Excellence by Deloris Jordan, illustrated by Barry Root
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
The Tiger Prince by Chen Jiang Hong
It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard
“Sweet Porridge” by Bobby London, found in Fairy Tale Comics: Classic Tales Told by Extraordinary Cartoonists, edited by Chris Duffy
It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach
Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
The Amazing Bone by William Steig
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, ill. Sheila McGraw
Bone: Out of Boneville by Jeff Smith
Bandits by Joanna Wright
Flight of the Dodo by Peter Brown

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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 Kirkus, 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 BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social

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