November 21, 2018 by Betsy Bird
The Season of Styx Malone By Kekla Magoon Wendy Lamb Books (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-5247-1595-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves now And it was around this time that I started wondering why more people weren’t talking about The Season of Styx Malone. So let me tell you a little story. […]
November 16, 2018 by Betsy Bird
A Storytelling of Ravens By Kyle Lukoff Illustrated by Natalie Nelson Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-55498-912-6 Ages 4-7 On shelves now Humans love groups. We love separating ourselves into them, or putting other people into them (even when they don’t particularly want to be grouped). As small children, it’s one […]
November 8, 2018 by Betsy Bird
A History of Pictures for Children By David Hockney & Martin Gayford Illustrated by Rose Blake Abrams Books for Young Readers $24.99 ISBN: 978-1-4197-3211-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. And now, a couple words about expository nonfiction. I . . . . Hey! Hey, where the heck do you people think you’re going? Come right […]
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November 2, 2018 by Betsy Bird
The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle By Christina Uss Margaret Ferguson Books (an imprint of Holiday House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4007-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. The term “quirky” has gotten a bad rap recently. I blamed forced quirk. Have you ever read or watched something where the book or movie is just trying too […]
October 25, 2018 by Betsy Bird
The Patchwork Bike By Maxine Beneba Clarke Illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0031-7 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. It took a little while, but at some point creators of children’s books realized that cardboard holds an almost supernatural power over the imaginations of small children. It is the ultimate building material. Strong and […]
October 19, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths By Graham Annable First Second (an imprint of Roaring Brook Press) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-62672-561-4 Ages 6-10 On shelves now To quote the wise words of MC Scat Kat, “opposites attract”. Particularly when those opposites are best buddies. The idea of the carefree soul, untethered by earthly woes, […]
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October 11, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish By Pablo Cartaya Viking (an imprint of Penguin Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 9781101997260 Ages 9-12 On shelves now The other day a woman contacted me and wondered if I could offer any picture book/middle grade/ YA suggestions for a list of various topics. The list consisted of things like “OCD”, […]
September 24, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Dreamers By Yuyi Morales Neal Porter Books (an imprint of Holiday House) $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4055-9 Ages 5 and up On shelves now Work in the children’s book business long enough and you run the risk of harboring grudges. Or, to be more specific, grudges o’ love. Grudges on behalf of the hardworking authors and illustrators […]
September 13, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Louisiana’s Way Home By Kate DiCamillo Candlewick Press ISBN: 978-0-7636-9463-0 $16.99 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 2nd There once was a book called Raymie Nightingale. Not a big flashy book with glitter on the cover and fonts that look like escaped balloon animals. Just a quiet book set in the late 1970s in Florida, patiently […]
September 5, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Fox & Chick: The Party and Other Stories By Sergio Ruzzier Chronicle Books $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-4521-5288-2 Ages 4-7 On shelves now Have you ever sat down and looked at books meant to instruct children in the art of reading from the early 18th to 19th centuries? When Americans colonists first came around to the idea […]
100 Scope Notes
by Travis Jonker
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