MORE POSTS FROM MARCH 2017
Strong with the cover reveals is this one. Okay, so I’ve a new technique with these reveals. Covers are nice, absolutely. Who doesn’t like a good old fashioned book jacket straight from the designer’s table? But when you run a blog like this one you want to shake it up a little. After all, don’t […]
Charlie & Mouse By Laurel Snyder Illustrated by Emily Hughes Chronicle Books $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-4521-3153-5 Ages 6-9 On shelves April 11th Only the jaded should write reviews of children’s books. Oh, it makes sense! Think about it. Children’s books are where the saccharine and overblown and overbearing go to die. Things that wouldn’t cut it […]
Hooray! It’s been an awfully long time but at long last Nathan Hale has a new Hazardous Tales story to tell. #7 in the series will be a WWII tale about bombers called The Raid of No Return and it’s due out November 2017. There is nothing I don’t like about this. And best of […]
It may be a personal opinion but I’ll stand by it; Children’s books need more octopuses. The reason is simple. The octopus is a truly fascinating creature. Now in 2017 a couple of my favorite illustrators have already tackled the octopus in all its tentacular glory. David Wiesner, for example, has a picture book out […]
The hazards of children’s librarianship are myriad. There is the papercut threat, liable to occur at any time without a moment’s notice. There is the distinct possibility, every day, that a small child will vomit on you. The odds may be slim but it’s still possible. But greater than these, more likely than these, more […]
Folks, it is my very great pleasure today to present to you today with the Children’s Book Week Bookmarks of 2017. Featuring art from the illustrious pens and paints of Ekua Holmes, Yuyi Morales, LeUyen Pham, and Sonja Wimmer, you can thank Every Child a Reader (a nonprofit literacy organization dedicated to inspiring a love […]
You might be saying to yourself, “Old Betsy Bird is doing quite a few cover reveals these days — is she phoning it in?” To which I would reply, “But today’s it’s the frigging sequel to Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot!!! I was gonna say no to that? I’m not made of stone!” Which isn’t […]
When I was a kid I didn’t know much about sports. I knew that the Tigers had won the World Series in ’84. I knew that there was a football player called “Refrigerator” and that sometimes football players took ballet classes (Mr. Rogers taught me that one). And I knew who Martina Navratilova and Chris […]
Lucia the Luchadora By Cynthia Leonor Garza Illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez POW! Kids Books $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-57687-827-9 Ages 4-7 On shelves March 7th It was probably seven or so years ago. I was working as a children’s librarian in New York City. We were hosting a class of kids, first or second graders, and after […]
On occasion a publisher will ask me to do a cover reveal of a middle grade novel. They’ll also ask if I’m interested in doing a Q&A with the author and usually I’ll say nope. Not so much. Thanks anyway. But this time around I had an idea. Today we are premiering the book jacket […]