Holiday House Archives - A Fuse #8 Production

Tag: Holiday House

April 24, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Chernobyl, Life and Other Disasters by Yevgenia Nayberg

When your kids have devoured the samey samey GNs out there and they want a comic that’s a cut above (and doesn’t look like anybody else), that’s when you hit ‘em in the Chernobyl. Far and away a favorite of the year.

June 22, 2023 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: The Carrefour Curse by Dianne K. Salerni

Honestly, the book starts with someone vomiting frogs and only picks up from there. I don’t know what more you could want.

May 10, 2023 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Stories of the Islands by Clar Angkasa

A marvelous example of bringing the old and the new together to create something that contains the best of both worlds. A beautiful potential future for folktales worldwide.

Review of the Day: I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, ill. Sydney Smith

August 27, 2020 by Betsy Bird

Deft poetic language pairs with the resonant watercolors of Sydney Smith to create a book that is more than a memoir and more than conveying a message. This is pain, turned into art, and written for young children. Incomparable.

Review of the Day: Overground Railroad by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

February 14, 2020 by Betsy Bird

No series of rote facts, Overground Railroad puts you in the shoes of the ordinary people that had to leave everything and everyone they knew in search of a better life. Historical events like The Great Migration are vague. This book hands young readers not just specifics. It hands them people they can get to know and care about.

Review of the Day: Small in the City by Sydney Smith

October 23, 2019 by Betsy Bird

Small in the City is not flashy or gaudy or loud. It is quiet and serious and oh-so very beautiful. Beautiful right down to its little paper soul. Once in a while, a reviewer gets to talk about a modern day classic. Today, I am that reviewer, and this is that book.

Review of the Day: Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis

June 20, 2019 by Betsy Bird

Appealing to older and younger readers alike, Portis has outdone herself with the book’s design and art. A book for everybody. After all, who doesn’t like water? Hey, Portis! You made a really good book.

Review of the Day: The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss

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 […]

Review of the Day: Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

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 […]