Good Comics for Kids
June 30, 2016 by Betsy Bird
Freedom Over Me: Eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life By Ashley Bryan Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1481456906 Ages 9 and up On shelves September 13th Who gives voice to the voiceless? What are your credentials when you do so? When I was a teen I used to […]
March 31, 2016 by Betsy Bird
Don’t Call Me Grandma By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon Carolrhoda Books (a division of Lerner) $19.99 ISBN: 978-1-4677-4208-5 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. In 2016 a picture book won a Newbery Award. Which is to say, a picture book was declared the best-written work for children between the ages of 0-14. After […]
April 28, 2015 by Betsy Bird
The Jumbies By Tracey Baptiste Algonquin Young Readers $15.95 ISBN: 9781616204143 Ages 9-12 On shelves now “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” So sayeth Leo Tolstoy (at least in theory). Regardless of whether or not it’s actually true, it is fun […]
May 12, 2014 by Betsy Bird
For my birthday my husband picked me up a copy of the bestselling book NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. To be frank, I hadn’t heard of it. Though it’s been called “The Freakonomics of child rearing” and lauded by reviewer after reviewer it’s from the world of adult books. I traipse there but […]
May 1, 2014 by Betsy Bird
The Great Greene Heist By Varian Johnson Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-52552-7 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 27th What is the ultimate child fantasy? I’m not talking bubble gum sheets or wizards that tell you you’re “the chosen one”. Let’s think a little more realistically here. When […]
March 20, 2014 by Betsy Bird
Oh, what fun we shall have now that the weather is better. Here in New York spring sprang yesterday and all the New Yorkers, as one, exhaled in relief. We are perfectly aware that it can’t last (can anything?) but we’re enjoying it while we can. So sit back and glue your eyes to a […]
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February 26, 2014 by Betsy Bird
Everyone loves a good list but finding lists that reflect the intelligence of experts in a given field can sometimes be tricky. Consider, if you will, books about American Indians for the kiddos. I can’t tell you how many summer reading lists I see every year that have The Indian in the Cupboard, The Matchlock […]
February 6, 2014 by Betsy Bird
It’s always the filler. I have this little file where I jot down ideas for posts on days when my brain is mush, and most recently I jotted down the old “casual diversity” question a friend asked me once. Figured it would make for a good quickie blog post and then I’d be on my […]
December 23, 2013 by Betsy Bird
You know why I’m looking forward to 2014? It’s not the fresh start that comes with every turn of the globe. It’s not the incipient birth of my second child (I lie . . . it is that, but for the purposes of this piece we’re going to pretend that it’s not). It’s not the […]
July 24, 2013 by Betsy Bird
New Blog Alert: There’s a CCBC blog. Did you know that? I didn’t know that. I am, of course, perfectly aware that only a good 15% of my readers instantly can call to mind what CCBC even stands for. It’s the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and for years I’ve followed ccbc-net, their listserv. I must […]
Politics in Practice
by John Chrastka
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