100 Scope Notes
March 3, 2017 by Betsy Bird
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 […]
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 […]
June 15, 2015 by Betsy Bird
In a Village by the Sea By Muon Van Illustrated by April Chu Creston Books $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-939547-156 Ages 4-6 On shelves now We talk a lot about wanting a diverse selection of picture books on our library, bookstore, and home shelves, but it seems to me that the key to giving kids a broad […]
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 […]
February 24, 2014 by Betsy Bird
Anna Carries Water By Olive Senior Illustrated by Laura James Tradewind Books $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-896580-60-9 Ages 3-7 On shelves now. I was recently engaged in a high-energy search at my library to locate as swiftly and surely as possible a listing of any and all children’s books set in the Caribbean. We were eventually able […]
August 28, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table By Jacqueline Briggs Martin Illustrated by Eric-Shabazz Larkin Readers to Eaters Books ISBN: 978-0-9836615-3-5 $17.95 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 10th It shouldn’t be this hard. You walk to a biography section of a children’s room, any children’s room, and you start searching for biographies of living people […]
ADVERTISEMENT
August 21, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Rifka Takes a Bow By Betty Rosenberg Perlov Illustrated by Cosei Kawa Kar-Ben Publishing (a division of Lerner) $17.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-8127-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. History is written by the winners, they say. I’m going to lump personal history into that too. As far as I can tell, if you live long enough to […]
June 24, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Nino Wrestles the World By Yuyi Morales Neal Porter Books – Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-604-6 Ages 3-7 On shelves now If there is any topic on the lips and minds of librarians, teachers, and other gatekeepers it is the state of multicultural literature for kids today. Seems a week […]
April 19, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Maria Had a Little Llama / Maria Tenia Una Llama Pequena By Angela Dominguez Henry Holt (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8050-9333-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves August 20th Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you a humbled woman. A woman who “knew” certain facts but, until she saw them working in her own personal […]
December 29, 2012 by Betsy Bird
Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey By Gary Golio Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-23994-1 Ages 6 and up On shelves now Is there any complicated hero with a past so full of darkness that their life cannot be recounted to children? This is the conundrum […]
Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.