Video Sunday: Beats being named Janice anyway

Adults Go Wild Over Latest In Children’s Picture Book Series

Everyone was talking about this Onion News piece this week. And as someone who writes reviews of picture books that are far longer than the books themselves . . . well, this is just fantastic. Thanks to all the folks who sent it on to me.

This week I made a video announcing my upcoming book with two other fantastic bloggers. While looking at it on YouTube, I noticed that a Muppet Show episode featuring James Coburn kept coming up. Now, for years the number one hit that would appear when you Googled "Betsy Bird" would be this Muppet character of the same name. I’d never seen her in action before, though. Now that I have, I’m mighty proud to share the same moniker.

What is better than a robot? Very little. Really, they can only be improved upon in one of two ways. (A) Robot monkeys. (B) Robot puppets. And while we have yet to see mechanical simians in our day-to-day lives, author/illustrator Scott Fischer actually went and created his own robot puppet. See it in action in front of a vast sea of children here. Now THAT’s a cool way to get the attention of kids when you’re doing an author visit.

I love me a good book trailer, but they’re hard to come by. I’m more than a little partial to this one, though. Maybe because I’ve already read the book and it’s fan-freakin’-tastic. If you are unfamiliar with the 100 Cupboards series, you must run and read it. Seriously. I will sit here and wait for you until you are done. Here‘s something to whet your whistle until then.

Thanks to Heather Wilson for the link.

If you haven’t gotten all your holiday gifts by this point, I can’t really blame you. Me neither. And if you still need some suggestions, the Today Show had some authors recommend stuff. Boring adult authors come first, and then it’s our boy Jeff Kinney. Such a sweetie. Thanks to @the_pigeon for the link.

And for our final off-topicy topicness, this song has been caught in my head all week. The minute I think it’s gone, it comes running back. Thus, I inflict it upon you, my sweet public. Doesn’t hurt that it’s funny.