100 Scope Notes
July 31, 2011 by Betsy Bird
It’s hard to have a favorite part of the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet to look forward to, but definitely up there is the red carpet interview portion. Each year Jim Averbeck whips out the camera and questions and has the luminaries of the field give their thoughts and opinions on a variety of schtoofs. 2011 was no […]
July 30, 2011 by Betsy Bird
This year we’ve seen a fair number of adapted fairytales, cautionary tales, talking animals, etc. In short, lots of lovely fantasy to sort through. I can’t say I’ve read everything. For example, I’ve yet to read that book that declares itself to be “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter” (that would be The Unwanteds by […]
July 29, 2011 by Betsy Bird
Hound Dog True By Linda Urban Harcourt Children’s Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-55869-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 20th There’s identifying with a work of children’s fiction and then there’s wondering if the author of the work has somehow discovered time travel and was able to observe your younger self. […]
July 28, 2011 by Betsy Bird
My husband Matt pairs well with me for a number of reasons. Amongst them is our mutual inclination to collect things we love. As such, Matt has systematically been holding onto all his issues of The New Yorker ever since he got his subscription in college. Over the years these issues have piled up piled […]
July 27, 2011 by Betsy Bird
Quoth the raven: What the heck? At this point I’m getting a little suspicious. You see, every year I like to keep track of “trends” in the world of children’s literature. For example, back in 2006 there were at least two novels (Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett and Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow) that contained […]
July 26, 2011 by Betsy Bird
The Book That Zack Wrote By Ethan Long Blue Apple Books $11.99 ISBN: 978-1-60905-060-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. I have a theory. Bear with me here. My theory is that whenever there is a literary phenomenon in the teen or middle grade chapter book world, you see little echoes of it in the picture […]
ADVERTISEMENT
July 25, 2011 by Betsy Bird
Happy Monday to you, everyone. I’ve plenty of tasty treats to bestow on the good little boys and girls this morning. First off, the only thing that I can figure when I look at the baby versions of various Harry Potter characters by Artful Babies is that whomever the creator is they must spend a […]
July 24, 2011 by Betsy Bird
I hope you will excuse the lateness of today’s post. I was watching Men in Black last night. As excuses go, I’m sure you’ve heard worse. 100 Scope Notes found what has to be my favorite video of the week, bar none. George Kareman reminds me of nothing so much as a slightly less weird […]
July 23, 2011 by Betsy Bird
Around the World By Matt Phelan Candlewick Press $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-3619-7 Ages 9 and up On shelves October 11, 2011 Book phenomenons are something, aren’t they? Get the right writer and they can use words alone to inspire people to do the craziest things. Whether it’s Wizard Rock or standing on docks to find out […]
July 22, 2011 by Betsy Bird
In the book A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton and Martha Parravano there is a marvelous chapter right at the beginning called “A Future of Page Turns”. Found in the “Books for Babies” section the piece (written by Ms. Parravano) has this to say […]
Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.