Politics in Practice
July 31, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Bram Stoker had this to say about Chicago: It, “neither fears the devil nor troubles its head about him and all his works.” So in light of my recent move, and in celebration of this (my first day), I offer the following to you: Goodbye Library (With profuse apologies to Margaret Wise Brown, who would […]
July 27, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Do funny books get short shrift when award season comes ah-knockin’? It’s not a ridiculous notion. After all, the Oscars are notorious for consistently promoting and lauding saddy sad performances and films over their funnier contemporaries. So I took a gander at some of the recent winners of the Newbery Award (and Honors) and determined […]
July 24, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Recently I was admiring two different but certainly related articles online. The first was Mike Lewis’s Non-Required Summer Reading List, which is just the loveliest little PDF of fun summery read titles. A great list in and of itself. The second piece was the infinitely useful article How Teachers Can Create a Summer Reading List […]
July 22, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Like the rest of America I have watched, enthralled, the debate going on at the child_lit listserv as to whether or not folks should/are choosing to eschew reading Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman. I’m sorry, what that? I’m being informed that despite my opinions on the matter, America does not collectively read child_lit. I […]
July 21, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Maybe one of the more enjoyable press releases I’ve released. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Authors and Illustrators Reveal the Origins and Pronunciations of Their Names – See more at: http://forum.teachingbooks.net/2015/07/teachingbooks-net-author-name-pronunciation-guide-reaches-2000-audio-clips/#sthash.oAjVyX6K.dpuf MADISON, Wis. (July 16, 2015) – Ever wondered how to pronounce a favorite author’s name? Since 2007, almost half-a-million readers have visited www.TeachingBooks.net/Hello to hear authors and […]
July 20, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Mm. Double quick time Fusenews today, I should think. All the goodness. Less of the commentary. As such . . . What is the scariest children’s film of all time? If you mentioned a particular film that involved decapitated heads and Wheelers, this link’s for you. I’m not a teacher so I had no idea […]
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July 17, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Mars Evacuees By Sophia McDougall Harper Collins $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-229399-2 Ages 9-12 I’ve a nasty habit of finishing every children’s book I start, no matter how dull or dire it might be. I am sort of alone in this habit, which you could rightly call unhealthy. After all, most librarians understand that their time on […]
July 16, 2015 by Betsy Bird
Look, I know how hard you work. You’re busy. And when it comes to your pleasure reading you don’t always have time to dip into the latest 450 page history or novel. Who does these days? Now there’s a timesaver that will solve all your woes. Introducing the Kidlit Swap Method. All you need to […]
July 14, 2015 by Betsy Bird
So I’m reading through the latest issue of School Library Journal, checking out which books got some stars in the back, and I notice something in the middle grade novel section. Three titles in particular catch my eye: A Nearer Moon by Melanie Crowder Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu The Seventh Most […]
July 13, 2015 by Betsy Bird
A friend of mine who is not particularly into the children’s literary world, except that she has small children and reads to them, forwarded on to me this recent article in Vox. It sports the clickbait title I never noticed how racist so many children’s books are until I started reading to my kids. It’s […]
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