100 Scope Notes
February 28, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Grace for Gus By Harry Bliss Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper Collins) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-264410-7 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. What are the long term benefits of reviewing children’s books on the internet over an extended amount of time? The detriments? Of the benefits I can give only the standard “Maybe I get […]
February 27, 2018 by Betsy Bird
When I lived in New York City, publishers were a dime a dozen. Big publishers, little publishers, a whole slew of them are located in Manhattan (with a couple in Jersey and a few in Brooklyn). You get jaded when you live there. Then you move away and it’s a whole new ballgame. Oh, you […]
February 26, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Every year I reveal the bookmarks released in conjunction with that most honorable and long lasting children’s literature tradition, Children’s Book Week. Originally established in 1919 (which, obviously, means that next year there’s going to be a great big party to celebrate the centennial), Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the […]
February 26, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Not content to examine just Curious George and The Story of Babar, Kate and I round out our look at colonial children’s literature with a rather more serious examination of Helen Bannerman’s Little Black Sambo. That said, we are not content to consider a single version. That’s why our primary focus will be the Christopher […]
February 23, 2018 by Betsy Bird
I’m getting pickier. The more that I’m asked to do cover reveals for books, the more I want to make sure that the books in question are up to snuff. It’s a pity how rare it is that I’m asked to reveal a book that I’ve already read. But you know what? Sometimes it happens. […]
February 21, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship By Irene Latham & Charles Waters Illustrated by Sean Qualls & Selina Alko Carolrhoda Books (a division of Lerner) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-5124-0442-5 Ages 6 and up On shelves now For a long time, maybe as long as children’s books have been published in America, […]
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February 20, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Looking back at the recent slate of award winners, I view them through the lens of someone that has lived in Trump’s America for a little more than a year. As a result, I see things a bit differently. Taken a certain way, every book becomes a kind of protest. Consider the Caldecott. I’ve mentioned […]
February 19, 2018 by Betsy Bird
Our theme of problematic picture books that deal indirectly with colonialism continue with this natural companion to Curious George. Today’s book is notable if only because it is the first “classic” we’ve discussed that I read as a child. Will that make me more inclined to like the book or not? You’ll just have to […]
February 15, 2018 by Betsy Bird
You guys know my penchant for children’s books that fall outside the usual norms. And nothing strikes fear in the good American heart faster than picture books from other countries. I’ve seen even the most sophisticated of readers wrinkle their noses at translations they deemed “weird”. And nothing caused such wrinkling better than the 2016 […]
February 14, 2018 by Betsy Bird
It’s that time again! No sooner have the real Newberys been announced than the 90-second versions of them start cropping up. In Film Festival form! Yep, the utterly charming 90-Second Newbery is on the road, and I have your complete schedule here today. Find the big city nearest you and come on in. It’s a […]
Teen Librarian Toolbox
by Amanda MacGregor
Good Comics for Kids
by Brigid Alverson
Politics in Practice
by John Chrastka
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