The rules are simple. Reinterpret a famous scene from any Maurice Sendak book in the style of another famous children’s picture book artist. Perhaps you’d like to do Pierre ala Ezra Jack Keats or Outside Over There in the style of Marcia Brown. All power to you. Whatever you prefer, if you think this is [...]
“Are there any girl bears?”: Gender and the 21st Century Picture Book
April 10, 2013 By 33 Comments
Apparently I’m under the impression that it would be a good idea to write a potentially hot and toasty topic while I walk beneath the Spanish sun with limited access to the internet. But this is something that’s been on my mind a lot recently, and it all came a head the other day as [...]
Press Release Fun: Celebrating National Screen Free Week
April 8, 2013 By 3 Comments
Recently I was offered the chance to debut an original piece of art from the multi-talented Bob Staake. The reason? Well, National Screen Free Week is almost upon us. I don’t think I’m the only one who has noticed a small growth in books that encourage kids to put down their shiny rectangles and engage [...]
Barcelona Bound: Part II
April 5, 2013 By 8 Comments
Contrary to appearances I am not accustomed to international travel. I have no frequent flyer miles set up. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if someone asked me to convert a Euro. Yet in spite of all this, I seem to be on a plane today bound for bright and sunny Spain. Some [...]
A Children’s Book Fever Dream: Compounding Awesome Upon Awesome
April 3, 2013 By 18 Comments
There are some days when you are so utterly floored by delight that all you can do is throw up your hands and say to the universe, “I’m out!” That was yesterday. I’m out, folks. I hit the top. It’s all downhill from here. And I’m so young! It’s sad when you peak at 34. [...]
Fusenews: This is what a librarian looks like
April 1, 2013 By 3 Comments
Oh me, oh my, where does the time go? Here we are, it’s Monday yet again, and I’m running about like a chicken with my head cut off. This Friday I head off to Barcelona for a full week (weep for me), then back I come to promote my picture book (Giant Dance Party, or [...]
Reading Too Much Into It: When Simple Picture Book Plots Take on Lives of Their Own
March 27, 2013 By 11 Comments
Excluding the very rare exceptions here and there, it’s fairly safe to say that when picture books are adapted into big screen movie sensations they are inevitably packed to the gills full of unnecessary awfulness. Consider the fate of The Cat in the Hat if you doubt me at all. Now there are exceptions to [...]
Sneaky Peek: A Glimpse of Platypuses Packing Heat/Boomerangs
March 26, 2013 By 4 Comments
There are certain words and phrases that are instantly hilarious. Kalamazoo is one of them. Platypus is another. All the more reason to combine the two. That’s my logic. When I heard that Jarrett Krosoczka (he of the Lunch Lady GN series as well as a stunner of a TED talk, amongst other accomplishments), had [...]
Review of the Day: Brick by Brick by Charles R. Smith Jr.
March 25, 2013 By 8 Comments
Brick by Brick By Charles R. Smith Jr. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-192082-0 Ages 4-8 On shelves now Sometimes I feel like the older I get the more interesting history becomes. Not that history, real history, wasn’t always fascinating. It’s just that when I was a kid you couldn’t have named a subject [...]
Fusenews: Inordinately pleased that I got to work in the term “manky” today
March 21, 2013 By 4 Comments
If you’ve received your latest edition of Horn Book Magazine then you may see that Roger and Co. had the clever notion to ask a bunch of folks what their favorite weirdo children’s books were. And as luck would have it, I was asked too. You can see my choice here if you like. If [...]
Press Release Fun: Children’s Choice Book Awards Voting Now Open!
March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL AND EVERY CHILD A READER OPEN VOTING FOR THE CHILDREN’S AND TEEN CHOICE BOOK AWARDS AT BOOKWEEKONLINE.COM THE ONLY NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS PROGRAM WHERE THE WINNERS ARE SELECTED BY YOUNG READERS OF ALL AGES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, NY — March 19, 2013 – The Children’s Book Council and [...]
Review of the Day: The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore
March 19, 2013 By 5 Comments
The Water Castle By Megan Frazer Blakemore Illustrated by Jim Kay Walker Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Bloomsbury) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-2839-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Where does fantasy stop and science fiction begin? Is it possible to ever draw a distinct line in the sand between the two? A book with a [...]
Newbery/Caldecott 2014: The Spring Prediction Edition
March 15, 2013 By 22 Comments
Man, isn’t it nice when the award season has died down and we don’t have to deal with any more crazed speculations about who’s “Newbery worthy” or “Caldecott worthy” or any of that nuttiness? We can just sit back and enjoy some books and not . . . not worry about . . . *gulp* [...]
Press Release Fun: Visual Stories and Narrative Art
March 14, 2013 By 1 Comment
I See What You Say: Visual Stories and Narrative Art Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition: March 16 – July 7, 2013 Reception Sunday, April 28, 2013; details TBA San Francisco, CA: There are many ways to tell a story. It doesn’t need “Once upon a time” or “happily ever after.” It doesn’t need any words at [...]
Fusenews: Warning – May contain fancy dancy footwear
March 13, 2013 By 6 Comments
Morning, folks. Bird here. Seems this book I’ve written with fellow bloggers Peter Sieruta of Collecting Children’s Books and Jules Danielson of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is in the last stages of completion. Fun With Copyedits is the name of the game this week, which means that my blogging may suffer a tad here [...]
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