When we try to name the biggest and best picture book biography authors out there, two names spring immediately to mind. The first is David Adler. Mr. Adler specializes in picture books that go by the straightforward titles of “A Picture Book of [Enter Name Here]“. It makes him easy to spot on a shelf. All his books look pretty… Read More
And then it’s February. How the heckedy heck did that happen? Looks like 2012 is already establishing itself as the Blink and You’ll Miss It year. Well, let’s get to it then.
First and foremost was the announcement of Battle of the Books 2012. Or, as I like to think of it, the place where Amelia Lost gets its bloody due (if there’s any justice in this world). We’re now in the earliest of the early days of the battle, but stuff’s on the… Read More
I said it about Laini Taylor. I said it about Jeff Kinney. Heck, I even said it about J.K. Rowling and now, my friends, I’m saying it about Tom Angleberger: I was into him before it was cool. Seriously, a… Read More
As publisher previews go this may be one of my shorter posts if only because the featured publisher of the day is not a large sort. I have had the pleasure of seeing the products of Tara Books for a couple years now, but it was only recently that Gita Wolf herself came to town to show me the upcoming season. But first, a bit of background.
If the name “Tara Books” is unfamiliar to you here’s what you should know. What we have here is a worker-owned independent… Read More
How does an artist learn to find their own style? By copying the masters, of course. Could the same be true of children’s illustrators? Haven’t a clue. But it gave me a crazy notion the other day that I’m hankering to try out.
During the release of the Where the Wild Things Are movie a blog was begun called Terrible Yellow Eyes. At that site different artists offered their interpretations of Maurice Sendak’s classic. There have been similar derivations in the comics world as well. Comics Should… Read More
You just know a video is big when it has folks outside the usual children’s literary circles talking about it. Such was the case with the recent Colbert Report interview with Maurice Sendak. Somebody must have tipped off Stephen to the fact that Maurice would make for a brilliant interview. It’s pretty clear from the get-go that Maurice understands the Colbert character at work. Though, now that I think about it, even if he didn’t I doubt his answers would be any different. And then there’s the… Read More
Patience is a virtue. Riiiiiight. Actually it is, but tell that to anyone under the age of fifteen (to pick an arbitrary age). Though it varies from child to child, immediate satisfaction is something our day and age strives to give us in everything from grocery shopping to movie selection. When kids can just hop… Read More
Oh, you think the award season is done, old bean? Why we have only but BEGUN to hand out the 2011 awards! The Newberys, Caldecotts, and other ALA Media Awards are just the tip of the old iceberg. There are so many others to explore. For example, did you get a chance to really examine the 2012 Notable Children’s Books list from ALSC that was recently released? Absolutely fascinating stuff. Some books delight, some baffle, and some I’ve not even heard of. To the library! Don’t forget that… Read More
I tend to run my bookgroup for kids between the ages of 9-12 like a gentle dictatorship. I choose the books, the kids vote on them, and so it goes. Now if the kids had their way we’d be reading fantasy novels day in and day out every single week. With that in mind… Read More
Since it’s apparently football season (or at least that’s what the trending topics on Twitter seem to imply) think of this as a kind of post-game recap of what went on yesterday in the land of ALA Media Awards. Each year I like to look at what I got right, what I got wrong, what I got horrendously wrong, and what I got so wrong that it’s a miracle I’m even allowed to blog anymore. And because I believe in eating my cake before my dinner, we’ll… Read More
Elizabeth Bird is currently New York Public Library's Youth Materials Collections Specialist. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of NYPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter @FuseEight or email her at fusenumber8.
