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Good morning, my fine and frisky young denizens of this sphere upon which we make our homes.  I’m particularly chipper today as I’ve just returned from a lovely trip to Boston where I attended the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards and managed NOT to lose my glasses in the process.  More on that tomorrow, but today I’ve a whole heaping helpful of fun videos for your perusal.

First up, I’m happy to announce that last weekend I conducted a Literary Salon with James Kennedy and Eti Berland on the subject of 90-Second Newbery.  The fun doesn’t really get started until the five minute mark, but that’s the wonders of live streaming for you.  A million thanks to James for figuring out how to get the new YouTube streaming feature to work on his computer at all.  Phew!

Now we’ve a very cool video up next.  Do you like John Steptoe?  Do you like Sesame Street?  Then behold this very early Sesame Street when Gordon-with-hair read Stevie to the viewers.  This is something I’d love for current day Sesame Street to pick up again.  Wouldn’t it be great if Chris (you can see that I’m hip to the current cast) read Last Stop on Market Street to Telly?  It could happen.

In other news, we’ve an election coming up.  Or didn’t you know?  Well I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Aaron Reynolds for a new little show I’m participating in called LadyBird & Friends.  If you want to bypass the whole Betsy talking element to the proceedings, skip to the 18:20 mark where Aaron reads aloud President Squid.  It will be the funniest damn thing you see all day.  The man is a natural performer.

And speaking of natural performers, how did I miss this promotional video for Robo-Sauce when it first came out?  My bad.

Now welcome to New Zealand, where librarians have more fun.  Don’t believe me?  This synchronized . . . I’m sorry.  This synchronised shelving proves it.  Thanks to Jean Reagan for the link.

And for our final off-topic video today . . . AUGHHH!!!!!

Does the clownfish remind anyone else of the Goldfish from Mars Evacuees? Anyone? Anyone?  No?

Just me then.

So, fun fact. I read a serious 2017 Newbery contender a couple months ago and it looks like they may release it in the nearish future (February 2nd). I’m calling 2016 as The Year of the Fox, by the way, since both Sara Pennypacker and Kathi Appelt have fox related middle grades on the horizon. This is a particularly nice little book trailer for the Pennypacker book, and not just because they get my current workplace correct. It’s a classy little number.

Betcha bottom dollar you’ll need to read it.

You know, when I hear about librarian parody videos, I naturally assume that they’re done of the latest, hottest song. It’s almost a relief to see one of, of all things, Bohemian Rhapsody. What’s next? Eye of the Tiger? Cause I’ll take it!

Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.

As you may have heard, the internet being what it is, there’s a new illustrator of Harry Potter in town and his name is Jim Kay.  A whole host of new images were released the other day, and that was swell, but sometimes it’s nice to hear from the artist himself.

You know, I thought I’d posted this video before but it appears I somehow didn’t.  Ah well.  It isn’t a Video Sunday without at least one 80s style toy ad.  Such as it is.

Thanks to Dana Sheridan for the link!

And for today’s Off-Topic Video I’m going to say, “YES! I KNOW HE DOESN’T HIT THE BRICKS WITH HIS HEAD BUT WITH HIS FIST! THIS IS STILL FUNNY, CONSARN IT!” Phew! Had to get that out there.

A veritable plethora of dancing librarians greet you this weekend.  Now I’ll be the first to say that if you’re going to have librarians or library patrons dancing in a video then the video has to be pretty darn impressive in some way.  Life’s too short otherwise.  But thing is, these folks are pretty extraordinary.  Take, for example, this one from the Texas A&M University libraries as a kind of orientation to their services.  Sure, the song’s been overdone but at least they gave it a bit of class:

Thanks to mom for the link.

Then there’s Nashville.  I just had the pleasure of speaking alongside my co-author Julie Danielson (of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast fame) at the Southern Festival of the Book.  While there I had time enough to catch one quick sneaky peek at their library.  It’s a lucky thing I didn’t see any of their librarians or I was have fangirled out on them after watching this video.  I’m a sucker for a talented hand puppet artist:

Then, in other news, old timey footage.  The deeply amusing Lemony Snicket video.  The YOU CHOOSE THE MYSTERY campaign has begun.  Beguiled? Entranced? Confounded?  You will be:

Start following the mystery here.  It’s like that old Choose Your Own Adventure series except, y’know.  Less disembowling.

While I am indeed the mother of a 3-year-old I’ll confess that when it comes to contemporary children’s television programming I’m more liable to pull out the classic Electric Company / Sesame Street / School House Rock DVDs than turn on something from the 21st century.  Still, I’ve succumbed to the lures of Daniel Tiger (extemporized upon here) but I’ve only dipped a toe in current Sesame Street schtoof.  Maybe that’s why I was so shocked when I saw today’s video.  Cookie has always spoofed contemporary film (Chariots of Fur, anyone?) but rarely so in-depth.  Wowza.

While not strictly children’s book related, regarding the book as object is certainly of any interest to those parents, teachers, and librarians dealing with kids who put their books through the paces physically.  Plus Chronicle does the best videos so I’d be amiss in not posting this:

Neil Numberman (with whom I am in competition for Best Alliterative Picture Book Author Name… and he’s winning) takes on the arduous process of creating a picture book cover and turns it into time lapse art. Behold:

How to Make a Children’s Book Cover (in 1:16) from Neil Numberman on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Greenwillow Books for the link.

And while Banned Books Week may have gone, as long as banning continues so too will the need for remarkably sane (and fun) little videos like this one from Dav Pilkey calling for just a little common sense:

And finally, for today’s off-topic video, Michael Arndt turned my attention to this little beauty.  It’s The Missing Scarf, a multiple award winning short film that feels, at first anyway, like a picture book.  Stick with it.  As it continues you start to really get into the feel (and George Takei should, insofar as I can tell, narrate everything in this world from here on in).  I should warn some of you that in spite of its fluffy feel, the ending would prove a bit bleak for the younger kids so be wary and warned and enjoy!

The Missing Scarf from Eoin Duffy on Vimeo.

This may sound a little crazy, but even though I’m on maternity leave for three months or so, this video made me nostalgic for my system. It’s the rather remarkable Why Libraries Matter short documentary from The Atlantic. Beautifully shot and LOOK! There’s Rita Meade again! Somebody give that gal her own show.

While we’re loving our libraries, let’s keep on keeping on.  Here’s Brooklyn Public Librarian Alla Roylance on her own journey and time in the library.  And yes, there are pregnant iguanas involved.

Oh, what the heck. One more.  Here’s a piece on how popular our storytimes are.  Shout outs to Danielle Kalan and Rachael Payne, who both appear in this piece.

I know he’ll soon be living in Brooklyn for a year, but I’d never had a chance to see the man behind Press Here actually speak.  Et voila!  Herve Tullet discusses his latest book.

Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link!

Actually, 100 Scope Notes had most of the good videos this week.  Like John Green’s 47 Charming Facts About Children’s Books.  Tell me this isn’t awesome.

Of course Fact #18 may be untrue.  I did some research for my upcoming book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature (how’s that for a plug, eh?) and though it didn’t make the final cut I have evidence that suggests that it was Potter’s MOTHER and not Potter herself who insulted young Roald.  I do not, however, have any evidence to suggest that it wasn’t Ms. Potter who yelled at Diana Wynne Jones’s sisters for swinging on her fence.  That story appears to be legit.

And for our off-topic video, a very amusing video for Les Miserables fans.  It’s what happens when you run the lyrics to One Day More through a Google translator and back again.

Thanks to Marci for the link.

I’ll confess to you that I think I just discovered the secret to Video Sunday.  If I “Favorite” videos I see in Twitter throughout the week I end up having a MUCH stronger series than if I’d just scouted them out on my own.  Phew!  Happy to know there’s a secret there.

Now in the event that someone should ask you “Who is the children’s book equivalent of John Green?” in terms of on-air personality and verve and downright caring, the answer is clear.  YA, you can keep you Green.  Jonathan Auxier is our man, as this video CLEARLY shows.  I like his style.

Best of all, this reminded me a bit of the David Maybury video along similar lines which . . . oh, what the heck.  Enjoy that too!

Reviews!! from David Maybury on Vimeo.

Folks, you may not know it but the newest Irish Children’s Laureate na nÓg is none other Eoin Colfer.  This is good.  He’s one of those folks you should do anything to see if he’s speaking in your general geographic area.  This video gives a hint of that, but it’s a pretty good look at the man himself.

Suddenly I’m thinking . . . what if the National Ambassador of Children’s Book Literature and the Irish Children’s Laureate na nÓg went on tour together?  Someone in the universe with more power than me, get on that.

This is pretty lovely.  It’s a look at Luke Pearson, the creator of those great Hilda graphic novels.  Pearson is sort of what one would imagine a British graphic novelist to be.  Introverted in all the right ways.

Luke Pearson from Nobrow Ltd on Vimeo.

I’d never thought of the Moomin influence on the Hilda books, but now that I see it it’s unavoidable.  Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link!

Okay, let’s get some librarians into this mix.  Maybe it’s because I’m pregnant (11 days to go!) but this seriously made me tear up a bit.  Partly because I used to work in St. Paul with a fair number of Hmong and Somalia immigrants (I was with a refrigeration company . . . long story).  But this is just the kind of thing libraries should be making all the time, and it’s beautifully created and edited.

Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

More, libraries!  MORE!  My library.  I walked in on them doing a lot of the shots of this video last month.  Plus it features Leonard Marcus talking about his exhibit (up until September for free here in NYC!!) and I know that a lot of you folks haven’t had a chance to hear him speak in person.  This video is specifically about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  Plus you get shots of the exhibit.  Win-win!

They asked me to do some promotional videos for my book.

I came up with these instead.  Life is too short not to have your legs eaten by legwarmers.  I’m inclined to name them The Electric Blue Boogaloo.

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

I have fun.

Who says you need to be Ed Emerley to make fingerprints dance?  A canny bit of book promotion, this title is out this year but I certainly hadn’t heard of it until now (Laurence King Publishers, anyone?).  Now I’ll need to see it for myself.  It’s Let’s Make Some Great Fingerprint Art by Marion Deuchars.  Thanks to Julian Hector for the link!

Altogether now . . . awwwwwwwwww.

Okay, book trailer time.  Full discloser, Mr. Eliot Schrefer is in my writing group and I read this book, Endangered, in manuscript form.  The man can write.  I mean, really write.  I don’t see much YA in a given year, but I saw this and it was glorious.  But, in the words of the immortal LeVar Burton, you don’t have to take my word for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p75AP5ABuE8&feature=embed

Or, if you’d just rather watch Eliot get covered in apes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nILY_hhsKvE&feature=embed

Then there’s Mr. Jarrett Krosoczka. Or, as I like to think of him, the hardest working man in show business.  Now I only assume this, but surely he teaches other authors how to use social networking and technology to connect with fans, yes?  I only wonder since he’s sort of really good at it.  Example A: a recap of a webcast his did with kids recently.  Theme song and all:

Example B: The comics that were made during the workshop.  I rest my case.

Finally, my off-topic video that isn’t very off-topic.  If I’m going to be honest, I almost opened the post today with this bad lip-reading of Twilight.  What can I say?  It made me laugh very very hard (on the second segment anyway).  Forgive me if there’s a political ad before it.

As you may have heard Candlewick Press is all about the picture books these days.  In fact, they’re so into them that they’ve become vastly ambitious and have launched a campaign called  “We Believe in Picture Books”.  Part of the plan is to post a video a day for a year celebrating the great picture books out there.

And that’s where I come in.

A couple months ago Candlewick was soliciting videos from average everyday folks for this campaign.  That’s when I got a wild idea.  Although I’m not exactly rolling in free time, I had a vision.  What if you created a video conversation done entirely in picture book titles?  I’d actually been thinking about doing something like this for a while but apathy had gotten the better of me until now.  This campaign was just the thing to spark the old fuse, as it were.

Who should join me in this conversation then?  Who better than Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes?  Not only is he the September SLJ cover boy, the man has perfected the art of spine poetry.  It was meant to be.  I hadn’t done a real video in a year or so, so I dusted off the old Flip camera, lured Travis into it (with the assistance of Mr. Schu and Colby Sharp doing the filming on Travis’s end), worked with him to figure out the script (probably the hardest part), and voila!

I am delighted to report that Candlewick chose this video to launch their site.  Hooray!  Watch it by clicking on the image up above or by going to their site.  I am now off to Vegas (this is true) and may or may not have blogging abilities in the next few days.

Toodle-oo!  And many thanks to Travis for helping me out with this crazy scheme.