Betsey Bird was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, undisputed center of the universe, I grew up and promptly left Michigan the moment my legs could propel me southward. I didn’t get far. I was an English/Fine Arts major at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana (home of recorded jazz, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) then set my sights on Portland, Oregon. When that didn’t pan out it was Minneapolis, Minnesota. Then New York, New York.
Amid all this I somehow managed to get a library degree and a job at New York Public Library, eventually becoming their Youth Media Specialist (a.k.a. the person who bought all the kids’ books for Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx).
I created the children’s literary blog A Fuse #8 Production and schmoozed as no one had ever schmoozed before. The result? Books for kids and books for adults about children’s literature. I am now the Collection Development Manager of Evanston, IL. Stop by. We’ll have lunch. It’ll be nice.
Books in order of publication:
Children’s Literature Gems – 2009
Giant Dance Party – 2013
Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature – 2014
Funny Girl. Funniest. Stories. Ever. – 2017
The Great Santa Stakeout – 2019
Long Road To The Circus – 2021
POP! Goes the Nursery Rhyme – 2025
Oak Lawn Library Friends 