Betty Birney's Blog

I’ve had quite a lengthy hiatus from blogging but Humphrey does keep my wheel spinning busily! To catch up a bit, here’s the latest Humphrey news:

School Days According to Humphrey will be released in hardcover June 30. It’s already out in the U.K. as School According to Humphrey. For a preview of the first chapter (with British punctuation and spelling), here’s the link to Tesco’s Book Club, which features a sneak peak. Click on the cover at this link:
http://kidsbookclub.tescomagazine.com/

I’m thrilled that School According to Humphrey has been shortlisted for the IBW Award in the children’s category. IBW stands for Independent Booksellers Week and I love indie bookshops!http://independentbooksellersweek.org.uk/award-page/

Humphrey is now on the Illinois Bluestem Award list at http://www.islma.org/pdf/BluestemMasterList2012.pdf
This list is a little different from other state lists. The award is designed for students in grades 3-5 who are ready for longer titles than found on the Monarch list, but not quite ready for the sophistication of some of the Rebecca Caudill titles. Named in honor of Big Bluestem which is the state prairie grass, the award may include both timeless classics and current titles, as well as books that have appeared on Monarch and Rebecca Caudill lists. Some of my favorites are on the list with The World According to Humphrey. Humphrey has won seven state awards, a Christopher Award, two Children’s Crown Awards and has been on 22 or 23 state lists – I’ve kind of lost count!

Trouble According to Humphrey was named an Honor Book for this year’s Children’s Crown Award. The World According to Humphrey and Friendship According to Humphrey previously won. Adventure According to Humphrey is on the list for the coming year. http://www.childrenscrownaward.org/

Yippee! Summer According to Humphrey, which recently came out in paperback,  is a bestseller in the Scholastic Book Club. http://kidscreen.com/2011/06/16/scholastic-lists-this-months-bestsellers-5/  But wait! there’s more!

One of the brand new Humphrey’s Tiny Tales books, My Pet Show Panic, is a Richard and Judy book club book this summer! This is huge in the U.K. and the books will be featured at all the W.H. Smith Stores. People in the U.K. really love Richard and Judy’s choices and the fact that The World According to Humphrey was on their first children’s list really got it off to a blazing start there. You’ll find it at this link, at the bottom of the page. http://www.richardandjudy.co.uk/childrens-current-reads/Summer-2011/98

And just a few weeks ago, Humphrey’s Tiny Tales: My Summer Fair Surprise was released in the UK. Next up will be Humphrey’s World of Pets, a pet care guide coming out in U.K. in October. And the next Tiny Tales book is called My Creepy-Crawly Camping Adventure – my favorite so far!

More good news : I am constantly asked in emails and snail mail if there will be more Humphrey books. I’m HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY to say there will. And I’m equally pleased to say I’ve finally got the time to do some serious work on a non-Humphrey book – a goal I’ve fallen behind on.

Next up: updating the website!