"There are fish scattered throughout this book!" Originally, I had planned to review an Ed Young book closer to his passing last year, but unforeseen circumstances got in the way. Subsequently, I've held onto this particular copy of Yeh-Shen for a couple of months now (apologies to the library). It had been at least two decades since I last read this book, and I didn't recall it very clearly. Thus, you can imagine my sheer delight when I discovered that, like in Lon-Po Po, Ed Young had hidden fish on these pages. I had so much fun finding the fishies, and Kate delves deep into this interpretation. We even misidentify Disney songs and discuss "tattered creatures" and kings that diminish. You can listen to the entire show on Soundcloud or download it through various platforms such as iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, Audible, Amazon Music, or your preferred podcast app. Although a bit smudged in this version, the reproduced story can be found in the Hsueh Chin T'ao Yun edition from the Ch'ing dynasty.

Take a look at all the hidden fishies on these pages!Additionally, there's a fantastic photo featuring a young Matt Tavares sitting alongside Bernard Waber, proudly displaying his autographed copy of Ira Sleeps Over. Betsy Bird currently serves as the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and previously worked as a Materials Specialist for the New York Public Library. She has contributed to the Newbery Committee, written for Horn Book, and has been involved in other delightful endeavors that she would love to share with you in person. Her opinions are solely her own and do not represent those of EPL, SLJ, or any other acronyms you may be familiar with. For updates on her work, follow Betsy on Twitter: @fuseeight. Enter your email address below to receive email notifications for new blog posts.