Novella Dean's passion for storytelling took root in Trinidad and Tobago, her birthplace, where rich folklore is a national treasure. Despite her academic journey leading her to graduate as a scientist, her heart always gravitated toward artistic expressions. The inspiration for her debut book, "Ta-Thump, Ta-Thump, originated from bedtime storytelling sessions with her son.

"Ta-Thump, Ta-Thump" = https://amzn.to/4lcKf6u

Our guest for this week's Book Flood Podcast is award-winning author and poet Nikki Grimes (Our guest for this week's Book Flood Podcast is award-winning author and poet Nikki Grimes (https://amzn.to/43mDXuR).

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes was inducted into the Black Authors Hall of Fame in 2023. Her honors include the CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the Children's Literature Legacy Medal, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, and five Coretta Scott King Author Honors, she won the Printz Honor and Sibert Honor for her memoir Ordinary Hazards. 

https://bookfloodpodcast.com/book-flood-podcast-e31-nikki-grimes-on-being-a-prolific-author/.

Patricia Newman's latest book is "Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger" (https://amzn.to/3FAtxxR)

Patricia Newman Books (https://amzn.to/4bzKTGY)

Patricia Newman loves nonfiction and nature. She combines both passions in her true environmental stories. She’s written about giant manta rays, sea otters, elephants, rhinos, black-footed ferrets, orangutans, a river in the Pacific Northwest, and our ocean. Her books explore how we are part of nature and how our habits affect plants and wildlife on land and in the ocean. Her nonfiction has received multiple starred reviews, a Sibert Honor from the American Librarian Association, two Green Earth Book Awards, and most have been included on the Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year lists.

To learn more, visit her website at patriciamnewman.com or connect with her on BlueSky, Pinterest, Instagram, X, and Facebook.

Greg Lucas was appointed California’s 25th State Librarian by Governor Jerry Brown on March 25, 2014. Prior to his appointment, Greg was the Capitol Bureau Chief for the San Francisco Chronicle where he covered politics and policy at the State Capitol for nearly 20 years. During Greg’s tenure as State Librarian, the State Library’s priorities have been to improve reading skills throughout the state, put library cards into the hands of every school kid and provide all Californians the information they need – no matter what community they live in. The State Library invests $10 million annually in local libraries to help them develop more innovative and efficient ways to serve their communities.

Since 2015, the State Library has improved access for millions of Californians by helping connect more than 1,000 of the state’s 1,130 libraries to a high-speed Internet network that links universities, colleges, schools, and libraries around the world.

Greg holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science from California State University San Jose, a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California, and a degree in communications from Stanford University.

https://www.library.ca.gov/

Have you ever thought you might want to be a librarian? Jonathan Hunt from San Jose State University discusses its program for teacher librarians (certificated librarians who work in schools).

SJSU School Librarianship

Book Flood Podcast

Charlotte Cheng (https://amzn.to/4gQmMos) has written and illustrated a variety of books including "Night Market Rescue," "Roar-Choo!," "I Miss You Most," and "BoBo Loves Dumplings." Represented by Red Fox Literary, Charlotte has spoken at a wide variety of events, given school assemblies, and taught interactive workshops for both children and adults.

These events have included the National American Librarian Association Conference, LA Times Book Festival, Bay Area Book Festival, and the Your Author Series of Los Angeles Public Library. Charlotte has also been a guest speaker at both Harvard University and Stanford University. Charlotte Cheng books are available on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3D3mqwY

Ernesto Cisneros (https://amzn.to/3QhP2pg) is the nationally acclaimed author of EFRÉN DIVIDED. He was born and raised in Santa Ana, California, where he still teaches.  As an author, he believes in providing today’s youth with an honest depiction of characters with whom they can identify. Additionally, he strives to build empathy and belonging in our community.

Efrén Divided = https://amzn.to/41ibIvF

Falling Short = https://amzn.to/4b22XJu

Sara Smith is a District Librarian in California’s Central Valley. Previously, she was a high school teacher librarian and English teacher.

Sara has reviewed over 1000 manga and graphic novels for Booklist and School Library Journal. She runs The Graphic Library website where she supports libraries with collection development.

Sara has appeared as a podcast guest on School Librarians United and The Literacy Advocate. In addition, Sara is a frequent speaker at national and international library conferences.

Recently, Sara became the co-author of "Manga Goes to School: Cultivating Engagement & Inclusion in K-12 Settings."

"Manga Goes to School: Cultivating Engagement and Inclusion in K–12 Settings"

Darcie Little Badger (https://amzn.to/4jHRG4Z) is a Lipan Apache writer with a PhD in oceanography. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Elatsoe, was featured in Time Magazine as one of the best 100 fantasy books of all time. Elatsoe also won the Locus award for Best First Novel and is a Nebula, Ignyte, and Lodestar finalist.

Her second fantasy novel, A Snake Falls to Earth, received a Nebula Award, an Ignyte Award, and a Newbery Honor and is on the National Book Awards longlist. Darcie is married to a veterinarian named Taran.

Nick Glass is a nationally known educational partner focused on improving literacy opportunities for all students. Equity work is how he defines his professional charge. He has a Master's in educational policy and the history of multicultural education from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and runs TeachingBooks.net -- a literacy service he created to empower every reader with meaningful connections to whatever books they are reading.

As a long-time student of multicultural education, he strives to give all readers culturally relevant, primary source insights into the literary journeys they are experiencing. Nick has published in many educational journals, spoken at dozens of conferences, and has served on many children’s book award committees, including the Newbery, Legacy, Sibert, and Green Earth Book Award juries. And one other curious note about Nick -- he is one of the few children’s book experts who has worked in Major League Baseball. He was the statistician for the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s to early 1990s.