Dream Gardens: Talking Up the Children's Books We Love

For my sixty-second Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Chritina Uss about the middle grade novels Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater and The Trolls by Polly Horvath. Lizard Music is a story of a boy, a Chicken Man, some jazz-playing lizards, and an invisible island, which all makes perfectly good sense if you are a fan Daniel Pinkwater’s surreal comic tales. The Trolls recounts the strange and humorous family stories Aunt Sally tells to the children she’s watching, stories such as about Uncle Louis who came for two weeks and stayed six years, Maud who shot eighty cougars, the Mean Little Fat Girl, and of course, the Trolls. Both books are from writers who are truly one-of-a-kind in all the best possible ways.

Christina Uss is author of the middle grade novel The Adventures of a Girl called Bicycle. You can find Christina’s website at www.christinauss.com.

My next podcast will be with author Lindsay Lackey talking about the fantasy novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. It will be published on October 21st.

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For my sixty-first Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author and playwright Dania Ramos about the young readers novel Call Me Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Maria is torn between two worlds, her old home in Puerto Rico where her mother lives, and her new home in the barrio in New York City with her father. Told in a mix of poems, letters, and prose, this lyrical novel tells of a young girl’s search for a place where she can feel like she belongs, and a voice to express the life around her and within her.

Dania Ramos is an educator and playwright as well as author of the 7th Grade Sleuths books Who’s Ju and Ignacio in the Dark. In addition she is podcast manager for the Cocatazo Audio theater, for which she has written the children’s audio fiction series Time Storm. You can find Dania’s website at www.daniaramos.com and the Cocatazo Audio theater  at www.cocotazomedia.com.

My next podcast will be with author Christina Uss talking about the middle grade novel Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater and The Trolls by Polly Horvath. It will be published on October 7th.

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For my sixtieth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Lori Orlinsky about the picture book Giraffes Can’t Dance, written by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees. With his long neck and skinny legs, Gerald the Giraffe just wasn’t made for dancing. Or so he thinks, until a friendly cricket tells him that he’s just got to find the right music to figure how to dance in his own special way.

Lori Orlinsky is author of the picture book Being Small (isn’t so bad after all) published by Mascot Books. You can find the Mascot Books website at mascotbooks.com

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify. Please link, share, comment, write a review or subscribe. Let me know what you think! And if you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page.

My next podcast will be with author Dania Ramos talking about Call Me Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer . It will be published on September 16th.

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For my fifty-ninth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Kathi Appelt about the middle grade novel The Grand Plan To Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami. It tells the story of eleven year old Dini who’s forced by her parents to move to a tiny village in India called Swapnagiri. The name of the town means Dream Mountain, and it turns out there are plenty of dreams and magic awaiting her there, including a chance to meet her all time favorite Bollywood star Dolly Signh.

Kathi Appelt is author of several books for children, and was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Newbery. Her books include such titles as Maybe a Fox, The Underneath, Keeper, and The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp.  In 2019 she published her YA novel Angel Thieves. You can find Kathi’s website at www.kathiappelt.com.

My next podcast will be with author Lori Orlinsky, talking about Giraffes Can’t Dance, written by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees. It will be published on September 2nd. Starting with this podcast I will be posting Dream Gardens on the first and third Monday of each month.

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For my fifty-eighth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Padma Venkatraman about the verse memoirs Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings and Soaring Earth by Margarita Engle.

Enchanted Air was published in 2015, followed by Soaring Earth in 2019.  Each details  Margarita’s experience immigrating to the US after the Cuban revolution of the 1960’s. In the first book we meet Margarita as a child, torn between her love of the Cuba she longs to return to and her struggle to find her place in a country that doesn’t always welcome her with open arms. In the second book we meet up with Margarita again as a young adult as she travels from California to New York in a journey to figure out where she belongs and what she has to offer the world. Told entirely in free verse, Margarita’s story is lyrical and personal, a story that is both unique and universal in her quest to find a place to call home.

Padma Venkatraman is author of  the novels Climbing the Stairs, Island’s End, A Time to Dance, and the 2019 middle grade novel The Bridge Home. You can find Padma’s website at padmavenkatraman.com.

My next podcast will be with author Kathi Appelt, talking about The Grand Plan To Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami . It will be published on August 19th.

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For my fifty-seventh Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Kelly Jones about the middle grade comic novel The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater.

First published in 1977, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency tells the story of a young boy, Arthur, who’s sent off to pick up the family’s Thanksgiving turkey, but ends up bringing home a two-hundred sixty-six pound chicken named Henrietta. Arthur and Henrietta quickly bond, but when the giant chicken escapes into the city, all of Hoboken gets their feathers ruffled in a big way.  So its up to Arthur to rescue her before its too late for Henrietta. A silly, funny, and ultimately warm-hearted story from the unique mind of Daniel Pinkwater.

Kelly Jones is author of the middle grade books Murder, Magic and What We Wore, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken, and coming up in September of this year, Sauerkraut. You can find Kelly’s website at curiosityjones.net.

My next podcast will be with author Padma Venkatraman, talking about Margarita Engle’s verse memoirs Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings and Soaring Earth. It will be published on August 1st.

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For my fifty-sixth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Susan Adrian about the middle grade fantasy novel The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper.

First published in 1973, The Dark is Rising is the second book in a series of five books known as the Dark is Rising series. It tells the story of Will Stanton, who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is one of the Old Ones, a group of beings with extraordinary powers who are battling against the Dark. Drawing on English and Celtic mythology, The Dark is Rising is both a fantasy about the never ending battle between Good and Evil and a coming of age story of a young boy who must figure his place is in the world.

Susan Adrian is the author of the YA novels Tunnel Vision and The Dark at the End and the middle grade novel Nutcracked. Her latest middle grade novel Forever Neverland was just released June, 2019. You can find Susan’s website at susanadrian.net.

My next podcast will be with author Kelly Jones, talking about the middle grade novel  The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater. It will be published on July 16th.

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For my fifty-fifth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Darby Karchut about the young reader’s fantasy adventure novel Ranger’s Apprentice (Book 1): The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan.

First published in Australia in 2004 and the in the United States in 2005 , Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan tells the story of fifteen year old Will and his apprenticeship under the gruff and mysterious Ranger Halt. Will is an orphan who dreams of nothing more than being a soldier, but when he is taken under Halt’s wing and shown the secret ways of the group of silent defenders of the kingdom of Araleun known as the Rangers, he finds his true calling. Whether he has what is takes to become a Ranger will soon be put to the test when the devious Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, sends out two creatures called Kalkaras to wreak havoc on the kingdom. The Ruins of Gorlan is full of interesting characters and fast-paced action, and is the first of a twelve book series.

Darby Karchut is the author of the YA series Griffin Rising, the middle grade Finnegan series, the middle grade book Del Toro Moon and its sequel The Red Casket, which will be release in the Fall of 2019. You can find Darby’s website at www.darbykarchut.com.

My next podcast will be with author Susan Adrian, talking about the middle grade novel  The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. It will be published on July 1st.

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For my fifty-fourth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Roshani Chokshi about the children’s novel The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander and the YA novel Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black.

Published in  1997, The Iron Ring is a middle grade fantasy novel that draws from Indian mythology to tell the story of Tamar, a king who loses a game of dice with a mysterious stranger. Because of his adherence to the precepts of dharma and duty,  he makes a journey to give his life over to the stranger. Along the way he meets a variety of colorful characters and becomes embroiled in adventure and danger, all on the way to figuring out his real obligations to those who matter most to him.

Published in  2013, Tithe: A Modern Farie Tale is a young adult novel  that takes the familiar tropes of fairy stories and sets them in a contemporary urban setting. It tells the story of sixteen year old Kaye, who falls unwittingly into a center of a conflict within the fairy world where she is being offered up as a “tithe” to bind the services of the Solitary Fey to the Fairy Court Queen. But these fairies, capable of betrayal and terrible cruelties, are no storybook fairies. Even worse, Kaye is about to find out that her connection to them goes deeper than she ever suspected, and that her life will never be the same.

Roshani Chokshi is the author of the YA series The Star Touched Queen, the YA novel The Gilded Wolves, the middle grade novel Aru Shah and the End of Time, and its sequel Aru Shah and the Song of Death, which was just released this year. You can find Roshani’s
website at roshanichokshi.com.

My next podcast will be with author Darby Karchut, talking about the middle grade novel  Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan. It will be published on June 17th.

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For my fifty-third Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Alison Gardiner about the  illustrated children’s novel Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell

Published in  2013, Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse tells the story of Ada Goth, who’s feeling a bit lonely clumping around in big boots at Ghastly-Gorm Hall, especially since her grieving widower father insists that children should be heard and not seen. But Ada soon befriends a ghostly mouse named Ishmael, and together, with the help of part chameleon boy named William Cabbage and his sister Emily, as well as a governess who might possibly be a vampire, they try to uncover a sinister plot in the works at the annual Ghastly-Gorm indoor hunt. Full of sly literary references, gorgeous Victorian illustrations by the author, and a whole lot of silly, over-the-top humor, Goth Girl is a comic gothic mystery that is just as much fun to look at as read.

Alison Gardiner is author of the fantasy novels Alchemy, The Serpent of Eridor, and coming soon The Goblin’s Curse. You can find Alison’s website at alisongardinerauthor.com.

My next podcast will be with author Roshani Chokshi, talking about the middle grade novel  The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander and the YA novel Tithe by Holly Black . It will be published on June 1st.

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