Joanna Ho is the author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners (Jan 5, 2021), Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma (Fall 2021), The Silence that Binds Us (2022) and One Day (2023). She is a writer and educator with a passion for anti-bias, anti-racism and equity work. She holds a BA in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s from the Principal Leadership Institute at Berkeley. She has been an English teacher, a dean, the designer of an alternative-to-prison program, and a professional development mastermind. She is currently the vice principal of a high school in the Bay Area, where she survives on homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids.

Listen as Joanna talks about what inspired her to start writing, why she thinks her book
will resonate so much with people in the Asian community (and beyond), and why she
believes diverse books and literature that empowers matters.

Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:

Blog: http://hereweeread.com
Personal Website: charnaiegordon.com
Podcast Email Address: [email protected]

Find Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username
@hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word
to others. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Charnaie interviews New York Times Bestselling author Derrick Barnes
and illustrator Gordon C. James.

Derrick Barnes wrote the New York Times bestseller The King of Kindergarten, as well
as the critically acclaimed picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (illustrated by
Gordon James), which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor,
the 2018 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Young
Readers. He also wrote the bestselling chapter book series Ruby and the Booker Boys.
He owns the copy-writing company Say Word Creative Communications and created
the popular blog Raising the Mighty, where he "chronicles the experience of bringing up four beautiful Black boys in America." He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife
and their four sons.

Gordon C. James illustrated the critically acclaimed picture book Crown: An Ode to the
Fresh Cut (by Derrick Barnes), which received a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King
Illustrator Honor, an Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor, the 2018 Kirkus Prize for
Young Readers, and a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. He also illustrated Let 'Er
Buck!: George Fletcher, the People Champion (by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson). He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.

Derrick and Gordon talk about how they got started with their careers, how they met and
discuss other exciting forthcoming projects they are working on.

Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:

Blog: http://hereweeread.com
Personal Website: charnaiegordon.com
Podcast Email Address: [email protected]

Find Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username
@hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word
to others. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Charnaie interviews New York Times Bestselling author
Kwame Alexander.  Kwame is also a poet, educator, author of 37 books,
including THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, HOW TO READ A
BOOK, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, SWING, REBOUND, which was shortlisted
for prestigious Carnegie Medal, and, his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade
novel, THE CROSSOVER. Kwame is also the Founding Editor of VERSIFY, an
imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that aims to Change the World One Word at
a Time.

Kwame discusses how his writing career he began, upcoming books and
projects he’s working on and tells us why he’s not a fan of the phrase “diverse
books”.

Things you will learn in this episode:

• How George Floyd’s death has impacted Kwame’s life personally and professionally.
• The inspiration that led Kwame to start writing kid lit.
• Which authors Kwame has frequent virtual happy hours with to gossip, share
  their work and talk about how to make the world a better place.
• Kwame’s advice for inspiring writers.
• The name of Kwame’s forthcoming writing journal for kids and his forthcoming books for middle grade readers and adults.
  
  Resources mentioned in this episode:
• Here Wee Read
• Project Lit
• The Brown Bookshelf

Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:
Blog: http://hereweeread.com
Personal Website: charnaiegordon.com
Podcast Email Address: [email protected]

Find Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username
@hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread
the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Introduction to Here Wee Read.