Mindful, Happy Kids

Dr. Elisabeth Page interviews educator and author Christy Wopat (with co-host Deb Johnston) on “Mindful Happy Kids” about her teaching background, writing journey, picture book, Always Ours, and middle grade novel, Overruled. Christy describes the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse Paid Teacher Residency Program addressing the special education teacher shortage through a yearlong residency with two mentors and a $30,000 stipend. She shares her memoir origins after the death of her premature twins and discusses her picture book Always Ours, which helps families grieve infant loss openly through two sisters and a butterfly life-cycle parallel, highlighting trusted adult support and the non-linear “scribbles” of grief. Her middle-grade novel Overruled follows fifth-grader Mac, labeled the “naughty kid,” who is accused of pushing a classmate; his teacher stages a mock trial to examine fairness, accusations, emotions, and how schools label children. Christy explains her classroom-informed character building, extensive student workshop and beta-reader editing, and a new in-progress novel featuring peer mediator Tia Turner within the Overruled school world.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Dr. Elisabeth Paige welcomes middle grade and YA author Tracy Badua to Mindful Happy Kids to discuss her contemporary and contemporary fantasy books that weave in Filipino folklore, humor, mystery, and heartfelt moments. Badua explains differences between middle grade and YA, her path from legal writing to fiction, and why Filipino American voices and folklore matter, including intergenerational dynamics, identity, and community. She discusses co-writing the baking mysteries The Cookie Crumbles and Their Just Desserts with Alicia Dow, including research, representation, and themes of friendship. Tracy summarizes Thea and the Mischief Makers, Freddy vs. the Family Curse, Ghoul Summer, The Takeout, and her YA novel This Is Not a Personal Statement, covering topics like popularity, anxiety, cultural pressure, and belonging. She shares advice for aspiring authors to find writing community.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Dr. Elisabeth Paige interviews middle grade author Diana Harmon Asher about her writing journey and books "Side Tracked," "Up Staged," and "Trouble Finds Evie Lefkowitz." Asher explains why she writes for ages 8–12 and recounts years of rejections before "Side Tracked" sold to Abrams, followed by her other novels. She discusses weaving Jewish culture and Yiddish into her work, drawing on her father’s role as a cantor for Evie’s story of grief and a mother dating, and adding a Japanese American character inspired by her books’ Japanese translations and recognition in a national student essay competition. Asher argues for diversity in books, describes a negative reaction to LGBTQ inclusion in "Up Staged," and emphasizes representing learning challenges (ADD/ADHD, dyslexia), shyness, nuanced bullying, friendship, and varied family structures. She is working on another book featuring "Side Tracked" characters and advises writers to join groups, accept critique, and persist.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Loretta Lopez in conversation with Dr. Elisabeth Paige shares her writing journey from early encouragement and mentors to publishing her debut middle-grade novel, "City Girls", and explains how her work as a case manager for undocumented children inspired the character Elisa and the asylum storyline. She summarizes the book’s three 11-year-old protagonists—Elisa, Lucia, and Alice—each facing trauma, grief, divorce, or a parent’s illness as their friendship develops over a school year, and discusses using different narrative forms for each voice. Lopez addresses writing about abuse for middle graders, announces the Spanish translation coming in May, and describes a new novel-in-progress set in Guadalajara. 

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Dr. Elisabeth Paige interviews YA author and literary agent Sandra Proudman about her debut YA fantasy Salvación and her work in publishing for her podcast, Mindful, Happy Kids: Embracing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Sandra introduces her upcoming books, including the YA dystopian "The End of Us" (out in October) and another standalone YA fantasy with Wednesday Books, "Lost and Darling Things," a Peter Pan retelling (coming next fall), and describes her role at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency and her commitment to representing diverse and underrepresented creators, including many Latinx voices. She shares her non-“unicorn” writing path through years of querying, editing the anthology "Relit: 60 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories," and how Salvación originated from a collaborative prompt for a Zorro retelling set in the Gold Rush era, featuring salt magic. They discuss the book’s plot, feminism, colonization themes, key characters, and sibling and romance dynamics, plus advice on reading, writing, learning publishing, and patience, and where to find her on Instagram and her website.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

In this powerful episode, Sonido Reyes joins Elisabeth Paige to discuss his journey as an acclaimed author bringing vital representation to young adult literature. Sonido shares his late-blooming love for writing, sparked through fan fiction and a journey from shame to joy in self-expression.

The episode delves deep into Sonido’s award-winning novels, including The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School and The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar. Sonido unpacks how these works weave in complex issues—queerness, mental health struggles, immigration, and nuanced family dynamics—reflecting real challenges in the Mexican and larger Latinx community. He stresses the importance of showing characters struggling—and still deserving happy endings—so readers can see themselves fully and find hope.

A highlight is the candid conversation about destigmatizing mental illness and suicidality, particularly in the Mexican community where such topics are often taboo. Sonido and Elisabeth discuss the challenges of therapy, medication, and the healing power of support groups, emphasizing the necessity of empathy for those living with bipolar disorder.

Sonido also touches on his next project, a “Mexican Hunger Games”—style dystopian novel, and offers encouragement to young and aspiring writers: embrace your truth and write what feels authentic, even when it’s hard.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about diverse storytelling, mental health advocacy, and authentic voices in YA literature.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Physician and children's author Rajani LaRocca has published over 20 books for kids of all ages. In this second interview (you can also see the first interview by scrolling), we talk about her forthcoming young adult novel about grief, truth, authenticity, and friendship and her published fantasy middle grade adventure based in Indian culture on colonialism. We also spoke about two very relevant picture books, one on vaccines and one on birthright citizenship.  Finally we covered her chapter book about flexibility and being true to yourself. We hope you enjoy!

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Dr. Elisabeth Paige interviews middle grade author and English professor Chris Baron about two recent books: the Passover anthology "On All Other Nights," which he co-edited with Joshua Levy and Naomi Milliner, and his verse novel "Spark" about California wildfires. Baron discusses his preference for poetry, his writing journey into middle grade, and why certain stories choose verse versus prose and vice versa. He explains Passover’s meaning, family traditions, and how the anthology maps short stories to Seder steps with discussion questions, aiming to strengthen unity and Jewish identity in a difficult climate. "Spark" follows best friends Finn and Rabbit in a Northern California town facing wildfires, evacuation, grief, and rebuilding; Baron reads several poems, describes extensive research, and highlights themes of hope, agency, conservation, PTSD support from a teacher-counselor, Jewish heritage symbolism, and the role of pets. 

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Dr. Elisabeth Paige interviews middle grade author Dan Gemeinhart about his writing journey and three of his ten novels: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, Coyote Lost and Found, and Busted. Dan discusses why his stories include grief and death as backstory, how he balances heavy themes with humor, and why animals and friendship are central. They outline Coyote’s road-trip plot to save a buried memory box while Coyote secretly tricks her grieving father, Rodeo, into going home, and describe Coyote Lost and Found as a standalone sequel set in April 2020 during COVID, involving the search for a lost Mary Oliver poetry book that contains the mother’s wishes for scattering her ashes, including masking and an anti-Asian racism incident. They also cover Busted, a comedic intergenerational caper about Oscar, Natasha, and retired mobster Jimmy, and Gemeinhart’s plans to write Midnight Children into a screenplay. He gives advice for kids and aspiring authors.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.

Dr. Elisabeth Paige and Mike Rosenstein interview children’s author and illustrator Johnny Marciano about his career writing from board books to chapter books to middle grade books and young adult books. He’s even written  adult nonfiction. His first book was about his grandfather Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the Madeline series. Johnny discusses learning to paint in Bemelmans’ style for Madeline books but eventually choosing to work primarily with outside illustrators. He explains the dark humor of The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, and  The No-Good Nine and the satire and humor of the Claude series co-created with Emily Chenoweth. He also describes the Frankie Caridi cult-and-telekinesis series,  and an in-progress Madeline graphic novel set in occupied Paris. He talks about his forthcoming book, a middle grade historical novel about his Italian grandfather surviving the 1908 Messina earthquake and tsunami. Finally, he provides recommendations for aspiring authors.

You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.