In this interview with children's author Joyce Uglow, we celebrate her brand new debut picture book Stuck! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits (Bushel & Peck Books, 2025), illustrated by Valerya Milovanova. Her beautiful book was published only two weeks ago and has already gone into its second printing! We talk about Joyce's life and career in teaching and education, and how her love of writing eventually developed into a career in writing for children, as well as poetry. Joyce's advice to aspiring authors is to read both in your genre, as well as outside.

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In our lovely interview, Audrey Perrott talks about her new book, A Hate for a House: One Storm, Many Helpers, illustrated by Druscilla Santiago and published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (November 12, 2024).We also talk about Audrey's writing career, starting when she was six years old, stapling papers together and scribbling stories in her bedroom until all hours of the night. Audrey studied English and Children’s Literature at the University of Florida and has published nine nonfiction books for kids published by Tangerine Press, as well as the poignant MOO HOO with Scholastic Press, and its upcoming sequel, BAA HAA.

We discuss her own journey, dealing with and overcoming personal challenges, and her advice for aspiring authors.

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In this exciting interview, I talk to author-illustrator Selina Alko about the new book which she illustrated, The Keeper of Stories (Simone & Schuster, 2025), written by Caroline Kusin Pritchard), her own picture book celebrating the life and art of Joni Mitchell (Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell (HarperCollins, 2020)), her upcoming books, and her life and career as an artist and illustrator.

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Everyone knows Judy Blume.

Her books have garnered her fans of all ages for decades and sold tens of millions of copies. But why were people so drawn to them? And why are we still talking about them now in the 21st century?

In The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us (Atria, 2024), her remarkable story is revealed as never before, beginning with her as a mother of two searching for purpose outside of her home in 1960s suburban New Jersey. The books she wrote starred regular children with genuine thoughts and problems. But behind those deceptively simple tales, Blume explored the pillars of the growing women’s rights movement, in which girls and women were entitled to careers, bodily autonomy, fulfilling relationships, and even sexual pleasure. Blume wasn’t trying to be a revolutionary—she just wanted to tell honest stories—but in doing so, she created a cohesive, culture-altering vision of modern adolescence.

Blume’s bravery provoked backlash, making her the country’s most-banned author in the mid-1980s. Thankfully, her works withstood those culture wars and it’s no coincidence that Blume has resurfaced as a cultural touchstone now. Young girls are still cat-called, sex education curricula are getting dismissed as pornography, and entire shelves of libraries are being banned. As we face these challenges, it’s only natural we look to Blume, the grand dame of so-called dirty books. This is the story of how a housewife became a groundbreaking artist, and how generations of empowered fans are her legacy, today more than ever.

Roberto Mazza is currently a visiting scholar at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. He is the host of the Jerusalem Unplugged Podcast and to discuss and propose a book for interview can be reached at [email protected]. Blusky and IG: @robbyref

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In this, our first interview with Sam Arthur, co-founder and creative director of Flying Eye Books, talks about his love for visual books led him into children's publishing, how he decides on which manuscripts to pursue, and his tips for aspiring authors of picture books: play close attention to the picture book format, usually 12 or 13 double spreads, write stories with humor and characters that we feel for, and write primarily for the children, not the adults.

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In this, our third interview, we celebrate the brand new picture book of Bea Birdsong, Goat Is the G.O.A.T. (Nancy Paulsen Books, Feb. 2025), illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Bea is also the author of I Will Be Fierce!, Sam’s First Word, How to Spot a Best Friend, Boop!, with many more books coming out over the next two years. We talk about Bea's meteoric career, and how her unconventional approaches led her to find her agent, to book deals with major publishers, and international success.

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In this, our second interview I speak with award-winning children's author Vivian Kirkfield about her gorgeous, brand new picture book, One Girl's Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land (Calkin's Creek, Feb. 2025, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon). We talk about the life and pioneering career of Lucy Stone, how the book came about, and some of Vivian's own trials and tribulations on the way to literary success. Vivian shares her advice for aspiring authors (perseverance, passion and more...), and talks about '50 Precious Words,' her free annual contest for authors with the courage to write a story in fifty words or less, and the careers that she has spawned as a result.

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In this lively and fun interview, we celebrate award-winning author Erica Lyons' new picture book, On a Chariot of Fire: The Story of India’s Bene Israel, illustrated by Siona Benjamin (Levine Querido, 2024). We talk about her childhood passion for writing, and how her careers in law and publishing gave her the tools that helped catapult her into the world of children's publishing. We discussed her love of historical fiction, particularly on Jewish themes, and the importance of learning the rules, and then breaking them when there is good reason to do so.

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In our captivating interview (pun intended), we celebrate Henry Herz's new book I AM GRAVITY (Tilbury House, April, 2024), which combines lyrical text and fascinating artwork by illustrator Mercè López, and crisscrosses splendidly between science and art, fact and fancy. We also discuss his background in engineering, and how he morphed into a leading children's author.

Henry has previously published many picture books, including MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES (Pelican), WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY (Pelican), MABEL AND THE QUEEN OF DREAMS (Schiffer ), LITTLE RED CUTTLEFISH (Pelican), CAP’N REX & HIS CLEVER CREW (Sterling), GOOD EGG AND BAD APPLE (Schiffer), HOW THE SQUID GOT TWO LONG ARMS (Pelican), ALICE’S MAGIC GARDEN (Familius), 2 PIRATES + 1 ROBOT (Kane Miller), and I AM SMOKE (Tilbury House).

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In our engaging interview, Rachel talks about her hilarious new [picture book, How to Pee Your Pants: The Right Way (published by Feiwel & Friends, October 15, 2024) and the embarrassing real first-grade event which prompted her to write it (According to Rachel, it was 'directed by my little kid self'). 

Rachel grew up in Utah in a book-loving family, and talked about her dream trips to the Draper Library in the mountains, where they would pile the car full of books. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE turned into a 'book of revelation' and helped chart out her storytelling journey, giving her permission to 'pee her pants and still be loved and appreciated.' In high school, she discovered writing (a poem a day) and loved art, but connected them only when she began to write children's stories. Rachel found her agent, Lindsay Auld, through the slush pile (!) and now has multiple book deals, including a ghost book coming out this summer. Rachel likes to vary her text between simplicity and complexity, adding layers to the story, and drawing humorous elements in the artwork (i.e., tooth braces on the giraffe). Rachel's mantra is "Follow the Fun." A great recipe for us all.

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