“It’s kind of like looking in a mirror and having it reflected back to you” –Laurel Harduar Morano

For the final episode of Season 2, I’m so excited because my sister, Laurel Harduar Morano, is interviewing me about my latest picture book, Ripening Time! We are having a fun conversation about identity, family stories, and food, of course!

Today’s Picture Book: Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo and illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera

Dr. Laurel Harduar Morano is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She holds a PhD in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master's of Public Health in biostatistics from Boston University. She has nearly two decades of experience in applied public health, predominantly working within state and federal governments. She is currently an associate professor at Michigan State University where she tracts work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities with the goal of prevention. 

In her spare time, Dr. Harduar Morano enjoys dancing and movement, exploring culinary delights, implementing her brilliant ideas, and infusing her world with her creative projects. She lives with her family in Okemos, Michigan. 

Book Description: Mama steers the cart toward the produce section of the grocery store and picks up a bunch of green plantains. Thus begins a week of anxious anticipation as a young girl waits for mustard yellows to seep onto the unripe green peels. Creep. Creep. Seep. Green begins to turn to yellow. Creep. Creep. Seep. Black streaks appear. And finally, on Sunday, the frying pan sizzles and hisses, as Mama serves up the warm, sugary slices the young girl has waited for so long. Much like there is sweet treasure hidden beneath the skin of a plantain, this beautifully written and evocative story reaches far beyond the act of preparing a favorite food. Ripening Time celebrates the way food and family entwine to connect us across generations—and serves as a touching reminder that some of the sweetest rewards in life are worth the wait.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Ripening Tme. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other Mentions:
Your Gift: Season 2 Activities and Questions
‘Plucked and Planted’ in All the Colors We Will See by Patrice Gopo

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
1.     What are things you have waited for in life? Big things and little things? What were some of the emotions you felt during that waiting time? What do you make of that situation now when you look back?
2.     Share with others what were those special foods that were part of someone’s history? Have a gathering where people bring their special foods. 

Find Patrice:
Website: www.patricegopo.com
See Patrice’s website for upcoming Ripening Time events!

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

It’s Patrice here with a super fun episode. I thought it would be lovely to check in with some of my guests from Season 1 and see what they are up to. When last we spoke, many of them had new projects or fun events in the future, so today we’re going to hear the season 1 updates. 

Unfortunately, the show notes character limit will not allow me to link directly to all their websites, books, and season 1 episodes. Instead, you can find all that information here.

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

Gabriele Davis and Our Joyful Noise

“The book honors those ancestors who struggled and sacrificed and stood up to make this family’s joy possible.” –Gabriele Davis

Today we’re talking about sound and song and celebration of the joyful noises that fill our family’s lives. 

Today’s Picture Book: Our Joyful Noise written by Gabriele Davis and illustrated by Craig Stanley

Gabriele Davis welcomes the sounds, songs and rhythms that flow through her days in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut, where she writes, bikes and reflects on the childhood memories that fire her imagination. The memory of her dad singing spirituals to Gabriele and her brothers at bedtime gave rise to OUR JOYFUL NOISE (Atheneum). Gabriele enjoys creating works that delight, inspire, empower and reflect all children. Visit her at www.gabrieledavis.com.

Book Description: A joyful, jazzy picture book following a Black family through a week of shared moments and simple pleasures, woven through with hidden musical jewels from spirituals and songs.

We move to the sounds
that FLOW through our days.
Soft sounds, low sounds, LOUD sounds,
slow sounds.
Joyful, NOISEFUL, soulful sounds.
OUR sounds.

For this loving family, each moment of the day is filled with music, from the moment they wake to the sound of Mama humming them into a happy day as she plop plop plops berries into oatmeal, to bedtime when Daddy soothes them to sleep, strong hands smoothing brows, warm and slow, sweet chariots swinging low.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Our Joyful Noise. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other mentions in this episode:
Whale Fall by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
Onomatopoeia
Our Joyful Noise playlist on Spotify
Rendition of His Eye is On the Sparrow that Gabriele just loves!

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:

1.     What is the playlist of my life? What are the songs and sounds that inspire me or comfort me or bring me joy? What are the songs that inspire me? Or help me when I’m sad?

2.     Can you make a playlist on Spotify and then share it?

3.     Discuss with others: What would happen if we made a real effort to great each morning with an attitude of joyful expectation? How might that effect the course of our day? How do we cultivate that mindset?

Find Gabriele:
Website: www.gabrieledavis.com
Facebook: @GabrieleDavisAuthor
Instagram: @IamGabrieleD 

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“The sense of loss of home, displacement, musical memories, losing family; I think all of those are things we can all relate to in different ways.” –Azadeh Westergaard

Today we’re talking about community stories of loss, how music can connect us, immigration experiences, and understanding stories from the past. 

Today’s Picture Book: The One & Only Googoosh written and illustrated by Azadeh Westergaard

Azadeh Westergaard is a NYC based Iranian-American picture book collector and book maker. She is the author and illustrator of The One & Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar and the author of A Life Electric: The Story of Nikola Tesla (illustrated by Júlia Sardà). Book honors include the 2025 Flora Stieglitz Straus Award by Bank Street College of Education, winner of the 2025 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration and finalist for the Golden Kite Awards for Picture Book Text, and an ALSC 2025 Notable Children’s Book citation.

Book Description: A celebration of one of Iran’s most iconic musical artists. The legendary Iranian singer and actress Googoosh (born Faegheh Atashin) made her stage debut at age two while performing alongside her acrobat father. By the time she reached adulthood, she was widely considered to be Iran's first superstar. Googoosh was in the prime of her career and on the brink of international stardom, but after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she was silenced and disappeared from public life for over twenty years. However, her fans did not forget her. And as they sought refuge around the globe, they found ways to keep her music alive.
 
Azadeh Westergaard has crafted an unforgettable love letter to the home she once knew in Iran and to the woman who was and still is a cultural icon—a dazzling performer known as the one and only Googoosh.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing The One & Only Googoosh. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other mentions in this episode:
Googoosh singing a duet with artist Martik
Googoosh, Iran's Daughter (Documentary)
What It Is by Lynda Berry

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:

1.     Think of a song from your childhood that is really your family’s soundtrack. Play the song, set a timer, and either make art or write with the Lynda Berry questions in mind: Where are you? What are you wearing? What’s on the wall? Etc.

2.     Have a Musical Cookie Exchange! Friends from different cultures bring your favorite song and favorite cookie to represent your culture and share in that way.

Find Azadeh:
Website: www.ahwestergaard.com
Social Media: @ahwestergaard 

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“We are not taught how to apologize. We are not taught how to communicate. We are not taught how to meta communicate.” –Melquea Smith

Today we’re talking about friendship conflict, setting the table for repairing harm, courageous communication, shame, making apologies, and restorative justice.

Today’s Picture Book: The Time Machine illustrated by Melquea Smith and written Pauline David-Sax

Throughout her illustrations, Melquea Smith encourages children to embrace the magic around them. While doing so, to unleash the long dormant childlike wonder in adults, and above all else, to not let the cynicism of the world keep them down.

Book Description: Bailey's building a time machine . . .  not to visit ancient Egypt or King Arthur's court, but to take her to last Thursday. That's the day she said the Thing that made her best friend so mad. But when it's complete, Bailey discovers the only thing harder than building a time machine is having the courage to revisit a moment you regret.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing The Time Machine. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other Mentions:

• What is an Authentic Apology Exercise- Equal Justice USA Restorative Justice Model
• 5 Ways to Suck Less at Communication - Multi-Amory podcast
• Language for Table-Setting: “The reason why we’re having this conversation is because I care about our relationship. I don’t want us to end this conversation feeling x, y, and z. I want us to come to a mutual understanding, and I want us to grow from the experience.”
• Patrice’s forthcoming anthology

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
Imagine a moment where harm was caused onto you (not something huge or a big trauma; just something small). What did you need at that moment? How did it make you feel? Now imagine a moment where you have caused harm to someone else (again not something huge). What did you need at that moment? How did you feel? What allowed you to come to a conclusion if there was one? In those two scenarios, what is something similar? What was the bridge? For example, “I needed to feel heard” when harm was caused to me and when I caused harm.

Find Melquea:
Website: www.prettykittypaintings.com
Get on Melquea's email list and get a free color page!
Melquea's illustration portfolio

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“It’s a sense of feeling seen and understood which is one of the big things we are all seeking.” –Roohi Choudhry

Today we’re talking the power of stories to help us feel seen, how the place where we are can return us to places in our memory, and how we might claim our own ancestors.

Today’s Picture Book: Memory Garden written by Zohreh Ghahremani and illustrated by Susie Ghahremani

Roohi Choudhry is a writer, teaching artist, and researcher who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Born in Pakistan and raised in southern Africa, she holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan and is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship and residencies at Hedgebrook and Djerassi. She worked as a researcher in criminal justice reform and public health, wrote for the United Nations, and facilitates creative writing workshops for interfaith groups, schools, libraries, and community organizations. Her stories and essays have appeared in Ploughshares, Callaloo, Longreads, and the Kenyon Review.  Her debut novel, Outside Women (University Press of Kentucky, March 2025), was named one of the "most anticipated feminist books of 2025" by Ms. Magazine and described as “riveting… an incisive story of how change happens” by Publishers’ Weekly.

Book Description: A lively afternoon together in Nana’s garden is full of laughter, discovery, and connection. In lyrical text that blends past and present, Memory Garden takes us to the places we leave behind but never forget. 
 
Written and illustrated by a loving mother daughter duo, the nostalgic text and vibrant illustrations invite us to enjoy the beauty of Iranian gardens – and culture - in an adventure that will resonate with readers of all backgrounds.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Memory Garden. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other Mentions:

Outside Women by Roohi Choudhry, her debut novel! Get your copy today :).

Making Picture Book Magic with Susanna Leonard Hill 

University Press of Kentucky

32 Sounds (documentary)

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:

1)    Go on a walk and be present to the sensory details and all the things we are absorbing of a place as we are moving through it. Make a list of what you notice or an artistic map. Then this will take us to our memories of other places.

2)    When you are thinking about the place you are in right now, ask yourself, “What does this remind you of?” What places in memory are existing alongside the present moment. Talk with others about this.

Find Roohi:

Website: roohichoudhry.com

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“Trauma is multifaceted and moves through your body in different ways.” –Shannon Gibney

As we approach five years since the murder of George Floyd, we are talking today about trauma and processing trauma, creating space for people to feel, and everyone having a child within them.

Today’s Picture Book: We Miss You, George Floyd  by Shannon Gibney and illustrated by Leeya Rose Jackson

Shannon Gibney is a writer, educator, and activist. She is author of several books, including The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption, which received a Michael L. Printz Honor and a Minnesota Book Award; See No Color and Dream Country, both winners of Minnesota Book Awards; and Sam and the Incredible African and American Food Fight, a children’s picture book about a cross-cultural family also published by the University of Minnesota Press. A Bush Artist and McKnight Writing Fellow, Gibney teaches at Minneapolis College, where she was named Educator of the Year in 2023. She lives with her two children in Minneapolis.

Book Description: In this candid and powerful book, a young girl hears about an unfolding tragedy in her neighborhood. It's on the news, on the radio, and talked about in her community, and she learns of the murder of George Floyd--and about who he was. As she tries to reckon with the senseless violence of his killing, she finds solace at George Floyd Square. The space is filled with the art of protest and resistance, and she is moved to create her own signs and drawings, lifting her voice to harmonize with the outpouring: "We miss you, George Floyd."

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing We Miss You, George Floyd. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:

1.     What was your experience during the time of George Floyd’s murder and the uprisings? Tell a story or share a memory.

2.     Give people artistic tools and materials and ask them to create something about how they felt during the time of George Floyd’s murder and the uprisings.

Find Shannon:

Website: www.shannongibney.com 
Bluesky: @shannongibney

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“We know how much meaning and growth we can gain by putting things out into the world, such as gratitude.” –Marie Tang

Today we’re talking about gratitude and appreciation for what was and expressing gratitude to previous generations for sacrifices they made.

Today’s Picture Book: Baba’s Peach Tree by Marie Tang and illustrated by Seo Kim

Marie Tang was born in Hong Kong, raised in New York City, and was a resident of Shanghai for over a decade. The unique characters and neon lights of the “Big City” have been an ever-present source of inspiration for her. She proudly tells tales of the grit, tenacity, and compassion of the Asian people.

Book Description: Behind their old stone house, Tao Hua and her father, Baba, discover good fortune: a peach tree. Baba prunes and tends to the tree. He calls it a blessing, like good shoes, hot rice, and books. And for a long time, the peach tree offers them fruit and hope for a better life. But time passes, and so do the seasons, and, one day, the tree does not blossom. But life blossoms in a different way when Baba comes home and announces that he got a job in the Big City, where there are good schools and opportunities. And so the seasons pass, and, one day, when Baba is very old, he and his daughter return to their old home and to new peach trees–to old memories and new beginnings.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Baba’s Peach Tree. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other mentions in this episode:
Yuna's Cardboard Castles by Marie Tang and illustrated by Jieting Chen
The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
1. How can I express a note of gratitude to those who came before me?
2. Write down a note of appreciation
3. Consider learning the language of previous generations if you don’t know it
4. Consider giving Baba’s Peach Tree a book to someone and sharing that you recognize what that person has done for you.
5. Ask someone about their experiences, what did they felt when they were living somewhere else, was it difficult moving, etc.?

Find Marie:
Website: www.marie-tang.com
Instagram: @marietangauthor

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“There’s a lot of room . . . for us to be more connected to ourselves, more connected to our culture.” –Nadia Alexis

Today we’re talking with picture book enthusiast Nadia Alexis about finding our way back to old memories, connecting with our stories, and feeling seen.

Today’s Picture Book: Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings written by Francie LaTour and illustrated by Ken Daley 

Nadia Alexis, a poet, writer, and photographer from Harlem, is the author of Beyond the Watershed (CavanKerry Press, March 2025), a poetry and photography collection that was also a finalist for the 2022 Ghost Peach Press Prize. Born to Haitian immigrants, Nadia’s work has been widely published and exhibited. She has earned numerous honors, including a Literary Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a Mississippi STAR Teacher Award, and recognition as the Poet of the Year Honoree of the Haitian Creatives Digital Awards. A fellow of the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and The Watering Hole, she holds a PhD and MFA from the University of Mississippi. She lives in Mississippi.

Book Description: Every winter, a young girl flies to Haiti to visit her Auntie Luce, a painter. The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow -- the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt's home in the mountains. The girl has always loved Auntie Luce's paintings -- the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country's independence. Through Haiti's colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt's brush.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other Mentions:
Beyond the Watershed, Nadia’s debut poetry and photography collection!!! Purchase through your local indie bookseller. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
1.     What are the sights, sounds, smells, tastes of where I am from? And how does that make me who I am?
2.     When did you first feel seen? 

Find Nadia:
Website: www.NadiaAlexis.com

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!

“To say that you don’t see [color] is first of all actually not true, but it also diminishes people because if you don’t see someone’s color—which color is really about race and culture—then that means you’re not seeing the person completely and you’re not acknowledging that racism actually exists.” –Valerie Bolling

Today we’re talking about seeing color, pursuing change, connecting with others, developing empathy, and seeing people completely.

Today’s Picture Book: I See Color by Valerie Bolling and Kailei Pew and illustrated by Laylie Frazier
Valerie Bolling is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel seen and heard, valued and validated. She’s the author of six picture books -- LET’S DANCE! (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner); TOGETHER WE RIDE; TOGETHER WE SWIM (2023 Kirkus Prize Finalist); RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN!; BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!; and I SEE COLOR (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) -- as well as a Scholastic Acorn early reader series, RAINBOW DAYS. Sharing her books with children and inspiring them to write their own stories brings Valerie immense joy!
Book Description: I See Color is a powerful and direct response to those who use the phrase "I don't see color" to dismiss race and racism. This book celebrates revolutionaries from various backgrounds who have lived fearlessly, faced oppression, and fought for change. I See Color is a picture book that affirms people of color—of all shades—by celebrating their achievements and contributions to society.  Part ode to an array of beautiful skin tones and part introduction to change-makers in history, this book is a perfect conversation starter for readers everywhere.

Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing I See Color. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/

Other Mentions:
Kamalani Hurley on Season 1 Episode 16
Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom by Valerie Bolling (releases July 14, 2025)
A Plea for Justice and The March for Hope (forthcoming; visit Valerie’s website for updates)

Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
1. Who Am I? How do I identify? How do I honor these parts of myself? How do I share them with others? (consider creating art or a collage that has these different parts of yourself)
2. How does the other person identify? What can I learn from them? How does this knowledge make me learn even more about myself?
3. When’s a time you’ve felt unseen or that you were seen or judged only for your color?

Find Valerie:
Website: www.valeriebolling.com | Instagram: @ValerieBollingAuthor | Bluesky: @ValerieBolling

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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, released April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!

Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!