The Children's Book Podcast

Saadia Faruqi (@SaadiaFaruqi) and Laura Shovan (@LauraShovan) share A PLACE AT THE TABLE. This new middle grade novel in two voices examines the growing awareness of who you are outside of your family, an experience many of us go through as we enter middle school. It's also available as an audiobook, and one so good, if I can just say, that I finished it in nearly a day. What brings Sara and Elizabeth together may start at an after school cooking club, but their friendship has all of the complexity of two individuals who are at the same time similar and different as can be. Saadia and Laura explore the experience of being a first-generation American through their main characters, drawing from each of their childhoods to tell a rich and beautiful story of navigating bias, confronting prejudice, defending friends, and protecting who you are uncompromisingly. The story asks readers to consider what makes a person privileged, and what to do if you recognize that privilege in your own experiences. As Saadia and Laura note in our conversation, so many kids want to stand up but don't know how. This story is one answer to that question. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Tameka Fryer Brown (@teebrownkidlit) shares BROWN BABY LULLABY, illustrated by AG Ford. It's a story about the intimacy of new parenthood, that time when everything else disappears and the whole world becomes baby. I find that the selection of baby books centering families of color created by authors and illustrators of color is lacking. Moreover, I find the beauty of this book in particular to be really outstanding. Find a baby or an audience of a new parent or two, and enjoy reading aloud this beautiful book to them. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Christina Soontornvat (@soontornvat) shares A WISH IN THE DARK. Christina's newest middle grade novel brings readers to a city on the brink of revolution. For Pong, Nok, and Soomkit, there is much to be learned about life. Who can you trust? Who is worthy of love and light? Where do you turn when the ones you looked to are gone? It is a sweeping and exceptional story, a retelling of Les Miserables set in Thailand, and a reminder that every person has the potential to change the world and share a light. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Alice Faye Duncan (@AliceFa41743636) and debut children's book illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow share JUST LIKE A MAMA. JUST LIKE A MAMA shines a light on caregivers and children not connected by blood, but by love. There are many different reasons why kids might not live with their biological parents and this is a truth that Alice has had on her heart a long time as this book idea germinated. What resulted, I think you'll agree, was well-worth the wait. Listeners, please make sure you find the opportunity to read this story and to be moved by the care that brought it into being. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Juana Medina (@juanamedina) shares JUANA AND LUCAS: BIG PROBLEMAS. The JUANA AND LUCAS series are among my favorite chapter books ever. Juana, as it turns out, is also one of my favorite people. We first connected two or three years ago at the Baltimore Book Fest. Since then we've been trying to plan a time to chat, but we've also had the privilege of watching one another's kids grow up in the process. Juana writes a lot of herself into her JUANA AND LUCAS series. And she talks in this recording about how the sense of otherness often gets pushed into our lives. We also connect over the realization that we can all identify with struggling and learning something new. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Lil Miss Hot Mess (@LilMissHotMess) shares about her debut picture book, THE HIPS ON THE DRAG QUEEN GO SWISH, SWISH, SWISH. Lil Miss Hot Mess has been performing in drag for many years now, more than the age of her readers at Drag Queen Story Hour, but it's because of those readers and those story hours that led to the creation of this picture book. Set to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus", Lil Miss Hot Mess's invitation to swish, stomp, shimmy, snap, and bling pairs with the vibrant and energetic art of Olga de Dios to create a moment with readers full of fun, fabulousness, and truth. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Rahele Jomepour Bell (@RaheleJomepour) shares OUR FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR, a new picture book written by author A. E. Ali that takes place in a classroom where every child's favorite holiday is celebrated throughout the school year. Do you have a favorite day of the year? I share mine in this conversation, as does Rahele. The favorite days shared by the children in this story make me smile not only for the reasons that make those days favorites, but also for the glimpse into the lives and families we see centered and honored throughout this book. It's clear Rahele and A. E. Ali took great care to bring this story to readers. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Flavia Z. Drago (@Diafla) shares GUSTAVO THE SHY GHOST. In her debut picture book, Flavia tells the story of Gustavo, a ghost who really wants company and to be around friends, but when he's around others just can't seem to be noticed. It's also about sharing with others that thing that you really love. Shyness can be a complicated thing, can't it? It's not always that you're afraid of others or of other situations. Sometimes it boils down to just wanting others to invite you into their play or their conversations. Flavia and I talk all about shyness and monsters and how other people can be just as scared as you are to meet others, and that makes being shy a little less lonely in a way, doesn't it? You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Valerie Bolling (@valerie_bolling) shares LET'S DANCE! with a team of 5th grade student co-hosts. Valerie's debut picture book is called LET'S DANCE and it's illustrated by Maine Diaz. All told, there are less than 75 words in the main text, but with those selectively chosen verbs and adjectives Valerie leave a lot of space for the illustrator to bring the movement of dance to the page, and that's exactly what happens. Valerie talks with us about growing up the only child in a house of seven adults. She shares her favorite dance, which is kuku in case you're curious. And she shares how she's only responsible for a third of the book (and talks lovingly on the other two thirds that helped to make this book what it is). You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Picture Book Summit Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (@KosteckiShaw) shares PAPA BRINGS ME THE WORLD with a team of 5th grade student co-hosts. There's a part in all of us that longs for opportunities granted with age, but for now held just-out-of-reach. In this story, Lulu's dad is a photojournalist. His work takes him all over the world, but he always sends bits of his experiences home to his daughter in the form of these gifts. Lulu longs to travel with her papa, but for now these treasures must suffice. But what Lulu holds most closely in her heart are the stories in which her papa envelopes these items. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message