The Children's Book Podcast

Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright share TWINS, an all new middle grade graphic novel. It's fair to say that both Varian and Shannon put a lot of themselves into making this comic, but what surprised me most was how much of all of us are in these panels. Twins Maureen and Francine are off to middle school and Fran has had just about enough of always being mistaken for her sister. So she sets out to carve her own path. Unfortunately there's collateral damage to making such big attempts and it sets the girls as literal opponents in the race for class president. You and your readers are gonna love this one a whole lot! 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

Thrity Umrigar shares SUGAR IN MILK and BINNY'S DIWALI. These books represent two different strands of Thrity's life this year, as she puts it. Artist Khoa Le lends exquisite illustrations to SUGAR IN MILK to tell a story within a story of a girl who has recently immigrated to America and struggles to feel she belongs. The girl's auntie comforts her with the timeless tale of an Indian king, a group of Persian refugees, and a full glass of milk. BINNY'S DIWALI is a celebration in lights and community, brought vibrantly to the page with the help of Nidhi Chanani's colorful art. 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

Zetta Elliott shares A PLACE INSIDE OF ME. Zetta is a force on this earth and I had the good great fortune to connect with her to discuss A PLACE INSIDE OF ME, her new picture book illustrated by Noa Denmon. Zetta's passion for writing as both a space for growth and for taking risks has led to her having more than a few really great stories to tell, and more than a few friends readily volunteering her name as a truthsayer and a beacon of light. In A PLACE INSIDE OF ME, Zetta helps readers honor all of their emotions as a community responds to an act of racial violence and the story's protagonist processes the trauma. I can scarcely put into words how A PLACE INSIDE OF ME moved me except to say that it's a book I think about and return to even now, a long while after that first read. 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

Eva Chen shares 3 2 1 AWESOME! and ROXY THE LAST UNISAURUS REX. Eva's JUNO VALENTINE series brings forth the world of fashion in an inviting and inclusive way that Eva herself describes as something of a fashion feminist fairy tale. The latest in the Junoverse is 3 2 1 AWESOME!: 20 Fearless Women Who Dared to be Different. Illustrated by Juno Valentine artist Derek Desierto, this book counts down amazing accomplishments by women across the globe in a format that adds up to a whole lot of awe. Eva's latest book is called ROXY THE LAST UNISAURUS REX. It's illustrated by Matthew Rivera and in this story Eva embraces biracial representation and feeling like you're the only one. As Eva shares, "every kid goes through a phase where they're unsure of themselves or their place in the universe." Eva Chen is on a mission to make sure that every kid knows that they're home is right here. 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

Fred Bowen and James Ransome share GRIDIRON: STORIES FROM 100 YEARS OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. GRIDIRON is a work of love and devotion and history and fandom. It tells in a collection of brief chapters a history of a sport made up in moments, from memorable plays to memorable leaders and memorable events that allowed more people into the game. And it does it with gorgeous, energetic, and often emblematic illustrations. Through it all, the sport, the figures, and the history, is an opportunity to bring people together. 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

Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton share JULIE'S LIBRARY. Julie Andrews is a woman who needs no introduction, so perhaps you'll humor me as we do this a little differently. You, I'm guessing, have grown up with Julie Andrews. So have I. Her film works alone were staples of my childhood and, in turn, we have shared them with our kids over and over again. Julie has appeared in movies we've streamed and she is a face our son readily recognizes when she appears on screen. Her life and career are an inspiration to many, but she is also someone whom my wife has looked to for strength and inspiration throughout her career as a vocalist and music teacher. We quickly binged all of the episodes of Julie's Greenroom on Netflix as soon as it launched. And now the universe has given me something amazing in common with Julie because Julie Andrews is now a podcast host. Launched in May of 2020, JULIE'S LIBRARY is a brand new podcast from American Public Media with Julie and her daughter, children's author and educator Emma Walton Hamilton. Julie and Emma invite you into their library to read their favorite children's books. Every story comes to life with sound, music and activities. Authors, kids and other special guests chime in, too! It's a show that will inspire lively conversations and a lifelong love of reading. 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

Tami Charles (@TamiWritesStuff) shares ALL BECAUSE YOU MATTER, a new picture book illustrated by Bryan Collier. Tami wrote this book for her son while thinking how to protect him from the cruelties of the world while also exposing him to the beauties. Is it not a parent's job to protect their child and help to prepare them for the world they are entering? And if you don't tell them how much they matter, who will? Much like children growing up, this is a conversation that went by much too fast. I sincerely hope you enjoy 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

Linda Sue Park (@LindaSuePark) shares PRAIRIE LOTUS and GURPLE AND PREEN. Linda Sue's newest middle grade novel, PRAIRIE LOTUS, takes place in Dakota Territory in the 1880s. Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will note that this is the same time and location of LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE. That isn't by coincidence. Linda Sue was also an emphatic fan of Wilder's LITTLE HOUSE books and would often imagine herself in the world of those stories. This was a world, though, that would have harshly rejected Linda Sue and her family. In a novel nearly a lifetime in the making, Linda Sue shares how she reconciled her childhood love of an iconic book series with a need to hear the voices who were silenced throughout Wilder's writings. In Park's words, "All kids need books about all kids." 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

Deborah Wiles (@DeborahWiles101) shares KENT STATE. Deborah is known for a great number of outstanding middle grade novels, but her YA debut is one that I believe will fully stop you in your tracks. KENT STATE is a novel in verse or perhaps more accurately a novel in voices about the events on May 4th, 1970 which led to members of the Ohio National Guard opening fire into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. It is a book about events that took place over 50 years ago, but it is also inseparably a story about what is going on right now. It's a novel that examines the importance of social justice and what it means to be an American. It is a retelling that will move you. 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

Meera Sriram (@Meeratsriram) shares A GIFT FROM AMMA: MARKET DAY IN INDIA, illustrated by Marionna Cabassa. I am always keeping an eye out for books that take the familiar and reshape and reshare in a new way. In this book, we take a color walk alongside our main character, noticing pinks and blacks and reds and all of the other colors of the market. But this isn't just a walk for the eyes. It's a walk for all the senses. Readers watch the charcoal black roast sweetcorn and kebabs while hearing the black drums beat and boom. They smell the powdery spice scent of turmeric, yellow like sunshine dust, while hearing a yellow rickshaw pass. Meera has captured the sensory experience of the markets she grew up visiting and she shares them with all of our readers. It is a place you'll want to visit over and over again. And centering all of this is a child's love for her mother. 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