Ellen Potter (@Ellenpotter), author of The Sea Pony, the third book in her Piper Green and the Fairy Tree chapter book series, stops by the podcast to talk about free-range kids, the gnome tree, and approaching the book's plot as a puzzle. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Laura Murray (@LauraMurrayBook), author of The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo, stops by the podcast to talk about needing a creative outlet, going on the hunt for literary devices, and not getting anywhere if we're not persistent. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Aaron Becker (@storybreathing), author-illustrator of Return, his final book in the Journey trilogy, stops by the podcast to talk about the power and limits of the imagination, his parable for growing up, and how a parent can be saved by their own kid. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Lin Oliver (@linoliver), SCWBI cofounder and author most recently of the Fantastic Frame series, stops by the podcast to talk about loving a painting from the inside out, measuring success by how you feel, and having kids that are not at all interested in trips to the art museum. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Michael Slack (@michaelslackart), illustrator of Pirasaurs, written by Josh Funk, stops by the podcast to talk about being inspired by the "Convoy" trucker song, find the characters of your story and realizing them, and that point in his drawing career when he erased the tail of his monkey drawing and instinctually drew a pick-up truck instead. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Randy Cecil, author-illustrator of Lucy, stops by the podcast to talk about a little lost dog named Lucy, breaking a story into acts and scenes, and requiring so much to tell so little. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Deborah Marcero (@deborahmarcero), author-illustrator of Ursa's Light, stops by the podcast to talk about attending nErDcamp, failure and how having a big dream is always good, and assuring that every detail points to the story moving forward. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Beth Kephart (@BethKephart), author of This is the Story of You, stops by the podcast to talk about the choreography of sentences, the willingness to wait within the complex, and the unconquerable urge to write. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Evan Turk (@evanturkart), author-illustrator of The Storyteller, stops by the podcast to talk about the thousand-year-old tradition, what happens in the moment when you aren't drawing, and capturing life as it happens. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Lucy Ruth Cummins (@lucyruth), author-illustrator of A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals, stops by the podcast to talk about knowing when to stop, playing it close to your chest, and the essential role of predators when make-believe playing as animals. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message