The Children's Book Podcast

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 E

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 w

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 

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 supp

Frank Murphy (@frankmurphy2009) and Kayla Harren share A GIRL LIKE YOU, co-authored with his wife Carla Murphy. Frank affirms with this sequel to A BOY LIKE YOU why the world needs every kind of kid. Sensitive, outgoing, smart, brave, caring, energetic, creative, and whatever other words that might come to mind as you think of the kids in your life. The first book was written in response to Frank’s observation of all the problems going on in the world, and to how the media continued to blame those problems most often on guns and on boys. We talk a lot about addressing toxic masculinity, but not all masculinity is toxic. As Frank shares, “there are great ways to be a man.” Under the talented hand of Kayla Harren’s pencil and brush strokes, boys from all kinds of families, neighborhoods, interests, and skin tones are seen and loved and valued on the page. The same care and respect was taken in centering girls for the sequel, A GIRL LIKE YOU, only now Frank invited in another voice to help tell the story and one

Adam Gidwitz (@AdamGidwitz) and Emma Otheguy (@EmmaOtheguy) share THE MADRE de AGUAS OF CUBA, book #5 in the UNICORN RESCUE SOCIETY series, illustrated by Hatem Aly. If you have been following along with this chapter book series, you have no doubt noticed that it’s doing something a little different than the other books out there. Series frontrunner Adam Gidwitz has paired up with a different #ownvoices author for each of the books since the first sequel. The resulting titles have taken readers all around the world to explore region-specific mythical creatures while also exploring the intersection of culture and current events. The latest installment takes place in Cuba and at the hands of skilled storyteller Emma Otheguy the characters seek to rescue a mysterious creature amid a threat to the area’s water supply. As Adam would say, this book and the others in the series are filled with “serious fun”. And if this is your first entry into the series, have no fear. This book is a great starting point and catche

Samara Cole Doyon (@HeartRoot_Fire) and Kaylani Juanita (@kaylanijuanita) share MAGNIFICENT HOMESPUN BROWN. This picture book is so many things and, whether you are reading it the first time or the twenty-first time, there is something new to discover with each new read. This is due in large part to the terrific balance between rich, poetic text and lushly detailed, beautiful illustrations. Samara’s and Kaylani’s combined gifts resulted in a stunning and resonant story that is, itself, a gift to read. It is a celebration of all shades of brown and the faces and families whose deep, secret brown, whose feathery brown, whose amber brown, whose radiant brown, whose magnificent, homespun brown is part of what makes them so magnificent. And because the two did not connect by voice previously, this conversation is a first connection and a shared appreciation captured on digital “film”. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get a copy of this boo

Rashmi Bismark (@rashmibismark) shares FINDING OM, her debut picture book illustrated by Morgan Huff and published by Mango & Marigold Press. In the story, Anu explores the mantra Om with her much-loved grandfather Appuppa. Rashmi was drawn to writing about the southeast asian experience and reflects on the #ownvoices responsibility in communication through art in a picture book. I found it fascinating to learn about the balance between leaving space for the illustrator in a picture book as an author and the importance of communicating details in order to assure, as an #ownvoices author, an authentic representation of Anu and her Indian-American family. This attention to detail extends all the way to how Anu’s family members are sitting as the center on Om. There’s so much more to share, but I’m going to let my conversation with Rashmi do the talking. 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

Farhana Zia shares LALI’S FEATHER, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman and published by Peachtree Publishing Company. It’s a story about a girl who finds a feather and sets about trying to find the owner. What she finds instead is a good number of other birds who think their feathers are superior in beauty or sturdiness or usefulness. Of course, none of these opinions are useful for Lali. But what’s more is that Lali is unperturbed by their comments. She seems to be consumed with an irrepressible joy for this small treasure. 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

Kelly Starling Lyons (@kelstarly) shares GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY. Kelly is a wonder to me. Her books live in nearly every collection of our school library. Her JADA JONES series is so well-loved, that just mentioning her name in our library had students literally giddy to read her next book. She had not one but two picture books included in our mock Coretta Scott King award last year including GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY, a book illustrated by Daniel Minter for which he was awarded a Caldecott honor. Kelly’s newest book is called TIARA’S HAT PARADE, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell, and it centers on a daughter’s love for her mother and the heartfelt way she responds when momma’s millinery business is forced to close. We squeeze a whole lot into this one conversation, so be sure to put in a list of holds requests at your library to check out all of Kelly’s books for yourself. 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

Mike Curato (@MikeCurato) shares FLAMER, his YA graphic novel about a boy at scout camp the summer of 1995. This book is a lot of things. It’s a coming-of-age story. It confronts ideas of racism and homophobia. It looks at body image and coming to terms with identity in every sense of the word. It deals with issues of religion and of suicidal ideation. It is a powerful and moving story with a climax that rises like a phoenix from the flames. But we’ll get to all of that in our conversation. 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

Lynnette Mawhinney (@lkmawhinney) shares LULU THE ONE AND ONLY, her debut picture book. There is a lot to be said for the question, “What are you?” It’s a question that dehumanizes the person at which it’s directed, but it also reveals a lot of it’s asker. Lynnette wrote the story as a means of showing real realities for biracial kids. To quote Lynnette,“We constantly want to put people in categories.” This conversation, dear listener, is an attempt to get to the bottom of why that is, to acknowledge the humanity in everyone, and to hold space for courageous conversations that seek to  create spaces where we preserve the dignity of every kid. If you can’t tell, I had a really amazing time talking with Lynette. 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 A

Chad Sell (@chadsell01) is the co-creator of the CARDBOARD KINGDOM series and author-illustrator of DOODLEVILLE. In the world of DOODLEVILLE, doodles take on a literal life of their own. What you create might say a lot about you or your personality, but how you manage with your doodles when they start playing by their own rules is a completely different story. Drew is a doodler and she creates an entire world for her and her classmates' doodles to inhabit. She also creates a giant doodle which she nicknames Levi. But Levi doesn’t turn out to be what her classmates expect, and as Drew tries to undo her doodle she unleashes a monster. Now Drew needs to figure out how to get things under control before Levi gobbles up or destroys everything the kids have worked so hard to create. It’s an all-ages graphic novel sure to inspire doodlers everywhere, and one that will leave you looking differently at your sketchbook for sure. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthew

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 La

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. -