The Children's Book Podcast

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 ge

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) Li

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

Derrick Barnes (@Author_DDB) shares I AM EVERY GOOD THING and We're joined by my 4th and 5th grade podcast cohosts. CROWN: AN ODE TO THE FRESH CUT was received widely with praise and fanfare and awards and state book lists and my students, as well, were fully enamored with the story of the confidence carried along with a fresh haircut. So when there was an opportunity to speak with Derrick about I AM EVERY GOOD THING, his next book with longtime friend and illustrator Gordon C. James, I thought bringing on my students would be extra special. Derrick talks about the importance to see each other through the same lens, but also recognize our differences in the process. He reminded my students that we define who we are. He left a mark both in this book and in our conversation that will endure and resonate with my readers and with me for a long time. We’re so excited for you to hear this conversation, too. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (@jtbigelow) shares YOUR NAME IS A SONG and my 4th and 5th grade podcast students join as cohosts! Jamilah’s newest picture book is illustrated by Luisa Uribe, and Luisa’s art absolutely dances all across the pages to help bring this story to life. The girl who leads our story is upset after her teacher and classmates struggle to pronounce her name. As they walk home, the girl’s mom shares that her name is a song, and that names can stretch out like love songs, they can come from your chest and your heart, they can be fire, or strong like a storm. For any child who has ever felt, for any reason, ashamed or embarrassed by their name, Jamilah’s story sings through the noise and the anger and the hurt to offer comfort. We had so much fun with this interview and we hope you’ll enjoy it as well. 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 visiti

Sonja K. Solter (@SolterK) shares WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT I KNOW. Tori, our young protagonist, tells us her story, beginning with why she does not want anything to do with uncle Andy. But it’s those around Tori whose job it is to believe her, and that does not come easily at first. Sonja’s book is as much about being a survivor as it is about believing the victim. It is about sexual assault, but it’s also about the ripples traveling outward from trauma. It is a story I read, was challenged by, and returned to several times, and it’s a story I think belongs in your awareness and on your bookshelves as well. 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

Seamus Kirst (@SeamusKirst) shares PAPA, DADDY, & RILEY, which is illustrated by Devon Holzwarth. This book, I think, speaks to a question many of our kids ask themselves: “Is my family right? Is this how families are supposed to look?” That question is one no child should ever have to ask, but it can come up as kids form their understanding of the world. We compare. We learn. We try to figure out what’s right, what’s wrong, and what is just different from our own experience. In the case of this story, a classmate questions Riley, who is dropped off at school by her two dads. The classmate wants to know who is Riley’s mom. And the way Riley is confronted causes in her a lot of internal questioning.  “But the thing that makes a family a family, as Riley’s Daddy reminds, “is…” an answer I’ll make you wait to hear. And it will be worth 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 (an

Danielle Dufayet (@DanielleDufayet) shares YOU ARE YOUR STRONG and FANTASTIC YOU!. I first connected with YOU ARE YOUR STRONG, Danielle’s debut picture book, when I was moved by the way her text gave space for readers to acknowledge their feelings. Using language that affirms difficult or confusing feelings and exploring where we find our strength or what pulls strength out was, to be frank, an approach I found quite disarming as I read. It was as if I hadn’t realized what feelings I was holding onto and encountering YOU ARE YOUR STRONG held up a mirror to what emotions I was afraid to face. Her next book, FANTASTIC YOU!, similarly spoke the words I knew I needed to hear as a child, and I needed to hear even now as an educator and a parent and a person walking in the world. Naturally, Danielle and I spend time in this conversation exploring that very idea of self-acknowledging hurt or pain or sadness and self-regulating in order to love and care for yourself and others. I hope you, too, find strength in these

Anastasia Higginbotham (@AHigginBooks) shares NOT MY IDEA: A BOOK ABOUT WHITENESS. Anastasia’s Ordinary Terrible Things book series has taken on the topics of divorce, death, and sex using straightforward language and respecting the reader with each page. Her most recent entry in the series is called NOT MY IDEA: A BOOK ABOUT WHITENESS and it has been one of my most-talked about books ever since a colleague shared it with me at the beginning of this school year. Anastasia talks at length about the work that went into creating this book, laying the art from found materials, handwriting the text, and crafting the story around her own experience of processing racial injustice and White supremacy. It’s an absolutely exceptional book and one that provides the necessary space and language for confronting Whiteness and working against the historic and ongoing oppression of Black men, women, and children. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blog. Get

Michael Genhart (@MGenhart) shares ACCORDIONLY, a picture book about two grandfathers with, at first glance, not a whole lot in common. What they do share is not only a love of the accordion but, more importantly, a family. Michael’s work tends to live in a space of welcoming and family. I know him previously from RAINBOW: A FIRST BOOK OF PRIDE, a soft introduction to rainbow families, as well as LOVE IS LOVE, a picture book that reminds us, as Lin Manuel Miranda once said, that love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, and that love is for everyone and between anyone. 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

Jewell Parker Rhodes (@jewell_p_rhodes) shares BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER. In her new middle grade novel, Jewell explores colorism, the school-to-prison pipeline, the history of Alexandre Dumas, and the sport of fencing. Donte and Trey are brothers, but Donte’s skin is dark, like his mom’s, and most new people have a hard time believing that they’re brothers, especially because Trey’s skin is light. Donte’s school, it’s fair to say, labels him as a problem because of the color of his skin. The people in Donte’s life all play critical roles in his survival, for help or for harm, and when Jewell weaves fencing and an Olympic medaled coach into the whole mix, what results is a moving and thoughtful story about race, dignity, and family. 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) Libr

I want to take a moment to speak directly to all of you about recent events. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Trayvon Martin. Freddie Gray. Janet Wilson. Pamela Turner. Christopher Whitfield. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. Their deaths alongside the deaths of countless others at the hands of the police and the hands of fearful White people are tragic, intolerable, and remembered.  These black lives matter. ALL black lives matter. These black experiences matter. ALL black experiences matter. These black voices matter. ALL Black voices matter. These black stories matter. ALL black stories matter. As I continue to record and produce episodes with people from all across our country writing stories for all different children, I want to reiterate my commitment to using this platform to lift marginalized voices and their stories. This work is ongoing, though it is also of the moment, and I will continue to communicate my value of these stories and these voices through the interviews I conduct and share in t

Aram Kim (@StudioAram) shares LET’S GO TO TAEKWONDO!, a picture book that follows the same characters we met in NO KIMCHI FOR ME! into a setting not just about learning the martial arts, but also about bringing awareness to your mental health. I asked Aram if taekwondo was an interest shared from childhood. It wasn’t and, in fact it was something she spent time and experience learning. And from that comes this quote that I think introduces our conversation perfectly: “If I resist learning something new, I’m not qualified to write this book.” My friends, what Aram delivers readers is both qualified and beautiful. 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/messa

Charles Waters (@waterscharles) shares DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD: POEMS, QUOTES, AND ANECDOTES FROM A TO Z. Charles and Irene Latham were last on this podcast two years ago to share CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?: POEMS OF RACE, MISTAKES, AND FRIENDSHIP. Their new book together, DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD, is beautifully illustrated cover to cover by Mehrdokht Amini. The layout of the book is stunning, beginning with a poem addressing a culturally responsive topic, explaining the poetic form, expanding on the poem with an anecdote, and then inviting readers to take one small action or do one small activity relating to the topic. It’s a powerhouse of a book and I think this interview will speak for itself in that regard. Plus, hearing Charles recite poems is one of my favorite things ever! 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.   Than

Victoria Jamieson (@JamiesonV) and Omar Mohamed (@dantey114) share WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED, a graphic novel based on Omar's experience as a Somalian refugee Kenya. Omar's story is one that you won’t soon forget. It is a story about family and about surviving. It’s a story about education and advocating for yourself. In Omar’s experience, he says “the worst part about being in a refugee camp is that it’s monotonous and boring.” This is where Victoria’s skills as a storyteller and cartoonist shine. The comic has a strong sense of setting, helping give purpose to all of it’s characters and how their lives intersect. WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED is the first book since safe-at-home that I’ve connected over with a student. Emma, one of my 3rd graders, share it over Zoom during one library class and we each immediately fell into a moment of book love as we realized we were each reading the same story. Emma and her sister Hannah are mentioned throughout this conversation, as well as the amazing ways these readers were

Hallee Adelman (@HalleeAdelman) shares WAY PAST MAD and THE QUIET SHIP. Hallee’s books reflect big emotions and normalizing these big emotions we feel. WAY PAST MAD involves the quickly escalating feelings of anger and frustration when one thing after another feels like it’s working against us. Those feelings can be hard to get over, but the frustration can also be compounded when we pass those feelings on to others. Emotional intelligence is a strength afforded to some. And what a gift it is when one of those individuals helps us all to understand those big feelings that we’re feeling. 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

Bethan Woollvin (@bethanwoollvin) shares BO THE BRAVE, a new picture book about a young princess on the hunt for monsters. All of Bethan’s picture books up to this point have been retellings of well-known fairy tales, but with a twist. LITTLE RED featured an empowered child unwilling to be bested by the wolf. RAPUNZEL refused to be confined by fear in the witch’s tower. HANSEL & GRETEL has wicked children who tease a witch unrelentingly, and they get what’s coming to them. Bethan’s newest picture book is an original fairy tale and it centers on Bo, a young princess who yearns to be invited along on her brothers’ quest for monsters. When Bo sets out on her own, she discovers that monsters are, quite unjustly, what we make them out to be. And from that point forward, Bo seeks to see the individuals she encounters as who they are, not what the stories say they should be.  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 s

Irene Latham (@Irene_Latham), Karim Shamsi-Basha (@arabinalabama), and Yuko Shimizu (@yukoart) share THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO. This true story is set in Syria in the town of Aleppo during recent wartime. While most of the city sought refuge and fled the city, many could not leave or chose to stay behind to help. This is a story about one of those helpers. Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel, known to all as Alaa, is an ambulance driver who stayed behind to serve his city. I’m going to let the conversation do the talking here because this is a conversation I think will really 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: Bookclub (Patreon) Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Hello my beautiful booknerds.  I am hard at work on another batch of episodes to share with all of you and I am really, really excited about what’s coming up. There is no shortage of truly stunning books being published. Books that I know will be on my shelves and on my mind for a long while. Books that I want to talk about and I want you to hear about. Books made even better by listening to the creators share how these stories came to be what we are holding in our hands or listening to in our earbuds. Today, I’m bringing back the monthly bookclub, new and improved. For $25 you can receive one book per month from a title featured on the podcast. Books are hand-selected in partnership with Brain Lair Bookstore, ship anywhere in the U.S. (shipping included), and are also accompanied by a special Bookclub mini podcast episode available to all patrons at this tier, breaking down just what makes this book so special and set apart. You love children’s books. You love independent bookstores. You love this podcast. L

Matthew Cordell (@cordellmatthew) shares HELLO, NEIGHBOR!: THE KIND AND CARING WORLD OF MR. ROGERS. Matt was first on the show back in 2015 for a book called WISH. At the time I used to close each episode with this question: I’m assembling an all-star kidlit kickball team? Who would you want to be on your team? Fred Rogers, he answered without hesitation. Like many, I’ve watched Matt’s career over the past decade and I’ve been moved by the stories he’s chosen to work on. The works are often quiet, centering on children and speaking strongly about safety and protection and care. Matt’s newest book is his first work of nonfiction and it centers the life of a man which many, many of us are inseparably familiar. In a journey 10 years in the making, HELLO, NEIGHBOR is the first authorized picture book biography of Fred Rogers, and it resonates with the soul and mission and gentled approach of the man himself. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/blo