Here Wee Read

Carina Ho is dancer and musician who performs under the moniker ONIKHO. Having trained in dance and music since childhood, Carina joined AXIS Dance Company, a physically integrated dance company that casts dancers with and without disabilities, shortly after sustaining a spinal cord injury. Over the next two years she toured the United States with them until she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship,...

Victoria Scott-Miller is an award-winning Raleigh-based entrepreneur, documentarian, author, creator of "The Museum Lives in Me” book series, and owner of North Carolina’s first black-owned children’s bookstore, Liberation Station. She was inducted as the youngest and first African American woman into the Wake County Public School Hall of Fame in the category of Entrepreneurship. Victoria was...

Lynn's picture book, My Code Word: For When I'm Scared or Afraid, is a great recommendation to read during Mental Health Awareness Month or anytime of the year. It's a story about a young boy who acutely sees what's going on in the world and internalizes the negative things to a point where he begins to fear for his future. When everything seems most hopeless, his mother comes...

Jesse Byrd is an international award-winning children’s book author and the youngest NPR Board member. At 6’8”, Jesse pivoted from playing basketball at UCSB to pursue his passion for storytelling. After working at Google in Silicon Valley and later EY in Dubai as Director of Communications for Middle East and North Africa, Jesse turned all of his energy toward his deepest love: making stories for...

Rev Valdez is a Filipino-American illustrator based in Brentwood, CA. He’s passionate about introducing readers to the myths of Filipino culture through fun, funny and visual storytelling. In this episode we discuss his book, Bunso Meets a Mumu, advice for aspiring writers, his career as a Kindergarten teacher, and more. A Mumu, is the Filipino version of the Boogeyman, who likes to punish kids wh...

To kick off Screen Free Week, listen as author Britt Gondolfi and illustrator Amanda Romanick discuss their picture book Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution and the impacts that screens are having on children and families. Britt Gondolfi grew up in the elder millennial era. She reminisces about having a screen-free childhood, minus a little Nintendo, TV, and slow dial-up desktop, but no smartp...

Step into the world of literature and publishing with author, President, & CEO of Baker & Taylor Amandeep S. Kochar, the creative force behind the Jeet and Fudge early readers series. In this episode, Amandeep shares his personal journey as an author and some insights into running Baker & Taylor publishing company. From discussing the inspiration behind his books to offering invaluable...

Derrick Barnes is a National Book Award Finalist for his 2022 graphic novel Victory Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice , which also won the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award, and a Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Sc...

Kelly Rowland is a four-time Grammy Award–winning singer, songwriter, actress, and executive producer with over 40 million records sold. She’s known worldwide as a founding member of Destiny’s Child, one of the bestselling female groups of all time. Kelly is also the coauthor of Whoa, Baby!: A Guide for New Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed and Freaked Out (and Wonder What the #*$& Just Happened) . Sh...

Shauntay Grant is an author, poet, playwright, and multimedia artist. Her love of literature stretches back to her storytelling roots in Nova Scotia's historic Black communities. Shauntay holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and is an associate professor of creative writing at Dalhousie University. A former poet laureate for the City of Halifax, her honors...

Cynthia Harmony is an author and educational psychologist, originally from Mexico City. She has published for the educational market and was awarded the 2020 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship. Her debut picture book MI CIUDAD SINGS is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her board book OUR WORLD: MEXICO published by Barefoot Books, releases Spring 2023. Her upcoming picture book A FLICKE...

Ali Biko Sulaiman Kamanda is an award-winning filmmaker and social entrepreneur from Sierra Leone, West Africa. He runs BIKO Studios, a cross-cultural film production company and is the President of Salone Rising, a non-profit organization that provides micro-financing and mentoring resources to small business owners in rural Sierra Leone. Jorge (pronounced George) Redmond graduated in 2000 with a...

Tacko Fall emigrated from Senegal as a teenager to play basketball and rose to prominence when he was selected by the Boston Celtics and became a seven-foot-six ball-playing sensation. He has played for the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to basketball, Tacko Fall is a scholar, and he has a strong interest in computer science and aspires to be a...

Jyoti Rajan Gopal is a writer, mom, and Kindergarten teacher. Growing up, she lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, and China. Twenty-eight years ago, she moved to New York and now lives in Yonkers in a quirky old Victorian, with her husband and two daughters. Her favorite place in the house is the wrap around porch where she loves to gather with family or friends, read, write, and drink c...

Rob Kearney is an American Professional Strongman as well as the first and only openly gay professional strongman in the world.   Rob decided to compete in the Heavyweight class where he took 1st place in the 2016 Log Lift World Championships and has gone on to compete at World’s Strongest Man. Rob is a Giants Live Champion (North American Open 2017) as well as an Arnold International World Series...

In response to a recent post in my Instagram stories, I’m talking about the positive and negative impacts social media has had on my life over the past seven years. Connect with Charnaie online in the following places: Blog: http://hereweeread.com Personal Website: charnaiegordon.com Podcast Email Address: hereweereadpodcast@gmail.com Find Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the...

This episode is a recording of a live interview that took place on April 13th on the campus of DreamWorks Animation Studio in Glendale, California. I had the incredible opportunity to interview the author and executive producer of the movie The Bad Guys, Aaron Blabey and the director Pierre Perifel in-person after watching a private screening of the movie. Thank you to Universal Pictures for makin...

Tameka Fryer Brown (a native of Miami, Florida) has called Charlotte, North Carolina home for over 20 years. Her first literary accomplishment as a children’s book writer  came when she was awarded one of two First Prizes in the 2008 Cheerios® Spoonfuls of Stories® New Author Contest. Her debut picture book, Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day, was published by Abrams Books for Young Readers and illu...

Growing up, Sailaja was a voracious reader. From Leo the Lop to Harry Potter , Lord of the Rings and Amelia Bedelia , she loved every book she read. If you were to ask her today what her favorite book is, she'd likely say either the Harry Potter series OR The Tao of Pooh . It really depends on the day. Sailaja has been a passionate volunteer in the Hindu Youth community for over twenty years...

This episode is a recording from a live author panel event that took place on March 8, 2022. This was an intimate couch conversation with author-illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton and New York Times Bestselling Author Derrick Barnes. Moderated by Charnaie Gordon from Here Wee Read. Connect with Charnaie online in the following places: Blog: http://hereweeread.com Personal Website: charnaiegordon....

JaNay Brown-Wood, PhD is an author, educator, literary advocate, and mother who is committed to nurturing the next generation of readers by writing stories with more diversity and representation. Among her books releasing this year is a collaboration with Grammy-winning pop star Ciara and Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson titled Why Not You? a picture book to inspire young readers to see the valu...

This episode is a recording from a live author panel event that took place on February 28, 2022 as part of Black Children’s Book Week, a week-long literary event celebrating Black children in literature. This was an intimate couch conversation with author-illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Denene Millner, Schele Williams, and Ty Allan Jackson. Moderated by Charnaie Gordon from Here Wee Read. Con...

Frank Morrison started his journey as a graffiti artist in New Jersey, tagging walls with spray paint.  Frank's work can be found in numerous award-winning children’s books including Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winner Jazzy Miz Mozetta, NAACP Image Award winner Our Children Can Soar and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, Little Melba and her Big Trombone. His literary client li...

In response to all of the troubling current events happening around the world, I’m sharing a few children’s book recommendations. You can join the conversation by sending me an email message to: hereweereadpodcast@gmail.com .  I’d love to know what books you’re reading in your schools or at home with your children or grandchildren. Books mentioned in this episode: Purchase Girl Dad here Purchase W...

Tiffany D. Jackson is the NYT Bestselling, award winning author of YA novels Monday’s Not Coming , Allegedly , Let Me Hear A Rhyme , Grown , White Smoke , Santa in The City and co-author of Blackout . A Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winner and the NAACP Image Award-nominee, she received her Bachelor of Arts in film from Howard University, and has over a decade in TV/Film exper...