The Children's Book Podcast

Melissa Stewart, the author of Ick!: Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses and the editor of Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep. Melissa is an unwavering advocate for nonfiction in all places, whether that is at storytimes, in classroom instruction, on book lists, or wherever will make space for it. And whenever she talks nonfiction advocacy, I am here for it. Get a copy of this...

Eric Gansworth shares Apple (Skin to the Core). Eric's memoir in pictures and verse is also an exceptional audiobook which Eric reads himself. It's a privilege for me to bring you this conversation today. Get a copy of this book and support independent bookstores (and this podcast) by visiting our BookShop Store. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/matthewcwinner or on Paypal at paypal.me/childre...

Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith share I Talk Like a River, a most exceptional picture book by two most exceptional individuals. If you have not yet come to know I Talk Like a River, I can think of no better place to start. So I will leave you with three thoughts shared with me in this conversation by Jordan and Sydney that I think deserve being heard over and over. #1: Stuttering makes language visi...

Ilima Loomis and Kenard Pak share Ohana Means Family. Poi is an important and traditional food to native Hawaiian islanders, made from taro, and in this building rhyme story a family prepares the poi for their ohana's luau. Many stories have employed the structure of "The House That Jack Built" in order to tell a cumulative story, but the format serves this book especially well alongside Pak's ill...

Duncan Tonatiuh shares Feather Serpent and the Five Suns, a creation story using Duncan's iconic pre-Columbian Meso-American-influenced art style that takes readers into the depths of Mictlān, the underworld of Axtec mythology. It's an epic story, and hearing Duncan tell it is testament to how strongly these influences move Duncan's hands to create such wonderful stories. Get a copy of this book a...

Raúl The Third is no stranger to the podcast, but the books he brings to share today are easily some of my favorite work he's done yet. ¡Vamos! Let's Go to the Market and ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat are the first in a multi-book and multi-format series which includes picture books, easy readers, and board books. Raúl's world-building is truly mind-blowing. Every character feels important. Every character...

Monique Gray Smith and Nicole Neidhardt share WHEN WE ARE KIND. This book is a beautiful rumination on what it feels like when we are kind and when someone or something is kind to us. Monique talks about kindness as a salve and the relationality and connection we have to one another and to the earth comes across powerfully and, in moments, disarmingly as Nicole brings representation of all types o...

Shane W. Evans shares shares MY FRIEND!, his latest picture book with his best pal Taye Diggs. This book has such terrific rhythmic language, made only greater by Shane's beautiful and evocative color blocking throughout the art. One of my most favorite things Shane shared in our conversation was how he is constantly working to stay aware of the child in him. It's so clear as I read Shane's art. T...

Lulu Delacre shares LUCI SOARS. Lulu and I have been talking about recording a podcast for a long while now, but I've got to say that LUCI SOARS was the very perfect book to bring us together. This beautiful picture book about a girl without a shadow speaks to discovering yourself and your voice. Lulu's talks about how easy it is to be overcome by your difference, but that you find power by changi...

David Levithan shares THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AIDAN S. (AS TOLD TO HIS BROTHER). It's David's middle grade debut and the premise rests on what it means to tell your truth and what it means for someone to believe you. Aiden disappears and is missing for six days before suddenly being discovered in the attic of his house by his younger brother. The attic was searched multiple times, and yet...

Today's episode is produced in partnership with the Association of Jewish Libraries as we celebrate the winners of the 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award, recognizing outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Let's first hear more about the award. Please welcome back Rebecca Levitan, the Chair of the 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee.  The Sydney T...

Nikki Grimes, poet author and longtime friend of the podcast, shares LEGACY: WOMEN POETS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE. Nikki's new book showcases poems from the Harlem Renaissance written by Black women. Each poem is then followed by a Golden Shovel poem written by Nikki in response to the original. The Golden Shovel poetic form, created by Terrance Hayes and described to readers by Nikki, "calls poe...

Vincent X. Kirsch shares FROM ARCHIE TO ZACK. I feel the need to be completely frank with you here. There are so many wonderful picture books out there and so many great stories of boys crushing on girls and girls crushing on boys. Some flirt with using the word "love". Many embrace the innocent, complicated, and wholly earnest feelings we feel at a young age toward those who, often for reasons in...

Peter Sís shares NICKY & VERA: The Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued. Peter has had a storied career in children's literature with many, many beloved books on many, many library shelves throughout the world. But today Peter brings to us a book that's been with him his whole life. And it's all centered around a single question: How does one do good things in life? You can acce...

Anastasia Higginbotham shares WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW: A Story of Liberated Childhood. It wasn't that long ago that Anastasia joined me on the podcast to talk about NOT MY IDEA: A Book About Whiteness. Anastasia gets right to the heart of conversations, always working to secure the dignity, humanity, and power of her readers, our children. She talks about kids being raised by people who know what the...

Natasha Yim shares LUNA's YUM YUM DIM SUM, a new picture book written by Natasha and illustrated by Violet Kim. Natasha talks about being invited to submit a story for the Storytelling Math series for Charlesbridge, which includes titles by Grace Lin, Sara Levine, and Ana Crespo. She started with an idea to set the story in a Chinese restaurant and asked herself the question, "Is being equitable t...

Jackie Azua Kramer and Cindy Derby share THE BOY AND THE GORILLA, a book about a difficult topic, and one handled with great grace and care. It's a story that addresses the "800 pound gorilla in the room" while walking the reader down a path to healing. You have no doubt faced grief in your life, listener. This story invites us to start with answers and find the questions. You can access even more...

Susan Kusel and Sean Rubin share THE PASSOVER GUEST, a new picture book that takes place in Depression-era DC and follows a young girl named Muriel home from the Tidal Basin to her parent's empty table side on the evening of Passover. On her way home Muriel meets a strange magician who encourages her to hurry home. What miracle awaits for her and her family causes Muriel to run out and seek the ra...

Yesenia Moises shares STELLA's STELLAR HAIR, her debut picture book as both author and illustrator. There has been a surge of wonderful picture books featuring Black girls and boys and centering on hair thanks, in part, to the natural hair movement. Yesenia takes the topic interplanetary with, in her words, "big hair and bright colors". The story is inspired by Yesenia's own hair journey and cente...

Lamar Giles shares the LEGENDARY ALSTON BOYS ADVENTURES and THE LAST MIRROR ON THE LEFT, the most recent book in the series. I connected hard with the Alston Boys and am all-in for every page turn with Otto and Sheed and the memorable cast of characters that seem to threaten the very existence of time itself at every turn. Each book passes at breakneck speed and the stories, akin to what would hap...

Michelle Meadows and Ebony Glenn share FLYING HIGH: THE STORY OF GYMNASTICS CHAMPION SIMONE BILES. Michelle's skill at crafting detailed and engaging biographies for the very young in rhythmic, rhyming text is perfectly paired with Ebony's caring touch in bringing important individuals and their lives to life on the page. Michelle talks in our conversation about the music of language and how Simon...

Cathy Camper shares TEN WAYS TO HEAR SNOW, her debut picture book illustrated by Kenard Pak. A child named Lina heads out across a newly snow-laden neighborhood to visit her grandmother at an assisted living home and notes the sounds of snow along the way. Lina prepares grape leaves with her grandmother, as is a tradition and bond in their relationship, but her grandmother is also losing her eyesi...

Victoria Bond shares ZORA & ME: THE SUMMONER, the 3rd and final book in the ZORA & ME trilogy, co-authored by T.R. Simon and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. Victoria shares about starting with children at their beginnings because, as she puts it, there's "no better time to meet a reader than at the very beginning." The books in the ZORA & ME series center on the imagined childhood of Harle...

Meg Medina shares EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY, illustrated by Sonia Sanchez. Meg has written many, many beautiful books, but this latest picture book is one that really moved me in a way I wasn't prepared for. In EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY we meet two friends making the very most of their last playdate together. It's every bit as wonderful as you could imagine, beautifully rendered in illustr...

KA Holt shares BENBEE AND THE TEACHER GRIEFER. KA's first book in the KIDS UNDER THE STAIRS series introduces readers to Ben B., Ben Y., Javier, and Jordan, four children forced to take a summer school class in order to improve their scores on the state assessment. It's a story about learning how to exist together and also one about learning how not to censor yourself. KA pours a lot of heart into...