The Children's Book Podcast

Mia Wenjen (@pragmaticmom) and Nat Iwata (@NatIwata) share SUMO JOE. SUMO JOE is a story told in rhyme about a boy and his friends upholding a centuries-old tradition considered through a modern lens. It's the first picture book I've read that addresses the practice of sumo and it does so against challenges to gender restrictions while providing a historical context. I'm especially impressed with...

Torben Kuhlmann shares ARMSTRONG, his best-selling picture book about a mouse who dreams of setting foot on the moon gets a special anniversary edition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Torben and I found a private conference room on the exhibit hall that offered us space from the crowded show floor, but not a total escape from the noise. I hope you'll enjoy leani...

Ashley Franklin (@DifferentAshley) shares NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE. In this debut picture book readers meet Tameika, a theater-loving, stage-starring girl. She's so excited for her school's production of Snow White that she signs up for both audition dates. But after Tameika overhears classmates criticising that she's too tall and too chubby and to black for the part, Tameika is crushed. There's more...

Megan Lacera (@MeganLacera) and Jorge Lacera (@jlacera)  share ZOMBIES DON'T EAT VEGGIES! In their debut picture book readers meet Mo, a zombie and chef with a taste for cuisine his parents, quite frankly, find revolting. But this isn't exactly a story about picky eaters or about food aversions. Instead, Lacera and Lacera share a story of feeling outside of one's culture and how to reconcile that....

Lorena Alvarez shares HICOTEA, a companion graphic novel to her 2017 debut, NIGHTLIGHTS. Guest host Mel Schuit interviews Lorena at the American Library Association's annual conference and they discuss the art and inspiration behind the graphic novels. For those not yet familiar, NIGHLIGHTS is a beautiful story about fear, insecurity, and creativity. In HICOTEA, Sandy, the protagonist from NIGHTLI...

Recorded live on the PopTop Stage at the American Library Association's annual conference, three Newbery Honorees and powerful female voices in the children's literature share the stories behind their successful and upcoming middle grade novels. Cece Bell introduces readers to SMELL MY FOOT!, the first book in her CHICK AND BRAIN series featuring a small cast of characters whose ensuing and hilari...

Padma Venkatraman (@padmatv) shares THE BRIDGE HOME, a 2019 Global Read Aloud choice. The story centers on two sisters, Viji and Rukku, who are orphaned at the hands of an abusive father and a mother who is too afraid to leave him. Viji is the caretaker of her sister, and in no small way these girls are survivors. Padma writes from a place of experience, strength, and survival herself and she shar...

Kyo Maclear and Byron Eggenschwiler (@byronegg) share OPERATIC, a graphic novel they made together. Actually, it's more accurate to say that, as with making picture books, Kyo wrote OPERATIC's story in words and dialogue and left space for Byron to tell the story through paneled illustrations. The story in OPERATIC centers on a girl named Charlie and her teacher's assignment to identify a song to...

Rowboat Watkins shares MOST MARSHMALLOWS, a story about things that most marshmallows do, like celebrating birthdays and going to school. Things that most marshmallows do not do, like dreaming. And the rarely discussed things that some few marshmallows secretly know. I love how Rowboat created the art for this story and I cannot wait to try it with my students. But I also love how he makes room fo...

Meera Sriram (@Meeratsriram) shares her debut picture book, THE YELLOW SUITCASE. In Meera's debut we meet Asha, who is traveling to India as she does with her family each year to visit her grandmother. But this year, they travel to mourn. Asha always brings a yellow suitcase which her grandmother fills with treats and trinkets to bring home. The suitcase in this way becomes a character in the stor...

Vincent X. Kirsch (@VincenzoXKirsch) shares HOW I LEARNED TO FALL OUT OF TREES. In Vincent's story we meet Roger and Adelia, two best friends since forever. Adelia is helping Roger learn to climb and to fall from trees. But she's also helping Roger learn how to let go and how to trust that you'll be able to pick yourself up after the fall. Adelia is moving away. It's going to be a pretty big fall...

Sarah Hoffman (@sarahhoffman101) and Ian Hoffman share JACOB'S ROOM TO CHOOSE, the follow-up to the 2014 release JACOB'S NEW DRESS. In this newest story Jacob and his friend Sophie encounter a confrontation from classmates when Jacob enters the boys restroom wearing a dress. Sophie experiences a similar issue in the girl's room and the later their teacher leads the class in a discussion over gende...

Kathy MacMillan (@kathys_quill), Manuela Bernardi (@the_mahnoo), and Kathrin Honesta share SHE SPOKE: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World. SHE SPOKE incorporates historical recordings from women throughout history, making history through their words, ideas, and actions. And the collaboration all started 15 years ago over some Harry Potter fan fiction. A critical point my guests...

Colleen AF Venable (@colleenaf) and Ellen T. Crenshaw (@etcillustration) are the author and cartoonist, respectively, of KISS NUMBER 8, a "layered, funny, sharp-edged story of teen sexuality and family secrets". Identity, self-discovery, and safe places. This conversation and today's book take these three themes and weave them together to create something important, something timely, something nee...

LeUyen Pham is the illustrator of over one hundred books for children. You have no doubt encountered Uyen's work, whether through the bestselling PRINCESS IN BLACK series written by Shannon and Dean Hale, Anne Marie Pace's VAMPIRINA BALLERINA series (which was adapted into a hit show on Disney), THE ITCHY BOOK (an Elephant & PIggie Presents title), STOP THAT YAWN! by Caron Levis, GRACE FOR PRESIDE...

Nic Stone (@getnicced) shares ODD ONE OUT, a young adult novel whose story centers on the dynamic between three friends: Courtney "Coop" Cooper, Jupiter "Jupe" Charity Sanchez, and Rae Chin. Their friendships to one another are complex, at times fragile, at times exciting, and always growing and expanding outward. ODD ONE OUT breaks the love triangle archetype to offer something more real, more vu...

Happy Teacher Appreciation week! I hope you're sharing a whole lot of love for those individuals who work with our young minds each and every day. Schools are magical places and for many they are the source of countless formative memories in our journey of growing up and into the world. So… I recently started a new podcast with Karina Yan Glaser, New York Times bestselling author of the VANDERBEEK...

Andrea Tsurumi (@AndreaTsurumi) shares CRAB CAKE, a picture book about a cake-baking crab who does its thing among the ocean fauna, baking confections for all of the neighborhood animals. But crab's world is turned upside down when a garbage barge spills some of its load into the ocean. There's something Andrea said in our conversation that I'm still thinking about today, weeks after we spoke and...

Victoria Jamieson (@JamiesonV), Newbery honor-winning cartoonist of ROLLER GIRL is joined by audio producers Kelly Gildea (@gildeak) and Julianna Wilson (@JuliannaNWilson) to share the process of adapting a graphic novel for the audiobook format. ROLLER GIRL tells the story of Astrid, who decides that this summer she's going to forego the camp she's attended year after year with her best friend in...

Linda Sue Park (@LindaSuePark), Newbery Medal-winning author of A SINGLE SHARD shares her new picture book, GONDRA'S TREASURE. The story centers on a dragon whose mom's family comes from the West and while dad's family comes from the East. Gondra, like many children, is curious and open to her world and everything in it. She finds strength in all facets of her mixed race family and what I found re...

Breanna J. McDaniel (@readwellbewell) shares HANDS UP!, new picture book reframes the emotionally charged phrase by following a child throughout her morning, her family time, and her time in the community. There is intergenerational support illustrated throughout HANDS UP! and as I've been reading it aloud to children I am so in awe of how their eyes light up with each page turn, basking in the be...

Melanie Gillman shares AS THE CROW FLIES, a graphic novel following a group of queer teens who meet while stuck on a week-long Christian youth camp backpacking trip. AS THE CROW FLIES is a full-color, hand drawn webcomic that was published as a print volume in 2017 from generous Kickstarter backing. Melanie is an American queer non-binary cartoonist, illustrator, and lecturer, specializing in LGBT...

Nidhi Chanani (@nidhiart) shares SHUBH RAATRI DOST/GOOD NIGHT FRIEND, a new board book in which two children say goodnight in both Hindi and Engilsh to all of the animals in their Indian farm home. There's an intimacy to sharing this moment with the characters in the book, as the sun goes down and as each goodnight offered is accompanied by thankfulness to what gift the object has given the childr...

Hayley Barrett (@hayleybwrites) and Juana Martinez-Neal (@juanamartinez) are the author and the illustrator of BABYMOON, a new picture book about that period just after a baby is born, when time is intentionally set aside for a new family to rest and to fall in love together. The experience of motherhood is complex and our guests talk about their memories of wanting to do it all just right or perf...

A number of you have asked about plans to celebrate the 500th episode and, the truth is, you're all part of the plan. I end every episode of the show by asking guests, "I'll see a library full of children tomorrow morning. Is there a message I can bring to them from you?" And as most of you know, I really do see a library full of children each day. Actually, it's a school of about 600. Located jus...