New Books in Children's Literature

Last year I interviewed the amazing author Kirsten Larson on her picture books Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane, illus. Tracy Subisak (Calkins Creek, 2020) and True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything, illus Katy Wu (Clarion, 2021). Today, we talked about her new picture book, just out, entitled, The Fire of the Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars are Made Of, illus. Katherine Roy (Chronicle, 2023). We also discussed the makings of a scientist vs. the makings of an author, the respective roles of the author and illustrator, the importance of art notes, and the concept that fiction writers seek an emotional truth. I can't wait to interview next year for her upcoming This is How You Know, illus. Cornelia Li (Little, Brown, 2024). Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma Bland Smith is the award-winning author of Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West, as well as many other fiction and nonfiction books for children. In our interview we talk about her life and writing career and celebrate her recent book, Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings (Calkins Creek, 2022). While writing and illustrating the beloved picture book Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey brings a flock of ducklings into his tiny New York City apartment. But an artist + a bunch of ducklings in his apartment = chaos! There are ducklings in the bathtub and ducklings in the kitchen, quacking at dawn and sitting on his desk. Can he learn to draw them just right before they grow too big? This glimpse into the creation of a much-loved story for kids is a must-read for fans of children's books, or for anyone who is interested in the creative process and the importance of persistence. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James McGowan is literary agent at Bookends, where he represents many award-winning authors and illustrators. He focuses on illustrated projects for young readers (board books, picture books, chapter books, and middle grade) as well as adult nonfiction and mystery/suspense novels. In addition to being an agent, James is a children’s author. His debut picture book Good Night, Oppy! (Astra Young Readers, 2021) launched from Astra BFYR in 2021. In our lively conversation we talk about his life and career as both author and agent, his new book, the realities of publishing for children, and his tips for aspiring writers. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Racism is resilient, duplicitous, and endlessly adaptable, so it is no surprise that America is again in a period of civil rights activism. A significant reason racism endures is because it is structural: it's embedded in culture and in institutions. One of the places that racism hides-and thus perhaps the best place to oppose it-is books for young people. Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books (Oxford UP, 2017) presents five serious critiques of the history and current state of children's literature tempestuous relationship with both implicit and explicit forms of racism. The book fearlessly examines topics both vivid-such as The Cat in the Hat's roots in blackface minstrelsy-and more opaque, like how the children's book industry can perpetuate structural racism via whitewashed covers even while making efforts to increase diversity. Rooted in research yet written with a lively, crackling touch, Nel delves into years of literary criticism and recent sociological data in order to show a better way forward. Though much of what is proposed here could be endlessly argued, the knowledge that what we learn in childhood imparts both subtle and explicit lessons about whose lives matter is not debatable. The text concludes with a short and stark proposal of actions everyone-reader, author, publisher, scholar, citizen- can take to fight the biases and prejudices that infect children's literature. While Was the Cat in the Hat Black? does not assume it has all the answers to such a deeply systemic problem, its audacity should stimulate discussion and activism. Philip Nel is University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. His many books include Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children's Literature (UP Mississippi, 2012), Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature (NYU Press, 2008, co-edited with Julia Mickenberg), The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (Random House, 2007), and Dr. Seuss: American Icon (Continuum, 2004). Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jean Reidy’s best-selling and award-winning picture books have earned their spots as favorites among readers and listeners of all ages and from all over the world. She is honored to be a three-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, a Parent’s Choice Gold Award Winner, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor winner and recognized on “Best of” lists by School Library Journal, the New York Times, NPR and Amazon. Originally from Highland Park, Illinois, Jean earned a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from New York University. She spent the first years of her professional career in Chicago, New York and Denver before leaving the business world to raise her family and to write. Jean has four children, five grandchildren and hordes of nieces and nephews who provide her endless inspiration. And over several years, she also had four foster children filling both her home and her heart. In our conversation we talk about her 'not run of the mill' path to being a highly successful picture book author, and celebrate her newest books, including ‎ A Grand Day, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books (July 5, 2022). Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born in Los Angeles to a Japanese mom and American Jewish dad, Debbie Bibo grew up in a sleepy suburb of Northern California. After earning a degree in Political Science at the University of California in San Diego, and working at a language school in San Francisco, she moved to Italy to teach English in 1992. After twelve years of publishing and two years of project management for a design studio, she founded the Debbie Bibo Agency in 2011. The agency represents leading children's books illustrators and authors, and has sold titles to publishers in numerous countries. In our interview we talk about her career and vision in selecting those selected books and illustrators which she is excited to represent. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tammi Sauer is a full-time picture book author who has sold 35 picture books to major publishing houses (Bloomsbury, Disney, Hyperion, HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Sterling) and spoken at hundreds of schools and conferences. In our conversation, we celebrate her new picture book, The Underpants (Scholastic Press, 2022), and talk about as many of her wonderful books as possible, including Wordy Birdy, The Bear Came Back, her new book No Bunnies Here and her very first book, Cowboy Camp. Tammi shares her road to success, with tips for authors at different stages of their journeys. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We shouldn’t be dismissive of the popularity of children’s literature among adults, as it is often in these works of fiction that powerful themes such as death, love, and virtue are most deeply and imaginatively explored. Guests Christina Phillips Mattson, Scholar of Children’s Literature Casper ter Kuile, Ministry Innovation Fellow at Harvard Divinity School and co-host of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text MG Prezioso, Contributing writer for Harvard Political Review Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today my incredible guest is the quirky, pun-derful, award-winning picture book author, Tara Lazar who is celebrating her dozenth (!) book, Time Flies: Down to the Last Minute (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022). We talk about her path to success, her craft and her tips for aspiring writers (concentrate on the story, not the query letter; learn all about the craft, create dummy books, find critique partners who can teach you, make a digital note of all your ideas, never give up). Tara is also the creator and motivator of Storystorm, the highly successful free initiative in which authors come up with thirty story ideas throughout January. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation (one of my favorite interviews ever), I talk with Noah Askin of the University of California at Irvine about why some popular children's books, songs, and movies seem to last forever. Is it because the successful ones are similar but different? Is it a fluke? Is it the marketing? Or is it the story that the song/book/movie/anything tells, or is, or is it perhaps the story we make of it. Noah Askin is Assistant Professor of Teaching Organization and Management at UC-Irvine in the Paul Merage School of Business. Prior to his arrival in Southern California, he was an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD, where he directed and taught multiple Executive Education programs in addition to teaching the organizational design and leadership core course in the MBA program. He has a popular TEDx talk on what makes popular songs succeed. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From governesses with supernatural powers to motor-car obsessed amphibians, the iconic images of English children's literature helped shape the view of the nation around the world. But, as Translating England into Russian: The Politics of Children's Literature in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia (Bloomsbury, 2021) reveals, Russian translators did not always present the same picture of Englishness that had been painted by authors. In this book, Elena Goodwin explores Russian translations of classic English children's literature, considering how representations of Englishness depended on state ideology and reflected the shifting nature of Russia's political and cultural climate. As Soviet censorship policy imposed restrictions on what and how to translate, this book examines how translation dealt with and built bridges between cultures in a restricted environment in order to represent images of England. Through analyzing the Soviet and post-Soviet translations of Rudyard Kipling, Kenneth Grahame, J. M. Barrie, A. A. Milne and P. L. Travers, this book connects the concepts of society, ideology and translation to trace the role of translation through a time of transformation in Russian society. Making use of previously unpublished archival material, Goodwin provides the first analysis of the role of translated English children's literature in modern Russian history and offers fresh insight into Anglo-Russian relations from the Russian Revolution to the present day. This ground-breaking book is therefore a vital resource for scholars of Russian history and literary translation. Polina Popova is a Ph.D. student at the history department of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When she finds a feather, Grandma Dot adds it to her collection. Feathers, she tells her two granddaughters, remind Grandma Dot of people she’s lost. At first, the girls see the feathers as fun to play with. But soon, Grandma Dot’s feathers take on larger meanings – of comfort, remembrance, and love. A Gift of Feathers (Feiwel & Friends, 2023) will inspire readers of all ages to make memories and traditions part of their own family stories. ken Schept received his MFA from Columbia University, enjoyed a successful career as a journalist and business writer, and now writes children’s books and literary fiction. Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, and the author of Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Temple University Press, 2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Richardson is an award-winning children’s book author. Today we talk with her about her debut picture book, Little Dandelion Seeds the World (Sleeping Bear Press, 2021), which won the Growing Good Kids Book Award from the American Horticultural Society and the Junior Master Gardener Program for connecting children to nature. When Julia was young, she was in the lowest reading group and wrote every letter upside down and backwards. Today she is an established author with another new book just out, and hopefully many more on the way. She also shares her advice for upcoming authors hoping to break into the traditional publishing world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helen H. Wu is a children's book author and illustrator, author of Tofu Takes Time, illustrated by Julie Jarema (Beaming Books, 2022) and Long Goes To Dragon School, illustrated by Mae Besom (Yeehoo Press, 2023). In this, our second interview, we talk about her role as publisher of Yeehoo books, and the challenge of creating books that appeal to both Chinese and American children and culture. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, Mel Rosenberg discusses his love for children's literature, what makes for a memorable picture book, and the company he created, Ourboox. Ourboox is a free site that allows people to create online flipbooks and picture books. Mel's collection is available here. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network (Twitter: @caleb_zakarin). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our exciting conversation with author-agent Jonathan Rosen we talk about his recent anthology, Coming of Age: 13 B'nai Mitvah Stories (Albert Whitman & Company, 2022), his funny and scary middle grade horror book, Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies, and his new career as a literary agent for the Seymour Agency, where he helps other writers achieve the same dream of publication that he has fulfilled. Jonathan grew up in Brooklyn, Mexico and Israel and now makes his home in southern Florida, where he is agent by day and writer by night. Late night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carrie Finison writes picture books with humor and heart, including Dozens of Doughnuts (Putnam, 2020), a Junior Library Guild selection, Don’t Hug Doug (Putnam, 2021), an ALA Notable Children’s Book, which received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and Lulu & Zoey: A Sister Story (Running Press Kids, 2022). In our interview we talk about her career and celebrate her most recent picture book Hurry, Little Tortoise, Time for School! (Random House Studio, 2022) in which Little Tortoise tries his best to arrive to school in time, and not be the last one there. Carrie lives outside of Boston with her husband, son, and daughter, and two cats who permit her to work in their cozy attic office. Visit her online here and or follow her on Twitter & Instagram @CarrieFinison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I speak with Annette Bay Pimentel about her writing career, and celebrate her new book, Before Music: Where Instruments Come From (Abrams, 2023). Annette grew up mostly in Utah in a large, boisterous family. She graduated with an undergraduate degree from University of California Berkeley and a graduate degree from Brandeis University in English literature. She and her husband raised six musical-instrument-playing children. Annette’s books are often on state young reader’s lists and have been Junior Library Guild Selections. All the Way to the Top won a Schneider Honor from the American Library Association. Pura’s Cuentos won the Goddard/Riverside Social Justice Award. Mountain Chef won the Carter G. Woodson Award. She is also the author of Girl Running. She is represented by Kathleen Rushall of Andrea Brown Literary. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shelli R. Johannes is the prolific author of almost twenty books for youngsters (and more on the way!). In our interview, we celebrate the recent launch of Theo TheSaurus and the Perfect Pet (Viking, 2022), the second in her Theo TheSaurus series. We discuss her path to writing success, her creative process, and her sage advice for aspiring authors. Other books by Shelli include the Cece Loves Science series (with Kimberly Derting), and Penny (An Engineering Tale of the Fourth Pig) that also came out this summer. Her new chapter book in Chelsea Clinton’s “She Persisted” series on Florence Nightengale comes out in March 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Day I Became a Hurricane (Hooked on Books Jamrock, 2022) is a children's educational book on hurricanes written by Dr. Rose-Ann Smith. Based on current research on natural disasters and disaster risk management, the book aims to educate children on the development of a hurricane and its impacts. It introduces them to hurricane preparedness while seamlessly interweaving an underlying story about self-acceptance and self-identity. The book therefore manages to accomplish a lot, not only imbuing practical knowledge about hurricanes, but also teaching children important life lessons concerning the perils of peer pressure and getting carried away with power, as well as the importance of accepting yourself for who you are. The book is meant for children in grades 1 to 5 but can be enjoyed by persons of any age who wish to learn more about hurricanes, serving as a very creative means of information dissemination on the topic. Dr. Smith holds a PhD in Human Geography. She is a lecturer and consultant in disaster risk management and climate change adaptation based at the Department of Geography and Geology, the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Dr. Smith is passionate about community development and community-based disaster risk management, with a strong focus on resilience building and sustainable livelihoods. Her other areas of interest include cultural tourism, eco-tourism, environmental management, and issues faced by indigenous populations and other highly vulnerable groups. She also believes that children are central to disaster risk reduction. The Day I Became a Hurricane is her first piece of children's literature, and marks the first in a series of books she hopes to develop to educate children on disasters. Aleem Mahabir is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His research interests lie at the intersection of Urban Geography, Social Exclusion and Psychology. His dissertation research focuses on the link among negative psychosocial dispositions, exclusion, and under-development among marginalized communities in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. You can find him on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bea Birdsong is the author of I Will Be Fierce! (illustrated by Nidhi Chanani), Sam’s First Word (illustrated by Holly Hatam), How to Spot a Best Friend (illustrated by Lucy Fleming), and several forthcoming books, including Boop! (illustrated by Linzie Hunter) and Goat Is the Goat (illustrated by Kelly Murphy). In our interview we talk about her life, her writing career, her books and her tips for aspiring children's authors. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do children love most about books? Leaving their mark on inviting white spaces? Or that enchanting feeling when a book marks them as its own, taking them off to where the wild things are? Back in 2021, Elizabeth and John invited illustrious and illuminating book historian Leah Price to decode childhood reading past and present. The conversation explores the tactile and textual properties of great children’s books and debate adult fondness for juvenile literature. Leah asks if identifying with a literary character is a sign of virtuous imagination, or of craziness and laziness. She also schools John on what makes a good association copy, and reveals her son’s magic words when he wants her to tell a story: Read it! For many years an English Professor at Harvard, Leah is founder and director of the Rutgers Initiative for the Book, and she tweets at @LeahAtWhatPrice. Her What We Talk About When We Talk About Books recently won Phi Beta Kappa’s Christian Gauss Award. Sometime around the turn of the millennium, the concern about distinguishing between juvenile and adult books seemed to shift from moral panic about speeding up sexual maturity to worry about turning back the clock on what we now call adulting through the mainstreaming of young adult literature. Mentioned in the episode: Patrick Mc Donnell, A Perfectly Messed-Up Story “Association copy”–e.g. Frida Kahlo’s goofily annotated and illustrated Works of Edgar Allen Poe. Mo Willem, We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) Manners with a Library Book Dorothy Kunhardt, Pat the Bunny Erica Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Peggy Rathmann, Ten Minutes Till Bedtime Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are Richard Wilbur, The Disappearing Alphabet Dr. Seuss, On Beyond Zebra! Miguel Cervantes, Don Quixote Charlotte Lenox, The Female Quixote Recallable Books: what else should I read if I enjoyed this episode? (Leah) Francis Spufford, The Child that Books Built: A Life in Reading (Elizabeth) E. Nesbit The Railway Children: not to mention The Phoenix and the Carpet and Five Children and It (John) Wanda Gag, Millions of Cats: it’s The Road for cats… John also wrote a children’s book, back when his kids were tiny: Time and the Tapestry: A William Morris Adventure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm talking with Robyn McGrath about her new picture book, Dolly!: The Story of Dolly Parton and Her Big Dream (Little Brown, 2022) which launched Jun 7, 2022. Robyn spent her career working with children as a dance and yoga instructor, reading teacher, school counselor, play therapist, and now . . . children’s author. Whether she’s writing fiction or nonfiction, Robyn believes that books help us navigate life experiences while fostering an understanding of self and others. Her upcoming books include There’s Always Room for One More, illustrated by Ishaa Lobo and A Mind of Her Own, The Story of Agatha Christie, illustrated by Liz Wong. Robyn lives in Austin, TX with her husband, two children, a Labrador retriever, and a friendly cat they found camping. Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elaine Kachala is a strategic thinker and writer with over twenty-five years of healthcare experience with governments, agencies, and associations. She is also a children's book author. Her nonfiction book for middle-grade readers, Superpower? The Wearable-Tech Revolution, will debut with Orca Book Publishers on October 18, 2022. In her illuminating book young readers discover how technological wearable innovations can help people survive and thrive. In our interview we talk about Elaine's professional and writing career. We talk at length about the pros and cons of wearables, whether children should use them, and where we might be headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meira Firon is an award-winning Israeli children's author, publisher, translator, editor, and most recently, owner of a flagship bookstore on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv. In 2004 she established Tal-May, a traditional publishing house which publishes 10-15 children's books in Hebrew each year, including both locally-written books, as well as translated classics such as "The Paper Bag Princess". Meira has translated many books, including "The Velveteen Rabbit". Meira has written a dozen children's books, most recently "The Revolving Dress". Meira and her chief editor Yotam Shwimmer accept submission of children book manuscripts to [email protected]. In our stimulating discussion, Meira talks about her passion for children's books and the many facets of her work as a publisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Debra Kempf Shumaker is author of three children's books. In this, our second interview (our first was almost two years ago with release of Freaky, Funky Fish) we talk about her new book, Peculiar Primates: Fun Facts About These Curious Creatures (Running Press Kids, 2022) which is launches on October 11. We talk about her life, writing journey, her initiative to help agents discover authors (pbpitch) and her tips for aspiring children's writers. Debra writes from her home in North Virginia where she lives with her husband, three sons and two cats. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elizabeth Law has worked in the publishing field her whole life, first as an Editor at Viking Children’s Books and Puffin Books, as Associate Publisher at Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, then later as Publisher at Egmont USA, and most recently as the backlist and special projects editor at Holiday House Books for Young Readers. Elizabeth has also works as a professional consultant with writers and artists. In addition, she is a maven and great lover of musical theater. In this inspiring interview, we talk about her life, and her thoughts about the publishing world and her advice for aspiring authors. Oh, and just a bit at then about the genius of Stephen Sondheim. You are welcome to contact Elizabeth at ElawReads.com, and Twitter, @ElawReads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's interview we welcome Rosie J. Pova to talk about her latest picture book The School of Failure: A Story about Success (Yeehoo Press, 2022) which is available in both China and the USA. Rosie shares her journey from Bulgarian immigrant to multi-published and award-winning author, talking about the importance of grit, persistence, and learning from mistakes and multiple (116) rejections. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rena Rossner is a literary agent at The Deborah Harris Agency, based in Jerusalem, Israel, which represents Israeli, Palestinian and other Internationally-based authors. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars Program, studied at Trinity College, Dublin and holds an MA in History from McGill University. She is the author of the cookbook Eating the Bible (Skyhorse, 2014) and the novel, The Sisters of the Winter Wood (Redhook/Orbit, 2018). In our interview we talk about her most recent novel, The Light of the MIdnight Stars (Redhook/Orbit, 2021) and her career as a literary agent. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah Holt is a children's author with a civil engineering degree. Her picture books weave together her love of literature and lifelong learning. They include The Diamond and the Boy (HarperCollins) and A Father's Love (Penguin). In our interview we talk about her brand new pun-derful book, A History of Underwear with Professor Chicken (Roaring Brook, 2022). Her writings have been selected for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, won the Flame Challenge from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, and received starred reviews from publications like Booklist and School Library Journal. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sylvia Liu grew up with books and daydreams in Caracas, Venezuela. Once an environmental attorney protecting the oceans, she now spins stories for children, inspired by high tech, ghost crabs, and strong girls. She is also co-founder of KidLit411, an informational website and FB group with over 15,000 writers and illustrators. In our interview we celebrate her new brand new sci-fi middle grade book, Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation (Razorbill, 2022). Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harold Underdown is currently Executive Editor of Kane Press. In our candid and informative interview, Harold talks about the details of how he goes about looking for his next book/series acquisition, and gives sage wisdom to the 99+% of children's authors who haven't yet found a traditional publisher or literary agent. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with prolific children's author Megan Hoyt on her new non-fiction picture book, The Greatest Song of All: How Isaac Stern United the World to save Carnegie Hall, published by Harper Collins Children's Books' new imprint, Quill Tree Books less than two weeks ago. Megan is also author of Bartali's Bicycle, published last year with the same publisher. Three more non-fiction picture books are forthcoming, also with Quill Tree: A Grand Idea: William Wilgus and his Grand Central Terminal, and Kati's Tiny Messengers: How Dr. Katalin Kariko Developed an mRNA Vaccine to Fight Covid 19. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelle Knudsen is the New York Times best-selling author of fifty books for young readers of all ages, including the award-winning picture book Library Lion and Marilyn's Monster (one of NPR's Best Books of 2015). In our interview we talk about her most recent publication, She Persisted: Nellie Bly (Philomel, 2021), a chapter book biography of the groundbreaking American journalist, and her path to becoming a highly acclaimed children's author. Her next book involves a giant spider who is mistaken for a kitten. Michelle teaches writing at Lesley University and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here I talk to Rosemary Mosco about her career and brand new book, Flowers are Pretty . . . Weird (Tundra, 2022). Rosemary makes books, articles, cartoons and graphics that connect people with the natural world. Her nature comics were the subject of an award-winning museum exhibit and are collected in a book that was a 2019 ALA Great Graphic Novel for Teens. She co-wrote the New York Times bestseller The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid. Flowers are Pretty . . . Weird explores the science of flowers and shows that these plants are not always stereotypically pretty and harmless as we often think they are -- they are fascinating, disgusting, complicated and amazing. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leah Henderson is the author of several critically acclaimed books for young readers including Daddy Speaks Love, A Day for Rememberin’, Together We March and The Magic in Changing Your Stars. Leah holds an MFA in Writing and is on faculty in Spalding University's graduate writing program. We talk about her new book Daddy Speaks Love (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022). What does a daddy do? From day one, this daddy speaks love to his little one. And along with that love, his words and actions speak many other things, too: like truth, joy, comfort, and pride. Like many dads, he answers a million questions and tries to make sure that days are full of fun adventures, giggles, and hugs. Dads are good at scaring away imaginary monsters, and honest about how to confront the real ones too. They set an example for the future, speaking out for equality and justice, while sharing lessons from the past. But most of all, daddies encourage their young ones to fight for a better world, with the comfort of knowing their dads are right beside them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

n our interview we talk about modern retellings of a classic Yiddish folktale and celebrate Michal Babay's upcoming book The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom (Charlesbridge, 2022), illustrated by the late Paula Cohen The students at Parley Elementary have a hard time using the space in their lunchroom efficiently. When they get tired of shoving and arguing, they write a letter to their principal asking for help. She responds by moving all the science projects into the lunchroom. Now it’s even more crowded! Through a series of letters and increasingly hilarious scenarios, the lunchroom gets more and MORE chaotic. When the principal finally announces that the lunchroom is once again only to be used for lunch, the students are overjoyed with the result. Michal Babay is a former teacher and elementary school specialist. She is the author of I'm A Gluten-Sniffing Dog (Albert Whitman) and On Friday Afternoon... (Coming Fall 2023 from Charlesbridge). Michal lives in her own incredibly shrinking house in California with her husband, three kids, three dogs, one cat, and a bearded dragon named Gus Pirate Potato. www.michalbabay.com Joining us for the interview is Karen Rostoker-Gruber whose recent book, A Crowded Farmhouse Folktale, appeared in 2020 (Albert Whitman). Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lisa Varchol Perron has written children's poetry for numerous anthologies and magazines (including Highlights Hello, High Five, The Caterpillar, Blast Off, and Countdown). Her debut picture book, Patterns Everywhere (Lerner/Millbrook), about patterns in nature, will be released next spring, and she has additional publications scheduled for 2023, 2024, and 2025. She often finds inspiration when exploring outdoors with her two children and husband, an earth and planetary scientist. With training in child and adolescent development and over fifteen years of experience as a mental health clinician, Lisa is passionate about creating books that spark curiosity and respect young readers' abilities to comprehend, learn, and grow. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maira Kalman was born in Israel and moved to New York at the age of five where she fell in love with America (Coca Cola and the smells of street food, in particular). Maira is the author and illustrator of over thirty children's books (with three new ones coming out this year), starting with the iconic Staying Up Late in 1987. Maira is currently working on an animated movie script. We talk about her career path and her thoughts on writing, illustrating and the life and calling of an author. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alysson Foti Bourque began her career as a teacher and subsequently an attorney. After practicing law for six years, she traded in writing trial briefs for writing children’s books. Her new picture book, Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday is the fifth book of The Alycat Series, and was released by Arcadia Publishing/Pelican Publishing (2022). Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview we talk to Salma Hussain about her surprisingly candid and revealing middle grade book, The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan (Tundra Books, 2022). Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn’t what she expects — “We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck” — especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives. Over the course of one year, Mona falls in love, speaks up to protect her younger sister, loses her best friend to the new girl at school, has summer adventures with her cousins in Pakistan, immigrates to Canada, and pursues her ambition to be a feminist and a poet. SALMA HUSSAIN, author, grew up in the U.A.E., and immigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. Her short stories and poems have been published in filling Station, West Coast Line, Other Voices, and in the anthology Homebound: Muslim Women Poetry Collection (Outburst Press). She lives with her family in Toronto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cindy Williams Schrauben lives in Michigan where she writes stories for kids that range from the truly serious to the seriously silly. Before embarking on this path, she held positions as a preschool administrator, teacher, and assistant director of a children’s museum -- always striving to empower kids. When not writing or honing her craft, Cindy might be found dissecting her grandsons’ shenanigans for story ideas, reading on the floor in the bookstore, or eating ice cream. Her first picture book, This Could be You (Cardinal Rule Press, 2022) was just published by Cardinal Rule Press and is the main subject of our engaging conversation. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helen H. Wu is a children’s book author, illustrator, and translator. She is the author of TOFU TAKES TIME, illustrated by Julie Jarema (Beaming Books, 2022) and LONG GOES TO DRAGON SCHOOL, illustrated by Mae Besom (Yeehoo Press, 2023). Helen is the Associate Publisher of Yeehoo Press, a San Diego based children’s book publisher. Being fascinated by the differences and similarities between cultures, Helen loves to share stories that can empower children to understand the world and our connections. Born and raised in Hefei, China, Helen moved to the US in her 20s. Currently, she lives in San Diego, California, with her family and two kids. Learn more about Helen at helenhwu.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @HelenHWu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Wolf Kam has been writing since she could hold a crayon. Today she holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her young adult supernatural novel, Devin Rhodes is Dead, winner of the NAESP Award, was published by Charlesbridge and nominated to Voya Magazine's Top Shelf for Middle School Fiction. Jennifer’s debut picture book, Until the Blueberries Grow, will be published by PJ Library in May 2022, and will join the PJ Library family of books. Jennifer is a five-time finalist for the Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing, and winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest for Middle Grade Fiction. Her supernatural short stories have appeared in the journal, Hunger Mountain. She lives in New York with her family, her rescue kitty, KitKat, and a love of history and chocolate. Visit Jennifer at www.jenniferwolfkam.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talked to James Michael Thibeault, the author of the lovely children's book Melanie and the Box (2021). Melanie wants to be just like her mother: someone who wears a giant box whenever they go out. In fact, everyone wears a giant box when they are old enough. Now that Melanie is the appropriate age to start wearing a box, what design will she pick and does she even want to wear one? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our interview Pat Zietlow Miller and I talk about her path to fame and fortune as a children's author, the story behind her classic (and premier) children's book, Sophie's Squash, and her advice to aspiring writers. We are also celebrating the very recent (three weeks ago) launch of her new book, In our Garden (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2022) is an uplifting classroom tale about students who create a vegetable garden on their school's rooftop. Millie has recently moved to a new city, from a place more than an ocean away. More than anything she misses the garden where her family used to grow food. Then one day she has an idea—the school has a fine flat roof, perfect for a garden. Soon her teacher and classmates are on board, but it takes more than ideas to build a garden. It takes supplies and hard work; it takes a lot of learning; and it takes a whole school—a whole community—coming together to help. And of course, it also takes a lot of waiting. But as Millie's teacher Miss Mirales says, “Be patient. Good things take time.” From building the beds and planting the seeds to the first glorious harvest, here's the story of a garden—and a girl—in bloom, and what it takes for a new place to finally feel like home. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991-2017 (Brill, 2021) explores the rise of a new body of literature for children and teens following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent transformation of the publishing industry. Lanoux, Herold, and Bukhina first consider the Soviet foundations of the new literature, then chart the influx of translated literature into Russia in the 1990s. In tracing the development of new literature that reflects the lived experiences of contemporary children and teens, the book examines changes to literary institutions, dominant genres, and archetypal heroes. Also discussed are the informal networks and online reader responses that reflect the views of child and teen readers. Marshall Poe is the founder and editor of the New Books Network. He can be reached at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In my conversation with author-illustrator Laurie Smollet Kutscera we celebrate the launch of her new picture book, Maya's Treasure (Peter Pauper Press, 2021), published just five months ago by Peter Pauper Press. "Keeping close the words and memories of her grandmother, a young girl is determined to craft a treasure from cast-off bits of shell." Laurie Smollett Kutscera was born in New York City, and studied fine art and children’s book illustration at Queens College. Her love for art, storytelling, and most of all those stories representing characters who discover hidden strength flourished throughout her graphics design career, leading her to illustrate Ravita and the Land of Unknown Shadows. Maya’s Treasure, her second solo project after middle-grade novel Misadventures of a Magician’s Son, also shares a story inspired by a dear friend. Laurie lives on the north shore of Long Island with her husband, and rescue dog Abby, where she continues to bring her stories to life. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the eve of her new book release, I talk to bestselling children's author Beth Ferry about No Nibbling! (Roaring Brook Press, 2022), a tale filled with fantastic word play that will have kids laughing and insisting, One warm spring day, Derwood the goat planted a garden and patiently tended it as it grew. On that very same day, he noticed a dandelion puff--it was too early in the season, but Derwood was taking no chances. Growing a garden is risky business, after all. But as Derwood inspected the dandelion, he realized it wasn't a weed. It was a bunny! With Tabitha, a precocious bunny who is very interested in all the tasty vegetables, hopping on the scene, what ensues is a pun-filled tale that will leave you saying, "No nibbling!" Beth Ferry lives in New Jersey with her husband, three children, and two bulldogs. Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I spoke with Katelyn Aronson about life and her wonderful new children's book Clovis Keeps His Cool (Page Street, 2021). Clovis used to struggle with his temper, but ever since he took over his late grandmother’s china shop, he’s been learning how to manage it. He pours tea, listens to soothing music, and always keeps Granny’s words in mind: “Grace, grace, nothing broken to replace.” But when rivals from his football days come to heckle him at the shop, Clovis faces a big challenge that even Granny’s words and deep breaths might not be enough for. Katelyn Aronson grew up in Southern California, where she went on to work in independent children's bookshops. She won her first trip to Paris in a bookstore window display contest, and the rest is history. Today, Katelyn lives between France and Switzerland and works as a language instructor. She is completing her MA on English/French translation (what else?) at the Sorbonne (where else?). Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices