The Children's Book Podcast

Farhana Zia shares LALI'S FEATHER, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman and published by Peachtree Publishing Company. It's a story about a girl who finds a feather and sets about trying to find the owner. What she finds instead is a good number of other birds who think their feathers are superior in beauty or sturdiness or usefulness. Of course, none of these opinions are useful for Lali. But what's more is that Lali is unperturbed by their comments. She seems to be consumed with an irrepressible joy for this small treasure. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Kelly Starling Lyons (@kelstarly) shares GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY. Kelly is a wonder to me. Her books live in nearly every collection of our school library. Her JADA JONES series is so well-loved, that just mentioning her name in our library had students literally giddy to read her next book. She had not one but two picture books included in our mock Coretta Scott King award last year including GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY, a book illustrated by Daniel Minter for which he was awarded a Caldecott honor. Kelly's newest book is called TIARA'S HAT PARADE, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell, and it centers on a daughter's love for her mother and the heartfelt way she responds when momma's millinery business is forced to close. We squeeze a whole lot into this one conversation, so be sure to put in a list of holds requests at your library to check out all of Kelly's books for yourself. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Mike Curato (@MikeCurato) shares FLAMER, his YA graphic novel about a boy at scout camp the summer of 1995. This book is a lot of things. It's a coming-of-age story. It confronts ideas of racism and homophobia. It looks at body image and coming to terms with identity in every sense of the word. It deals with issues of religion and of suicidal ideation. It is a powerful and moving story with a climax that rises like a phoenix from the flames. But we'll get to all of that in our conversation. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Lynnette Mawhinney (@lkmawhinney) shares LULU THE ONE AND ONLY, her debut picture book. There is a lot to be said for the question, "What are you?" It's a question that dehumanizes the person at which it's directed, but it also reveals a lot of it's asker. Lynnette wrote the story as a means of showing real realities for biracial kids. To quote Lynnette,"We constantly want to put people in categories." This conversation, dear listener, is an attempt to get to the bottom of why that is, to acknowledge the humanity in everyone, and to hold space for courageous conversations that seek to create spaces where we preserve the dignity of every kid. If you can't tell, I had a really amazing time talking with Lynette. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Chad Sell (@chadsell01) is the co-creator of the CARDBOARD KINGDOM series and author-illustrator of DOODLEVILLE. In the world of DOODLEVILLE, doodles take on a literal life of their own. What you create might say a lot about you or your personality, but how you manage with your doodles when they start playing by their own rules is a completely different story. Drew is a doodler and she creates an entire world for her and her classmates' doodles to inhabit. She also creates a giant doodle which she nicknames Levi. But Levi doesn't turn out to be what her classmates expect, and as Drew tries to undo her doodle she unleashes a monster. Now Drew needs to figure out how to get things under control before Levi gobbles up or destroys everything the kids have worked so hard to create. It's an all-ages graphic novel sure to inspire doodlers everywhere, and one that will leave you looking differently at your sketchbook for sure. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Saadia Faruqi (@SaadiaFaruqi) and Laura Shovan (@LauraShovan) share A PLACE AT THE TABLE. This new middle grade novel in two voices examines the growing awareness of who you are outside of your family, an experience many of us go through as we enter middle school. It's also available as an audiobook, and one so good, if I can just say, that I finished it in nearly a day. What brings Sara and Elizabeth together may start at an after school cooking club, but their friendship has all of the complexity of two individuals who are at the same time similar and different as can be. Saadia and Laura explore the experience of being a first-generation American through their main characters, drawing from each of their childhoods to tell a rich and beautiful story of navigating bias, confronting prejudice, defending friends, and protecting who you are uncompromisingly. The story asks readers to consider what makes a person privileged, and what to do if you recognize that privilege in your own experiences. As Saadia and Laura note in our conversation, so many kids want to stand up but don't know how. This story is one answer to that question. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Tameka Fryer Brown (@teebrownkidlit) shares BROWN BABY LULLABY, illustrated by AG Ford. It's a story about the intimacy of new parenthood, that time when everything else disappears and the whole world becomes baby. I find that the selection of baby books centering families of color created by authors and illustrators of color is lacking. Moreover, I find the beauty of this book in particular to be really outstanding. Find a baby or an audience of a new parent or two, and enjoy reading aloud this beautiful book to them. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Christina Soontornvat (@soontornvat) shares A WISH IN THE DARK. Christina's newest middle grade novel brings readers to a city on the brink of revolution. For Pong, Nok, and Soomkit, there is much to be learned about life. Who can you trust? Who is worthy of love and light? Where do you turn when the ones you looked to are gone? It is a sweeping and exceptional story, a retelling of Les Miserables set in Thailand, and a reminder that every person has the potential to change the world and share a light. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Alice Faye Duncan (@AliceFa41743636) and debut children's book illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow share JUST LIKE A MAMA. JUST LIKE A MAMA shines a light on caregivers and children not connected by blood, but by love. There are many different reasons why kids might not live with their biological parents and this is a truth that Alice has had on her heart a long time as this book idea germinated. What resulted, I think you'll agree, was well-worth the wait. Listeners, please make sure you find the opportunity to read this story and to be moved by the care that brought it into being. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Juana Medina (@juanamedina) shares JUANA AND LUCAS: BIG PROBLEMAS. The JUANA AND LUCAS series are among my favorite chapter books ever. Juana, as it turns out, is also one of my favorite people. We first connected two or three years ago at the Baltimore Book Fest. Since then we've been trying to plan a time to chat, but we've also had the privilege of watching one another's kids grow up in the process. Juana writes a lot of herself into her JUANA AND LUCAS series. And she talks in this recording about how the sense of otherness often gets pushed into our lives. We also connect over the realization that we can all identify with struggling and learning something new. 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 generous support from our Patrons. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message