The Children's Book Podcast

Jane Yolen is the beloved and prolific author of over 365 books for children and teens, including this year's releases of A BEAR SAT ON MY PORCH TODAY, MAPPING THE BONES, and MEET ME AT THE WELL. To celebrate such a milestone publication year, Jane and daughter Heidi have kicked off #Yolen365, a daily celebration and book pairing of each title in Jane's catalog to a calendar holiday, festivity, or fun fact. Our conversation includes stories that span of Jane's experiences in publishing that span her career so far. Rest assured, we were in no shortage of things to talk about in laughs and wonder, reflection and celebration. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Kate Hoefler and Noah Klocek are the author and illustrator of Great Big Things, a picture book about a mouse who journeys beyond great obstacles and ever greater distance to deliver something to the one love. Kate talks about how picture books are all about the space between and how it's up to the reader to fill in the gaps. They both share how every book, in some way, is about perspective. This is a quiet picture book with a whole lot to say. You can access more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James are the award-winning author and illustrator of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, recently the recipient of the Newbery Honor, the Caldecott Honor, the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. And no wonder! The heart and voice both Derrick and Gordon poured into every page of this story gives it presence.  In our conversation Derrick talks about writing a story of self-affirmation for black boys to see themselves and feel good about themselves. The story taps into a universal feeling, and the work affirms the truth that everyone wants to feel valued. You can access more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Lee Wind is the author of Queer as a Five Dollar Bill, a novel for teens about a boy named Wyatt, some little known research about our 16th president, and a social media post that goes viral. In this conversation Lee talks about his Kickstarter campaign for the book, a decision he made after the publisher that previously acquired his manuscript dropped the book just a few months prior to production. You're going to love hearing Lee tell that story. It was a total surprise to me. Lee also talks openly about being a gay teen who became a gay adult and struggled throughout much of his teens and twenties to be authentic to himself and, more importantly, to love himself. You can access more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast and  you can support Lee's Kickstarter directly by visiting https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1325588893/queer-as-a-five-dollar-bill-empower-lgbtq-and-alli. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Kobi Yamada is the author of What Do You Do with a Chance?, the final picture book in a best-selling series including What Do You Do with an Idea? and What Do You Do with a Problem?. In this conversation Kobi talks about the varied languages of creativity and how we're all finding our way through life. One of the most important concepts Kobi emphasizes in this conversation, to me, is that a book is incomplete without the reader. The implicit responsibility a reader has to trust the story and to invest a piece of themselves in the story is something that is at the center of the stories he writes. You can access more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Seghal are the authors of Festival of Colors, a new picture book celebrating Holi, the traditional Hindu spring festival. In this conversation Kabir and Sue talk about the celebration as a representation of true Indian culture. The share the harmony and respect for others that's at the heart of Holi and Kabir and Sue lift up the colors as the star character of the story. You can access more information about this book and its authors by going to www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Dear readers, listeners, and friends, For over two years, our team has celebrated great children’s books and their creators by building what we hope has been a trusted resource for parents, teachers, and librarians. The website has been a labor of love, but in light of shifting demands on our time and energy, we've made the difficult decision to end the project. Therefore, on February 1, 2018, All The Wonders will publish its final post.  Please note, this does not affect our podcasts: All The Wonders, Picturebooking, and Books Between will immediately resume production at new homes (see below). Behind the scenes, All The Wonders has been like a family. Our team is made up of authors and illustrators, most of whom are also working parents. We are teachers, librarians, and media professionals. We are activists and volunteers. In many ways, the world shifted on its axis this past year, and so too did our individual lives. We were forced to reflect on how we spend our time and consider where our energy might best serve our families, our communities, and ourselves. We are so thankful to the amazing group of people who donated their time to this cause—our past and present team, contributors, and bookmakers—and are grateful to you, our audience. Thank you for appreciating the importance of delivering beautiful, meaningful, and diverse books into the hands of children. And thank you for trusting us as a conduit. We have appreciated every moment.  Please note that allthewonders.com and its current content will remain online in perpetuity so that it may continue to serve as a resource for the books and artists already celebrated. For future podcast episodes, please visit: All The Wonders (rebranded: The Children’s Book Podcast with Mathew Winner): www.matthewcwinner.com Picturebooking: www.picturebooking.com Books Between: www.booksbetween.com And now we say goodbye—not forever, but to this particular chapter in our team’s shared pursuit of making great content for children. We have much work yet to do. Please keep in touch.  For a complete list of our current team members and their personal websites, please see our about page here. Keep reading. Keep sharing. Keep creating. Love and respect, Blake and Matthew Co-Founders --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Susan Hood (@sHood125), author of Shaking Thing Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World, stops by the podcast to talk about standing up, speaking out, and opening up the conversation to other women by commemorating in poetry the lives and accomplishments of a selection of historically impactful girls and young women. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Hey there, podcast listeners! Can you spare 5 minutes? I’ve made a survey in an effort to better know who listens to the show, how you’re reacting to the episodes, and what you’d like to see more of. In just 5 questions and 5 minutes or less you can help me in a big, big way. And to to thank you, I’m going to give away a set of some recent favorite books including picture books, middle grade, and graphic novels. In fact, the greater number of people who take the survey, the more books I’ll give away. Simply go to tinyurl.com/atwsurvey18. I promise it will take you less than 5 minutes. The survey closes at the end of the month. Thank you in advance (and always). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message

Dashka Slater (@DashkaSlater) and The Fan Brothers (@opifan64 and @igo2cairo), author and illustrators respectively of The Antlered Ship, stop by the podcast to talk about the spirit of asking questions, a thread of melancholy, and how sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/childrens-book-podcast/message