New Books in Children's Literature

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 talmay.text@gmail.com.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