MATTHEWCWINNER

Fred Bowen, author most recently of Out of Bounds, stops by the podcast to talk about dealing with disappointment, the best place for kids to learn to lose, and how sometimes you try your best and it still doesn’t work out for you.

Kwame Alexander, author most recently of Surf’s Up, illustrated by Daniel Miyares, and winner of the 2015 Newbery Award for The Crossover, stops by the podcast to talk about the economy of words, the spiritual journey through the white space left on the page, and the joy and power of reading.

Cordelia Jensen, author of Lilac and the Switchback (Holiday House), joins Matthew to talk about belonging, change, and always keeping in mind that you’re writing a story.

Celia C. Pérez shares STRANGE BIRDS: A FIELD GUIDE TO RUFFLING FEATHERS. Celia’s sophomore release is about four girls and one hat that bonded them in sororal friendship. It’s about the Floras and how traditions are made to be challenged. It’s about activism and how others will stand in your way.

Michelle Schusterman, author of Dead Air: The Kat Sinclair Files (Book #1), stops by the podcast to talk about writing a gritty, urban Nancy Drew story, being a skeptic, and how's there's a logical explanation to most things that spook people.

David Barclay Moore, author of The Stars Beneath Our Feet, stops by the podcast to talk about art's healing ability, Harlem as a symbol for blackness, and being different as an act of resilience.

Hena Khan shares MORE TO THE STORY, a novel is inspired by Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and centering on a Pakistani-American family with four daughters: Jameela, Aleeza, Bisma, and Maryam.

Kristen Kittscher, author of The Tiara on the Terrace, stops by the podcast to talk about creating a surreal world perfectionism gone awry, and how nothing that anyone writes is void of self.

Karina Yan Glaser shares THE VANDERBEEKERS TO THE RESCUE. In her third and latest installment in the VANDERBEEKERS series the five Vanderbeeker children find themselves in dire circumstances when new pets begin mysteriously arriving at their door.

Paula Chase shares DOUGH BOYS, her latest novel and a companion to SO DONE. There are not an abundance of stories reflecting the diversity of black identity. Many stories being published today center on black pain.

Tiffany D. Jackson, author of Blood in the Water (Scholastic Press), joins Matthew to talk about maturing a little faster when the environment calls for it.

Rajani LaRocca shares MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM. Mimi, the main character in Rajani’s middle grade debut, enters a baking competition at her town’s newest sweet spot, but things aren’t quite as they appear.

David Fulk, author of Raising Rufus, stops by the podcast to talk about discovering your inner hero, exploring in the woods, and planners and pantsers.

Ann Braden shares THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS. This is a story about the strength of a 12-year-old girl named Zoey, even from before the moment when she realized she possessed such strength.

Last November I had the esteemed privilege of moderating a panel at NCTE, the annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English. The panel was titled “Redefining the Boy Hero: Empowering Sensitive Boys and Bucking Gender Stereotypes Through Middle Grade Fiction”. Sitting on the panel among a standing room only crowd were four exceptional children’s book authors: Elana K. Arnold, Erin Entrada Kelly, Kekla Magoon, and Katherine Marsh.

Grace Lin, author and illustrator of The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), joins Matthew to talk about a storyteller’s responsibility to use whatever the story asks for.

Jon Scieszka, editor of Guys Reads: Terrifying Tales, which is published by Walden Pond Press, and other of a ton of bestselling books including The Stinky Cheese Man, Knucklehead, and the Frank Einstein series, stops by the podcast to talk about storytelling with a purpose, appreciating the ways that kids are intelligent, and how giving readers choice in what they read is a huge thing.

Today’s episode features the 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Award Chair along with a handful of the award winners named by the Association of Jewish Libraries, an affiliate of the ALA. I’ve linked to the full list of winners and honors in the show notes and I encourage you to check out this exceptional list of books recognized by the committee.

Lou Anders, author of Nightborn: Thrones and Bones (Book 2), which is published by Crown Books for Young Readers, stops by the podcast to talk about creating an accessible, appropriate, and modern secondary world fantasy, the epic task of world-planning, and creating games to play with readers.

Julie Sternberg, author of Secrets Out!; The Top Secret Diary of Celie Valentine (Book 2), which is published by Boyds Mills Press, stops by the podcast to talk about incorporating podcasts into the general school curriculum, what results when you book's structure is fighting with the format, and the happiest time in her childhood.