Messages of Hope: June 2025
- Matthew C. Winner
- Jun 7
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 28
Here at the Children’s Book Podcast, where we are purveyors of hope and in community with those cultivating hope for children of all ages. In this new miniseries of indefinite length, I invite my friends from the kidlit community to share what is giving them hope today.
No matter where you are. No matter what’s going on around you. No matter what is pulling your attention or competing for space in your mind. May these next few minutes offer you rest, peace, and hope.
Hope Ep. 12 - June 7, 2025
Kyle Casey Chu (The Queen Bees of Tybee County) shares what is giving her hope today: young readers. They understand the vast, oceanic multitudes they contain. That they are limitless.
Listen along:
About the Book: The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu. Published by Quill Tree Books.
Better Nate Than Ever meets Dumplin’ in this charming, poignant debut by Kyle Casey Chu, aka Panda Dulce, a founding queen of Drag Story Hour.
After making the buzzer-beating shot at the Georgia basketball state championships, Derrick Chan becomes the star of Bayard Middle School, and Derrick’s single dad could not be prouder. But there are parts of Derrick that no one knows about, like the toenail polish he wears under his basketball sneakers, his secret lip-sync performances in the bathroom mirror, and the feelings he’s developing for his best friend and teammate, JJ.
As the school year comes to a close, Derrick’s dad takes an out-of-town job and ships Derrick off to spend the summer with his estranged, eccentric grandmother, Claudia. Soon, Claudia introduces Derrick to the world of small-town southern beauty pageants, and Derrick suddenly feels he’s found where he belongs. But when the opportunity arises to compete in the town pageant, Derrick is forced to decide just how much of himself he’s ready to show the world.
Can he learn to love and accept the most unique parts of himself? And what will happen if others—like his father and JJ—can’t do the same?
Transcript:
Kyle: What gives me hope today is young readers.
They understand the vast oceanic multiple they contain, that they are limitless.
They know they can be basketball players, drag queens, astronauts, concert pianists, queer, trans, straight, ace, Aro, all of these things at once.
They're asking for the world and it is never too much.
For a full transcript, episode takeaways, quotes, and more, visit https://deepcast.fm/episode/what-gives-kyle-casey-chu-hope
Hope Ep. 13 - June 14, 2025
Menachem Weinreb (The Good Dybbuk) shares what is giving him hope today: That no matter where you come from, you can still become the person you’re meant to be.
Listen along:
About the Book: The Good Dybbuk by Menachem Weinreb.
The Good Dybbuk is a whimsical tale about a mischievous boy who gets possessed by a "good" dybbuk and lessons that are learned.
Transcript:
Menachem: What does hope really look like in a story about a mischievous boy and a dybbuk trying to find peace?
To me, hope is this: That even when a child doesn't follow the exact path their parents envisioned, they are still capable of choosing good. That within every child, especially the one who seems restless, rebellious or misunderstood, there's a spark waiting to shine.
The Good Dybbuk isn't just about a wandering soul. It's about a new generation, one that's strong, smart and sensitive enough to write their own story and still do what's right.
That's the hope I wanted to share: That no matter where you come from, you can still become the person you're meant to be.
For a full transcript, episode takeaways, quotes, and more, visit https://deepcast.fm/episode/what-gives-menachem-weinreb-hope
Hope Ep. 14 - June 28, 2025
David Bowles, author of The Hero Twins and the Magic of Song (Cinco Puntos Press), shares what is giving him hope today: the certainty that, no matter what happens, our stories will survive.
Listen along:
About the Book: The Hero Twins and the Magic of Song by David Bowles; Illustrated by Charlene Bowles. Published by Cinco Puntos Press.
In this graphic novel retelling of an Indigenous Mexican tale, demigod twins must use their magic of song to prepare the world for humans--with a little trickster fun along the way. A supreme middle-grade adventure!
In the age of Maya demigods, two carefree brothers are called to Xibalba, Land of the Dead. When they fail to return to the sea-ringed world above, One Hunahpu's firstborn sons are raised by their grandmother. Below, in Xibalba, One Hunahpu meets the rebellious Lady Blood, and their love leads to twin sons, destined to restore balance to the cosmos--though they might need some trickster magic to survive the cruelty of their older half-brothers!
Adapted from author David Bowles's retellings and translations of essential pre-Columbian texts like the Popol Vuh, the Tales of the Feathered Serpent series brings Indigenous Mesoamerican stories alive for young readers!
Check out the other titles in this series:
Transcript:
David: What's giving me hope today is the certainty that no matter what happens, our stories will survive.
Our ways of being will survive.
Just like the Maya people whose beliefs were almost eradicated by the invasion of the spaniards in the 16th century, but who clung to those stories, kept them alive, and finally used the very tools of the conquerors, the Roman Alphabet, to write down those stories and preserve them on paper, hidden away in communities for hundreds of years so that no one would ever forget that book. The Popol Bu would survive to the present.
And it's the book from which Charlene Bowles and I have adapted many of the stories in our Tales of the Feathered Serpent series.
And I know that just like those ancient people whose descendants still live today, both in Mayan communities and Mestizo communities, we too will survive this.
For a full transcript, episode takeaways, quotes, and more, visit https://deepcast.fm/episode/what-gives-david-bowles-hope
Be well. Read on. And don’t lose hope.
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Reading these reflections reminded me how important storytelling really is especially for younger readers. It’s kind of like what we see with emotional support and self-expression in different forms. When I was working on resources with Paw Tenant, I realized how much people, especially kids, need safe ways to express who they are whether through books, art, or even through connection with animals. These messages of hope are a great reminder that we all grow stronger when we’re seen, heard, and understood.
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