Monthly Archives: February 2017

Podcast #8: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson

An Interview with Jen Garthe

For my eighth Dream Gardens podcast, I interviewed former teacher, aspiring writer, free-lance editor, and kids’ book enthusiast Jen Garthe about the middle grade children’s novel  Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson.  It is a story about three young boys who go on a quest to give their favorite teacher a memorable last day before she enters into treatment for a serious and life-threatening condition. Along the way, they have a few wild and unexpected adventures and remember the moments when Ms. Bixby helped shape their lives. They also discover that real meaning of courage, which is, in the words of Ms. Bixby’s favorite book, “when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

Jen’s website is called A Bookish Nook, and it can be found at abookishnook.blogspot.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher, and are now also available on Google Play. Please share or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on March 1st, 2017.

Podcast #7: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

An Interview with Jennifer Baker

For my seventh Dream Gardens podcast I interviewed writer, editor, and educator Jennifer Baker about Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, a picture book for children inspired by the folktales  and landscape of Zimbabwe. It is Cinderella-like story about two sisters whose search for a mysterious king leads to many strange encounters and a discovery that what’s in your heart matters most of all. Jennifer is a panel organizer for the non-profit organization We Need Diverse Books, and host of the podcast Minorities in Publishing. Her website is called Jennifer N. Baker, which can be found at www.jennifernbaker.com.

All podcasts are now also available on iTunes and Stitcher. The next podcast will be published on February 15th, 2017.