Monthly Archives: June 2017

Podcast #16: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

An Interview with Alina Sayre

For my sixteenth Dream Gardens podcast, I interviewed author Alina Sayre about one of her favorite books (and one of mine), the children’s middle grade  fantasy novel  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.

The book tells the story Edward Tulane, a particularly self-centered, vain and selfish china rabbit whose whole world is turned, literally, topsy-turvy, when he is accidentally tossed overboard and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Separated for the first time from Adelaide, the little girl who adores him, Edward is eventually rescued, but that is only the start of a terribly long journey to find his way back home. It is a journey that is sometimes frightening, sometime joyous, and sometimes just plain heart-breaking,  which comes as quite a surprise to a china rabbit who did not know he had a heart to break.

Alina Sayre is the author of the middle grade fantasy series Voyages of the Legend, which includes the books The Illuminators Gift,  The Illuminators  Test, and most recently, The Illuminator Rising. You can find her website at alinasayre.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, and/or subscribe.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be taking a break from podcasting for the month of July. However, I will return with a brand new podcast on August 1st, 2017, so please stay tuned!

Podcast #15: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

An Interview with Jen Vincent

For my fifteenth Dream Gardens podcast, I interviewed author and educator Jen Vincent about one of her favorite books, the children’s middle grade  fantasy novel and 2017 Newbery Award winner, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill.

The book tells the story of Luna, an infant rescued from sacrifice by the good-hearted witch Xan. Trouble begins when Xan feeds the child moonlight, making her “enmagicked”. As Luna grows up in the forest with Xan, along with a tiny dragon convinced he’s enormous and an ancient swamp monster with a knack for poetry, her magical abilities threaten to explode out of control and wreak havoc on everything she touches. Add in some sinister secrets, a heroic young carpenter, a madwoman in a tower commanding an army of paper birds, and a volcano ready to erupt, and you have a fantasy adventure with thrills and heart and, of course, a touch of magic.

Jen Vincent is the author of the ebook: My Story Is Here: Be Present and Explore Your Story, a guide for new and developing writers on how to explore  and improve their stories.  She is also a blogger and an educator, focusing on how writers can use “mentor texts”, which are examples of quality writing, to inform writing decisions. You can find her blog at www.teachmentortexts.com and her website at www.jenvincentwrites.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on June 16th, 2017.