Monthly Archives: September 2017

Podcast #20: The Football Girl by Thatcher Heldring

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An Interview with Karen Yingling

For my twentieth Dream Gardens kidlit podcast, I interviewed librarian Karen Yingling about one of her favorite Young Adult books, the contemporary sports novel The Football Girl by Thatcher Heldring.

Published in 2017, this YA tells the story of Tessa and Caleb’s last summer before entering high school. It should be a time for friends, fun, and perhaps even a budding romance. But Tessa’s decision to be the first girl to join the football camp threatens to upend her camaraderie with her track buddies, not to mention thwarting her deepening relationship with Caleb. And as for Caleb, how he reacts to Tessa’s decision, and how he deals with the hazing rituals of his soon to be varsity teammates, raises all sorts of questions whose answers are not always easy for him to figure out. Whatever happens, Tessa and Caleb’s life will never be the same after the summer ends.

Karen YingLing is a middle school librarian, as well as a Middle Grade Fiction Organizer for the Cybils award and a book reviewer for the  School Library Journal and Young Adult Books Central. You can find Karen’s website at msyinglingreads.blogspot.com

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

Podcast #19: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

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An Interview with Andrea Mack

For my nineteenth Dream Gardens podcast, I interviewed author Andrea Mack about one of her favorite children’s books, the children’s adventure novel The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, which is Book One of the Ascendance series.

First published in 2012, this novel tells the story of a poor orphan boy named Sage who, along with three other orphans, finds himself plunked in the middle of a dangerous scheme. One of the boys will be chosen to impersonate a prince long thought to be dead. If Sage keeps his smart-aleck mouth shut long enough to be picked (fat chance of that!) he might help to keep the kingdom from being attacked. And if he doesn’t, he might might end up like the previous prince. Either way, he got to figure out how to be picked and at the same time keep the other orphan boys from meeting a bad end. It won’t be easy, and he’ll find there are a few surprises waiting in the wings.

Andrea Mack is author  of several picture books, such as Let’s Ride, the Joy the Tomboy series, and Super Tim Saves the Day. In addition she has written many articles and stories for educational publishers as well as beginner readers for ESL  students. You can find Andrea’s website at andrea-mack.blogspot.com.

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