Monthly Archives: February 2018

Podcast #29: The No. 1 Car Spotter and The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird by Antinuke

An Interview with Meera Sriram

For my twenty-ninth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Meera Sriram about two of her favorite middle grade novels,  The No. 1 Car Spotter and The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird , written by Antinuke and illustrated by Warwick Johnson Cadwell.

Published in 2010 and 2011 respectively,  The No. 1 Car Spotter and The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird tell a variety of stories about Oluwalase Babatunde Benson, a young boy in a rural African village (based on the author’s own childhood in Nigeria) who has a special talent for spotting cars before anyone else can, so much so that everyone calls him No. 1.  But car spotting isn’t No.1’s only talent. He has a knack for finding just the right solution for whatever problem visits his village. Whether it’s finding a way to get a group of rich tourists across a flooded road so Mama Coca-Cola can feed them her fried akara, or figuring out how to get his family’s goods to the market when their cart breaks down by inventing the Cow-rolla, No. 1 always finds a way to save the day. These two books (and there are four more in the series) are funny and entertaining and shine a small light on a part of the world not often seen in children’s books.

Meera Sriram is co-author of such books as Bijoy and the Big River and Endangered Animals of India. In addition, she blogs about multicultural children’s books  and offers presentations with a focus on Early Literacy. You can find Meera’s website at www.meerasriram.com

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on March 1st, 2018.

Podcast #28: Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes

An Interview with Kimberly McDermid

For my twenty-eighth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed educator and kid lit blogger Kimberly McDermid  about one of her favorite middle grade novels,  Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker, written and illustrated by Shelley Johannes.

Published in 2017 by Hyperion, Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker is a book about an unusual young girl  who prefers to do her best thinking upside down (naturally). So when she shows up for her first day of third grade dressed as a Ninja, ready to start another upside down year with her best friend Lenny, everything turns topsy-turvy when Lenny shows up in new dress clothes . . . and with a new friend. Worse yet, Lenny is no longer interested in all the secret plans she and Beatrice had talked about last year. What’s an upside down girl to do? Come up with another secret plan to win back her friend of  course. Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker is a book about friendship and change and trying to find your place in a world that doesn’t always see eye to eye with an upside down thinker.

Kimberly blogs about kids’ books and authors at Storymamas with her two fellow kid lit bloggers Courtney and Ashley. You can find Storymamas at storymamas.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on February 15th, 2018.