Category Archives: Podcast

A Story About Afiya – an interview with JaNay Brown-Wood   

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Podcast #117

For my one hundred seventeenth Dream Gardens children’s books podcast, I interviewed author JaNay Brown-Wood about the picture book A Story About Afiya, written by James Berry and illustrated by Anna Cunha.

JaNay Brown-Wood is author of such books as Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep, Imani’s Moon, and Amara’s Farm, which is the first of her Where in the Garden series. Her latest book is the second in the Where in the Garden series, Miguel’s Community Garden.  You can find more information about JaNay at www.janaybrownwood.com.

Podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please link, share, comment, write a review or subscribe. Let me know what you think! If you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page.

My next podcast will be with author and illustrator Jessica Meserve  about the picture book Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban. It will be published on March 21, 2022.

Don’t Cross The Line – an interview with Kristen Balouch   

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Podcast #116

For my one hundred sixteenth Dream Gardens children’s books podcast, I interviewed author Kristen Balouch about the picture book DON’T CROSS THE LINE, written by Isabel Minhos Martins and illustrated by Bernardo P Carvalho.

Kristen is author and illustrator of such books as IF YOU ARE THE DREAMER, MYSTERY BOTTLE, and THE LITTLE LITTLE GIRL WITH THE BIG BIG VOICE. Her latest picture book is ONE MILLION TREES: A TRUE STORY. You can find more information about Kristen at www.kristenbalouch.com.

Podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please link, share, comment, write a review or subscribe. Let me know what you think! If you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page.

My next podcast will be with author JaNay Brown-Wood about the picture book A STORY ABOUT AFIYA, with text by James Berry and illustrated by Anna Cunha. It will be published Monday, March 7, 2022.

The Book Thief – an interview with Nicole Magistro

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Podcast #115

For my one hundred fifteenth Dream Gardens children’s books podcast, I interviewed author Nicole Magistro about the YA novel THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak.

Nicole is the author of the recently released picture book READ ISLAND. You can find more information about Nicole at myreadisland.com. You can find out more about the Adopt a Reader program at bookwormofedwards.com/adopt-reader.

Podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please link, share, comment, write a review or subscribe. Let me know what you think! If you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page.

My next podcast will be with author Kristen Balouch about the picture book DON’T CROSS THE LINE, written by Isabel Minhos Martins and illustrated by Bernardo P Carvalho. It will be published Monday, February 21, 2022.

Kit’s Wilderness – an interview with Jessica Vitalis

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Podcast #114

For my one hundred fourteenth Dream Gardens children’s books podcast, I interviewed author Jessica Vitalis about the young reader’s novel Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond. When Kit moves the coal mining village Stoneygate to take care of his grandfather, Kit is introduced to a few unusual friends, an unexpected enemy, a strange game of death, and more that a few ghosts.

Jessica Vitalis’s debut middle grade, THE WOLF’S CURSE, came out September, 2021. You can find more information about Jessica and THE WOLF’S CURSE at jessicavitalis.com.

I also spoke to Dwaine Millard, Senior Vice President of Family & Community Engagement at Scholastic, about the 13th annual World Read Aloud Day, taking place in 2022 on Wednesday, February. You can find more information about World Read Aloud Day at scholastic.com/worldreadaloudday .

Podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please link, share, comment, write a review or subscribe. Let me know what you think! If you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page.

My next podcast will be with author Nicole Magistro about the YA historical novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It will be published Monday, February 7, 2022.

Small Spaces- an interview with Rosena Fung

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Podcast #113

For my one hundred thirteenth Dream Gardens children’s books podcast, I interviewed author and illustrator Rosena Fung about the middle grade horror novel Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. Eleven year old Ollie is already dealing with a heavy burden. However, things are about to get heavier and a whole lot creepier when her school bus break downs in front of field of very strange scarecrows.

Rosena  Fung is author and illustrator. Her debut book is a graphic novel for kids called Living with Viola. You can find more information about Rosena and Living with Viola at www.rosenafung.com.  

Podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please link, share, comment, write a review or subscribe. Let me know what you think! If you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page.

I also want to put a call out to librarians who specialize in kids books. I wanted to try a new segment sometime this year in which I would have a librarian come on with a book recommendation for a kids book. The book could be a picture book, a chapter book, a middle grade novel or a YA novel, or even a nonfiction book. You could have several recommendations, so one recording sessions could actually cover several podcasts. All the interviews are done over Zoom, so it doesn’t really matter where you are. Also, it shouldn’t take up too much of your time. It is a way of letting others know what great books are out there for kids and adults alike. If you are interested, go to the contact page on this website and leave me a note.

My next podcast will be with author Jessica Vitalis about the middle grade novel Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond. It will be published Monday, January 17, 2022.