Tag Archives: childrens books

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: an interview with author Rebecca Behrens

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Podcast #048

For my forty-eighth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Rebecca Behrens about her favorite children’s book, the classic middle grade novel Hatchet  by Gary Paulsen.

Originally published in 1987 and a Newbery Honor winner, Hatchet  tells the story of thirteen year old Brian Robeson who’s flying out to visit his recently divorced father in Northern Canada when his plane suddenly crashes. Stranded all alone in the middle of the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a hatchet for a tool, Brian must find a way to survive until someone finds him–if they ever do. With no training or background in survival, Brian must learn to hunt and build a shelter, deal with unexpected difficulties like mosquitoes and porcupines and even a tornado that threatens to destroy everything he’s built, as well cope with the recurring memory of a terrible secret about his mother he can’t let go.
Hatchet  is thrilling adventure story of a young boy who learns that what he needs to most to survive is to not give up on himself.

Rebecca Behrens is author of the middle grade novels Summer of Lost and Found,  When Audrey Met Alice, and The Last Grand Adventure, which was published in 2018. In addition, another middle grade novel The Disaster Days, will be available  October, 2019.  You can find Rebecca’s website at rebeccabehrens.com

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Spotify. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. And 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 Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, talking about the classic children’s novel Watership Down, written by Richard Adams. It will be published on March 1st.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai: an interview with author Rebecca Caprara

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Podcast #046

For my forty-sixth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Rebecca Caprara about her favorite children’s book, the middle grade verse novel Inside Out and Back Again  by Thanhha Lai.

Originally published in 2011, and both a Newbery Honor recipient and winner of the National Book Award, Inside Out and Back Again  by Thanhha Lai is the semi-autobiographical story of a young girl named Ha who with her family is forced to flee Saigon in 1975 when the war finally reaches the city. As a refugee in Alabama, she must learn to deal with a new and strange language as well as the bigoted taunts of bullies who do everything they can to make her feel unwelcome in this new land. It isn’t easy, especially with her father missing, but Ha,with the help of her family and a few new friends, will try to make a home here as best as she can. Told in a series of free verse vignettes,
Inside Out and Back Again  by Thanhha Lai is a book that is that is funny and wise and heartbreaking, and as timely as ever.

Rebecca Caprara is author of The Magic of Melwick Orchard, which was published September, 2018.  You can find Rebecca’s website at www.rebeccacaprara.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Spotify. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. And 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 Jill Weisfeld, talking about the classic middle grade novel Charlotte’s Web, written by E. B. White. It will be published on January 16th.

Ida, Always by Caron Levis and Charles Santoso: an interview with author Artie Knapp

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Podcast #045

For my forty-fifth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Artie Knapp about his favorite children’s book, the picture book Ida, Always, written  by Caron Levis and illustrated by Charles Santoso.

Originally published in 2016, and winner of the Christopher Award, this picture book tells the true story of two polar bears, Ida and Gus, who live a happy and carefree life in the Central Park Zoo in New York City . But one day, Ida gets sick, and the two of them must adjust their lives to a new reality full of little sorrows and unexpected joys.  Ida, Always is a  smartly written and beautifully illustrated book about friendship and loss and and the persistence of memory, and like all good books  for children, has a great deal to say to adults of all ages.

Artie Knapp is the author of many stories and poems for children as well as the books View from the Zoo, Living Green: A Turtles Quest for a Cleaner Planet, and his latest book, Little Otter Learns to Swim.   You can find Artie’s website at wwww.artieknapp.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Spotify. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. And 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 Rebecca Caprara, talking about the Middle Grade verse novel Inside Out and Back Again, written by Thanhha Lai. It will be published on January 2nd.

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee: an interview with author Margaret Peterson Haddix

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Podcast #044

For my forty-forth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Margaret Peterson Haddix about her favorite children’s book, the middle grade novel  Millicent Min, Girl Genius, written  by Lisa Yee.

Originally published in 2003, Millicent Min, Girl Genius tells the story of an amazingly gifted but painfully awkward eleven year old girl who’s having a terrible summer.  Her mother is not only forcing her to join a summer volley ball league and tutor her least favorite person in the world, Stanford Wong, but the one person who understands her best, her grandmother, is moving away. Still, thing start looking up when she meets Emily, who seems to like her for who she is, especially since Emily knows nothing about Millicent’s reputation as a genuine genius. And Millicent would prefer to keep it like that as long as she can. But brilliant as she is, Millicent will soon find out she has  a lot to learn about what it takes to keep a friend. A funny, heartwarming, and engaging book for anyone who’s felt like they don’t quite fit in.

Margaret Peterson Haddix is the best selling author of such books as The Missing and The Shadow Children Series, Uprising, The Summer of Broken Things and many, many more including her Children of Exile series, the third book of which, Children of Jubilee, comes out this November.  You can find Margaret’s website at haddixbooks.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Spotify. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. And 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 Artie Knapp, talking about the picture book Ida Always, written by Caron Levis and illustrated by Charles Santoso. It will be published on December 1st.

Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins: an interview with author Kat Shepherd

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Podcast #043

For my forty-third Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Kat Shepherd about her favorite children’s book, the middle grade novel  Criss Cross, written  and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins.

Originally published in 2005, and awarded the Newbery in 2006, the novel tells the story  a single summer in the life of a group of young teens. There is Debbie, who wishes something would happen, though she isn’t quite sure what, and Hector, who’s hoping he can find a way to connect to someone special out there through the guitar he’s learning to play.  Their stories, and the stories of several others, intersect with each other in unexpected ways, and though things don’t quite work out for anyone in the ways they’d hoped for, by the end of the summer they’re a little bit wiser about what life has to offer them.  Criss Cross is a unique novel, thoughtful and lyrical and even somewhat experimental in its stream of consciousness narrative and structural playfulness, but at its heart a coming of age story about the joys, the discoveries, the disappointments, and the heartaches of growing up.

Kat Shepherd is author of The Shadow Hand, Book 1 of the series Babysitting Nightmares, and coming in 2019, the interactive mystery series The Gemini Mysteries. You can find Kat’s website at katshepherd.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Spotify. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. And 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 Margaret Petersen Haddix, talking about Lisa Yee’s middle grade novel Millicent Min, Girl Genius. It will be published on November 16th.