Tag Archives: interview

Podcast #37: The Accelerati Trilogy by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman

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An Interview with Cindy Mitchell

For my thirty-seventh Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed librarian Cindy Mitchell about her favorite kid’s book,  The Accelerati Trilogy by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman, which includes the books Tesla’s Attic, Edison’s Alley, and Hawking’s Hallway.

Published in 2015 through 2017 by Disney-Hyperion, the three sci-fi adventure books tell the story of a fourteen-year-old boy named Nick who is  trying to pick up the pieces of his life in a new Colorado home with his father and brother after the death of his mother in a house fire.  But that won’t be easy once he discovers a trove of what look like everyday objects in his attic, but which turn out to be inventions of the late Nikola Tessla, objects with extraordinary and sometimes dangerous powers.  When they get sold, Nick and his new found friends have to find them and assemble them into a single machine that just might save the world.  But they also have to contend with a secret organization known as the Accelerati, who want the objects for their own, not necessarily altruistic purposes, and are willing to do anything to get their hands on them, including getting rid of Nick.

Cindy Mitchell is a librarian for the South Jordan Middle School in Utah and host of the book review blog Kiss the Book. You can find Cindy’s website at kissthebook.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 July 1st, 2018.

Podcast #35: The Witches by Roald Dahl

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An Interview with Robert Kent

For my thirty-fifth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author and blogger Robert Kent about his favorite middle grade children’s novel,  The Witches by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.

First published in 1983, The Witches tells the story of a young boy and his grandmother who stumble upon a devious plot cooked up by witches across the world. Led by the perfectly evil Grand High Witch,  they plan to turn every child into a mouse using Formula 87 Delayed-action mouse-maker and then wiping them out. Even after the boy is changed into a mouse himself, he and his grandmother come up with their own plan to turn the table on the witches and give them a taste of their own medicine.  Part horror, part comedy, and part fantasy-adventure,  The Witches is dark little novel that will either delight or appall the reader – or maybe even both! – but for Roald Dahl fans it is a must read for sure.

Robert Kent is author of the middle grade book Banneker Bones and the Giant Robot Bees and host of the blog Middle Grade Ninja. Robert also writes horror fiction for adults and conducts occasional writing workshops at the Indiana Writer’s Center. You can find Robert’s website at www.middlegradeninja.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 1st, 2018.

Podcast #34: The Art of the Swap by Kristine Asselin and Jen Malone

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An Interview with Melissa Stoller

For my thirty-fourth Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Melissa Stoller about her favorite middle grade novel,  The Art of the Swap by Kristine Asselin and Jen Malone.

First published in February, 2018 by Aladdin Press , The Art of the Swap tells the story of two young girls who live a century apart–Maggie, who lives at the Elms in 1905, and Hannah from the twenty-first century where the mansion is now a museum.  But thanks to a mysterious and magical mirror, they’ve  swapped bodies and centuries and have to figure out a way to get back. For Hannah, that means figuring out who was really responsible for an art heist and clearing the name of a young kitchen boy named Jonah. For Maggie, it means negotiating the perils of modern life, like cell phones, soccer practice, and boys. Part fantasy, part mystery, and part historical fiction, The Art of the Swap charts the adventures of these young protagonists who have a lot to learn about each other’s history as well as a lot about themselves.

Melissa Stoller is author of the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush and Ready Set, GOrilla, both coming out in 2018. In addition, she writes the Enchanted Snow Globe Collection series: Return to Coney Island, published in 2017, and The Liberty Bell Train Ride,  coming out this summer, 2018.  She is also author of the resource book The Parent-Child Book Club.  You can find Melissa’s website at www.melissastoller.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on May 16th, 2018.

Podcast #33: Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher

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An Interview with Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White

For my thirty-third Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed authors Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White about their favorite middle grade novel,  Wayside Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher.

First published in 1978 by Avon Camelot Books, Wayside Stories from Wayside School is a collection of thirty stories about a strange school with thirty classrooms built one on top of the other. There you will meet Mrs. Jewls, the teacher who thinks all her students are monkeys;  John, who can only read upside down and has to stand on his head to read the right way;  Leslie, who decides her toes are useless and tries to sell them; Calvin, who has to deliver a note to the nineteenth floor which was never built to a teacher who does not exist;  and many more. With its light-hearted absurd humor and  nonsensical situations, Wayside School has long been a favorite book of kids who want to get lost in a school that seems even nuttier than their own.

Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White  are co-authors of the middle grade novels Shivers! The Pirate Who’s Afraid of Everything  and Shivers!, The Pirate Who’s Back in Bunny Slippers as well as Time Travelers, which will be released this Spring.  In addition, Annabeth and Connor perform for school assembly programs and have produced several videos about the writing process for kids. You can find Annabeth and Connor’s website at annabethandconnor.com

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

Podcast #32: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones

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An Interview with Bonny Becker

For my thirty-second Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed author Bonny Becker about her favorite middle grade novel,  Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

First published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books, the novel tells the story of Sophie, who as the eldest sister of three doesn’t expect much out of life. But when she is cursed by a witch, her transformation into an old woman changes her in more ways than one.  With nowhere else to turn, she flees to the moving castle of the notorious wizard Howl to try to get her spell lifted by a fire demon without Howl finding out. Howl, though, does not turn to be quite the monster she expected.  As a matter of fact, no one is quite who they are pretending to be, including Sophie. Part fantasy and part fairy tale, with a lot of humor, whimsy and just a touch of romance thrown in, Howl’s Moving Castle is a story about deception and magic and finding yourself in the most unexpected of ways.

Bonny Becker is author of the Mouse and Bear picture books, such as A Christmas for Bear  and A Visitor for Bear, as well as the picture book  Cloud Country and the middle grade novels The Magical Ms. Plum and Holbrook: A lizard’s tale.  She also contributes to the blog Books Around the Table. You can find Bonny’s website at bonnybecker.com and the blog she writes for at booksaroundthetable.wordpress.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on April 16th, 2018.