Please welcome author Emily Dangremond to the show today! Talking with her is always a joy and I could seriously talk to her for hours on end about trees, consciousness, and more. I hope you enjoy hearing what she has to say and it gives your day a boost. You are here. You are...
Author-Illustrator Jena Benton on Oral Storytelling, Jungle Fowl, and More!
Today’s guest is author-illustrator Jena Benton. Talking with her was so inspiring, I had to stop myself from writing down everything she said as a quote to share. Please enjoy her love of language, books, Alaska, community, and creativity. Some Highlights: The impact teachers can have early on, whether to encourage or discourage our...
Stacks of Book Recommendations and Owning Your Author Identity with Author Ellen Leventhal
Please put your hands together for kidlit author Ellen Leventhal! Ellen is an author and educator who features other kidlit creators on her blog. She is also a delightful human! Welcome, Ellen! 💃💃💃💃 Some Highlights: Pull ideas from your experiences, even when they don’t seem important at the time they’re happening. Using stories to...
Writing for Joy, Opening Doors to Community, and Hannukah Pajamakkahs with Author Dara Henry
Please welcome Dara Henry to this episode of Getting to the Heart of Why We Write! Her latest picture book, Hanukkah Pajamakkahs is out at a store near you now. It was so fun hearing about her community involvement and the connections and joy within the writing community. I hope you enjoy! Some Highlights:...
Butterfly Gardening, Silent Films, and Butternut Squash with Author Jill Dana
Hello and Happy Book Birthday to today’s kidlit author and extra special bonus episode guest, Jill Dana! Her latest book, Butternut and the Flying Butter illustrated by Anusha Santosh releases TODAY (September 24, 2024)!🎂🎉 Some Highlights: The origin of the name for “German chocolate cake.” What is butterfly gardening? Paying attention to what inspires...
Alternate Timelines, Writing for Laughs, and Double Debuts with Author-Illustrator Jenny Alvarado
Please put your digital hands together for kidlit author-illustrator Jenny Alvarado! Her two debut genres came out within the last 10 days and I’m sure she’s in debut overload at the moment. Fortunately, we recorded this months ago! I hope you enjoy hearing our conversation about craft, art, story, inspiration, and alternate timelines.🎧💃 Some...
Rocky Mountain Community and Sartorial Librarians with Author Paul Vinelli
Please give a big welcome to one of my favorite kidlit people and dear friend, Paul Vinelli! Some Highlights: Bereavement books and crossing genres. Collaborating with an artist to bring your book to life. Physically staging the scenes of your book. Taking a book to an art show. Finding creative purpose. Creating the story...
Inspirational Learning, Dutch Publication, and Science Love with Author Illustrator Molly Cranch
Author illustrator Molly Cranch has her picture book debut, Hide and Seek, available on shelves near you now. It was a delight to hear about her journey as a storyteller, weaving words alongside her illustrations. More about Hide and Seek: A book about the wondrous camouflage techniques of animals around us. For detectives ages...
The Art of Eating, Twitter Pitching, and Community with Author Kalee
Please welcome kidlit author Kalee Gwarjanski to this episode of “Getting to the Heart of Why We Write!” I loved hearing about Kalee’s experience with the writing community, especially the support within her critique group. We had a lot to talk about from her background as a chef, to engineering, to the book she...
Fairy Tale Guinea Pigs, and Encouragement with Author Illustrator Ana Velez
Please welcome author illustrator Ana Velez to the show!!!💃💃💃💃 I was blown away by her retelling of The Three Little Pigs in her book The Three Little Guinea Pigs and The Andean Fox. From the artwork to the beautiful story and characters, kind, encouraging take on a much-loved classic. I hope you enjoy this...