Kidlit These Days

Tune in to hear Nicole and Nusrah talk about excellent children’s literature in verse, alongside a conversation with the wonderful Charles Waters, the co-author of Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Book Riot may earn a commission. Charles Waters Recommendations Crossover by Kwame Alexander  The Land of the Cranes by Aida Salzaar You Can Fly by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford  Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes  Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes (Young Adult)  Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry  Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia Mccall (Young Adult) Books Discussed Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan,

Tune in to hear Nicole and Nusrah talk about Asian American femme authors, in conversation with the wonderful Kelly Yang, author of Front Desk and Parachutes. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Books Mentioned Any Day With You by Mae Respicio Insurrecto by Gina Apostol – adult recommendation Stargazing by Jen Wang Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Estrada Kelly Crab Cake: Turning the Tide Together by Andrea Tsurumi Asian-Americans Who Inspire Us by Analiza Quiroz Wolf, illustrated by Tuire Suirainen Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist, written by Julie Leung  From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Cheng Thom, illustrated by Kai Yun Ching You can find Nicole on Twitter @ittybittyNY You can find Nusrah on Twitter @JavedNusrah Until next time! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicole and Nusrah are back to talk about some excellent middle-grade books with non-binary and trans leads. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Resources to curate more middle-grade books with non-binary and trans leads https://lgbtqreads.com/middle-grade/ https://www.lambdaliterary.org/2021/03/2021-lambda-literary-award-finalists Books Mentioned The Strangeworlds Travel Agency* by LD Lapinski The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass Cattywampus by Ash Van Otterloo Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky The Moon Within by Aida Salazar Both Can Be True by Jules Machias Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker King and The Dragonflies by Kacen Callendar I am Jazz* by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings Who Are You? The Kids’ Guide to Gender Identity by Brook Pessin-Whedbee Don’t forget to check out some excellent lists over at Book Riot that mention more reads to help you start a conversation about gender identity. Titles with

Nicole and Nusrah discuss empowering board books in honor of Women’s History Month! For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Book Riot may earn a commission. Resources for curating an inclusive selection Vilissa Thompson, Social Worker, Writer, Disability activist compiled this Black Women’s syllabus compilation. Little Feminist Bookclub is a great resource for intersectional, feminist children’s literature. Non-Board Books Discussed Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousufzai, illustrated by Kerascoët Board Books Discussed honoring Womens’ history month Dream Big Little One written and illustrated by Vashti Harrison Baby Young Gifted and Black by Jamia Wilson, illustrated by Andrea Pippins Hats of Faith by Media Cohan, illustrated by Sarah Walsh ABC for Me: ABC What Can She Be?: Girls can be anything they want to be, from A to Z by Sugar Snap Studio (Author), Jessie Ford (A

Nicole and guest Jenn Northington discuss the results of the 2021 Rainbow List, fantasy chapter books, and hear from BB Alston, author of Amari and the Night Brothers. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links The ALA’s 2021 Rainbow List BB Alston Books Discussed Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi Storm Runner by JC Cervantes (cw: ableism) The Serpent’s Secret (KIRANMALA AND THE KINGDOM BEYOND) by Sayantali Dasgupta Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes The Dragon Egg Princess by Ellen Oh Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee Root Magic by Eden Royce Blackblood by Phu Vuong Rick Riordan Presents See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicole and Matthew discuss the results of the 2021 Youth Media Awards and celebrate some of their favorite books honored by the awards. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Book Riot may earn a commission. RELEVANT LINKS: ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards (press release) BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat (Newbery Honor Book) A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat (Newbery Honor Book) We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom; illustrated by Michaela Goade (Randolph Caldecott Medal) Me & Mama illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera (Caldecott Honor Book) (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book) Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration by Samara Cole Doyon; illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book) All the Days Pa

Nicole and Matthew talk about current awareness of the Holocaust among Millenials and Gen Z individuals as well as antisemitic images and language present at the January 6 insurrection event at the Capital in Washington, DC. Joining us is Susan Kusel, synagogue librarian, book buyer for an independent bookstore, and author of The Passover Guest, illustrated by Sean Rubin. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Book Riot may earn a commission. Relevant Links: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (website) We Decoded The Symbols From The Storming Of The Capitol | Beyond The Headlines (Insider News, YouTube) “First- Ever 50-State Survey on Holocaust Knowledge of American Millennials and Gen Z Reveals Shocking Results” (The Claims Conference, website) Susan Kusel (website) Sydney Taylor Book Award (Association of Jewish Libraries, website) BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW:

Nicole and Matthew talk about the books they’re most looking forward to in 2021. Joining us is Sailaja Joshi, CEO and founder of Mango and Marigold Press. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! RELEVANT LINKS: Mango and Marigold Press BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: PICTURE BOOKS Tag Team (El Toro & Friends) by Raúl the Third Training Day (El Toro & Friends) by Raúl the Third Zonia’s Rain Forest by Juana Martinez-Neal What You Don’t Know: A Story of Liberated Childhood by Anastasia Higginbotham Michelle’s Garden: How the First Lady Planted Seeds of Change by Sharee Miller I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner; illustrated by Michaela Goade Laxmi’s Mooch by Shelly Anand; illustrated by Nabi H. Ali Middle Grade Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston Root Magic By Eden Royce Red, White, and Whole by Rajani Larocca Baseball’s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues by Andrea

Nicole and Matthew talk about the collective pandemic experience and how, despite all going through this together, we can end up feeling awfully alone. Joining us is book creator LeUyen Pham, Caldecott Honor recipient and author and illustrator of Outside, Inside. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! RELEVANT LINKS: LeUyen Pham (Author Page, Macmillan Publishers) Outside, Inside (Macmillan Publishers) BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: PICTURE BOOKS Germs: Fact and Fiction, Friends and Foes by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome A Kids Book About COVID-19 by Malia Jones Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost Why We Stay Home: Suzie Learns About Coronavirus by Samantha Harris and Devon Scott; illustrated by Harriet Rodis CLOSING NOTE: Let us know what books or topics you’ve been sharing this week, or if you have a suggestion or book recommendation for an upcoming episode. Find us on email (kidlitthesedays

Nicole and Matthew talk about working with children through challenging questions with truthful answers. Joining us is special guest Jelani Memory, author of A Kids Book About Racism and co-founder and CEO of A Kids Book About. For even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: A Kids Book About (homepage) Jelani Memory and Company on making books and leaving messages for their childhood selves (The Children’s Book Podcast) Kids Meet a Transgender Soldier (HiHo channel, YouTube) Kids Meet a Person with Cerebral Palsey Kids Meet a Person with Alopecia Kids Meet a Person with Tourette’s Kids Meet a Drag Queen Kids Meet a Young Adult in Hospice Kids Meet a Nurse on the Frontlines of COVID-19 Kids Meet a Virologist Down Syndrome Answers series (Canadian Down Syndrome channel, YouTube) “Really Long Distance” podcast episode (This American Life) How to Survive the End of the World (podcast) BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: PICTURE BO

Nicole and Matthew share a selection of the books they’ve recommended most this year.  This episode is sponsored by TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering reading recommendations personalized to your reading life. , Spacebattle Lunchtime Vol. 3 by Natalie Riess from Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group, and Odessa by Jonathan Hill from Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: BOARD BOOKS: Lil Libros written by Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein, illustrated by Citlali Reyes ABC For Me: ABC What Can I Be?: YOU Can Be Anything YOU Want To Be, From A To Z by Sugar Snap Studio, Jessie Ford Our Little Adventures: Stories Featuring Foundational Language Concepts for Growing Minds by Tabitha Paige Future Baby (series) by Lori Alexander – Future President, Future Engineer, Future Astronaut PICTURE BOOKS: Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Kidlit These Days is your kidlit connoisseurs pairing the best of children’s literature with what’s going on in the world today. Join hosts Matthew and Nicole as they dig into current events and recommend books for kids from birth to middle school! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicole and Matthew talk about the election, political leadership, and using your voice to bring about democratic change.  This episode is sponsored by TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering reading recommendations personalized to your reading life, Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love, and Emporia State University’s School of Library & Information Management. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: PebbleGo Vote Scholastic’s “Elections” resource bank Teaching Tolerance “Voting and Voices” Books Discussed on the Show: Picture Books: Future President by Lori Alexander; illustrated by Allison Black A Kids Book About Voting by Next Up We Are the Change: Words of Inspiration from Civil Rights Leaders If You Go with Your Goat to Vote by Jan Zauzmer; illustrated by Andrew Roberts V Is for Voting by Kate Farrell; illustrated by Caitlin Kuhwald Vote for Our Future! by Margaret McNamara; illustrated by Micah Playe

Nicole and Matthew talk about the ancestral strength and the ability to look ahead knowing who and what has already come before you. Joining us is special guest Tami Charles, author of All Because You Matter, illustrated by Bryan Collier. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s mystery thriller podcast, Read or Dead, Frankie and the Creepy Cute Critters by Caitlin Rose Boyle from Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group, and Spark and the League of Ursus by Robert Repino from Quirk Books. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: Tami Charles (website) All Because You Matter book trailer Tami talks to her son about All Because You Matter Books Discussed on the Show: Picture Books: All Because You Matter by Tami Charles; illustrated by Bryan Collier The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander; illustrated by Kadir Nelson Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal Going Down Home with Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons; illustrated

Nicole and Matthew talk about the opportunistic and demanding world of self-publishing and why some self-published authors say that traditional publishing was never an option. Joining is special guest Suhani Parikh, author of Shreya’s Very Own Style and the founder of Modern Marigold Books.  This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s mystery thriller podcast, Read or Dead, Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Frankie Comics by Rachel Dukes from Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: “What’s LOVE got to do with it?” Self-publishing as a Black feminist act of radical self-care (Zeta Elliott, Huffpost) Becoming an Author (Bethany Stahls, YouTube) Centering Black Creators (The Authors Guild Foundation) Modern Marigold Books (Suhani Parikh) Shreya’s Very Own Style by Suhani Parkh BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: Suhani’s Book Recommendations Hai

Nicole and Matthew talk about cloud-based schooling, self-organized learning environments, and school reimagined in fantasy fiction.  This episode is sponsored by TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering reading recommendations personalized to your reading life, The Wizerd And the Potion of Dreams! from Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group, and Croaked! from Yellow Jacket, an imprint of Little Bee Books. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen; illustrated by Aaron Becker (PW announcement) Build a school in the Cloud (2013 TED talk by Sugata Mitra, educational researcher) Feature documentary about Sugata Mitra’s ‘School In The Cloud’ (trailer) The School in the Cloud: The Emerging Future of Learning by Sugata Mitra (book) A School in the Cloud and the Future of Learning (WIRED, 2013) BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: Picture Books Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood; illustrated

Nicole and Matthew talk about #ownvoices representation in comics, pocket culture, and we reflect on Black Panther and the late Chadwick Boseman. Joining is special guest Paul Meyer, co-author of Under the Cottonwood Tree: El Susto de la Curandera, a graphic novel with Carlos Meyer and illustrated by Margaret Hardy. This episode is sponsored by TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering reading recommendations personalized to your reading life, The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Katie O’Neill and Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group, and This is a Flying Rat by Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley and Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: Under the Cottonwood Tree (website) Under the Cottonwood Tree (book trailer) BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: Listener Recommendations New Kid by Jerry Craft (recommended by Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle, Urania Smith, and Angie Moore) Class Act by Jerry Craft (recommen

Nicole and Matthew celebrate the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Joining is special guest Keah Brown, a disability rights activist and journalist, creator of the hashtag #DisabledAndCute, and author of the upcoming Sam’s Super Seats. This episode is sponsored by TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering reading recommendations personalized to your reading life, War Stories by Gordon Korman from Scholastic, and Book Riot Insiders, the digital hangout spot for the Book Riot community. To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links ADA 30 Years – Americans with Disabilities Act #ADA30 AAPD celebrates ADA30 – The American Association of People with Disabilities “A.D.A. Now!” Throughline podcast episode Keah Brown (special guest) Books Discussed on the Show: Picture Books Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration by Samara Cole Doyon; illustrated by Kaylani Juanita My Three Best Friend

Nicole and Matthew discuss how the coronavirus is affecting decisions to reopen schools and what school will look like in the fall. This episode is sponsored by: Read or Dead, Book Riot’s mystery/thriller podcast Act by Kayla Miller, HMH Books for Young Readers Peng!: Action Sports Adventures from Oni Press To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! Relevant Links: A School Reopens, and the Coronavirus Creeps In (NYT) Ways School Librarians Can Serve Students in Fall 2020 Books Discussed on the Show: Picture Books: The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India by Meera Sriram; illustrated by Mariona Cabassa The Thing about Bees: A Love Letter by Shabazz Larkin Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan; illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow Chapter Books: 13th Street #1: Battle of the Bad-Breath Bats by David Bowles; illustrated by Shane Clester #2: The

Nicole and Matthew discuss the creation and use of the #OwnVoices hashtag, representation of diversity in kidlit, and the value of storytelling through lived experience. This episode is sponsored by: TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering reading recommendations personalized to your reading life Libro.fm Book Riot Insiders, the digital hangout spot for the Book Riot community To get even more kidlit news and recommendations, sign up for our The Kids Are All Right newsletter! RELEVANT LINKS: #ownvoices (blog post by #ownvoices hashtag creator Corrine Duyvis) Picture This: Diversity in Children’s Books 2018 Infographic The Diversity Gap in Children’s Publishing, 2018 BOOKS DISCUSSED ON THE SHOW: Picture Books: Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away by Meg Medina; illustrated by Sonia Sanchez Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal Dreamers by Yuyi Morales When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson; illustrated by Julie Flett The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol by Arthur A. Levin