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FEBRUARY 2022

Our February line-up includes interviews with Vanessa Messenger, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kingsley Osei, Sara Sharaf Beg, Adam Rubin, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Brenda Woods, Terry Pierce, and Hudson Talbott!

Taylor Moxey celebrates a milestone, Judy Newman spends a night (or day) at the museum, Linda Harkey has a doggone writing assignment for little readers, and Nick Spake interviews the cast of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania!

We are happy to welcome our newest sponsor, Once Upon a Dance, whose mission is to provide kids with movement and joy through stories.

Check out our newest book reviews and reading list! It's all inside!

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Sponsored by Linda Harkey and Once Upon a Dance.

FEATURES

VANESSA MESSENGER

PENS A PAWS-ITIVE TALE TO HELP KIDS UNDERSTAND DIABETES

by Melissa Fales

Teddy, an adorable, upbeat cartoon Pomeranian, steals the show in Vanessa Messenger’s new book, Teddy Talks: A Paws-itive Story about Type 1 Diabetes. Teddy Talks offers a glimpse into the daily life of a Type 1 diabetic in a simple way that children can understand. Throughout the book, Teddy tells kids about the things he and his human, Emily, do every day in order to manage her diabetes. “As a Type 1 Diabetic and mother of two, I know firsthand how challenging it is to explain medical conditions to kids,” says Messenger, “which is why I want this book to help families who are looking to understand.” Read the full article.

CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD

HONORS CONGRESSMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS IN NEW PICTURE BOOK

by Melissa Fales

Prolific children’s book author Carole Boston Weatherford is perhaps best known for her profiles of Black leaders in the sports, entertainment, and political arenas, such as Jesse Owens, Oprah, and Barack Obama. Her newest book, The Faith of Elijah Cummings: The North Star of Social Justice, hails civil rights advocate and long-serving member of the House of Representatives for Maryland’s 7th congressional district. “I was drawn to Congressman Cummings’ story because he was from my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland and we had commonalities, like finding refuge at the Pratt Library and watching planes take off during family outings at the airport,” says Weatherford. Read the full article.

ONE TO READ:

KINGSLEY OSEI

by Melissa Fales

For over nine years, children’s book author Kingsley Osei has been a classroom teacher, and that played a major role in his initial decision to write books for children. “I began to write, keeping my students in mind, and thought about the things they’d love and inspire to be when reading books,” says Osei. “So, my titles revolve around representation. I am a teacher for primarily Black and brown elementary students, so I want students and kids to see themselves in my books and feel they can achieve anything.” His latest work, Eyes on the Prize, is available as an e-book. Subscribe now to read more.

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SARA SHARAF BEG

WRITES A COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL ABOUT FAITH, LOVE, AND FRIENDSHIP

by Melissa Fales

In her debut novel, Salaam, with Love, author Sara Sharaf Beg explains what it’s like to be a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager. Salaam, with Love is not an autobiography, but Beg uses her personal experience to interweave cultural details about Islam with the universal uncertainties of being a teenager. “Young adulthood is such a crucial time for self-development,” she says. “It’s incredibly important to experience positive representation at that age, and unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much positive, practicing Muslim representation in mainstream media when I was a teen. So, I wrote the book that I would have wanted to access when I was that age, and it just so happened to be a young adult novel.” Subscribe now to read more.

ADAM RUBIN

INVITES YOUNG WRITERS TO SHARE THEIR STORIES

by Melissa Fales

The Ice Cream Machine is the middle grade debut of New York Times bestselling picture book author, Adam Rubin, and it’s built around an ingenious concept. The book is a collection of six different stories from multiple genres, yet all bearing the same title. Once readers have read the sextet, Rubin invites them to write their own version of The Ice Cream Machine and send it to him. “The practice of capturing your imagination on paper and sharing it with another human being can be thrilling,” Rubin says. “It can be terrifying and depressing at times but when you get it right, it’s empowering and exciting. I wanted to share that sentiment with kids; to tell them ‘Writing is magic.’ To prove it, I needed to write some fun stories that might inspire them to try writing some of their own.” Read the full article.

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OLUGBEMISOLA RHUDAY-PERKOVICH

HITS A HIGH NOTE WITH NEW MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL

by Melissa Fales

In her new middle grade book, Operation Sisterhood, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich introduces a menagerie of characters including adults, kids, and plenty of pets: a dog, two cats, a turtle, chickens, and even a bearded dragon, all learning to coexist in a Harlem brownstone. The story focuses on the fun and feisty quartet of girls suddenly thrust together to become an instant family. “It’s a story of Black girls being their own selves, having fun, living life, and having the freedom to figure it out along the way,” says Rhuday-Perkovich.

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BRENDA WOODS

OFFERS A STIRRING HISTORICAL NOVEL FOR MIDDLE GRADERS

by Melissa Fales

The latest book from Coretta Scott King Honoree Brenda Woods is When Winter Robeson Came. Set in Los Angeles in the summer of 1965, it’s about 12-year-old Eden who is excited about her cousin’s impending visit. She envisions the two of them spending long days at the beach and taking a trip to Disneyland. “Winter, her cousin, is going on 14 and has one thing on his mind: finding his missing father,” says Woods. “It’s his first time being away from Mississippi and when he arrives in Los Angeles to visit Eden and her parents for two weeks, he initially thinks that California is pretty close to paradise.” But shortly after Winter arrives, the Watts Riots break out and everything changes. Subscribe now to read more.