All Episodes

An Interview with Rachel Orr

Mary R. Lanni, "Using Nursery Rhymes with Today’s Kids: Their Legacy and Evolution" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

An Interview with Senior Literary Agent Stephen Fraser

María Dolores Águila, "A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez" (Roaring Brook Press, 2025)

David McMullin, "Rock 'N' Roll, Baby!" (Random House, 2026)

Vidhya & Parani, "O Dharmaputri!: Indian Heart, Yogic Wings" (Garuda Prakashan, 2025)

John Masiulionis, "Walking Each Other Home – Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children" (Trolley Stop Publishing, 2026)

Yiddish Children’s Literature and Jewish Modernity: A Conversation with Miriam Udel

Nancy Hudgins, "Books Good Enough for You: The Storied Life of Ursula Nordstrom" (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2026)

Tamara Kay, "Sesame Street Around the World: Culture, Politics, and Transnational Organizational Partnerships" (Oxford UP, 2025)

Kristine A. Lombardi, "Crouton: One Cat's Adoption Tale" (Random House, 2026)

Leila Sales, "The Museum of Lost and Found" (Harry N. Abrams, 2023)

Mel Rosenberg, "Emily Saw A Door" (Random House Studio, 2026)

Melissa Stoller, "Hazel and Mabel: Two Hearts Apart" (Gnome Road, 2025)

Cindy Williams Schrauben, "Hank's Change of Heart" (The Little Press, 2025)

Renée LaTulippe, "Limelight: Curtain Up on Poetry Comics" (Charlesbridge Moves, 2025)

Jennifer Conrad on Teaching Through Picture Book Appreciation

Ziggy Hanaor, "Life (As We Know It)" (Cicada Books, 2025)

Julie Fette, "Gender by the Book: 21st-Century French Children's Literature" (Routledge, 2025)

Stephanie Ellen Sy. "You Can't Tame a Tiger" (OwlKids, 2025)

Children's Books with Annie Kelley, Executive Editor, Random House STUDIO

Tami Lehman-Wilzig, "Rembrandt's Blessing" (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2025)

Liz Bicknell on a Life in Childrens Literature

Trends in KIdslit: A Discussion with Harold Underdown

Sven Völker, "The Museum of Shapes" (Cicada Books, 2025)

Suzy Levinson, "Dinos That Drive" (Tundra Books, 2025)

Friederike Ablang and Roseanne Baxter Frank, "O'Win and the Moon" (Wonder House Books, 2025)

Danna Zeiger, "Rewriting the Rules" (Millbrook Press, 2025)

Hannah Shafiroff, "My Little Book of Big Jewish Holidays" (Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025)

Mallory Loehr on a Life in Children's Books

D.J. Corchin , "A Million Yes's" (Phazelfoz, 2025)

Ammi-Joan Paquette, "My Mouth Says" (Penguin, 2025)

Dylan Thuras and Jennifer Swanson, "The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World" (Workman Kids, 2025)

Amy Moore, "The Baker's Dozen" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2025)

Gabriel Ertsgaard, "A Fiction Writer’s Guide to Peace: Crafting Nonviolent Heroism" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

An Interview with Gaby Cabezut

An Interview with Colby Sharp

Ryan G. Van Cleave, "The Witness Trees: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watched Them Happen" (Bushel & Peck, 2023)

Yasmine Motawy, "Children’s Picture Books and Contemporary Egyptian Society" (AUC Press, 2025)

Yevgenia Nayberg, "A Party for Florine: Florine Stettheimer and Me" (Neal Porter Books, 2024)

Melissa H. Mwai, "I Can Make a Friend!" (Paw Prints, 2025)

Ann Koffsky, "Ping-Pong Shabbat: The True Story of Champion Estee Ackerman" (Little Bee Books, 2024)

Ann McCallum Staats, "Fantastic Flora: The World's Biggest, Baddest, and Smelliest Plants" (MIT Kids Press, 2025)

Betsy Bird, "Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme" (Union Square Books, 2025)

Penny Parker Klostermann, "The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and her Arachnid World War II Army" (Astra, 2025)

Marissa Valdez, "Hedgehogs Don't Wear Underwear" (Roaring Brook, 2025)

Michael Parkin, "Wrong Time Rooster" (Flying Eye Books, 2025)

My First Tanakh Stories Set (4vs.): Avraham, Miriam, Eliyahu, Ruth

Joyce Uglow, "Stuck! the Story of the La Brea Tar Pits" (Bushel & Peck Books, 2025)

Audrey Perrott, "A Hat for House: One Storm, Many Helpers" (G. P. Putnam, 2024)

A Chat with Author-Illustrator Selina Alko

Rachelle Bergstein, "The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us" (Atria, 2024)

Sam Arthur on Publishing Children's Books

Bea Birdsong, "Goat Is the G.O.A.T." (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025)

Vivian Kirkfield, "One Girl's Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land" (Calkins Creek, 2025)

Erica Lyons, "On a Chariot of Fire: The Story of India's Bene Israel" (Levine Querido, 2024)

Henry Herz, "I Am Gravity" (Tilbury House, 2024)

Rachel Michelle Wilson, "How to Pee Your Pants: The Right Way" (Feiwel & Friends, 2024)

David Miles Talks Children's Books

Lesléa Newman, "Hanukkah" (Words & Pictures, 2024)

Maya Schleifer, "The Giant's Home" (2022)

Danielle Sharkan, "Sharing Shalom" (Holiday House, 2024)

Mark Hoffmann, "Dirt Cheap" (Knopf Books for Young Readers; 2020)

Talk to the Editor: A Discussion with Elizabeth Law

Highlights Foundation: A Discussion with Executive Director George Brown

Sarah Aronson, "Abzuglutely!:Battling, Bellowing Bella Abzug" (Calkins Creek Books, 2024)

Childrens' Books in Public Libraries: A Discussion with Pat (Patrick) Gracey

Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple, "We Celebrate the Light" (Penguin, 2024)

Tina Shepardson, "The Sorry Seeds" (Gnome Road, 2024)

Kimberly Wilson, "A Credit Card Takes Charge" (Page Street Kids, 2024)

Cathy Stefanec Ogren, "The Little Red Chair" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2024)

On Haya Shenhav's "100 Rooms"

Ruth Spiro, "One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story" (Dial Books, 2024)

Dan Gutman, "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" (Holiday House, 2024)

Muslimness in Books for Young Readers: A Chat with A. M. Dassu

Charly Palmer and Karida Brown, "The New Brownies' Book: A Love Letter to Black Families" (Chronicle Books, 2023)

Don Tate, Children's Book Illustrator and Author

Bonni Goldberg, "Doña Gracia Saved Worlds" (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2023)

The Business of Publishing Children's Books: A Discussion with Elizabeth Law

Lesléa Newman, "Like Father, Like Son" (Abrams, 2024)

Robin Newman, "Who's Writing This Story?" (Creston Books, 2024)

Jennifer Berne, "A Tour of the Human Body: Amazing Numbers--Fantastic Facts" (Astra Publishing House, 2024)

Marie-Louise Gay, "Walking Trees" (Groundwood Books, 2024)

Julie Carpenter, "Harry and the Highwire: Houdini's First Amazing Act" (Green Bean Books, 2024)

On Monsters, Goddesses and Myths: A Discussion with Author Katherine Marsh

Laura Bower, "The Imposter" (Gnome Road Publishing, 2024)

Michelle Knudsen, "Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten" (Candlewick Press, 2024)

Shoshanna Lockshin and Efrayim Unterman, "The Devash Megillat Esther" (Hadar Press, 2024)

Sue Fliess, "Octopus Acrobatics" (Albert Whitman & Company, 2024)

Emily Barth Isler, "The Color of Sound" (Carolrhoda Books, 2024)

A Chat with a Children's Book Illustrator: Erin Kraan

Suzanne Slade, "The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue" (Astra, 2021)

Heather L. Montgomery, "Sick!: The Twists and Turns Behind Animal Germs" (Bloomsbury, 2024)

Get Signed: A Chat with Literary Agent Lucinda Halperin

Laurie Wallmark and Raakhee Mirchandani, "Journey to the Stars: Kalpana Chawla, Astronaut" (Beaming Books, 2024)

My Friends Maurice Sendak and Leonard Bernstein

Rebecca Gardyn Levington, "Afikoman, Where'd You Go?: A Passover Hide-and-Seek Adventure" (Rocky Pond Books, 2024)

Talk to the Literary Agent: A Discussion with Victoria Selvaggio

What Makes A Great Picture Book?

Meet the Literary Agent: A Chat with Leslie Zampetti

Miriam Halahmy, "A Boy from Baghdad" (Green Bean Books, 2024)

Meet the Librarian

Renée LaTulippe, "The Crab Ballet" (Abrams, 2022)

Isabel Estrada, "La Mariachi" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2023)

Charlotte Offsay, "Challah Day!" (Holiday House, 2023)

Lita Judge, "Don't Worry, Wuddles" (Atheneum, 2023)

Tara Lazar, "Flat Cat" (Flamingo Books, 2023)

Donating Books to Children: A Chat with Alex Zablotsky of PJ Library

Talk to the Agent: A Discussion with Jennifer Unter

Talk to the Publisher: A Chat with Sandra Shutter

Meet the Literary Agent: A Chat with Marisa A. Corvisiero

Bea Birdsong, "Boop!" (HarperCollins, 2023)

Autism in Children's Literature: A Discussion with Jen Malia

What Do Literary Agents Do?

Illustrating Children's Books: A Discussion with Amanda Hall

Melissa Stewart, "Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature's Nightlight" (Knopf, 2023)

Free Books for the Children of Chicago

Julie Hedlund, "Song After Song: The Musical Life of Julie Andrews" (Little Bee Books, 2023)

Mónica Mancillas, "How to Speak in Spanglish" (Penguin Workshop, 2023)

A Discussion with Jannie Ho, Illustrator and Author

Michael Leventhal, "The Chocolate King" (Green Bean Books, 2021)

Brides of Christ (with Sr Mary Josefa of the Eucharist)

A Better Way to Buy Books

A Chat with a Literary Agent: Savannah Brooks

Laurie Wallmark, "Rivka's Presents" (Random House Studio, 2023)

Lisa M. Bolt Simons, "The Vanished Northwest Passage Arctic Expedition" (Capstone, 2022)

Leslie Kimmelman, "Ready, Set, Run!: The Amazing New York City Marathon" (Random House Studio, 2023)

Anna Olswanger, "Greenhorn" (NewSouth Books, 2012)

The Children's Books Business: A Discussion with Elizabeth Law

Sarah Sassoon, "Shoham's Bangle" (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2022)

Shelli R. Johannes and Chelsea Clinton, "She Persisted: Florence Nightingale" (Philomel Books, 2023)

Ariel Bernstein, "You Go First" (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2023)

Jewish Children's Books: A Chat with Lili Rosenstreich

Illustrating Children's Books: A Discussion with Holly Hatam

Anne Roos Kleiss, "When a Friend Needs a Friend" (Scholastic Press, 2023)

Anna Lazowski, "Dark Cloud" (Kids Can Press, 2023)

Martin Lemelman, "The Miracle Seed" (Eerdmans Young Readers, 2023)

Hanoch Piven and Shira Hecht-Koller, "Dream Big, Laugh Often: And More Great Advice from the Bible" (FSG, 2023)

Sophia Gholz, "A History of Toilet Paper (and Other Potty Tools)" (Running Press Kids, 2022)

Lee Wardlaw, "Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku" (Henry Holt, 2015)

Jennifer Swanson, "Footprints Across the Planet" (Reycraft, 2022)

Jennifer Berne, "How the Sea Came to Be (and All the Creatures in It)" (Eerdmans, 2023)

Katey Howes, "Woven of the World" (Chronicle Books, 2023)

Advice from a Literary Agent

Noa Nimrodi, "Not So Shy" (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2023)

Chris Haughton on Writing and Illustrating Children's Books

Shelly M. Jones, "Women Who Count: Honoring African American Women Mathematicians" (American Mathematical Society, 2019)

Lindsay Bonilla, "The Note Who Faced the Music" (Page Street Kids, 2023)

Susan Johnston Taylor, "Animals in Surprising Shades: Poems about Earth's Colorful Creatures" (Gnome Road Publishing, 2023)

Talk to the Children's Lit Agent: A Discussion with Melissa Edwards

Cathy Stefanec Ogren, "Pew! The Stinky and Legen-Dairy Gift from Colonel Thomas S. Meacham" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2023)

Publishing Jewish Children's Books: A Chat with Joni Sussman

Ned Bustard, "Saint Patrick the Forgiver: The History and Legends of Ireland's Bishop" (InterVarsity, 2023)

Kirsten W. Larson, "The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of" (Chronicle Books, 2023)

Emma Bland Smith, "Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of 'Make Way for Ducklings'" (Calkins Creek Books, 2022)

James McGowan, "Good Night, Oppy!" (Astra Young Readers, 2021)

Philip Nel, "Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books" (Oxford UP, 2017)

Jean Reidy, "A Grand Day" (Simon and Schuster, 2022)

A Chat with Children's Lit Agent Debbie Bibo

Tammi Sauer, "The Underpants" (Scholastic Press, 2022)

Child's Play: The Seriousness of Children's Literature

Tara Lazar, "Time Flies: Down to the Last Minute" (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022)

Elena Goodwin, "Translating England into Russian: The Politics of Children's Literature in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia" (Bloomsbury, 2021)

What Makes a Book, Song or Movie Popular? A Conversation with Noah Askin

Ken Schept, "A Gift of Feathers" (Feiwel & Friends, 2023)

Julia Richardson, "Little Dandelion Seeds the World" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2021)

Helen Wu on Writing Children's Books for Chinese and American Audiences

Ourboox: A Conversation with Mel Rosenberg

Writing for Young People, Being a Literary Agent, and Success

Carrie Finison, "Lulu and Zoey: A Sister Story" (Running Press Kids, 2022)

Annette Bay Pimentel, "Before Music: Where Instruments Come From" (Abrams, 2022)

Shelli R. Johannes, "Theo TheSaurus and the Perfect Pet" (Viking, 2022)

Rose-Ann Smith, "The Day I Became a Hurricane" (Hooked on Books Jamrock, 2022)

Bea Birdsong, "How to Spot a Best Friend" (Rodale Kids, 2021)

91* Leah Price on Children’s Books: Turning Back the Clock on “Adulting” (EF, JP)

Robyn McGrath, "Dolly!: The Story of Dolly Parton and Her Big Dream" (Little Brown, 2022)

Elaine Kachala, "Superpower?: The Wearable-Tech Revolution" (Orca Book Publishers, 2022)

Publishing Children's Books: A Chat with Meira Firon

Debra Kempf Shumaker, "Peculiar Primates: Fun Facts About These Curious Creatures" (Running Press Kids, 2022)

A Life in Children's and YA Publishing: A Discussion with Elizabeth Law

Rosie J. Pova, "The School of Failure: A Story about Success" (Yeehoo Press, 2022)

Rena Rossner, "The Light of the Midnight Stars" (Redhook, 2021)

Hannah Holt, "A History of Underwear with Professor Chicken" (Roaring Brook, 2022)

Sylvia Liu, "Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation" (Razorbill, 2022)

Candid Advice for Would-Be Children's Books Authors

Megan Hoyt, "The Greatest Song of All: How Isaac Stern United the World to Save Carnegie Hall" (Quill Tree Books, 2022)

Michelle Knudsen and Chelsea Clinton, "She Persisted: Nellie Bly" (Philomel, 2021)

Rosemary Mosco, "Flowers Are Pretty . . . Weird!" (Tundra Book, 2022)

Leah Henderson, "Daddy Speaks Love" (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022)

Michal Babay, "Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom" (Charlesbridge, 2022)

A Chat with Lisa Varchol Perron, Childrens' Book Author and Lover of Patterns

An Early Morning Interview on the Tel Aviv Beach with Maira Kalman

Alysson Foti Bourque, "Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday" (Arcadia/Pelican, 2022)

Salma Hussain, "The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan" (Tundra Books, 2022)

Cindy Williams Schrauben, "This Could Be You" (Cardinal Rule Press, 2022)

Helen H. Wu, "Tofu Takes Time" (Beaming Books, 2022)

James Michael Thibeault, "Melanie and the Box" (2021)

Jennifer Wolf Kam, "Until the Blueberries Grow" (PJ Publishing, 2022)

Pat Zietlow Miller, "In Our Garden" (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2022)

Kelly Herold et al., "Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991-2017" (Brill, 2021)

Laurie Smollett Kutscera, "Maya's Treasure" (Peter Pauper Press, 2021)

Beth Ferry, "No Nibbling!" (Roaring Brook Press, 2022)

Katelyn Aronson, "Clovis Keeps His Cool" (Page Street, 2021)

Amalia Hoffman, "Masha Munching" (Yeehoo Press, 2022)

PJ McIlvaine, "Little Lena and the Big Table" (Big Belly Book Co., 2019)

Laura Sassi, "Bunny Finds Easter" (Zonderkidz, 2022)

Linda J. M. Holloway, "Little Miss Linda Speaks Out About Diversity" (2021)

Mike Malbrough, "Love Is Here" (Penguin, 2021)

Christine Taylor Butler, "The Get-Together" (Reycraft Books, 2022)

Anne Renaud, "Gwendolyn's Pet Garden" (Penguin, 2021)

Janie Emaus, "Latkes for Santa Claus" (Sky Pony Press, 2020)

Amalia Hoffman, "My Monsterpiece" (Yeehoo Press, 2021)

Risa Cohen: Creative Director of "Sing into Reading"

Rotem Omri on Illustrating Children's Books

Ruth Spiro, "Maxine and the Greatest Garden Ever" (Dial/PRH, 2021)

Colleen Paeff, "The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem" (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2021)

Rajani LaRocca, "Bracelets for Bina's Brothers" (Charlesbridge, 2021)

Anna Lazowski, "T. Rexes Can't Tie Their Shoes" (Doubleday, 2021)

Kirsten W. Larson, "A True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything" (Clarion Books, 2021)

Pamela Moritz, "If I Lived with Noah" (Apple and Honey Press, 2020)

Nicholas Jubber, "The Fairy Tellers: A Journey into the Secret History of Fairy Tales" (John Murray, 2022)

Karen Rostoger-Gruber, "The Family (and Frog! ) Haggadah" (Behrman House, 2017)

Nancy Churnin, "Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing" (Creston Books, 2018)

Julie Hedlund, "Over, Bear! Under, Where?" (Philomel Books, 2021)

Chana Stiefel Chana, "Let Liberty Rise!: How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty" (Scholastic Press, 2021)

Atara Ofek on What Makes a Children's Book Good

Elaine Kiely Kearns, "Noah Noasaurus" (Albert Whitman and Company, 2019)

Alayne Kay Christian, "The Weed That Woke Christmas: The Mostly True Tale of the Toledo Christmas Weed (Blue Whale Press, 2020)

Miri Leshem-Pelly, "Penny And The Plain Piece Of Paper" (Philomel Books, 2020)

Vivian Kirkfield, "Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe" (Little Bee Books, 2020)

Mike Malbrough, "Marigold Bakes a Cake" (Philomel Books, 2017)

Melissa Stoller, "Sadie’s Shabbat Stories" (Spork, 2020)

Lydia Lukidis, "No Bears Allowed" (Blue Whale Press, 2019)

Julie Hedlund on Writing Children's Books

Harold Underdown on Writing and Publishing Books for Children

Ellen Leventhal, "A Flood of Kindness" (Worthy Kids, 2021)

Annette Whipple, "Whooo Knew?: The Truth about Owls" (Reycraft Books, 2020)

Joyce Lapin, "The Little Spacecraft That Could" (Sterling Children's Books, 2021)

Amy Murrell, "Becca Epps Series about Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors" (Shawnee Scientific Press, 2017-2021)

Debra Shumaker, "Freaky, Funky Fish: Odd Facts about Fascinating Fish" (Running Press Kids, 2021)

Beth Anderson, "‘Smelly Kelly’ and His Super Senses" (Calkins Creek, 2020)

Ann Koffsky, "Kayla and Kugel's Happy Hanhukkah" (Apples and Honey Press, 2020)

Nicholas Solis, "The Staring Contest" (Peter Pauper Press, 2020)