The Reading Culture

We all want to believe in heroes and villains, right and wrong, and clear-cut answers. But history and life are rarely that simple. Debbie Levy has spent her career exploring the gray areas, challenging readers to see multiple perspectives and embrace complexity. 

A former lawyer, journalist, and now award-winning children’s author, Debbie has written books like I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark, The Year of Goodbyes, and A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight Over Science in Schools. Her work invites readers to think critically, recognize misinformation, and understand that even those we disagree with are still human.

Aida Salazar believes deeply in the power of words to change the world. For Aida, writing isn’t just a creative act; it’s a responsibility—an act of honoring her ancestors, healing personal wounds, and empowering her young readers.

Her stories like The Moon Within, Land of the Cranes, Jovita Wore Pants, and Ultraviolet center on identity, social justice, and healing, with a particular focus on the immigrant experience. As a poet, novelist, activist, and mother, Aida discusses how writing helped her process grief, how Latin American literature gave her the permission to dream, how growing up in a mixed-status household shaped her, and how motherhood steered her toward children’s literature.

Growing up, Jerry Craft did not enjoy reading. He says he simply never encountered a children's book that intrigued him enough or felt right. But Jerry loves defying expectations, and so naturally, the boy who rarely set foot in a library grew up to become a celebrated children’s book author and illustrator. He has made defying expectations—and breaking stereotypes—a guiding principle in his storytelling.

With a storytelling style that radiates warmth and resilience, Yamile Saed Méndez’s work reflects the cycles of life’s challenges and triumphs. Born in Rosario, Argentina, in the midst of the long shadow of the Dictatorship years, she learned early on the power of hope and the enduring strength of the human spirit. From mastering a second language to embracing life in a new country, Yamile’s journey is one of transformation and connection to her roots.

Raised mainly by her grandmother on a steady diet of porch stories (and lots of bread), Jewell Parker Rhodes spent decades writing for adults, perfecting her craft in order to “be good enough” to write for kids. For Jewell, that has meant creating books that speak to a range of kids with different experiences and backgrounds (like her grandma used to refer to as a “mixed blood stew”) and to the educators and librarians supporting them.

Vashti Harrison burst onto the children’s book scene with her book, “Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.” But to hear her tell it, Vashti still cannot believe that her entry point for kidlit was through nonfiction. Perhaps that is why she took such care and tenderness in creating her first fictional picture book, “Big.” In “Big,” we meet a young girl whose journey feels universally relatable, even if her story is uniquely hers. The book earned Vashti many accolades, including the Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. But its profound effect on her personally was also a great gift and illuminating force for Vashti.

It’s official. Two years in a row makes it a tradition. 

The Reading Culture Yearbook is here.

Andrea Davis Pinkney stands tall at just 4’11”, but she is still somehow larger than life. In her writing, she has what she refers to as “the page one pact,” a commitment to getting her readers’ attention right away. As an interviewee, she does the same. Andrea’s passion, commitment to adding to the canon of Black kid lit, and desire to inspire all kids to love reading come through from the moment she begins to talk.

Drawing deeply from the writing style she honed during her early years in journalism, Andrea’s goal is to craft meaningful stories for kids—often about real people—while ensuring that reading is never (ever) a chore. Instead, she strives to make it a journey young readers are eager to go on with her.

Gregory Maguire expresses himself with extreme precision. While many of us may grasp for words to communicate a specific emotion or to describe a series of events, Gregory seemingly has words and turns of phrase on command. What a delight it is to listen to Gregory talk about his journey, his writing, and his thoughts on a wide variety of topics. 

Growing up, Mac Barnett’s mom never took their picture books off their shelves. They remained a part of his reading world, even as he grew up and could read more mature books. Maybe that choice helped Mac’s youthful spirit alight for longer. As he often notes, kids’ minds are portals to the imaginary, to making believe. For them, everything is possible: superheroes, magic, ghosts. Mac believes that open-mindedness is crucial to fully understanding and appreciating fiction, which is why he makes the argument that kids are the best audience for fiction, and in particular, picture books.

At a young age, Eliot Schrefer acknowledged that he was hiding himself. Growing up queer when he did meant concealing a key part of his identity for the sake of self-preservation. It was through books that he first learned to accept his queerness. That thread leads to one of his most well-known books, "Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)." We unravel that and so much more about Eliot's journey in this episode.

Every moment of every day, our attention is the subject of a battle. As adults, we struggle to focus on the 'right' things—so how can we expect our kids to? With this in mind, capturing and holding young readers’ attention is a key focus for Katherine Marsh in her books. But she’s determined to do so without sacrificing intellectual depth.

Striking this balance has become her mission: to keep readers on the edge of their seats while delivering something meaningful. To achieve that, she draws on her journalism background and the early influence of her grandmother’s captivating stories from Ukraine.

Zoraida Córdova is an award-winning author celebrated for her genre-blending, magical tales like “Labyrinth Lost,” the first book in her Brooklyn Brujas series, which earned her an International Latino Book Award. Her versatility spans adult literary fiction, romance, young adult fiction, editing anthologies, and even adding a touch of romance to the Star Wars universe.

In this episode, Zoraida reflects on the importance of writing for yourself, shares the “about the author” blurb that changed her life, and details her tween years as a green-haired Wiccan screamo-punk (you can’t make this stuff up). Let’s just say that Zoraida’s commitment to rejecting the expectations placed on her began at an early age. (And she has the journals to prove it!)

Elizabeth Acevedo is a beloved poet and author, celebrated for winning prestigious honors like the National Book Award, the Prinz Medal, and the Pura Belpré Award. She also held the title of Young People's Poet Laureate. And on a personal note, she is one of my all-time favorite authors. Elizabeth is renowned for her young adult novels, including “The Poet X,” “Clap When You Land,” and “With The Fire on High,” along with her recent adult novel, “Family Lore.” Her writing vividly explores her Afro-Latina heritage, delving into themes of identity, family, and the relentless pursuit of dreams.

In this episode, we discuss Elizabeth’s secret mentors (and mentees), and some of the spurns she has encountered within the literary community. She reminisces about Friday nights in her apartment building, reflects on the importance of names, and ruminates about what her future may hold. She even shares her original rap name!

In this episode, Ari Tison shares how art connects her to her ancestral heritage. She discusses her unheard call for help with poetry, healing at her own pace, spirituality, the poets who shaped her writing, growing up between multiple places and cultures, and much more.

A.S. King is a prolific, unique writer best known for "Dig," "Ask the Passengers," "Please Ignore Vera Dietz," and "The Collectors." She has received twice the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Edgar Award, and the Printz Honor. Her work often combines surrealism with raw emotional depth, offering a fresh perspective on the human experience.

In this episode, she critiques pointless teen shaming by adults, discusses why surrealism resonates with young readers, and shares her advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth through Gracie's House, a nonprofit named after her late daughter. 

She also reveals how her cheese tattoo led to an insight into humaneness.

Katherine Applegate is a prolific and celebrated author best known for the beloved “Animorphs” series, “Wishtree,”  “Odder,” and, of course, her Newbery Medal-winning “The One and Only Ivan.”  In this episode, she discusses the unique bond between kids and animals, including her early stint as a gerbil peddler! 😱 Katherine shares how a community rallied to fight the censorship of her book “Wishtree,” her part in that fight, and why she always chooses comedy over tragedy, even when the world seems bleak. Plus, Katherine reveals the real reason she's not roughing it out in the wild with Jane Goodall and the gorillas.

In this episode, Shannon shares about growing up in a deeply conservative culture and how writing unearthed her true voice from where it had been simmering beneath the surface. We discuss everything from anxiety to the family cat to boys’ relationship with the color pink. Oh, and we have a special visitor, Shannon’s husband and co-creator, Dean Hale, to discuss their combined writing journeys!

In this episode, Dhonielle Clayton traces the magic in her books back to its roots in African folklore, details the challenge of stepping out from the long shadow of Harry Potter, and outlines her mission to hire her own collective of diverse writers. She is a one-woman powerhouse!

In this episode, Minh discusses how he overcame his insecurities to achieve his dream of becoming a picture book author. He also recounts the transformative experience of writing the biography of the beloved Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and shares an absolutely breathtaking story about their encounter. Minh shares his philosophy on why we should all blur the lines between the real and the imaginary.

In this episode, Julie Murphy discusses the double-edged sword of her self-deprecating humor and how she feels about the response she gets not just from her young readers but especially from their moms. She also discusses the evolution of body politics. She shares the college class that bored her into oblivion, leading her to discover the Twilight series and sparking the chain reaction that landed her in the literary world. 

In this episode, Cece shares insights into her creative process, revealing how her experiences navigating the world with deafness have shaped her storytelling and sense of humor (and draws the connection between her deafness and her love for puns). She also tells us about the gory job that convinced her to pursue a career as an artist. For any budding comic creators, she also reveals the only book you need to read before you write your first graphic novel.

If Nina LaCour were a drink, she would be a cozy cup of tea. You’re not rushing to finish a conversation with Nina. Rather, you are spending time exploring the details. And that is exactly what we did in this episode.

In this episode, LeUyen tells us why she prefers to be an “art chameleon” (and how that led to challenges early in her career). She talks about how support from her teachers showed her that a career as an artist was even a possibility and how an accusation of cheating (well, not really) put her on the right path.

In this episode, Nicola Yoon tells us why she fell in love with the romance genre, how she found her way to writing as a career after 15 years in finance, and she shares her own love story about how she ended up with her husband and fellow writer, David Yoon. She also tells us about their new company Joy Revolution which aims to bring more diversity to the romance genre.

In this episode, Derrick tells the story of how music inspired him to write, how his idols taught him to never compromise his voice as a black man, and why he considers himself a freedom fighter. 

Brandy Colbert is a true acolyte of the craft of writing. She spent her youth creating stories of her own and occasionally borrowing and reinterpreting tales from TV. After studying journalism in college, she spent the early stages of her career contributing to niche magazines, where she honed her research prowess.

John Schu’s entire life has been shaped by books. As a kid, he fell in love with Shel Silverstein; Emily Dickinson comforted him as he was battling an eating disorder, and “The One and Only Ivan,” well, that book changed his life. In fact, it nearly put him into debt (he tells that story in the episode!)

Mark Oshiro was taught to fear the world. To be someone they were not and to repress someone they were. But books were an escape. Books taught them that freedom was possible.

With the 2023 year coming to a close (our first full year in production!), we wanted to celebrate. And what better way to do that than high school yearbook superlative style?

Life is full of small pleasures, bits of magic in ordinary moments that so often go underappreciated. Oge Mora wants to draw attention to those small things and show us the true depth and meaning those moments have in our lives.

Hena Khan didn’t believe her perspective mattered. As a Pakistani-American Muslim, she grew up not seeing her or her family reflected in the media she was consuming. As any kid might do, she concluded that it was simply because her experience was not important, a realization that became clearer in hindsight. Recalling her childhood writing, she discovered she had unintentionally whitewashed her homemade family newspaper.

Doing is a gift, the purpose of doing is an obligation. As a writer, Daniel Nayeri is well aware of the impact he has on readers. There is perhaps no more intimate power than becoming the dialogue in one’s head, and he feels strongly about using that power to have a positive impact on those who read his words. Part of his purpose, or obligation, he believes, is to “re-mystify the world.” Just wait until we talk about why cherries grow in pairs! 

The media and stories around us around us are more than just entertainment, they provide a common space, a piece of the world around us that connects us to others. We learn from these stories, shape our own views and ideas, and listen to and share these ideas with others. They provide a purpose often overlooked, which Dan Santat, as the son of Thai immigrants in rural SoCal, relied upon to connect with a foreign world.

Just as books provide readers with a space to learn, see themselves, reflect, and cope with their inner thoughts, writing has served as a means for Kacen Callender to process and heal from their trauma. Throughout their writing journey, Kacen has traversed the various stages and ages of their life, opening wounds and finding ways to heal them through fiction. 

Kwame is best known "The Crossover," "Booked," "The Door of No Return," and numerous other novels and poetry collections. He also recently authored his memoir "Why Fathers Cry at Night." He has received a Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award among many other awards, and this year "The Crossover" was adapted into a Disney Plus original TV series. 

Neal Shusterman is best known for his "Unwind Dystology" series, his Printz winning "Scythe" trilogy, and "Challenger Deep," which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2015. In this episode, he shares how getting immersed in his favorite fictional worlds inspired him to create some of his own, he’ll talk about how and why he prioritizes characters to enhance immersion, and how seriously he takes sticking to the rules of his world.

Jon is a Caldecott Medal winner author and illustrator known for his distinctive minimalistic art style and quirky but profound writing. His work includes his Hat Trilogy, starting with "I Want My Hat Back", along with newer works such as "The Rock from the Sky," "The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale" and many collaborations with his longtime friend and author Mac Barnett.  

Jacqueline Woodson recognizes that our stories are part of an enduring legacy that stretches far beyond our lifetimes. Embracing the concept of a continuum, she draws inspiration from preceding generations and carries their narratives forward in her writing. Woodson's impactful voice has left an indelible mark on the literary landscape, inspiring millions and advocating for progress and inclusivity.  

Hailing from a working-class border town in Southern California, Matt de la Peña (Last Stop on Market Street, Mexican WhiteBoy, Milo Imagines the World) grew up in an environment that deeply valued strength and stoicism. Instilled with a strong work ethic and the pursuit of opportunities, he followed in the footsteps of the men in his family and community. But still, there was a deeper truth to life within a buried emotional side that he felt compelled to explore. 

Sabaa Tahir’s (“All My Rage,” “An Ember in the Ashes” quartet) upbringing in the Mojave desert, isolated nearly 100 miles from the nearest city, exposed her to an unforgiving landscape and many unforgiving truths of humanity. Within this backdrop, one place held significant importance in shaping her worldview: The Motel, a small business operated by her immigrant parents.  As she notes, “The good is what helps you survive, but the bad is what makes you wary and careful and makes you lonely at times.” Sabaa ventured into the realm of academia and later pursued a career in journalism, where her understanding of the world's imperfections deepened. The essence of Sabaa’s stories lies in the raw exploration of sorrow and frustration…and taking action.  

Angeline Boulley was born into story-telling people. As a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians was first introduced to the art through generational oral tradition. Yet during her childhood, Angeline struggled with her biracial indigenous identity. In searching for representation through the stories in books she was reading, she realized that the examples she found lacked depth and true experience. 

In this episode, Yuyi explores her experience as an immigrant to the United States and her “constant immigrant journey” now that she is living and creating in Mexico. She opens up about everything from how her stories helped quell her homesickness to the inspiration for her more recent picture books. She shares an incredible story about how one book completely changed her perspective on reading and made her a reader. We discuss magical realism, and Yuyi’s secret to finding joy in every crevice of life, no matter the starting point.

In this episode, M.T. takes us on his own journey to embracing these genres as a writer, he talks about the growing relevance of their ability to offer societal critiques and representation in the increasingly hostile censorship movements, and he tells us about his new story where he uses a new perspective to learn about the world (his dog’s).

In this episode, author-illustrator Shadra Strickland takes us through the important artistic influences and moments in her life that led her to this debut solo picture book. She shares the elements of art that stand out to her and how she applies them to her work, and we also discuss the rise and ethics of AI art.

Author-illustrator Victoria Jamieson ("When Stars Are Scattered," "All's Faire in Middle School," "Roller Girl") talks to us about why she loves illustrations in literature, authors that inspired her, and how a dream job rejection inspired her first book.

Newbery Award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly (“Blackbird Fly,” “Hello, Universe,” “We Dream of Space”) discusses her favorite books growing up, her path to youth literature, and why she believes kids are not ‘incomplete vessels.’ 

Author of the popular series "City of Spies" and "Framed!", James Ponti shares the movies that influenced him, how locations inspire his work, and his transition from movies and television to kidlit.

Author of the “Prophecy” and “Spirit Hunters” series and the founder of We Need Diverse Books, Ellen Oh is equal parts no-nonsense and hilarious truth-teller.

Nic Stone (Dear Martin, Clean Getaway) talks about her passion for speaking out and giving a voice to the stories less told.

Grace Lin (The Year of the Dog, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) shares her thoughts on the value art provides to those who experience it and those who create it, and how it contributes to getting us in touch with our humanity.

Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark and Grimm, The Inquisitor's Tale) talks about his journey to finding truth through literature and how he found his voice to tell the truths he's learned.

Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising) talks about leaning into the dark parts of life to show kids there is always hope.

Renée Watson (Piecing Me Together, Ryan Hart series) teaches us about the power of poetry in children's literature, and how the medium gives kids an outlet to find their voice and speak up.

Zetta Elliott (Dragons in a Bag series) shares how her experience growing up Black in suburban Canada impacted her reading, and ultimately her writing voice. She'll tell us about discovering her heritage, finding her voice, and disrupting the world of children's literature.

In our Halloween Special, Lamar Giles (Fake I.D, The Last Last Day of Summer) talks about how horror helps him cope with his anxieties, and why he believes in the power of the genre for young readers.

Varian Johnson (Playing The Cards You're Dealt, The Parker Inheritance) talks about the importance of diversity extending beyond the pages of children's literature and the significance of the reader-author relationship.

Karina Yan Glaser (The Vanderbeekers series) shares how and why empathy plays such an integral role in her writing. She tells us about her own reading experiences and how they shaped her, along with why she believes in emotional honesty when writing for children.

Meg Medina (Merci Suárez series) talks about the role storytelling plays in her life, from writing to passing on her culture to the fight against book bans.

In our new podcast, The Reading Culture, host Jordan Lloyd Bookey will bring you along as we connect with diverse authors about their own journeys as readers and storytellers, as well as what experiences along the way motivated them to read more. Authors will share their perspectives on the cultural climate in children’s and young adult literature. And get excited for each guest's unique, themed reading challenge for students and readers of all ages. Coming this fall.