The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Four years ago in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I ran a 3-part series called The Mitzvah of Voting . Here we are in 2024 in a presidential election year again and defending our democracy is more important than ever! Here's an edited encore presentation of that 2020 podcast, with all three parts combined and streamlined. You'll hear inspiring words and calls to action from some of your favorite authors, recorded in 2020 but as relevant as ever. We cap it off with Sarah Aroeste's Ladino song "Gracia" (English lyrics below), a tribute to the medieval Sephardic heroine, Doña Gracia Nasi who lived in the 1500's and saved hundreds of Jews from the Inquisition. The theme of the song is that activists of the past inspire us to activism in our own time. I hope you will be inspired to VOTE! RESOURCES SUGGESTED BY GUESTS: Hold the Line: A Guide to Defending Democracy T...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    When I read Karen Jensen's "Treatise on the State of Middle Grade and Young Adult Publishing Today" on her Teen Librarian Toolbox blog in School Library Journal, I was super impressed with the level of detail of her research... but also alarmed at the many difficulties she described facing the industry right now. I interview middle grade authors pretty frequently on The Book of Life, but I decided it was time to think about the genre as a whole, and to do what I could to give it my support. So I invited two people who could help answer my questions: W hat defines a middle grade book? What are the challenges to publishing for this age group? What is the state of middle grade literature today? What can we do to help? My guests are: Karen Jense n , librarian, author of "Treatise on the State of Middle Grade and Young Adult Publishing Today" and creator of the Teen Li...