Kidlit Love: Conversations with Picture Book and Middle Grade Authors

By Stephanie Affinito

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Episodes: 217

Description

This podcast celebrates all things children's literature for the adult reading to their inner child AND connecting the young readers in their lives with books. Each week, I host bookish conversations with children's literature authors to learn about their backstory, their journey to writing, their books and their hopes for readers.

kidlitlove.substack.com

Episode Date
E215: A POTION, A POWDER, A LITTLE BIT OF MAGIC OR LIKE LIGHTNING IN AN UMBRELLA STORM by Philip Stead
Apr 06, 2026
E214: A Love Letter to Librarians: HOPE RODE by Lauren H. Kerstein
Apr 02, 2026
E213: Navigating Complicated Relationships: THE BLUE DRESS by Rebecca Morrison
Mar 30, 2026
E212: THE UNLIKELY TALE OF CHASE AND FINNEGAN by Jasmine Warga
Mar 26, 2026
E211: Survival Against All Odds: FOLLOW THE WATER by Ellen Cochrane
Mar 23, 2026
E210: SPARK: Jim West’s Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone by Ainissa Ramirez
Mar 19, 2026
E209: Light, Love & Adventure: THE MAGIC OF SOMEDAY SOON by Michelle Lee
Mar 16, 2026
E208: Immersive Intrigue & Mystery: HEIRESS OF NOWHERE by Stacey Lee
Mar 12, 2026
E207: Piercing Emotion: GLORY BE by Jamie Sumner
Mar 09, 2026
E206: A Champion for Literacy: Reach Out & Read with Dr. Lynette Fraga
Mar 05, 2026
E205: Celebrate & Commemorate: HONOR FLIGHT by Jeff Gottesfeld & Matt Tavares
Mar 02, 2026
E204: Sparking Curiosity & Conversation: HAIL MARIAM with Huda Al-Marashi
Feb 23, 2026
E203: Beauty, Emotion & Connection: YOU ARE THE LAND by Steph Littlebird
Feb 16, 2026
E202: A Tsunami of Love: 100 WORDS TO SAY I LOVE YOU by Sandra Magsamen
Feb 14, 2026
E201: A Magical Escape: FAIRY DOOR DIARIES & BUNNY & CLYDE with Megan McDonald
Feb 09, 2026
E200: Cozy Family Rituals: BREAD IS LOVE by Pooja Makhijani
Feb 02, 2026
E199: Gripping Dark Academia: THE AFTERMYTH by Tracy Wolff
Jan 29, 2026
E198: Finding Home Inside: THE BLUE HOUSE I LOVED by Kao Kalia Yang & Jen Shin
Jan 26, 2026
E197: Immersive & Emotional: A RAMADAN NIGHT by Nadine Presley
Jan 19, 2026
E196: Big Emotions & Beautiful Themes: A YEAR WITHOUT A HOME by V.T. Bidania
Jan 12, 2026
E195: Honoring What’s Inside: THE WILDEST THING by Emily Winfield Martin
Jan 05, 2026
E194: For the Love of Reading: 101 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU GROW UP by Bianca Schulze
Dec 29, 2025
E193: A Book the World Needs Right Now: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE GNOME’S by Scott Magoon
Dec 22, 2025
E192: Heartwarming Characters to Love: THE SNOWMAN CODE by Simon Stephenson
Dec 15, 2025
E191: Delightful Fun: MEET THE SMUSHKINS by Claudia Rueda
Dec 08, 2025
E190: Immersive Action: THE PICASSO CURSE by Dan Gutman
Dec 04, 2025
E189: Finding Strength: YUMI & MONSTER by Kam Redlawsk
Dec 01, 2025
E188: Big Feelings & Messy Families: THIS WAY TO HAPPY by Alison Green Myers
Nov 24, 2025
E187: Books That Make You Feel: FINDING LOST by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Nov 20, 2025
E186: Honoring Friendship: OWL’S FALL FEAST FIASCO by Kristen Remenar
Nov 17, 2025
E185: Spreading Kindness: DUDE, BE NICE by Sarah Scheerger
Nov 13, 2025
E184: DORK DIARIES: TALES FROM A NOT SO FABULOUS LIFE by Rachel Rene Russell & Nikki Russell
Nov 10, 2025
E183: Gratitude & Gathering: GATHER GRATEFUL by Megan Litwin
Nov 06, 2025
E182: Childhood Connections: KAT & BRANDY by Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt
Nov 03, 2025
E181: A Sense of Belonging: THE ONLY GHOST IN SCHOOL & THE ONLY GHOST AT SUMMER CAMP by Tara J. Hannon
Oct 30, 2025
E180: Creepy Reading Fun: JASPER RABBIT’S CREEPY TALES: TROUBLING TONSILS by Aaron Reynolds
Oct 27, 2025
E179: Past Lives Aligning with Present Lives: SOULMATCH by Rebecca Danzenbaker
Oct 23, 2025
E178: THE GINGERBREAD MAN: NEW FRIEND ON THE LOOSE by Laura Murray
Oct 20, 2025
E177: Exploring Sibling Relationships: STICKY HERMANA by Ana Siqueira
Oct 16, 2025
E176: Love Beyond Words: WHAT LOLO WANTS by Cristina Oxtra
Oct 13, 2025
E175: Highly Sensitive Characters: DREAM ON with Shannon Hale and Marcela Cespedes
Oct 09, 2025
E174: A Love Letter to Libraries: THE LIBRARY OF UNRULY TREASURES by Jeanne Birdsall
Oct 06, 2025
E173: Connected History Comes Alive: COUSINS IN THE TIME OF MAGIC by Emma Otheguy
Oct 02, 2025
E172: WHAT KIND OF SHOES DOES A HIPPOPOTAMUS CHOOSE? with Kat Maconie
Sep 29, 2025
E171: Immersive YA Romance: RUN AWAY WITH ME by Brian Selznick
Sep 25, 2025
E170: The Magic of Outdoors: FAIRY WALK by Gaia Cornwall
Sep 22, 2025
E169: Friendship Meets Horror: LET’S SPLIT UP by Bill Wood
Sep 18, 2025
E167: Empowering Readers: IF LOOKS COULD KILL with Julie Berry
Sep 15, 2025
E168: Celebrating International Dot Day with Peter H. Reynolds
Sep 15, 2025
E166: Family, Friendship & Fellowship: TROUBLE FINDS EVIE LEFTKOWITZ by Diana Harmon Asher
Sep 11, 2025
E165: An Immersive AI Reality: THE VALE by Abigail Hing Wen
Sep 10, 2025
E164: Action-Packed & Full of Fun: PRESS 1 FOR INVASION by J.A. Dauber
Sep 08, 2025
E163: Permission to Explore & Feel: SCHOOLED with Jamie Sumner
Sep 04, 2025
E162: Moments, Mysteries & Friendship: HURRICANE HEIST by James Ponti
Sep 01, 2025
E161: Permission to Feel: Picture Books with Rebecca Gardyn Levington
Aug 28, 2025
E160: Embracing the Firsts: MEET ME AT WONDERLAND by Julia DeVillers
Aug 25, 2025
E159: Asking What-If Questions: SNOOP by Gordon Korman
Aug 21, 2025
E158: More Than One Thing: WHERE ONLY STORMS GROW by Alyssa Colman
Aug 18, 2025
E157: Permission to Feel: A HERO’S GUIDE TO SUMMER VACATION by Pablo Cartaya
Aug 14, 2025
E156: A Tribute to Tomie DePaola: WHERE ARE YOU, BRONTE? by Barbara McClintock
Aug 11, 2025
E155: Redefining Heroism: AT LAST SHE STOOD with Erin Entrada Kelly
Aug 07, 2025
E154: More Capable Than We Think: BIG ENOUGH by Regina Linke
Aug 04, 2025
E153: Celebrating Neurodiversity: WISH IN A TREE by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Jul 31, 2025
E152: Middle Grade Thrillers: BLOOD IN THE WATER by Tiffany D. Jackson
Jul 28, 2025
E151: Love, Hope, Pride & Freedom: THE GATHERING TABLE by Antwan Eady
Jul 24, 2025
E150: Middle Grade Rom-Com: WHAT IF YOU FALL FOR ME FIRST? by G.F. Miller
Jul 21, 2025
E149: A Passion for Plants: LEIF’S GIFT with Michael Wang
Jul 17, 2025
E148: Interacting with Readers: GIRAFFE's BOOK IS MISSING A STORY by DK Ryland
Jul 14, 2025
E147: Exploring Complex Relationships: THE FAMILY I’M IN with Sharon Flake
Jul 10, 2025
E146: Reading, Community & Fulfilling Dreams: Sarang Saves the School with Korean DiRoma Howley
Jul 07, 2025
E145: Big Themes Through Exciting Action: Into the Rapids with Ann Braden
Jul 03, 2025
E144: A World Worth Saving & Are You a Friend of Dorothy with Kyle Lukoff
Jun 30, 2025
E143: Enthralling Dystopian Verse: Alone & Away by Megan E. Freeman
Jun 26, 2025
E142: Exploring The Amina Banana Series with Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Jun 23, 2025
E141: Power on the Page & Stage: KNUCKLEHEAD by Tony Keith Jr.
Jun 19, 2025
E140: An Embodied Reading Experience: BAD BADGER by Maryrose Wood
Jun 16, 2025
E139: Embracing Self-Love & Enoughness: BECOMING BOBA by Joanna Ho
Jun 12, 2025
E138: We Need Funny Books: IT STARTED WITH A P with Brittany Pomales
Jun 09, 2025
E137: Magic Grounded in Reality: A Little Like Magic by Sarah Kurpiel
Jun 05, 2025
E136: Celebrating Summer Reading with Lea Anne Borders of Bookelicious
Jun 04, 2025
E135: The Important Role of Comics: Very Bad at Math with Hope Larson
Jun 02, 2025
E134: We Protect What We Love: A Wolf Called Fire with Rosanne Parry
May 29, 2025
E133: Centering Neurodiversity & Transness: Glitch Girl by Rainie Oet
May 26, 2025
E131: Can You Imagine? The Life & Art of Yoko Ono by Lisa Tolin
May 22, 2025
E131: Graphic Novel Adaptations: The Lemonade War with Jacqueline Davies
May 19, 2025
E130: Match-Making Magic: The Secrets of Lovelace Academy with Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel
May 15, 2025
E129: An Immersive Adventure: A Home for Unusual Monsters by Sean David Hutchinson
May 12, 2025
E128: The Power of Connection: Time for Us by Rebecca Walker
May 08, 2025
E127: Exploring Mental Illness: The Strongest Heart with Saadia Faruqi
May 05, 2025
E126: Fun & Family: Hazel the Handful by Jamie Michalak
May 01, 2025
E125: Reaching Readers’ Hearts: Kaya of the Ocean with Gloria Huang
Apr 28, 2025
E124: Beautiful & Haunting Middle Grade: Snow by Meera Trehan
Apr 24, 2025
E123: Creative Problem-Solving: The Ava Lin Series by Vicky Fang
Apr 21, 2025
E122: Dog-Loving Kids on a Mission: The Unlikely Heroes Club with Kate Foster
Apr 17, 2025
E121: The Importance of Representation: Jollof Day with Bernard Mensah
Apr 14, 2025
E120: A Series of Funny Firsts: CANtaloupe and HoneyDO Bake a Cake with Mike Boldt
Apr 10, 2025
E119: Protecting the Right to Read with Sabrina Baeta and Tasslyn Magnusson of PEN America
Apr 08, 2025
E118: Celebrating Women’s Voices: She Spoke Too with Kathy MacMillan & Manuela Bernardi
Apr 07, 2025
E117: Heart-Warming Horror: It’s Watching by Lindsay Currie
Apr 03, 2025
E116: The Intersection of Science & Writing: Whales in the City & Riverkeeper by Nancy Castaldo
Mar 31, 2025
E115: Deliciously Delightful Middle Grade: The Bridget Vanderpuff Series with Martin Stewart & David Habben
Mar 27, 2025
E114: Joyful Creativity: The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella with Sabrina and Eunice Moyle
Mar 24, 2025
E113: Literature & Mental Health: Octopus Moon with Bobbie Pyron
Mar 20, 2025
E112: Creating Fun New Worlds: Mr. Muffins: Defender of the Stars with Ben Kahn
Mar 17, 2025
E111: A Delightful Perspective: Moving Day with Teri Roche Drobnick
Mar 13, 2025
E110: A New Friendship Duo: Muk ‘N’ Honey with Brett Bean
Mar 10, 2025
E109: Exploring the PAWS Series with Nathan Fairbairn and Michele Assarasakorn
Mar 06, 2025
E108: Middle Grade Humor & Heart: Nat Enough with Maria Scrivan
Mar 03, 2025
E107: Smart Kids & Real Challenges: Tear This Down with Barbara Dee
Feb 27, 2025
E106: The ABCs of Women’s History by Rio Cortez & Lauren Semmer
Feb 24, 2025
E105: Feeling Emotions: Mixed Feelings with Liana Finck
Feb 20, 2025
E104: Layers of Emotion: Safe Harbor with Padma Venkatraman
Feb 17, 2025
E103: A Gorgeous Experience: The One and Only Googoosh with Azadeh Westergaard
Feb 13, 2025
E102: Kids as Entrepreneurs: You’re the Boss with Brian Weisfeld
Feb 10, 2025
E101: Layering Reality with Magic: Thea and the Mischief Makers by Tracy Badua
Feb 06, 2025
E100: Changing Friendships: All My Bests with Britnee Meiser
Feb 03, 2025
E99: Finding Ourselves & Others: As You Wish by Nashae Jones
Jan 30, 2025
E98: New Middle Grade Adventure Series: The Doomsday Vault with Thomas Wheeler
Jan 27, 2025
E97: Baseball Mysteries & Football Mysteries with David A. Kelly
Jan 23, 2025
E96: Layers of Lessons: A Hat for House with Audrey Perrott
Jan 20, 2025
E95: Heart-Piercing Middle Grade: Scattergood with H.M. Bouwman
Jan 16, 2025
E94: Themes & Entry Points: No Purchase Necessary with Maria Marianayagam
Jan 13, 2025
E93: 'Freadom', Forgiveness & Finding Your Voice: Same Page with Elly Swartz
Jan 09, 2025
E92: Writing Pieces of Life: The McNifficents with Amy Makechnie
Jan 06, 2025
E91: Lullaby Blessings: Love is Here with You by Jyoti Rajan Gopal
Jan 02, 2025
E90: Confidence and Second Chances: The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Mendez
Dec 30, 2024
E89: Celebrating Family & Food: Challah for Shabbat Tonight with Sara Holly Ackerman and Alona Millgram
Dec 23, 2024
E88: Follow the Enthusiasm: Shaken with James Preller
Dec 19, 2024
E87: Select Getting the Inside Scoop on Still Life with Alex London & Paul O. Zelinsky
Dec 16, 2024
E86: Starting From Within: Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Dec 12, 2024
E85: Magic & Emotion: The Bakery Dragon with Devin Elle Kurtz
Dec 09, 2024
E84: Regular-Pegular Relatable Stories: Bibsy Cross with Liz Garton Scanlon
Dec 05, 2024
E83: Imagining Possibilities: A Steminist Force with Laura Carter and Anna Doherty
Dec 02, 2024
E82: Cultural Belonging: In the Groves with Andrea Cruz Floren
Nov 25, 2024
E81: Chess. Anxiety & Friendship: May the Best Player Win with Kyla Zhao
Nov 21, 2024
E80: Magical & Cultural Experiences: The Night Market with Seina Wedlick
Nov 18, 2024
E79: Spooky Summer Camp: Camp Twisted Pine with Ciera Burch
Nov 14, 2024
E78: The Importance of Self Care: The Big Squeeze with Molly Harris
Nov 11, 2024
E78: Celebrating 15 Years of The Global Read Aloud with Pernille Ripp
Nov 08, 2024
E76: Magical Expeditions: Majestica with Sarah Tolcser
Nov 07, 2024
E75: The Power of Comics & Graphic Novels: Let’s Go, Coco! With Coco Fox
Nov 04, 2024
E74: Halloween Fun: A Bite Above the Rest with Christine Virnig
Oct 31, 2024
E73: From Comic Strips to Graphic Novels: The Sophie Series with Brian Anderson
Oct 28, 2024
E72: Hope in Middle Grade: Unsinkable Cayenne with Jessica Vitalis
Oct 24, 2024
E71: Our Vote Matters: The Day Madear Voted with Don Tate and Wade Hudson
Oct 21, 2024
E70: History, Courage and Connection: Across So Many Seas with Ruth Behar
Oct 17, 2024
E69: The Power of Non-Fiction: Phenomenal AOC with Anika Aldamuy Denise
Oct 14, 2024
E68: Navigating Friendships: Crushing It with Erin Becker
Oct 10, 2024
E67: Fun & Interactive: Have You Seen My Acorn? with D.K. Ryland
Oct 07, 2024
E66: Celebrating Stinky’s Stories with Chris and JJ Grabenstein
Oct 03, 2024
E65: All the Feels: Not Nothing with Gayle Forman
Sep 30, 2024
E64: Brave, Compassionate & Inclusive: The ABC’s of Queer History by Seema Yasmin
Sep 26, 2024
E63: Preserving Hawaiian Mythology: Lei and the Invisible Island with Malia Maunakea
Sep 23, 2024
E62: Uncovering History: Rise of the Spider with Michael P. Spradlin
Sep 19, 2024
E61: Connecting Family & Nature: The Seasons of Parastoo with Rashin Kheiriyeh
Sep 16, 2024
E60: Telling Stories That Heal: The Diamond Explorer with Kao Kalia Yang
Sep 12, 2024
E59: Middle Grade Horror: The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things with Rob Renzetti
Sep 09, 2024
E58: Having Fun Reading with Alan Katz
Sep 05, 2024
E57: Celebrating Ten Years of The Princess in Black with Shannon & Dean Hale
Sep 02, 2024
E56: Exploring Craft: Who’s Writing This Story? With Robin Newman
Aug 29, 2024
E55: Illuminating Stories with Violet Duncan
Aug 26, 2024
E54: Suspense & History: The Sherlock Society with James Ponti
Aug 22, 2024
E53: Shifting the Conversation: We Are Big Time with Hena Khan
Aug 19, 2024
E52: A Blend of Humor & Heart: Otis & Peanut with Naseem Hrab
Aug 16, 2024
E51: Sharing Untold Stories: Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemnani
Aug 12, 2024
E50: Creating New Worlds for Readers: Skyriders with Polly Holyoke
Aug 09, 2024
E49: From Dream to Reality: Writing Kidlit with Victoria J. Coe & Cheryl Lawton Malone
Aug 05, 2024
E48: Freedom & Resilience: Caged with Kao Kalia Yang & Khou Vue
Aug 02, 2024
E47 National Archive Hunters Capitol Chase with Matt Landis
Jul 29, 2024
E46: Finding Your Place: The Secret Language of Birds with Lynne Kelly
Jul 26, 2024
E45: All Voices Matter: Ruby Rene Had So Much to Say with Ashley Iman
Jul 22, 2024
E44: Picture Books Matter: Queen of Leaves with Stephen Briseno
Jul 19, 2024
E43: Emotion & Heart: Mooncakes Mean Family by Benson Shum
Jul 15, 2024
E42: The Amazing Power of Girls with Maria Marianayagam
Jul 12, 2024
E41: The Power of Emotion and Connection: Help Wanted: One Rooster with Julie Falatko
Jul 08, 2024
E40: Family, Friendship & food: Grilled Cheese? Yes, Please! with Tim Kleyn
Jul 05, 2024
E39: Finding Your Voice: The Day Bell Found Her Sound with Lizzy O'Donnell
Jul 01, 2024
E38: Wonder & Delight with Laura Gehl
Jun 28, 2024
E37: Believing in Yourself: Camp Prodigy with Caroline Palmer
Jun 24, 2024
E36: Family, Friends & All the Feels: Monica Mancillas with Sing It Like Celia
Jun 21, 2024
E35: Passion & Purpose: Else B. in the Sea with Jeanne Walker Harvey
Jun 14, 2024
E34: Kate DiCamillo: Ferris
Jun 07, 2024
E33: Dan Gutman: Miss Nichol is in a Pickle
Jun 03, 2024
E32: Lauren Castillo: Just Like Millie
May 31, 2024
E31: Suma Subramaniam and Tara Anand: My Name is as Long as a River
May 24, 2024
E30: Omar Abed & Hatem Aly: The Book That Almost Rhymed
May 17, 2024
E29: Jessica Stremer: Lights Out
May 10, 2024
E28: Becca Wierwille: Road Trip Rescue
May 03, 2024
E27: Audrey Perrott: Moo Hoo
Apr 26, 2024
E26: Janet Costa Bates: The Rica Baptista Series
Apr 19, 2024
E25: Rachel Vail: If We Kiss
Apr 12, 2024
E24: Natalia Sylvester: A Maleta Full of Treasures
Apr 05, 2024
E23: Books to Celebrate Ramadan & the Eid Moon
Apr 01, 2024
E22: Andrew Hacket: Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea
Mar 29, 2024
E21: John Schu: Louder Than Hunger
Mar 21, 2024
E20: Amy Parks: Averill Offline
Mar 15, 2024
E19: Nic Yulo: Out of the Blue
Mar 08, 2024
E18: Celebrate Middle Grade March with Afoma Umesi
Mar 01, 2024
E17: Michelle Knudsen: The Dragon of Trelian
Feb 23, 2024
E16: Cynthia Harmony: A Flicker of Hope
Feb 16, 2024
E15: Marisa Quinn: Happy Hands
Feb 09, 2024
E14: Lizzy Rockwell: It is Time: The Life of a Caterpillar
Feb 02, 2024
E13: Taryn Souders: The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle
Jan 26, 2024
E12: Claire Lordon: One in a Million
Jan 19, 2024
E11: Simply Skye with Pamela Morgan
Jan 12, 2024
E10: Elly Swartz: Hidden Truths
Jan 05, 2024
E9: Andrew Eliopulos: Will on the Inside
Dec 29, 2023
E8: Jessica Vitalis: Coyote Queen
Dec 22, 2023
E7: Colleen Nelson: The Undercover Book List
Dec 15, 2023
E6: Leslie Connor: Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?
Dec 08, 2023
E5: Arianne Costner: Confessions of a Class Clown
Dec 01, 2023
E4: Meghan Wilson Duff: How Are You, Verity?
Nov 24, 2023
E3: James Preller: Exit 13 Series
Nov 17, 2023
E2: Ann Braden: Opinions and Opossums
Nov 10, 2023
E1: Padma Venkatraman: Born Behind Bars
Nov 03, 2023
E0: Welcome to the Kidlit Love Podcast!
Nov 03, 2023
Kidlit Love: Conversations with Picture Book and Middle Grade Authors (Trailer)
Oct 03, 2023