You May Contribute A Verse

Once Upon a Time, There Was a Tara Trudel

Once upon a time (whoa-oh), we had a chat with Tara Trudel (wait a minute, wait a minute, there must be more to the story).
Tara's take on music, entertainment, kidlit, marketing, and more is fresh and delightful. You know what else is fresh and delightful? Tara's album, FRACTURED: FAIRY TALES REMIXED, which debuted on May 5, just a few weeks ago! 
Tara Trudel is here. Josh is here, Brenna is here, and Jon is here! And our Linktree is here (please subscribe!).
Go stream FRACTURED: FAIRY TALES REMIXED right after you listen to this ep! 
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Our reviews this week:
FRIDAY NIGHT WRESTLEFEST by J.F. Fox, illustrated by Micah Player
BOB THE TURTLE by Nathaniel Pommalai
SPARKY! by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Chris Appelhans
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Check out our sponsor The Kidlit Hive!
Check out our awesome quokka artist Maddie Frost!
And finally, if you'd like to support the podcast and ALSO want to celebrate a friend, an achievement, or a friend's kidlit achievement, we'd love it if you'd purchase a Community Shout-Out to help keep the lights on!

Ame Dyckman Writes the Wacky!

No written intro can do this week's conversation with Ame Dyckman justice!
If we style ourselves a celebratory and joyous (and educational) kidlit podcast (which we do), this episode maybe sets a new high-water mark for ear-to-ear energy and joy bubbles throughout (except for when I - Josh - have to interrupt with intros and book reviews in my NPR voice, of course), as well as actionable and inspirational insights!
Ame Dyckman is here. Josh is here, Brenna is here, and Jon is here! And our Linktree is here (please subscribe!).
And make sure to check out Ame's HOW DINOSAURS WENT EXTINCT: A SAFETY GUIDE, illustrated by Jenn Harney!
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Our reviews this week:
THE BIG RED ROCK by Jess Stockham
HOW TO EAT A BOOK by Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod
BATHE THE CAT by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by David Roberts
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Check out our sponsor The Kidlit Hive!
Check out our awesome quokka artist Maddie Frost!
And finally, if you'd like to support the podcast and ALSO want to celebrate a friend, an achievement, or a friend's kidlit achievement, we'd love it if you'd purchase a Community Shout-Out to help keep the lights on!

Nothing But Heart with Monica Acker

I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast. But we couldn’t do it without the behind-the-scenes assistance from our editor Jon Seymour.
Our guest for this conversation was Monica Acker. You can find Monica on Twitter.
This episode’s book reviews:
FLUBBY WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP by J.E Morris
Dandelion Magic written by Darren Farrell, Illustrated by Maya Tatsukawa
ODDBIRD by Derek Desierto
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!  
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.
 

I Think Jessica Whipple Is Enough

This week we talk to an author and poet whose two books releasing in 2023 cover subjects so incredibly worthy of investigation and exploration. As of the episode drop date, Jessica Whipple's Enough Is... is a week away from release, and deals with a concept we all could stand to grasp a bit better. 
I Think I Think A Lot releases in August of this year and is similarly special and personal in its subject matter, drawing from Jessica's own personal journey through OCD. We'll cover with Jessica where these books come from and where she hopes they touch families' hearts, but first we'll talk about a cool vintage secretary's desk, and how Jessica misses querying?
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Mentioned in this episode is Bitsy Kemper's resource on publishers open to unagented submissions in her blog!
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Our reviews for the week:
LINUS THE LITTLE YELLOW PENCIL by Scott Magoon MASTERPIECE by Alexandra Hoffman, illustrated by Beatriz Mello ELBERT IN THE AIR by Monica Wesolowska, illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey 
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Find more on our Linktree! 

Be Your Own Hero with Elisa Boxer

I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast. 
Our guest for this conversation was Elisa Boxer. You can find Elisa on Twitter.
This episode’s book reviews:
PLOTTING THE STARS BOOK 1: MOONGARDEN by Michelle Barry 
QUACKS LIKE A DUCK by StephCampisi illustrated by Maria Lebedeva
LYRIC MCKERRIGAN, SECRET LIBRARIAN by Jacob Sager Weinstein illustrated by Vera Brosgol
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!  
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.

#ASKKIDLIT with Alison Weiss

I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast. 
Our guest for this conversation was Pixel and Ink’s Acquisitions Editor Alison Weiss. You can find Alison on Twitter.
This episode’s book reviews:
THE CREATURE OF HABIT, by Jennifer E Smith, illustrated by Leo Espinosa. 
THIS IS THE BOAT THAT BEN BUILT, by Jen Lynn Bailey Illustrated by Maggie Zeng.
WORM AND CATERPILLAR ARE FRIENDS, by Kaz Windness.
 
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!  
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.

All Roads Lead Back to Cranberries with Lisl Detlefsen

We sit down this week for a fantastic chat with author Lisl Detlefsen, whose book Farm Boots releases from Feeding Minds Press in a scant couple of weeks as of our episode drop date! Lisl has a bunch of books out in the world, from jetpacks to kicking kittens, but this will be her third book specifically exploring the world of food. As I've covered in previous episodes, I work in agriculture science communications, so this material is really near and dear to my heart!
My food bona fides are nothing compared to Lisl's, though. She is our first - and perhaps last, or only? - guest who married into a cranberry farm, leading to her 2015 debut, Time for Cranberries. We had such a fun chat with Lisl.
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Lisl's upcoming book with Feeding Minds: 
Farm Boots, illustrated by Renee Kurilla
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Our reviews for the week:
Lost & Found by Oliver Jeffers
ROAWR! by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jan Jutte
Do Not Lick This Book by Iden Ben-Barak and Julian Frost  
(Special shout-out link to Kelly Swemba's Missing Violet!)
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And finally, check back to our original discussion with Justin Colon, for a really great conversation that apparently appeals to preteens! 
Check out our sponsor The Kidlit Hive!
Find more on our Linktree! 

Find the Impostor! with Agent Dan Cramer

Not to play the "our next guest needs no introduction" card, but our next guest needs no introduction because he's been introduced on the podcast before! We talked to Special Agent Dan Cramer over a year ago, exploring his history and path to agenting. Since then I think we have also explored the majority of his client roster as the unofficial, unauthorized podcast of record for Page Turner Literary.
Now a year wiser, with some incredible books published and in the pipeline, we sat down with Dan for a level of focus Brenna and I don't usually bring to the podcast, covering a subject matter near and dear to our creative hearts: impostor syndrome.
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Books mentioned in this chat: 
How To Keep House While Drowning by K.C. DavisIndistractable by Nir Eyal
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Our reviews for the week:
Small Saul by Ashley Spires The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp Dozens of Doughnuts and Lulu and Zoey: A Sister Story by Carrie Finison  
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Find more on our Linktree! 

Coming Out of the Broom Closet with Madeleine Gunhart

I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but our combined powers can make a pretty good podcast. 
Our guest for this conversation was Madeleine Gunahart. You can find Madelin on Twitter, or her linktree. Tarot readings are listed there!
This episode’s book reviews:
MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL by Fleur Bradley Illustrated by Xavier Bonet
THE SLIDY DINER By Laurel Snyder illustrated by Jamie Zollars
 
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!  
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanneret and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken and Brenna Jeanneret.

Jerrold Connors’s House of Donuts and Ideas

If you don't know today's guest, there's at least one easy way to remedy that. Go and listen to our conversation from one year ago, January 2022. Jerrold Connors is a delight and - you'll find - there's MORE than enough ground to cover in this follow up conversation. I daresay The Annual Jerrold is an achievable goal, should our commitment and creativity hold out.
Speaking of creativity, you're going to hear only about a million potential title ideas in this episode, but I think we had it in one. Jerrold's House is truly one built of both ideas and the execution thereupon.
If you're here for donuts, we get there eventually, and it's worth the wait. As of publication, I'm happy to report that Jerrold's #DonutsForEverybody Kickstarter has exceeded its fundraising goal. Listening to this lil' ol' conversation feels so quaint, even though we only had it a week and a half ago. We've come a long way since then, including through the beginning where I feel especially fortunate to have been both clued in AND available to be the first donor.
There's a lot more in store: from James Marshall to Invisible Things, Jerrold's got a lot of irons in the fire.
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We have a sponsor! This year we're partnering with Justin Colon of The Kidlit Hive as he steers our community toward affordable and inclusive educational opportunities across the board. Check out upcoming classes at kidlithive.com!
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Our reviews of the week are Dan Yaccarino's CITY UNDER THE CITY and Stephanie Campisi's QUACKS LIKE A DUCK. Check them out!