Thoughts on gatekeeping, children's books, diverse voices, and how you can create a picture book that somehow, remarkably, gets everything right, all at once. I review the latest from @annewynter.bsky.social & Micha Archer: #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/08/r...

"what I think is most impressive is the fact that countries worldwide collaborate, exchange climate action ideas, and help one another find solutions." We talk green roofs and alleviating climate anxiety with Victoria Tentler-Kryov today. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/07/g...

"But if I keep writing that weird stuff, maybe a young reader, who feels different like I did, won’t feel so alone in their love of the weird." We talk w/Donna Higuera Barba today about the triumphant conclusion to her award winning scifi trilogy #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/06/t...

Jane Curley joins us today to discuss one of her UPPBs (Utterly Perfect Picture Books). There will be saucy talk of bananas and hot dogs, by the way. You have been warned. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/05/a...

It's been a while since we've done a legitimate honest-to-goodness folktale on this podcast. They were once the lifeblood of children's libraries, and these days they are rare gems. Discover one on the @fuse8nkate.bsky.social podcast: #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/04/f...

Bringing the Endless Game home to Chicago has been wonderfully overwhelming. From getting to see the friends and family who inspired the book, to stock signings, school visits, and TV interviews! Thank you to The Book Stall for hosting us, and to @fuse8.bsky.social for being a part of it!

Take a deep dive into the origins of the incredible true story that will get your kids hyped to explore some trails of their own. I talk at length with Meghan McCarthy about her latest. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/30/k...

Nursery rhyme nerds, unite! While scholarly attention flounders in this genre, we've @marylannireads.bsky.social, the creator of a whole new book on the topic on hand, with answers galore. Phonological awareness time, baby! #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/29/u...

Tired of centering the same old seasons books every year? Want to kick things up a notch and blow kids minds with seasons that are different from their own? We talk today with the creator behind one of the most enjoyable seasons books of the year! #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/28/j...

When your kids have devoured the samey samey GNs out there and they want a comic that’s a cut above (and doesn’t look like anybody else), that’s when you hit ‘em in the Chernobyl. Far and away a favorite of the year. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/24/r...

This. Will. Be. Fun. Come on out (but only if you want to have the aforementioned fun).

Celebrating #NationalPoetryMonth with a curated list of children’s poetry books I’m loving! Read here: stefankarlssonwrites.wixsite.com/author/post/... Featuring books by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social, @fuse8.bsky.social, @artbyvikram.bsky.social, & more! #poetrycommunity #kidlit

Michelle Rial (a.k.a. the new funny person you need to add to your roster) has gone above and beyond the call of duty to answer some interview questions from me today... IN CHART FORM! #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/23/s...

A Conversation in Hair with Sope Martins and Sean Qualls | A Fuse #8 Production afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/22/a...

With two jaw-droppingly good books on Black hair out in 2026, I wanted to get the creators in discussion with one another. How did they do their research? Where's the overlap? @seanqualls.bsky.social & Sope Martins discuss: #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/22/a...

"They say you can befriend ravens with peanuts, but being unable to manage the raven-proof garbage cans will also work." We're talking with @erinbowbooks.bsky.social today about her latest novel for kids. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/21/i...

Travis Jonker has built The Ultimate Caldecott Database. Yes, it includes the Medal and Honor winners since 1938, but it’s also a searchable resource with: Illustrator demographics, Artistic mediums, Publisher information, Page/word counts, and more. 100scopenotes.com/2026/04/16/t...

A new picture book author once attempted to create something wholly Australian for the picture book buying public. Oz Listeners Beware: We do some truly regrettable Australian accents in the course of today's @fuse8nkate.bsky.social episode: #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/20/f...

We do a final dive into books being released in the earlier part of 2026. Pluck out your favs! Books from @pajamapress.bsky.social, @postwavebooks.bsky.social, @tigertalesbooks.bsky.social & @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social c/o @pubspotlight.bsky.social #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/17/p...

Had you asked me to guess, I would have guessed wrong.

30 books. 74 stars. Loads of awards. We’re talking today with the founders of the Heartdrum imprint to find out how they did it (and continue to do it) so well. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/16/h...

"...maybe I'm the medium. Less creator, more conduit; a host body for the two-centuries-old Nutcracker virus." Turns out, Helen Yoon may be the greatest interview subject I've featured to date. Y'all, you GOTTA read this! #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/15/a...

"I’ll read anything that’s a good story! We use stories as a way of making sense of and understanding the world around us, and I’d argue that’s as much the point of fiction as it is of nonfiction." @rebeccaefbarone.bsky.social on her spy thriller. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/14/s...

What they said!! We were floored and honored.

How many times has this poor dog been placed in a position of power? We aim to answer that, and many many other questions, as we consider this 41-year-old book on the @fuse8nkate.bsky.social podcast. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/13/f...

If you want your child to read books that they’ll forget in a month’s time, hand them pablum. If you want them to think, rethink, and return to a book for the rest of their life? This is what you give. I review @aaronstarmer.bsky.social #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/12/r...

Two big book release events coming up in April! New York City with @joshgondelman.bsky.social and Winnetka, IL with @fuse8.bsky.social. Come out if you're in either area! RSVP at the link in bio!

"When you are little in front of a big world, how do you make changes for the well-being of everybody?" Yuyi Morales asks the big questions today in a guest post that I am honored to host. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/09/t...

"...a brilliant tapestry rich with images and lots of atmosphere." That's the kind of informational picture book we're discussing with its author and illustrator today. If you want guidelines on how to write such a book, then you need to read this. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/08/h...

Just in time for the 100th anniversary of that silly old bear we've yet another adaptation of the original work on the horizon by @joesutphin.bsky.social & Kevan Chandler. And this one? A beauty. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/08/c...

Baltimore! Come see us! This weekend! Side note: Is not my illustrator brilliant? I lucky.

I tell you, if I have to wear a sweater to work today, then I'm doggone gonna talk about the best sweater-related book of 2026. A discussion with @larissatheule.bsky.social about The Sweater: #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/07/n...

"...there was a palpable 90s dream of kids building their own societies and sorting things out on their own." Join us for an interview today with @jd-amato.bsky.social, the creator of a comic that brings to vibrant life that feeling all over again. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/06/e...

Day 5 of #Kidlithahaweek - If It Played in Paris, Will It Play in Peoria with Besty Bird @fuse8.bsky.social @brittanypomales.bsky.social www.brittanypomales.com/2026/04/04/k... #kidlit #writingcommunity #humor #funnyinternationalchildrensbooks

False spring finally gets its day in the sun. An aid for any parent or caregiver faced with that look of betrayal on their child’s face when they encounter an Easter Egg hunt covered in a foot of snowfall. I review the latest from Kevin Henkes #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/03/r...

"Good poetry does not just sound pretty. It tells the truth and reaches you whether you are ready for it or not, and Hughes has always had that kind of staying power." Happy April! We love Poetry Month and we love today's book. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/02/e...

"I think we all have experienced the outsider status of being an illustrator whose work is photographic." Meet a slew of talented photographers, alongside a featured interview with curator/academic Leonard Marcus himself! #kidlit afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/01/c...

Thank you, Betsy Bird @fuse8.bsky.social, for including Bing's Cherries in your Caldecott predictions! I agree that Julia's illustrations are amazing!

Spoke w @fuse8.bsky.social about the Outstanding Comics Award with a shout out to @schweizercomics.bsky.social for our beautiful award seals! Thanks, Betsy! afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/31/m...

ALA gives out comics awards now? How did that happen? How do you join? And what books are they awarding? We speak to the Chair of the GNCRT to find out all the answers to all these questions. #kidlit afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/31/m...

"A chocolate chicken is not a thing." And yet here we are. Somehow we've not seen this particular Easter book on the @fuse8nkate.bsky.social podcast before. How will it fare amongst the pantheon of Max books? #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/30/f...

wouldn't it be funny if EVERYONE blocked this Attie AI account @ bsky.app/profile/atti... before they could do anything with it

if you're having a bad day google "dove nests". they are literally so fucking bad at it it's unreal lol

Today I would like you to make the acquaintance of new books coming out from @helvetiq.bsky.social, Kalaniot, Kube, @littleislandbooks.bsky.social, and @nubeocho.bsky.social, all thanks to @pubspotlight.bsky.social: #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/27/p...

In a mix of poetry and science, this potential award-winner is a labor of love on every level. I discuss its creation with Melissa Sweet and she shows off a multitude of working sketches from the book. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/26/t...

"I hope this book convinces folks that racial literacy deserves to be a part of how every library serves their patrons, and that people feel empowered to turn that goal into reality." The go-to guide for equitable librarianship is here. Now meet the creators. afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/25/a...

Check out this delicious conversation between me and the ever-insightful Betsy Bird. We talk about all things Bad Badger (sequel comes out May 5th!), the necessary mess of writing, what family means, and more. Read to the end for an actual SCOOP! Thanks for the chance to chat, Betsy.

"A writer can’t be afraid to make a big mess, to really crack the thing open and find out what the book wants to be. That includes cracking yourself open, too." We have a grand talk today with grand author Maryrose Wood #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/24/l...

Wordless and a winner (of the Caldecott Honor variety) we discuss Lehman's best known book on the @fuse8nkate.bsky.social podcast, and talk about how it has aged since its publication long ago. #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/23/f...

Announcing the one-of-a-kind Blueberry Award winners of 2025! The only major library-given literary awards for books that inspire a love of nature and action for planet Earth. Do you recognize the winning titles? #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/21/a...