And We're Back! We could not think of a better person to 'ring the bell' for season three of our podcast than the talented middle grade author, Jamie Sumner! This conversation celebrates the release (April 9th, 2024) of Jamie's seventh middle grade novel and first novel in verse, Deep Water.

Melissa is in conversation with middle grade DEBUT author, Matt McMann. He speaks about his journey of becoming a published author, and how the journey goes all the way back to middle school. On the day this episode goes live, Matt will celebrate his BOOK BIRTHDAY for the first two books in his Monsterious Series, Escape from Grimstone Manor and The Snatcher of Raven Hollow. As a professional musician, Matt McMann played an NFL stadium, a cruise ship, and the International Twins Convention. Now he writes the kind of spooky mystery-adventure books he loved as a kid. He’s hiked the Pacific Northwest, cruised Loch Ness, and chased a ghost on a mountain. While he missed Bigfoot and Nessie, he caught the ghost. He enjoys brainstorming new books with his wife, New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann; viewing his son Kilian McMann’s artwork; and watching his daughter, actor Kennedy McMann, on television. Visit Matt's website for more information: https://mattmcmann.com/

Melissa is in conversation with author Chris Baron. Chris is the award winning author of Novels for Children including ALL OF ME, an NCTE Notable Book, THE MAGICAL IMPERFECT a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book/ a SLJ Best Book of 2021 & the forthcoming novels, THE GRAY (23) FOREST HEART (24) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, and SECRET OF THE DRAGON GEMS, a Middle Grade novel co-authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books (23) and editor of ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS: A MIDDLE GRADE PASSOVER ANTHOLOGY, from Abrams (24), He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center. He grew up in New York City, but he completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998 at SDSU. HE lives in San Diego with his family. He is represented by Rena Rossner from the Deborah Harris Literary Agency.  Twitter: @baronchrisbaronInstagram: @christhebearbaron

Melissa is in conversation with author Reem Faruqi. Reem is an award winning author who enjoys writing lyrical stories that reflect her own experiences. When Reem Faruqi taught second grade, her favorite time was “Read Aloud” time. Now, her favorite time at home is reading with her daughters. Reem Faruqi is the award-winning author of “Lailah’s Lunchbox,” a picture book based on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States. Of Pakistani origin, Reem moved to Peachtree City, Georgia, from Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, when she was 13 years old. She’s also the author of three middle grade novels in verse, “Unsettled”, “Golden Girl” , “Call Me Adnan”, chapter book “Anisa’s International Day”, and picture books “Amira’s Picture Day”, “I Can Help,” “Milloo’s Mind,” “Swimming Toward a Dream,” many of which received starred reviews.  Reem seasonally works as a photographer at ReemFaruqi Photography and currently works as a Scheduler for the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta. She loves to doodle, write, and take photos at http://www.ReemFaruqi.com. Currently, she lives with her husband and three daughters in Atlanta.

Melissa is in conversation with award winning author Rajani LaRocca. Rajani was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor winning middle grade novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks. Learn more about Rajani and her books at www.RajaniLaRocca.com and Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. She also co-hosts the STEM Women in KidLit Podcast.

Joyful Leaning Podcast host, Melissa Thom joins up with her mentor and friend, Shannon McNeice to interview Kari Anne Holt, the award-winning author of many middle grade novels-in-verse including Ben Bee and the Teacher Griefer, Redwood & Ponytail, Knockout, House Arrest, and Rhyme Schemer. She has also published several middle grade fantasy adventures, including Red Moon Rising, Gnome-a-geddon, and Brains for Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku!? as well as the picture book, I Wonder. Kari is also one of the founders of Typewriter Rodeo (https://typewriterrodeo.com/) which is discussed in this episode.

Episode Summary: Melissa Thom is in conversation with Cindy Schwind, Jennifer Halbur, and Erin Bedell, all members of the ARC sharing group, #BookPosse. Learn more about what an arc sharing group is all about and take away some strategies for both reading more books and spreading #bookjoy. **Guest Bios: Cindy Schwind is a lifelong educator. She taught for 33 years- classroom teacher for 10, Reading Specialist for 16, District Reading Interventionist/Coach for 7. Currently, she is the glue that holds the #bookposse group together.*Jennifer Halbur is a 6th grade ELA teacher in a suburb of St. Paul, MN. She is passionate about sharing books, reading and matching students to the right book. When she’s not reading, she loves to travel and quilt.*Erin Bedell inspires readers. Daydreamer. Mindful Meditator. Nature Lover. Proud librarian to 600 K-5 students. Member of #bookposse. ***Episode Resources***: Connect with podcast host, Melissa Thom: Twitter @MsThomBookitis; Instagram @MsThomBookitis; Website https://www.melissathom.com**Connect with podcast co-producer, Carrie Seiden: Twitter @LoveaLibrary **Connect with podcast guest, Cindy Schwind: Twitter @CynthiaSchwind ; Instagram @CynthiaSchwind **Connect with podcast guest, Jennifer Halbur: Twitter @halburjennifer; Instagram @JenniferHalbur**Connect with podcast guest, Erin Bedell: Twitter @erindaydreams; Instagram @erindaydreams

Episode Summary: Melissa is in conversation with author and educator Torrey Maldonado about his latest book, Hands.  Guest Bio: Torrey Maldonado was born and raised in Brooklyn’s Red Hook projects. He has taught in New York City public schools for over 25 years and his fast-paced, compelling stories are inspired by his and his students’ experiences. His popular young readers novels include What Lane? (2020), which won many starred reviews and was cited by Oprah Daily and the NY Times for being essential to discuss racism and allyship; Tight (2018)  won the Christopher Award, was an ALA Notable Book, and an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year; and his first novel, Secret Saturdays, has stayed in print for over ten years. His newest book, Hands, published on January 24, 2023, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, won a starred School Library Journal review, and amazing reviews from Horn Book, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly. Learn more at torreymaldonado.com or connect on social media @torreymaldonado. ****** Episode Resources: Connect with podcast host, Melissa Thom: Twitter @MsThomBookitis ; Instagram @MsThomBookitis; Website https://www.melissathom.com Connect with podcast co-producer, Carrie Seiden: Twitter @LoveaLibrary  Connect with podcast guest, Torrey Maldonado; Twitter @TorreyMaldonado; Instagram @TorreyMaldonado; Website http://torreymaldonado.com  Follow The Joyful Learning Pod (https://anchor.fm/joyfullearningmedia)

An introduction to junk journaling, or "artful memory keeping" with two enthusiastic members of the creative and generous junk journaling community. Junk Journaling YouTuber, Jill Daley and Thrift Artist, Shannon McNeice (both librarians by day) share how this affordable and accessible style of scrapbooking/mixed media art promotes artistic self-expression while elevating the ordinary moments of everyday life.    Episode Resources: Connect with podcast host, Melissa Thom Twitter @MsThomBookitis ; Instagram @MsThomBookitis; Website https://www.melissathom.com** Connect with podcast co-producer, Carrie Seiden Twitter @LoveaLibrary  **Connect with podcast guest, Jill Daley; YouTube: @jillybeanstudio; Twitter @JillPDailey; Instagram @jillybeanstudio; Website http://jdailey.com**Connect with podcast guest, Shannon McNeice; Twitter  @smcneice; Instagram @sedglibrary, @orangeowlthrift** Resources-- Jilly Bean Studio https://www.youtube.com/@jillybeanstudio/ Creative journals, notebooks, printables and mixed media art** Look for #JunkJournalJanuary on Twitter and Instagram** @MegJournals **Joie De Fi YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@joiedefi/ **Shannon’s Video of her Little Golden Book Project https://youtu.be/JfjCNFOLSg0 **Book Resource: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity  by Julia Cameron**Website to check out--What is a Junk Journal? Junk Journaling 101 for Beginners https://artjournalist.com ***Follow The Joyful Learning Pod (https://anchor.fm/joyfullearningmedia)

Melissa checks in with of her closest friends, fellow librarian and avid reader, Kymberlee Powe, about the work Kym is doing for Hear Our Voices (HOV), a unique company on a mission to "Nurture the Collective Heart of Voices of Color"  through the hosting of digital/virtual book tours across multiple platforms for marginalized authors and readers. The innovative work HOV is doing to build literary inclusivity is both important and super interesting. Other topics discussed: sewing, musical theater, growing up a military kid, and of course, books and reading!**Guest Bio: Kymberlee Powe is the Children and YA Consultant for the Connecticut State Library Division of Library Development. She is a national presenter and a leading voice in the area of Growing Equitable Library Services. In addition to her daytime job, Kym is also the part time Logistics and Finance Director at Hear Our Voices, an organization whose mission is to “Nurture the Collective Heart of Voices of Color”. Kym is a plant mom, library lover, podcast listener, and crochet newbie. You can often find Kym crocheting while watching Law and Order!**Connect with podcast host, Melissa Thom: https://twitter.com/MsThomBookitis *https://www.instagram.com/msthombookitis*https://www.melissathom.com**Connect with podcast co-producer, Carrie Seiden https://twitter.com/lovealibrary**Connect with podcast guest, Kym Powe: https://twitter.com/librarykym*https://www.instagram.com/librarykym *linktr.ee/LibraryKym**Resources Mentioned in Episode 6: Here Our Voices Digital Book Tour Company https://www.hearourvoices.me/*Luxbook Planners https://www.etsy.com/shop/Luxbook*Kym’s father’s efficiency-related saying: “Prior proper preparation prevents piss-poor performance!”**Books:The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander--NPR Book of the Day about the Door of No Return (7 Minute Listen) https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1125438027/the-door-of-no-return-is-a-story-for-children-about-slavery