You May Contribute A Verse

It's not every day we get to hear fresh thoughts from a literary agent/manager in her first four months of agenting. Lindsey Aduskevich joins us today for some insights on her journey to becoming a Junior Literary Manager at Martin Literary!   What's more important is that we have known Lindsey for six years, since one fateful Twitter (RIP) thread led to the creation of our first critique group. And look at us now!   _________   This episode’s book reviews (all author-illustrators this week!):    DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE by John Hare THE SEARCH FOR OUR COSMIC NEIGHBORS by Chloe Savage NO MORE GNOMES by Beth Mills ---------   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merc

Winsome writes. Winsome reads. Winsome cares. And Winsome Bingham speaks. About her editorial voice, her lyricism, her Reycraft family, her views on humor, joy, trauma, craft, and the perfect mix of art and words. Winsome Bingham is the author of several very acclaimed books, including Soul Food Sunday, Fish Fry Friday, The Walk, Missing Momma, The Table, Life is Beautiful, and, coming September 1, 2026, On Fridays, her latest collaboration with Jason Griffin (go listen to our conversation with him if you haven't yet!). Today our reviews are for On Fridays, because you should go and preorder it or request it from your library immediately! You are going to love Winsome's verse!   ---------   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Love the podcast and

The Michaelangelo to Bob Ross to Akira Kurosawa to Jason Griffin pipeline is strong. Master Collaborator and accomplished visual artist Jason Griffin is a Caldecott Honoree for his work with Jason Reynolds on their 2022 collaboration Ain't Burned All the Bright, their third book together (we'll talk about the others in this episode). But his work with our friend and future guest Winsome Bingham is what brings us here today. The 2024 multicultural, multi-generational picture book collab The Table will be followed in September by the amazing, poignant, gorgeous On Fridays. Check out our Instagram later this week (on Friday, actually) for some very cover-y things to be revealed! Resources to consume that were discussed in this episode: Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk featuring THE Tom Waits anecdote Akira Kurosawa's iconic blood spray oopsie _________ This episode’s book reviews:  RAINBOW PANDA, words by Lisa Muchnik, pictures by Emilie Timmermans ALBERTO SALAS PLAYS PAKA PAKA CON LA PAPA, words by Sara Andrea Fa

Jess Yoon stands on business. And she's doing way more than sitting in her little room, typing away. She's tapping into her inner child to great effect! She manifested a Little Golden Book into being and now her Blackpink biography is out in the world! Her picture book Jeong Is Jeong JUST released this month (February 2026), AND her junior novelization of K-Pop Demon Hunters comes out next month!  _________   This episode’s book reviews:    SLEEP TIGHT, DISGUSTING BLOB by Huw Aaron SEALS ARE JERKS by Jared Chapman   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!  Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always

Now with 100% more consternation! Or less. Not sure where we landed on consternation. Steph Lau has gotten some good experiences over the years. Some published, some TBD. But at least we have thus far been graced with ABOMINABLE SNOW DANCER, and will be graced with MEDUSA'S PET ROCK later this year! And more to come! Steph, you'll have to come back on so we can talk more about pancakes and pastries.    _________   This episode’s book reviews:  THE CAVE DOWNWIND OF THE CAFE by Mikey Please DESERT QUEEN by Jyoti Rajan Gopal, illustrated by Svabhu Kohli   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @bre

We make it so today with author Jan (J.E.) Thomas, author of The AI Incident and Control Freaks. Lots of good habit discussion, some Star Trek, and exactly how you can be a certified Human Author. Jan is a delight! _________   This episode’s book reviews:  HOW TO GROW A FAMILY TREE by Bea Birdsong, illustrated by Jasu Hu THIS BOOK IS ON FIRE! by Ron Keres, illustrated by Arthur Lin CASSINI'S MISSION by Katie Venit, illustrated by Julia Blattman     The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Today's second-timer is our last-timer of 2025! Matt Forrest Esenwine graces us once again with his delightful, radio-ready voice for a soothing exit to the year.  In addition to Matt's twelve other books (some of which you can hear about in our first conversation from 2021), this year Matt released his anthology A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World. We don't get to talk a ton about anthologies, so this was a delight!  _________   This episode’s book reviews:  JOVITA WORE PANTS by Aida Salazar, illustrated by Molly Mendoza THIS BOOK IS PERFECT by Ron Keres, illustrated by Arthur Lin MY DAD IS THE BEST by Fran Pintadera, illustrated by Joan Turu   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Love the podcast and wanna support

Karyn Friedman-Everham (Josh's agent sibling - hi, Joyce!) has a fascinating story that's a little bit backwards from how most of us approach our debuts, but that's what makes her story fascinating and very endearing!  Her 2024 debut was Otter Oughta Know, followed in October 2025 by Chesed. Two different paths, one cool convo! _________   This episode’s book reviews:  NUNU AND THE SEA by Isabella Kung ERNO RUBIK AND HIS MAGIC CUBE by Kerry Aradhya, illustrated by Kara Kramer   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via

It's been almost five years and THIS is our first episode that includes a singalong? Today it's Rafael and Allison Rozo day! Check out Diego Fuego the Firefighting Dragon, out July 2025, and Unique Like You, out September 2025! Allison and Rafael are a delight and we hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as we did! _________ This episode’s book reviews:  THE FABULOUS FANNIE FARMER by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Susan Reagan THE A-TO-Z TEACHING TOOLKIT by Alicia Meyers   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!  Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a r

We've known Alicia Meyers since we were all three kidlit babies back in pandemic days when we had no idea what we were doing! Josh still doesn't know what he's doing. Long live Totally Funny Critique Group!  Alicia's educational book The A-to-Z Teaching Toolkit came out this month (November 2025) and we're eagerly awaiting her picture book debut Tic-Errific Me, coming next June!  Alicia hustles. And also rocks a mean teddy bear Halloween costume (check out her socials for evidence). _________ This episode’s book reviews:  ALL MY STRIPES by Shaina Rudolph and Danielle Royer, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin ZOMBEES by Justin Colon, illustrated by Kaly Quarles THE WORLD'S BEST CLASS PLANT by Audrey Vernick and Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Lynnor Bontiago   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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

Ainissa Ramirez has something in common with the subject of her debut picture book, Jim West, inventor of the microphone: the passion, the drive, and the creative spark to turn her commitment into her reality. It was an honor to talk to Ainissa, and if you want to hear more of her voice, listen to her podcast Science Underground, or maybe her TEDx Talk!   _________ This episode’s book reviews:  THE WALK, by Winsome Bingham, illustrated by E.B. Lewis EVERY MONDAY MABEL, by Jashar Awan   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you

...but doesn't work otherwise? We take issue with that part. But either way: enjoy this conversation with PB Workshop-creator, writer of When Santa Wrote Back!, and wearer of cool glasses Nathan Christopher!  --------   This episode’s book reviews:    FLY GUY VS THE FLYSWATTER by Tedd Arnold THE MUSHROOM OF DOOM by Becky Davies and Thomas Elliott WANDA HEARS THE STARS by Amy S Hanson and Wanda Diaz Merced, illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Lydia Lukidis is here! She is a wealth of knowledge and experience and has brought all her passion for Garfield and Seinfeld to bear in her latest book Garfeld... I mean, Groucho the Grouchy Groundhog. Enjoy Lydia's verse!    --------   This episode’s book reviews:  JIM! Six True Stories About One Great Artist: James Marshall by Jerrold Connors LITTLE BOO by Maddie Frost     The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Danielle Sharkan is our guest this week! On her writing journey, debuting with some heavy topics, eggplants (or aubergines?), and more!  Danielle debuted last year with SHARING SHALOM, following up this year with ELLIE THE EGGSPERT.  Enjoy!   --------   This episode’s book reviews:  BORED PANDA by Mike Bender, illustrated by Chuck Dillon BEST BUDS by Becky Scharnhorst, illustrated by Jiarui Jiang   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Darrin MacLeod (of Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod!) is here. We explore their collaboration, how The Grunions came to be, and Darrin's history as a traveling, writing vagabond who used to run a surf school.   Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod wrote HOW TO EAT A BOOK and THE DOOR THAT HAD NEVER BEEN OPENED BEFORE (whew, long title) and the forthcoming BIRTHDAY BEAR.    --------   This episode’s book reviews:   I COME FROM ANOTHER GALAXY by James Kwan TEENY TINY TOADY by Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi  UP UP EVER UP by Anita Yasuda, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brenn

It's Steena Hernandez day! Show up and do the thing, claim your agency, and bring your A-game. Steena's debut book Lupita's Brown Ballet Slippers is available today! What's pancaking? How do you plan a school visit? What's Josh's favorite shape? All these answers and more await you.   --------   This episode’s book reviews:   I HATE EVERYTHING by Sophy Henn VALLEY: THE WIGGLE-BUTT PUP by Jae Lynn, illustrated by Juliette Miron CHURRO STAND by Karina N. Gonzalez, illustrated by Krystal Quiles   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know

Since we first recorded this episode, our guest Jyoti Rajan Gopal has had two books published, and that should tell you a great deal about her hustle and her dedication.  Desert Queen is one we talked about most in this conversation, but 2025 has also seen Love is Here with You: A Lullaby of Blessings and The Power of Your Name as well! Congrats, Jyoti! Jyoti has also started a podcast called In the Picture, which you should check out here!   --------   This episode’s book reviews:   INVESTIGATORS by John Patrick Green FEELING BOO by Alex Boniello and April Lavalle, illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller KAFKA AND THE DOLL by Larissa Theule, illustrated by Rebecca Green   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna suppor

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where's the fire? Cedar Pruitt is here and it's been a long time coming! Her book FIRE FLIGHT: A WILDFIRE ESCAPE was out in early 2024 and we are sandwiched right in between that delight and her 2026 book WHAT MARCEL FOUND: THE INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY OF THE LASCAUX CAVE PAINTINGS.   -------- This episode’s book reviews: WHISPERS FROM MOTHER EARTH by Maryam Khalifah   TINY HIKER by Natasha Zimmers, illustrated by Jaimie MacGibbon   OSCAR'S AMERICAN DREAM by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret

Today’s guest is Meg Auchenbach, author illustrator of If You Are An Artist! We talk about what it actually looks like when an editor asks for more work, an inside look at what it  takes to be an author/illustrator in today’s market, joining a debut group and the mystery of all mysteries: how do you manage your writing time with other commitments and life!    Make sure to listen until the end for Meg’s Dead Manuscript and my impersonation of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite!   Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, and Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, and science communicator. This episode was proudly sponsored by Tielmour Press Our guest for this conversation was Meg Auchenbach. You can find Meg here.  This episode’s book reviews: OLIVIA by Ian Falconer   VERA LA VALIENTE IS SCARED by Ana Siqueria illustrated by Teresa Martinez   TO CATCH A GHOST by Rachel Michelle Wilson    The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new

Content advisory: Portland, rainbows, girl cheese, gender expansiveness, A Song for Nolan, Rushie Ellenwood, and big energy! (And Vicki Johnson)   Enjoy responsibly!   This episode was proudly sponsored by Tielmour Press.   --------   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!   This episode’s book reviews:   VERA LA VALIENTE IS SCARED by Ana Siqueira, illustrated by Teresa Martinez ISLAND STORM by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comm