You May Contribute A Verse

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 Hap

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? ------ Mentioned in this episode is Bitsy Kemper's resource on publishers open to unagented submissions in her blog! ------ 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  ------ Find more on ou

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 c

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 musi

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. ------ Lisl's upcoming book with Feeding Minds:  Farm Boots, illustrated by Renee Kurilla ------ 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 Vi

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. ------ Books mentioned in this chat:  How To Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis Indistractable by Nir Eyal ------ 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   ------ Find more on our Linktree! 

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 Madeline 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 mu

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 availabl

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 Jolene Gutierrez. You can find Jolene on Twitter, Instagram, or her linktree.  This episode’s book reviews: THE CHRISTMAS GIANT by Steve Light I HATE BORSCH! By Yevgenia Nayberg   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   Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanne

Today's guest is author Samantha Gassman, and we have the distinct privilege of discussing her apparently extreme versatility as an artist, encompassing not only her three VERY different published or acquired works, but additionally her military background, her motherhood, her singing ability, and her impeccable rhyme sense. I'll leave her other two books to be discussed in our chat, but did want to introduce DEAR RAINBOW BABY, published as her commercial picture book debut this year. This book is deeply personal to Sam, as you might imagine given the subject matter of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and the ways families rebound. It's a beautiful book and a touching way to introduce one of the most difficult topics imaginable to a child. All this is to say that the conversation Brenna and I had with Sam is a real journey as we reconcile and connect the tissue between her nonfiction, her early 2022 debut on the educational market, her publication of DEAR RAINBOW BABY, and Artichoke-y Karaoke, which you'll have t

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 Jennifer March Soloway. Charlene Chua. You can find Charlene on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.  This episode’s ChewyReviewy books: KID SHERIFF AND THE TERRIBLE TOADS by Bob Shea illustrated by Lane Smith.  NORTON AND THE BEAR by Gabriel Evans 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 Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at

Today’s chat features none other than author-illustrator-actor-voice-over…er Justin Colon, creator of the esteemed PBChat on Twitter and overall kidlit powerhouse. Chances are very good that you’re already familiar with Justin, his passion, and his work to foster community among other creatives. Equal parts craft, community, and consideration, this conversation is very much a worthy follow-on to last episode’s chat with – not at all coincidentally – Justin’s agent Jennifer March Soloway of Andrea Brown. We get right into the real stuff this time, starting with some context around the two recent announcements of Justin’s fall 2024 debuts, IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS with Disney-Hyperion and THE QUACKEN with Simon & Schuster. Redirection. Mentorship. Outreach. Education. Being ready. Having to wait. And chalking it all up to experience. Justin Colon literally and figuratively spills the tea. This verse is one you don't want to miss. *** Our ChewyReviewy picks of the week are: The Ugly Doodles by Valeria Wicker The V

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 Jennifer March Soloway. You can find Jennifer on Twitter, or on the Andrea Brown website.  This episode’s ChewyReviewy books: JILLIAN VS PARASITE PLANET by Nicole Kornher-Stace illustrated by Scott Brown MCTOAD MOWS TINY ISLAND by Tom Angleberger illustrated by John Hendrix 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 Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find

The end-of-year season that brings with it so many celebrations and togetherness across cultures, geographies, and faiths feels like the perfect time to share this conversation with author Pamela Ehrenberg! A large part of our chat today centers around the joy of collaboration, finding and building strong relationships, acting in service, and coming together to build something more than the sum of individual parts could alone. We talked today mostly about two of Pamela's books, in addition to her journey as a whole. Detour Ahead is her middle grade collaboration with author Tracy Lopez, centering on the intersection of two adolescents who met by happenstance, and the ways that meeting changed the courses of their lives. Pamela's 2017 debut is our other book subject this week: Queen of the Hannukah Dosas is a delightful book blending an intercultural family dynamic with a troublesome affinity for climbing. Pamela's own journey through service-oriented work and into the publishing industry (read more about PJ L

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 Lisa Rogers. You can find Lisa on Twitter, or on her website.  This episode’s ChewyReviewy books: WHERE ARE YOU FROM? by Yamile Saied Mendez, illustrated by Jaime Kim.  LOOKING FOR A JUMBIE by Tracey Baptiste illustrated by Amber Ren. 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 Twitter @_maddiefrost 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.c

Author Jennifer Concepcion’s debut picture book, Potatoes for Pirate Pearl, is slated for an alliterative publication of winter 2023, and you’re absolutely not going to want to miss this book’s – and Jennifer’s – journey to publication. We caught up with Jennifer during her class plan time, which we very much appreciate, at her grade school in Costa Rica. This is such a charming and conversational chat, and fair warning, there’s a lot of agent-author sausage-making in here about Dan Cramer and Page Turner Literary, as Brenna and Jennifer are agency siblings! Lots of wisdom on offer here! Jennifer's website: https://www.jenwritescr.com/  Our #ChewyReviewy picks of the week: Bikes for Sale, by Carter Higgins and illustrated by Zachariah Ohora: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/39874653-bikes-for-sale  Maybe Tomorrow?, by Charlotte Agell and illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37828981-maybe-tomorrow 

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 Valerie Bolling. You can find Valerie on Twitter, or by following her Linktr.ee links.  This episode’s ChewyReviewy books: UNICORN’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Jess Hernandez and illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum. DOING BUSINESS by Shawn Harris 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 Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmus

This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journeys. Is this a nonfiction podcast? I’ve never thought about it that way, but the more we talked to today’s guest Jocelyn Rish about her book Battle of the Butts – and her journey into nonfiction – the more we realized that we’re here just like Jocelyn, to inform and educate, but also to entertain and laugh! Jocelyn’s been writing for a long time. Like many of us, she’s written a lot that she’s back-pocketed, and like many of us should strive to, she’s found some really fun success by staying open to inspiration, and affectionately pinching inspiration’s butt when it came a-calling. Battle of the Butts is what’s resulted, followed at the end of this year by its semi-sequel, the nonfictional Battle of the Brains. There’s so much to this chat that’s just pure delight. I’m really happy to share Jocelyn’s journey through self-discovery, publication, self-promotion, nerding out with scien

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 Joyce Sweeney. You can find Joyce on Twitter or on The Seymour Agency website.    This episode’s ChewyReviewy books: Garbage Island by Fred Koehler  If Your Babysitter Is A Bruja by Ana Siqueira illustrated by Irena Freitas   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 Twitter @_maddiefrost 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   Find

It's Samantha Berger, Part 2! And the end of the #BeforeBrenna times! One small rumination on genuineness: not only did I wring an hour and a half out of her (today's ep being the latter half of that interrupted conversation), but Samantha Berger followed up, unbidden, with me in one of the most encouraging emails I've ever received. Encouraging both in its content and in the "trails of glitter" consistency of character that Sam showed in bothering to write and send it. I won't share it here, but I will summarize it because a lot of it was SO consistent with what we're trying for with this podcast. YOU are uniquely YOU. Your work is best when it builds on your passion. Passion worked is passion honed. Don't let that work become joyless or humorless - keep it light and fun. No one but you can tell the stories inside you. You may contribute a verse!