Why we love podcasts about kids books?
Podcasts are the perfect way to consume quality material while running errands, cleaning, driving, getting ready for work, etc. We build connections, learn, are entertained, expand our thoughts and opinions, and get inspired to be and do better. With so many great hosts out there it is so fun to feel like you are in the room with these creators hearing them talk about things that interest you. And what interests us? Children’s books, of course! Especially middle grade books which are filled with hope, intense emotions, and are wonderfully fun!
The Best Podcasts Focusing on Children’s Books
There are so many amazing podcasts out there, but when I first went searching for podcasts where they talk to authors of children’s books I had a surprisingly hard time finding what I was looking for. Not because they didn’t exist, but because what came up in my searches were usually read alouds for kids, instead of podcasts for adults looking to dive further into children’s literature. Where were the podcasts for parents, teachers, and librarians who wanted to know about the important books published for kids? Why these books were written? What inspired these authors? And deeper discussions about these amazing books?
This incredible list is part one of two parts that I am posting as I have over twenty amazing podcasts to share with you. Some of these podcasts are aimed specifically by writers. And some of them are for anyone with an interest in children’s literature. Many of these are interview format, but some are solo episodes with the podcast host. It was hard to put it in any kind of order so when all else fails, go by alphabetical order, right? I hope you will find some awesome new podcasts to add to your listening list and don’t forget to come back for more in our upcoming part 2 article of The Best Podcasts Focusing on Children’s books.
BackStory is a podcast presented by StoryCon and hosted by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen. Each episode is presented in two parts. First, our extraordinary host Jennifer A. Nielsen gives us a teaser of the upcoming interview with an author, she doesn’t say who she will be interviewing, but gives us some of their backstory, just enough to get us interested in what is to come. Then in part two we find out who that author is and get to dive further into their BackStory and hear more about the creation of their amazing books! Check out her most recent interview with wildly successful author of The School for Good and Evil Series, Soman Chainani
Book Friends Forever is hosted by two best friends, award-winning author/illustrator Grace Lin, and one of NYC’s top editors, Alvina Ling. In these very authentic and raw conversations between friends you will discover some fascinating secrets of the children’s book publishing world. Just like you were listening in on any old conversation between two close friends, you will get a wide range of topics, for example this most recent episode, Chop Suey, discusses “a bunch of different pieces of publishing news, including the launch of Google’s Gemini Storybook App, the cancellation of the NEA Creative Writing Grant, the creation of a new MFA program of writers of young people’s literature… Children’s Literature Specialist Alison Morris joins them to discuss two recent studies on the decline of pleasure reading, and about how Gen Z isn’t reading to their kids as much as previous generations.”
BookHuddle with Readgab is hosted by children’s literacy advocate Karen Reeder. In each author interview we discover not only a bit about why the author created their story but we also get to dive into time relevant themes that we experience in the book. Listening in on these chats gives us food for thought for ourselves as well as ways that we can bring up these important topics with the kids in our lives. Whether you are a parent, educator, librarian, or simply a lover of kids books, you will love listening in on these powerful conversations. Most interviews are with middle grade authors, but there are also some with authors of picture books and other individuals having to do with children’s literacy. In their most recent episode author Mari Mancusi and Karen explore how Misunderstandings Have Higher Stakes When Dragons are Involved!
The Bookish State is a brand new podcast hosted by New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Grace Lin and teacher librarian Melissa Thom. The pair discusses tips and tricks for teachers and librarians by focusing on different state children’s book award lists. Season one features titles from the Connecticut Nutmeg book award list. They only have two episodes out, but it will be fun to listen in as this unique new podcast grows.
The Book of Life Podcast focuses mostly on Jewish Kidlit, but sometimes we get to dive into some young adult or adult books which also feature Jewish literature, music, film, and web. The host is Heidi Rabinowitz. The podcast is updated semimonthly and has been around for 20 years now, which is amazing! One of my personal favorite children’s books is Max in the Land of Lies so this is a definite must to check out from their list of interviews. Listen in as Adam Gidwitz discusses his Holocaust historical fantasy novel.
While The Children’s Book Podcast was featured in a previous article, I would feel remise is I did not mention it as it has been around for so long and is so popular and I wouldn’t want seekers of kidslit themed podcasts to miss out on this one! Host Matthew C. Winner is a writer and children’s librarian who is “Celebrating the power of storytelling to reflect our world, expand our perspectives, and foster connections between readers of all ages. They feature interviews with authors, illustrators, and everyone involved in taking a book from drawing board to bookshelf.” In this recent episode Diana Rodriguez Wallach discusses her recent book, The Silenced, and reading through a different cultural lens.
The Children’s Book Review: Growing Readers Pocast is of course focused on growing readers of all ages. In this most recent episode host Bianca Schulze chats with graphic novel creator Stan Yan about why represenation matters and the importance of not only advocating for others, but also for yourself. The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang was a book Grace Lin recommended for me to read and I can’t wait to read it and then listen to this podcast episode.
This Creative Life podcast is hosted by author Sara Zarr who writes both middle grade and young adult books. Her podcast focuses on life between the process of writing lines down on paper. She does both solo and interview episodes. So when you have a pile of chores, but you want to also keep your mind on writing you might check out an episode like this one What Counts as Writing.
Kidlit Craft is another great podcast for writer’s of kids books. They take a look at “mentor texts to figure out the mechanics of how writers do what they do, so we can improve our writing.” Cohosts Anne-Marie Strohman and Erin Nuttall focus on just one novel per season with each season containing at least twelve episodes so you really do get a deep dive into each book they focus on. Episodes last anywhere from 8 to 45 minutes. You might want to check out this episode from season 2 about Complicated Family Relationships from the book Thieve’s Gambit.
Kidlit Happy Hour podcast is hosted by New York Times bestselling author Joanna Ho and author Caroline Kusin Pritchard. On the show they talk about the craft, the industry and the creative life of the children’s book world. They recognize that storytelling happens in many spheres so they include a myriad of topics and guests so that listeners can further their enjoyment of and/or expand their talent in the beauty of kid’s books. In this recent episode the hosts are joined by the talented Dan Santat to discuss The State of Publishing and Hope.
From The Mixed-UP Files has created lists about podcasts in the past but it has been over 5 years and while some of those podcasts are still creating wonderful content, I wanted to introduce you to these other amazing new podcasts out there as well. Don’t forget to watch for our upcoming part 2 of this article because we have at least ten more to share with you! If you want to read our previous articles you might check out
Share in the comments your favorite podcast to listen to or which one you look forward to listening to next.
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