The Children's Book Review: Growing Readers Podcast

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with National Book Award–winning author Shifa Saltagi Safadi to talk about her new novel in verse, Sisters Alone—a heart-stopping story about two sisters, trapped alone by a sudden blizzard, who must survive the storm and finally tell each other the truth.
Shifa shares the story behind the story—how a childhood memory of stealing a library book about dolphins first made her realize she was a reader, why she still wrestles with imposter syndrome even after winning the National Book Award for Kareem Between, and what she wants young readers to take from Rama and Leena's fire-and-ice sisterhood. She reads the opening pages of Sisters Alone aloud and gives listeners a first look at her upcoming picture book, The Kaabah Cat.
Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon).
Highlights:
The Dolphin Book Confession: How stealing a nonfiction book about dolphins from her second-grade ESL classroom became the moment Shifa first knew she was a reader—and the years-later confession that followed
Imposter Syndrome, Even Now: Why winning a National Book Award for Kareem Between didn't quiet Shifa's self-doubt—and how she keeps writing anyway
Fire and Ice: Building Rama and Leena as two sisters with opposite ways of surviving grief, and why both had to feel equally true
Why Verse: How the spare, poetic form of Sisters Alone became the only way to hold intrusive thoughts, grief, and a blizzard all at once
A Preview of THE KAABAH CAT: A first glimpse into Shifa's picture book coming this January, about a boy's prayer, a runaway cat, and a joyful romp around the Kaaba

Notable Quotes:
"Sisterhood and love and honesty and opening up to those who love you—that is a strength. It's not a weakness at all to be honest with other people about what our demons are." —Shifa Saltagi Safadi
"Writing just has to come from the heart. And that's definitely not AI... we're sharing our hearts with the world as writers, and it's scary to share your heart with the world." —Shifa Saltagi Safadi

Books Mentioned:
Sisters Alone by Shifa Saltagi Safadi: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi: Amazon | Bookshop.org
The Kaabah Cat by Shifa Saltagi Safadi: Amazon | Bookshop.org

About Shifa Saltagi Safadi: Shifa Saltagi Safadi is the National Book Award–winning author of Kareem Between, the Amina Banana series, and several picture books, including The Gift of Eid. Born in Syria, Shifa immigrated to the U.S. with her parents as a young girl and is a bilingual Arabic/English speaker. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature, is a former English teacher, and once reviewed Muslim books on her blog, Muslim Mommy Blog. Shifa is passionate about spreading a love of reading to children through storytimes and school visits, and hopes readers of every background will find themselves in her stories.
Visit: shifasafadi.com

Credits: Host: Bianca Schulze / Guest: Shifa Saltagi Safadi / Producer: Bianca Schulze

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator Matthew Cordell to talk about his new picture book, 102—a cozy, topsy-turvy nighttime adventure about a sick child who follows a cricket into a hidden, miniature world on a quest to help a family of mice make a very specific batch of soup.
Matt shares the wild story behind the book's art—drawn entirely with a scented, multi-colored ballpoint pen he found in his kids' art supply stash—along with his own soft spot for owls as an avid birder, why curiosity is the thing that drives his work most, and how fatherhood continues to shape the stories he tells. Along the way, they also get a first look at his forthcoming picture book biography, STARMAN.
Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review.
Highlights:
The Pen Behind the Book: How a scented ballpoint pen from his kids' art stash became the sole tool for an entire picture book—and why it took sixteen of them to finish
The Owl Spread: Matt's love of birding, and what it was like illustrating a creature he knows intimately with a tool that offered almost none of his usual control
Soup as a Story Shape: Why 102 is the second time Matt has built a quest around delivering soup, echoing his earlier book Evergreen
Curiosity as a Compass: Matt's belief that children's curiosity is the most inspiring force he knows—and why he thinks the world needs more of it
A Preview of STARMAN: A first glimpse into Matt's next book, a picture book biography of David Bowie, out September 1st

Notable Quotes:
"It's a pretty wild, surreal story... I drew the whole book with a multi-colored ballpoint pen I found in my kids' art supply stash. It took 16 of these pens to do the whole thing—not to put too fine a point on it!" —Matthew Cordell
"Children are bursting with curiosity, potential, and creativity. They are the best and most inspiring audience in the world." —Matthew Cordell

Books Mentioned:
102 by Matthew Cordell: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Evergreen by Matthew Cordell: Amazon | Bookshop.org
STARMAN by Matthew Cordell: Amazon | Bookshop.org

About Matthew Cordell:
Matthew Cordell has illustrated many books for children, including The Only Fish in the Sea and Follow That Frog, both by Philip Stead. He has also written and illustrated numerous picture books of his own, including Hello, Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers, Bear Island, and Wish. His work has been published in languages including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, French, and Italian. Matthew's books have been Best of the Year selections by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, and his wordless picture book Wolf in the Snow received a 2017 Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor and the 2018 Caldecott Medal. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children.
Visit: matthewcordell.com
Credits:
Host: Bianca Schulze
Guest: Matthew Cordell
Producer: Bianca Schulze

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with 2026 Randolph Caldecott Gold Medalist Cátia Chien to celebrate her luminous picture book Fireworks, created with author Matthew Burgess.
Cátia takes us from the bowling alley parking lot where she received the Caldecott call, to the childhood in Brazil that inspired the book's heartbeat—two sisters discovering the world together on a steamy summer day. Along the way, she shares her philosophy of experimentation over mastery, her belief that children feel everything deeply before they can name it, and why honoring a child's inner world is at the core of everything she makes.
Read the transcript on ⁠The Children's Book Review.
Highlights:
The Bowling Alley Caldecott Call: The unforgettable moment Cátia received the news—and how her husband and eight-year-old son each responded
Awards and Inner Validation: The conversations Cátia had with her son about external recognition versus what it means to make art for yourself
The Opening Spread: Why the book begins with grandma's kitchen—and how that image of love sets the foundation for every page that follows
The Staggering Finale: Cátia walks through the intimate, luminous final spread and what she was trying to capture about a child's inner world
Translating Sensation Into Art: How she approached—what does sound look like? what does heat feel like?—and why play is always her starting point
Experimentation Over Mastery: Her studio practice today and how she knows when a piece is done
The Librarian Who Changed Everything: How Mrs. Novosel handed picture books to a teenager who couldn't yet speak English
A Thousand Worlds: The origin story of her free picture book directory celebrating BIPOC creators
What Children Can Hold: Why protecting children from complexity can leave them feeling alone—and how picture books can be the bridge
Notable Quotes:
"When someone thinks that your work is not good, it's their opinion of the work. The most important question is: what do I think? And then I ask myself—what do I have to learn?" —Cátia Chien
"Take my love with you. That's what this book is. It opens with grandma feeding them so their bellies are full of love and courage before they venture out." —Cátia Chien
"I wasn't a big talker when I was a kid, but I was a big feeler. I felt everything so big." —Cátia Chien
Books Mentioned:
Fireworks by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Cátia Chien: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
The Bear and the Moon by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Cátia Chien: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Cátia Chien: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
The Longest Letsgoboy illustrated by Cátia Chien: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
About Cátia Chien:
Cátia Chien is the 2026 Randolph Caldecott Gold Medalist for Fireworks. A Brazilian Taiwanese painter and visual artist, she is also a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated award winner, a two-time Society of Illustrators Gold Medalist, and a three-time Golden Kite Award winner. Her acclaimed works include The Longest Letsgoboy, The Bear and the Moon, and A Boy and a Jaguar (ALA Notable Book; Schneider Family Book Award). She has also worked as a visual development artist on animated films including Wish Dragon and The Little Prince. She is the founder of A Thousand Worlds—a free, curated picture book directory celebrating BIPOC creators. She lives with her family in the Bay Area of Northern California.
Visit: ⁠https://www.catiachien.com⁠A Thousand Worlds: ⁠https://www.athousandworlds.com⁠
Credits:Host: Bianca SchulzeGuest: Cátia ChienProducer: Bianca Schulze

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with illustrator Z.B. Asterplume to talk about baking joy, courage, and community into Rainbow Cookies, written by Lesléa Newman. When a beloved neighborhood bakery faces backlash over a heart-shaped, rainbow-striped Pride cookie, young Cookie refuses to let that be the end of the story—and what follows is a quiet act of community that reminds readers of every age what love in action looks like.
Z.B. shares how this collaboration came together through an SCBWI connection, why her pen name carries the fingerprints of everyone who has helped her make books, and what it means to illustrate a story that doesn't flinch. She also talks color palettes, digital barrettes, and why the process — not the end game — is the whole point.
Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon).
Highlights:
Inclusive Is the Word: What Z.B. hopes every child carries with them after the last page
ZB Asterplume Is Not One Person: The story behind the pen name and why collaboration is baked into every book she makes
The Villain Gets Very Little Airtime: Why Lesléa's decision to focus on action over intolerance was the choice Z.B. connected with most
The Line Around the Block: The book's most joyful spread and why every tiny vignette tells its own whole story
A Book as a Constant: Why Z.B. believes a beloved picture book never changes—and why that permanence is the gift she most wants to give young readers
Don't Focus on the End Game: Z.B.'s honest advice to picture book creators on staying in the process, even when it takes 20 years
Notable Quote:
"The words in that book don't change. They might change meaning for you as you shift. But the book itself doesn't say, I didn't say that. It's not a moving target like so much of the rest of the world can be." — Z.B. Asterplume
Books Mentioned:
Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Z.B. Asterplume: Amazon or Bookshop.org
To Knit a Ghost by Z.B. Asterplume, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee: Amazon or Bookshop.org
Sometimes a Tiger by Z.B. Asterplume: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
About Z.B. Asterplume: Z.B. Asterplume is the author-illustrator of Sometimes a Tiger and the illustrator of Rainbow Cookies. Her forthcoming book To Knit a Ghost arrives July 20, 2026 from Penguin Random House. A longtime SCBWI Rocky Mountain member, she lives in Colorado. https://asterplume.com/
Credits: Host: Bianca Schulze | Guest: Z.B. Asterplume | Producer: Bianca Schulze

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with award-winning author and illustrator Philip C. Stead to talk about A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic: Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm, his uproarious debut middle grade novel from Neal Porter Books.
Best known as the Caldecott Medal–honored creator behind the Amos McGee books, Philip shares what it felt like to step into the novelist's chair and why middle grade has always been the genre closest to his heart. He traces his love of books like The Phantom Tollbooth, The Westing Game, and Roald Dahl, and pulls back the curtain on his writing process—200 words a day, carved in stone—and the feedback that led him to tell Bernadette's story out of order.
Whether you're a parent hunting for funny middle grade books for kids 9–12, an educator drawn to stories that trust young readers, or a writer curious about how a picture book creator builds his first novel, this episode is a celebration of heart, humor, and why every choice matters.
Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon).
Highlights:
From Picture Books to Middle Grade: Why Philip felt like an "imposter" stepping into the novelist's chair—and why middle grade has always been his first love as a reader
The Books That Made Him a Reader: How Roald Dahl, Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, and Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game shaped his sense of what a book can do
200 Words a Day: Philip's deceptively simple writing practice and how he treated each word as if "carved in stone"
The Out-of-Order Revelation: How one friend's honest feedback unlocked the book's unusual structure—and why he never looked back
A Castle on 24 Goats: Where Bernadette, Adelbert the forgetful magician, and a Boat That Does Not Grant Wishes actually came from
24 Chapters, 24 Morals: Why Philip gave himself this arbitrary boundary, and the throwaway phrase that became his favorite of them all
Heart Over Cleverness: The guiding principle that kept the book from feeling "cute but dead"
The Influence Nobody Knows: The lesser-known Norton Juster book Philip discovered at 19 that became the most important influence of his career
Notable Quotes:
"A thing stored in the brain is never as important as a thing stored in the heart." — from A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic
"Cleverness belongs mostly to the maker and really can't belong much to the person experiencing the art. But heart really can." — Philip C. Stead
"If you're a writer and you're listening to this, just figure out how you write and how you do it. How do you put one word in front of another, in front of another? And whatever that answer is, that's the right way to do it." — Philip C. Stead
Books Mentioned:
A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic: Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm by Philip C. Stead: Amazon or Bookshop.org
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead and Erin Stead: Amazon or Bookshop.org
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: Amazon and Bookshop.org
Alberic the Wise, and Other Journeys by Norton Juster: Amazon and Bookshop.org
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin: Amazon and Bookshop.org
A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears by Jules Feiffer: Amazon and Bookshop.org
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig: Amazon and Bookshop.org
Swimmy by Leo Lionni: Amazon and Bookshop.org
The Twits by Roald Dahl: Amazon and Bookshop.org
The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo: Amazon and Bookshop.org
About Philip C. Stead: Award-winning author and illustrator of picture books, including the Caldecott Medal–winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee and A Home for Bird. A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic is his debut middle grade novel. He lives and works in Michigan. Visit him here: https://www.numberfivebus.com/
Credits: Host: Bianca Schulze | Guest: Philip C. Stead | Audio Editor: Kelly Rink | Producer: Bianca Schulze

Episode Sponsor: https://www.rickwilliamsbooks.com/