Episode #98- Chop Suey!: SLJ Black History Month Cover, Food, Names, and Book Recommendations!
Welcome to our monthly odds n’ ends episode called Chop Suey! This week, Grace and Alvina discuss the SLJ February cover story controversy, they share their current food obsessions, talk about discovering names for things they didn't realize existed, and welcome Alison Morris to tell us what we should all be reading for Black History Month.
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“How have you been?”
Grace has been continuing to strive for that work/life balance by enjoying some fun snow crafts with her family. Alvina made two big purchases for her home and met up with some cousins in Prospect Park.
Topic #1: Grace and Alvina discuss the Black History Month controversy surrounding the February issue of School Library Journal’s cover story. You can read more about it here.
Topic #2: Recent food obsessions! Levain’s cookies in NYC, Agar-agar, and Nian Gao recipes just to name a few!
Topic #3: Names! The book friends talk about all of the things you always thought about but had no idea there was an actual NAME for it! Such as, “Frequency Illusion”, “Golden Hour”, and “Deadname”.
Topic #4: What should we be reading? With Alison Morris.
Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.
Here’s what she recommends in honor of Black History Month:
Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Facebook and Instagram
*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Grace Lin and Jarrett Lerner answer, Is a hotdog a sandwich? Why or why not? Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!
