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A Lit Life

Latest Podcast Episodes & Posts

National Archive Hunters Capitol Chase with Matt Landis

July 29, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
In this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Matt Landis, a middle grade author whose books aim to make history “not boring”. His books certainly accomplish that mission, especially his newest series-starter National Archive Hunters: Capitol Chase. Listen as we...
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Finding Your Place: The Secret Language of Birds with Lynne Kelly

July 26, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
In this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Lynne Kelly, an award-winning author of three middle grade novels that will steal your heart. Listen as we talk about and take a deeper dive into The Secret Language of Birds, a novel that gave me all the feels that...
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Write Your Way to a Higher Vibe

July 23, 2024 in Restorative Reading & Writing for Wellness
On this episode of the Get Lit(erate). podcast, we are bridging the mystical with science-based research to explore a new topic together: how to raise your vibration through writing.  You already know I love morning pages and you already know how I’ve grappled with their purpose and function over the years....
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All Voices Matter: Ruby Rene Had So Much to Say with Ashley Iman

July 22, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
In this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Ashley Iman about her debut picture book Ruby Rene Had So Much To Say. Listen as we talk about why she wrote this book, the important message woven inside the pages and her favorite notebook, too. =) Here are the...
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Picture Books Matter: Queen of Leaves with Stephen Briseno

July 19, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
In this episode, I’m talking with Stephen Briseño, author of one of my FAVORITE picture books: The Notebook Keeper: A Story of Kindness from the Border. Listen as we talk about The Notebook Keeper, along with Stephen’s newest picture book, Queen of Leaves: The Story of Ynes Mexia. We talk about...
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Say YES & ‘Retreat’ Yourself with Wendy Harrop

July 16, 2024 in Restorative Reading & Writing for Wellness
On this podcast, we believe in the power of reading and writing to make life better.  But before it can make life better, we have to say YES to ourselves and truly believe that we deserve this special form of self-care so that we can show up in our lives the...
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Emotion & Heart: Mooncakes Mean Family with Benson Shum

July 15, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
In this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Benson Shum. Benson is the author and illustrator of multiple picture books I love and has worked as an animator on some Disney movies you know and love, too….Big Hero 6 and Frozen are two of them. =) Listen as...
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The Amazing Power of Girls with Maria Marianayagam

July 12, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
In this episode, I’m talking with Maria Marianayagam. She’s the author of The Amazing Power of Girls, an absolutely brilliant, lyrical and inspiring book. Come listen as we talk about the fact that we are all made up of multitudes…and the intersection of them all is where she writes. Maria will...
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ABOUT

Stephanie

A book-loving, notebook-hoarding bookologist on a mission to change lives one book and one notebook at a time.

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Stephanie's books

Paperweight
Paperweight
by Meg Haston
I read this hauntingly beautiful book on the recommendation of my teenage daughter. She told me it was powerful, told me I wouldn't want to stop reading it...and she was right. Meg Haston invites readers into the mind of Stevie, causing ...
The Gifts of Imperfection
it was amazing
The Gifts of Imperfection
by Brené Brown
I haven't stumbled across anything written by Brene Brown that I did not love and this book is no exception. Written so conversationally as if Brene was literally speaking directly, and only, to me, I could'n help bu be personally moved ...
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
it was amazing
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
by Anne Bogel
True to its title, this book was simply delightful. I felt like I was talking with a long-lost friend, a fellow book-lover whose life was just as entangled with the plots, settings and characters of fictional books as they were those in ...
Some Places More Than Others
it was amazing
Some Places More Than Others
by Renée Watson
It was almost like I was reading a book that was written just for me, even though the daily lives and locations of the characters were vastly different. The theme of love, self-worth and family connection was prevalent on each and every ...
Touching Spirit Bear
it was amazing
Touching Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen
This book shook me to my motherly core. I read this with my 13-year old twins as part of a school assignment and was swept into Cole's story of literally fighting for survival and for love. My children were drawn to Cole's story of survi...

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This book was a gorgeous exploration into love, lo This book was a gorgeous exploration into love, loss, family and the complications among them. Tasked with clearing out her family’s home after both her parents passed, Plum wades through the objects of the home and the emotions of her heart. It’s filled with lyrical writing and an invitation to consider our own roots, our own stuff and our next moves.

#ALitLife
#Memoirs
Surprise! I’m here with a bonus episode to close Surprise!

I’m here with a bonus episode to close out the end of National Library week with a delightful middle grade biography of an important bookish figure: Ursula Nordstrom.

Plus, for the first time ever, I invited an additional guest on to share the book love with me. Come listen!

@mother_goose_librarian
#KidLitLove PODCAST LINK IN BIO!
#ALitLife
#MiddleGrade
A Note From My Nudge Notebook… This week, I was i A Note From My Nudge Notebook…

This week, I was inspired to write a really terrible first draft of a picture book inspired by a conversation with my father and grandfather AND the writing advice from inside this incredible middle grade biography by Nancy Hudgins: BOOKS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU. Ursula Nordstrom will now stand on my writing shoulders forever.

What acts of inspired action are you taking from the books you’ve read this week?

#NudgeNotebook
Middle grade novels hold a unique kind of magic an Middle grade novels hold a unique kind of magic and Ann Braden unlocks that magic with every novel she writes.

Her newest book is no exception.

HIJACKED BY GOATS is a heartfelt middle grade novel that delicately captures Josie’s inner world and the sheer number of compulsive and overwhelming thoughts that battle for her attention. Officially diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Josie progresses through residential treatment and outpatient therapy as she navigates recovery and a kinder way of treating herself.

Ann delicately captures the challenges Josie faces, the overwhelming thoughts and feelings that won’t let her rest and the brave choices she makes to move through them with the support of new friends, family and knowledgeable professionals.

While every middle grade reader might not be able to relate to Josie directly, they WILL be able to relate to going through something hard, wishing away particular thoughts or feelings or knowing someone who is struggling with their mental health. So will every adult reading this book, too.

This book so beautifully captures the entirety of the human condition and invites every emotion to the table, holding out a hand to those that need it and providing a window of empathy to those that need that, too.

It’s an incredible book and I’m forever grateful for having read it.

@annbradenbooks
#KidLitLove
#ALitLife
#MiddleGrade
#OCD
#Bibliotherapy
This. I know this face. I’ve made this face. I now This. I know this face. I’ve made this face. I now have better words to explain the significance of it and the love it holds. Thank you, Ann. ❤️

HIJACKED BY GOATS by Ann Braden

Coming September 2026
Full review coming soon.
@annbradenbooks
A restorative reading and writing practice doesn't A restorative reading and writing practice doesn't just feel good.....it sends a signal of safety to our nervous systems and THAT is what starts well-being at a cellular level.

Come listen as I talk about the one thing standing in the way of a reading and writing life that makes your actual life better and helps you feel better, too. 

We'll take a sensory audit of our reading and writing and brainstorm key ways to speak the language of our bodies and truly enhance our practice. 

Click the podcast link in my bio or visit me on Substack to listen!
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