You May Contribute A Verse

A generous helping of Adam Rex awaits you. No cause for alarm, the episode title is merely a play on the title of one of Adam's three 2023 book releases! Catch these books in order of age group: Oh No, the Aunts are Here, The Story of Gumluck the Wizard, and A Little Like Waking! Guess what? YOU MAY CONTRIBUTE A VERSE IS FIVE YEARS OLD.  Thank you for listening! I wish this milestone would have coincided with our 100th episode, but we're ALMOST THERE. ------- DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: HOW TO MAKE A PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH IN 17 EASY STEPS by Bambi Edlund A LITTLE LIKE WAKING by Podcast Guest Adam Rex! KATHI Q BUILDS A TIME MACHINE by Jo-Anne Scranton, illustrated by Gabi Moraes The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us 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

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Andrew Hacket. You can find Andrew on Twitter. Check out his blog The Backstory and make sure to pre-order or add his books to Goodreads here.  DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: THE DOOR THAT HAD NEVER BEEN OPENED BEFORE BY by Mrs. & Mr. MacLeod BOO BOOS OF BLUEBELL ELEMENTARY by Chelsea Lin Wallace and Alison Farrell HARRIET’S REFLECTIONS written and illustrated by Marion Kadi   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 scottholmesm

Well that aged poorly. We recorded this in October and were very sneaky about dancing around things that haven't been announced yet. But go and check our guest's social media or website and you'll find that Jessica Stremer has - within two calendar years - a full six books announced and in the pipeline. WHEW! Out now are the delightful Great Carrier Reef and Lights Out, and her middle grade Fire Escape releases in just a couple months.  I, for one, don't know how she does it and am in awe. Congrats, Jessica! ------- DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: MY CAT LOOKS LIKE MY DAD by Thao Lam LIGHTS OUT by - yep! - Jessica Stremer, illustrated by Bonnie Pang BUFFALO FLUFFALO by Bess Kalb, illustrated by Erin Kraan The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us 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

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Jon Seymour. You can find Jon on Twitter along with Tielmour Press.  DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! 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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!  Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment! Thanks and see ya next time.  You May Contrib

Our second-ever two-guest episode extravaganza happens now, featuring our buddies Gennie Gorback and Audrey Perrott! These two powerhouse pals have produced a perfect loaf of kidlit goodness for your eyes, ears, and taste buds. I wouldn't spoil the reveal except that I desperately want you to have the link handy so you can bookmark it. VerseShow is proud to reveal Audrey and Gennie's The Joys of Booking! Now go listen to them talk, laugh, cry, and feel joy all about it <3  ------- DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: THE BIG BED by Bunmi Laditan and Tom Knight HOW TO COUNT TO ONE by Caspar Salmon and Matt Hunt WORDS TO MAKE A FRIEND: A STORY IN JAPANESE AND ENGLISH by Donna Jo Napoli and Naoko Stoop The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us 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

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Marisa Cleveland. You can find Marisa on Twitter. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: LA PRINCESA AND THE PEA by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Juana Martinez Neal BUFFALO WILD written by Deidre Havrelock and illustrated by Azby Whitecalf HOW TO EAT A BOOK written and illustrated by Mr. and Mrs. MacLeod   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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find

I've never seen Perfect Man and Troy Wilson in the same room together. Have you? Could they be the same...? Troy's on the podcast this week, true believers! Excelsior! Between the 1st and 14th of February (of 2024, for those of you living in the future), share this episode on socials and tag us for a chance to win a copy of Perfect Man, in celebration of Perfect Man's 20th anniversary! This episode's reviews: JUMP IN by Shadra Strickland ISLAND GIRLS: FREE THE SEA OF PLASTIC, written by Blair Northen Williamson and illustrated by Svitlana Holovchenko JULIAN IS A MERMAID by Jessica Love FRED GETS DRESSED by Peter Brown The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Susan Johnston Taylor. You can find Susan on Twitter. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: DON’T CALL ME GRUMPYCORN by Sarah McIntyre A GIFT FOR NAI NAI by Kim-Hoa Ung TENACIOUS: FIFTEEN ADVENTURES ALONGSIDE DISABLED ATHLETES by Patty Cisneros Prevo and illustrated by Dion MBD   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   Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our

Steph Campisi sells caravans by the seashore. So you can camp easy. Enjoy this first chat of 2024 with Steph sounding erudite, Brenna sounding energetic and engaged, and Josh sounding like he had a spring 2023 cold. If you're not already a member of our shared Discord PB Workshop, managed by Nathan Christopher and mentioned herein, join here! DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! We have a Patreon! Check it out here. Just launched - more to come, but there are STICKERS. Thanks to #TeamVersey member Steena Hernandez for her shoutouts this week of Jessica Milo and Jenna Johnson, and congrats to Steena on her upcoming 2024 debut PB LUPITA'S BROWN BALLET SLIPPERS. Our reviews were Maddie Frost-flavored this week! Go check out her WOMBATS series (Wizard's Wharf releases in February 2024!) and all her other work at Maddie-Frost.com. Maddie also did our quokka mascot Versey! Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com   Don’t forget to get your

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster and Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Brian Gehrlein. You can find Brian on Twitter. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: TOWN IS BY THE SEA by Joanne Schwartz illustrated by Sydney Smith BLOOM by Julia Seal and MARY WEARS WHAT SHE WANTS by Keith Begley  PARKER PETERZAK by Angel Tate illustrated by Brittany Moodie   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   Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!   WE HAVE MERCH!! Check

An XL-sized episode gift for the holidays follows! Our chat with Federico Erebia about his debut novel Pedro and Daniel (and WAY beyond) is so great.   This episode's book reviews:  LOU by Breanna Carzoo SEALS ARE JERKS by Jared Chapman THE BEAR ATE YOUR SANDWICH by Julia Sarcone-Roach   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey (holiday version!), 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   Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!   WE HAVE MERCH!! Check it out and support the show here!    And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive. Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment! Thanks and see ya next time.  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 found that with our powers combined, we could make Captain Planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty rad podcast with the help of behind-the-scenes wizardry from Jon Seymour. Our guest for this conversation was Jilanne Hoffmann. You can find Jilanne on Twitter on Instagram and Blue Sky. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: GRUMPY MONKEY by Suzanne and Max Lang NO PANTS written and illustrated by Jacob Grant I AM MY ANCESTOR’S WILDEST DREAMS written by Tanisia Moore and illustrated by Robert Paul Jr.   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 Scot

The one where Josh embarrasses himself. On purpose. We talk to Maria Dismondy and Adam Blackman of Cardinal Rule Press this week about how CRP came to be, AND why and how they came to choose and publish Brenna's debut, The Law of Birthdays, out in May 2024 (add it on Goodreads today!)! DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!   This episode’s book reviews: RUDELY interrupted by an interloper. Our apologies.   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   Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!   WE HAVE MERCH!! Check it out and support the show here!    And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive. Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur, and

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 found that with our powers combined, we could make Captain Planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty rad podcast with the help of behind-the-scenes wizardry from Jon Seymour. Our guest for this conversation was Laurel Snyder. You can find Laurel Snyder on Instagram. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!   This episode’s book reviews: THE BAD SEED written by Jory John illustrated by Pete Oswald THE PERFECT SEAT written by Minh Le and Gus Gordon THERE’S A ZOMBIE IN THE BASEMENT by Stan Yan   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

"There's a big contract, there are a lot of words in it, and none of them rhyme..." Ah, the perennial conflict with us picture book writers looking to break through. Thankfully for our guest this week, Rebecca Gardyn Levington, she seems to have managed to figure it out, with her 2022 debut Brainstorm quickly followed by this year's Whatever Comes Tomorrow, and apparently many more to come! And hey illustrators, or authors if you're feeling bold, stay tuned (or fast forward if you're pressed for time?) for an illustration challenge at the end of the episode! Tag your entry on social with #PingPongPattyVerse!   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!  This episode’s book reviews: MY DAD IS A TREE by Jon Agee THE UNBUDGEABLE CURMUDGEON by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock A PIZZA WITH EVERYTHING ON IT by Kyle Scheele, illustrated by Andy J. Miller (not Pizza, but maybe Pizza? it's very mysterious)   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and w

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 found that with our powers combined, we could make Captain Planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty rad podcast with the help of behind-the-scenes wizardry from Jon Seymour. Our guest for this conversation was Malcolm Newsome. You can find Malcolm on Twitter and Instagram. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!   This episode’s book reviews: IT’S FALL by Renee Kurilla HUGO AND THE IMPOSSIBLE THING by Renée Felice Smith and Chris Gabriel illustrated by Sydney Hanson THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED by Kailei Pew illustrated by Steph Lew   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 Scot

We recorded this during a break in Josh's workday. Please ignore his work phone buzzing incessantly in the background! Chelsea Lin Wallace is incredible and we hope you enjoy this chat! Chelsea's mom is a psychologist, but it's only here that we really delve into the deepest recesses of her mind and our writing inspiration.   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!  This episode’s book reviews: Humphrey the Egg-Splorer by Nadia Ali, illustrated by Valenti Gubianas Vampenguin by Lucy Ruth Cummins Donuts for Everybody by Jerrold Connors!   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!   WE HAVE MERCH!! Check it out and support the show here!    And special thanks to our spo

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 found that with our powers combined, we could make Captain Planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty rad podcast with the help of behind-the-scenes wizardry from Jon Seymour. Our guest for this conversation was Kate Allen Fox. You can find Kate on Twitter BlueSky and Threads. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!   This episode’s book reviews: FOLLOW THAT FROG by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Matthew Cordell HIDDEN GEM by Linda Liu BANANA written and illustrated by Zoey Abbott   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 scott

The one where Josh makes Tara Lazar cry with his questions, and the state of the publishing industry makes us all cry. Tara's Flat Cat, illustrated by Pete Oswald, releases today (as of episode publication, September 19th, ALSO unrelatedly Talk Like A Pirate Day)! Check it out! DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!  This episode’s book reviews: The Smart Cookie by Jory John and Pete Oswald (of Flat Cat fame!) Goldilocks and the Three Knocks by Gregory Barrington Louis by Tom Lichtenheld   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our 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   Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!   WE HAVE MERCH!! Check it out and support the show here!    And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and The Kidlit Hive. Find us o

This is You May Contribute A Verse!   I’m Brenna Jeanneret. Kidlit author, and co-host of this podcast, duh! I’m joined by my co-host, Josh Monken, kidlit author, dad, and science communicator. And Podcast Wizard Jon Seymour, an author-illustrator, family man, and data dude.    If you’re in the query trenches, if you’re hearing crickets on sub, if you just started, keep going. Steph’s book WHAT IS HOPE illustrated by Kelsey Buzzell drops today and is the perfect button for Steph’s opening point–writing takes time and it’s ok to take a break, sometimes a long break, writing will be here and so will hope.    Also, you’ll want to check Steph’s page to see Tara Hannon’s original illustrations that helped to inspire this beautiful and important book.    Our guest for this conversation was Steph Lucianovic. You can find Steph on Twitter. DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!  This episode’s book reviews: MINA by author-illustrator Matthew Forsythe THE ELDERS ARE WATCHING by David Bouchard illustra