NEVER GIVE UP: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DEBBIE DADEY AND ILLUSTRATOR JULIANA OAKLEY

Meet Hungarian American biochemist Katalin “Kati” Karikó. She became fascinated by science as a child and grew up determined to find a way to use messenger RNA—a copy of a part of DNA that provides cells with instructions to make proteins—to help fight illness. Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the Race for the Future of Vaccines follows her journey from her childhood in rural Hungary to leading the way in the creation of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

Today author Debbie Dadey and illustrator Juliana Oakley join us to discuss the inspiration behind their work and their hopes for young readers as they discover Dr. Karikó for the first time.

Hopeful and compassionate, The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent follows eighteen-year-old Del as she discovers she cannot fully value life without accepting the realities of death. She’s in a healthier place more than a year after a suicide attempt. She’s sober, getting treatment for her depression and anxiety, and volunteering at a suicide-prevention hotline. But when her aunt receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, Del is forced to confront the demons she’s been keeping at bay.

Today author Ann Jacobus shares her inspiration for the book, her research, and her writing routines. Read on to download the free discussion guide!

Content warning: This book does involve discussions of suicidal ideation and references to suicide.

On the eve of World War II, the Czech Kindertransport rescued 669 children from Nazi persecution. The new nonfiction picture book Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport by Caren Stelson and illustrated by Selina Alko sensitively tells the powerful true story of the children’s journey to safety from their collective perspective.

Read on to learn about author Caren Stelson’s research, creative decisions for the voice of the book, and her special trip to meet Nick Winton, son of Nicholas Winton.

In May 2019, researchers on a lake in northern Wisconsin made a strange discovery: a pair of loons seemed to be raising a mallard duckling! Normally loons and mallards are rival species, but somehow these three—two childless parents and an orphaned chick—found each other. Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons, by author Laura Purdie Salas and illustrator Alexandria Neonakis, tells the true story of this unlikely family through intriguing verse and striking illustrations. To learn more about how this heartwarming picture book about animal cooperation came together, read on.

In 2009, Tessa Brunton experienced the first symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome). Notes from a Sickbed recalls the next eight years of her life—largely housebound—with honesty, a pointed wit, and a lively visual imagination.

Today Tessa joins us to reveal her inspiration for the book, why she doesn’t shy away from dark humor, her favorite comic collection, and more! And read on to watch a video introduction from our YouTube channel.