About this episode
With the 2023 year coming to a close (our first full year in production!), we wanted to celebrate. And what better way to do that than high school yearbook superlative style?
Welcome to a special edition of The Reading Culture podcast – "The Reading Culture: Yearbook."
In this episode, we're rolling out the red carpet to unveil "The Readies," an award show of sorts, to remember the standout moments and stories from the show this year.
Yes, it's a clip show.
We'll relive the "Most Hilarious Admission," "Most Moving Parenting Story," and "Most Emo Moment", and we'll hand out the "I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying" and name the author "Most Likely to Build a Functional Spaceship". Think you know who gets that one?
And there's even more than those!
Join us as we reflect back on some of the best moments of The Reading Culture.
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Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Hey y'all. It's the end of the year and as it happens, it's also a couple of months past this show's first birthday. To celebrate we thought we'd look back at some of the best moments from a year of incredible interviews, and just to make it official, we've decided on some yearbook superlatives to give out to some of our guests. Maybe we'll call them the Readies and make it a tradition in the future. I could see that being a thing. My name is Jordan Lloyd Bookey, and this is the Reading Culture Yearbook.
Just a personal admission before we get to the Red Carpet Awards ceremony, I want to tell you how much joy doing these podcasts brings me, and I hope brings you as well out there listening. We are in an amazing time for children's literature and it makes me so happy to celebrate the creators, to give them time to sit down and to tell us their own stories, to shine light on their experiences and their histories, to appreciate them as people with their own motives and struggles and vulnerabilities and triumphs.
I'm grateful to all of them for their honesty and openness, and I'm grateful that those stories now that they're here on our podcast, won't be lost in the shuffle and bustle of busy lives and a busy landscape. For now though, let's revisit some of our favorite moments over the past year. Drum roll, please. Our first category is Most Likely to Host a Spoken Word Night, which of course goes to Renee Watson. And to be honest, if the whole night was just her, no one would be complaining. You all know this, but every author on the show shares a book or passage that deeply impacted them. Remember Renee's reading of Nikki Giovanni's, Knoxville, Tennessee?
Reneé Watson:
Knoxville, Tennessee. I always like summer best. You can eat fresh corn from daddy's garden and okra and greens and cabbage, and lots of barbecue and buttermilk and homemade ice cream at the church picnic, and listen to gospel music outside at the church homecoming and go to the mountains with your grandmother and go barefooted and be warm all the time, not only when you go to bed and sleep.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Goosebumps every time. Renee, I could listen to you, read forever. Next up, we have the Most Moving Parenting Story. This one was a tough one. So many of our guests are parents and by the sounds of it, pretty great ones, but we couldn't settle on just one honoree, so we've made it a tie. Our first is James Ponti and his heartbreaking but heartwarming story about how his son inspired him to pursue his literary career.
James Ponti:
My oldest son was severely autistic and epileptic, and he needed care around the clock when I was at a point where TV writing meant going back to California, we didn't think it was a good thing for him to change. And so what I ended up doing is, I segued into producing television, and so you can produce cable TV from almost anywhere. So I did a series for the History Channel, a series for Spike TV, and again, I loved it. It was great. I did Golf Channel and NBC Sports, but also I did three years of Roller Derby for Spike TV. I did all kinds of strange things, which all have come in very handy in my now, what I'm doing. I learned about things I never would've learned about, but I missed the writing as I got further away from writing.
And so I worked in television for about 25 years. But in that period, I started dabbing at the edge of books just partly to make extra money to pay for doctors or tuition or whatever, or because I wanted to scratch that writing itch. And I liked that. And then about 10 years ago, my wife and I said, "We really need to take care of Alex. One of us is going to have to quit our day job." And I said, "It'll be better if I quit", she's a school teacher, "Because I can write at home." But I just have to build up this book thing to see if that can be a thing that I can build enough to carry my weight in supporting us and all of that. That's when I started writing Dead City. Actually, I started writing Dead City on the floor of the Children's Hospital next to my son's hospital bed.
It was where we were, and it's just because I had to work and I was watching him, but he's asleep, I had a computer and I just start working. And Alex actually ended up passing away eight years ago, and it was a shock. It was not at all what anything indicated would be happening. But he had lead me to this thing of writing these books. And so I just kept doing it and I feel like he's part of that, and I keep him around by writing the books. That was a longer answer than you were looking for. I apologize.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah, no, I'm processing also, I did know that your son had passed away. I'm very sorry, I didn't realize that that was also... It's very...
James Ponti:
It's central to this.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah. Just knowing that was all the reason for you actually taking that leap.
Again, that was James Ponti sharing an intensely poignant and personal chapter of his life. And James, don't apologize. As hard as it is to hear about another parent's loss, it's also deeply touching to hear how you have kept your son with you through your writing. Thank you, again. Our other awardee for the Most Moving Parenting Story is Ellen Oh. As a co-founder of We Need Diverse Books. Ellen is one of the leaders in ensuring that we have more diversity in children's literature and that it remains widely accessible for all kids. At my live session with Ellen, she shared about how her son has taught and inspired her on that mission.
Ellen Oh:
I wanted to mention When the Moon Was Ours, because my youngest is transgender and he had a very difficult experience. He was hospitalized for a week, he had a lot of bullying issues, it was really hard also with what was happening in the news to let him know that it was going to be all okay because it just didn't feel like it was going to be all okay. And then one day he came to me, he said, "Hey, Mom, you know how you haven't been talking about me publicly?", I'm like, "Yeah", he's like, "You could talk about me now", I was like, "Okay, why? What happened?" He's like, "I want people to know that we deserve our happy ever afters also. That we shouldn't just be some lesson or some tragic story. Tell everybody that we want our books, our stories told."
And I realized at that moment that he had actually fallen in love with Anna-Marie McLemore's book, and it was actually the first time he had seen himself the way he wanted to be seen in the pages of a book. And so when I say, "Books save lives", I really mean it. And I want people to find those books that you think save lives and add them to my list also, because there's so many. And I know that there's going to be a kid somewhere that is going to need that book and it will save their lives.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Ellen, we love your son for his bravery, and I am so grateful for both of you. Our next category is about the inspiration that our guests have taken from other authors. This story was wild to hear for the first time. Talk about a professional storyteller. What a reveal, way to stick the landing, best first author reading goes to Matt De La Peña.
Matt De La Peña:
I remember when I was in college, I had a professor invite me to a bookstore to see an author, and I had never met an author in my life, but I was starting to become a reader. And so I go to this bookstore and I'm going to be honest with you, I thought, "This could be pretty boring, but I have to go because my favorite professor's asking me to go with a couple other students." So I stood in the back so I could escape if I thought it was really boring. And onto this stage walks this woman and she was much older, different race, and she told these incredible stories about her childhood, and she read from one of her books. And I remember being so inspired by her and felt so seen in a way because she grew up in a much poorer environment than I did. And I remember thinking, "God, maybe I could do this." And so that's how I know it's important. And by the way, the author was Maya Angelou, so she was a legend.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Get Out. Maya Angelou is your first author?
Erin Entrada Kelly:
My first author I ever saw.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Maya Angelou, imagine.
All right y'all. This next award goes to our dear friend, Erin Entrada Kelly. Erin was recently diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer, which she has been very open and vulnerable about on her social media. And Erin is in the fight of her life. But if there is one thing we know about her, it is how tenacious she is. Her career was built on her working day in and day out to achieve her dreams, no matter the obstacles. And that's why our title, Most Tenacious, goes to Erin. Here's a clip from her episode that recounts a bit of her story.
Erin Entrada Kelly:
I had a daughter when I was 19, so she's 26 now. So during all this, I've also got a daughter. I had a lot of support, so that's good, like family support. And I was also going to school, so because I got pregnant, I was 18 years old obviously that makes it difficult to go to school full time, so I take one class per semester, so it took me 10 years to get my bachelor's degree.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
The tenacity of that is pretty mind-blowing. And even with that incredible perseverance, that commitment to her big dream, Erin's career began with a bit of a detour.
Erin Entrada Kelly:
My dream was always to write books, but I knew as I got older in high school, I realized, okay, when I was a young kid, I thought, "Oh, I'll just write a bestseller and that'll be it." But then of course you realize as you get older, "Oh, wait, that's not how that works." So I knew I would have to have a job that involved writing, and I knew that I would have to write books on my own time and then try to get them published. So I knew that I couldn't just be a published author so I tried to figure out, "Okay, what can I do that involves words and something that I'm really interested in?" That's how I went into journalism.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
After nearly a decade of dedication to her career, education and her daughter, Erin went on to get her master of fine arts, finally she could devote herself to writing fiction. Erin, I'm honored to have you as a friend, and we are sending you all of our love right now.
NASA might need to head up this next winner if they seriously want to head back to the moon in 2024, Most Likely to Build a Functional Spaceship goes to the one and only world building Wonder, Neal Shusterman.
Neal Shusterman:
Every time I read a book that I loved, I would draw things from it. I was always a stickler for trying to figure out what it would look like realistically. Like with Star Trek, when I was a kid, I would draw the plans of the enterprise, and then they actually came out with actual blueprints. And I was amazed.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
How'd you do?
Neal Shusterman:
I think I did pretty good. I actually found some of the plans that I drew up for spaceships from TV shows when I was a kid, and gosh, I was very meticulous about making sure that everything was right. I think I was more so than the actual set designers, because many times the things that they had in the sets didn't actually make sense. They didn't quite fit in the space that the ship was supposed to take up, and that always infuriated me.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Neal Shusterman, you are truly one-of-a-kind. This whole show is about building a stronger culture of reading in our communities. And this next story reminds us that sometimes an individual that you least expect can wind up being the spark that ignites an entire community of readers. Here's Nic Stone walking away with the Dare You Not to Smile honor.
Nic Stone:
Late 2017, I get a DM from a kid named Jabari. He's like, "Yo, Miss, I'm 14. My name's Jabari. I just started reading your book, it's really good so far." And that was the end of the message. So I write back and I'm like, "Oh, that's really cool. I'm glad that you're liking it. Let me know when you finish and what you thought of the whole thing." A couple of days go by and he writes me again, he says, "I finished it. It was amazing. I've never actually finished a book before. This is officially my favorite book." And I was like, "Well, thank you." And then he says, "Will you come to my school?", so I get with the media specialist and we set up the day that I'm going to come. And I said, though, "Okay, this is the thing though, Jabari, if I come to your school, you have to be the person who interviews me in front of your friends."
And he said, "Bet." These kids with their one-word responses. It killed me. So I show up, he's there. He's got on his Jordans and jeans, he's got a bow-tie, he's so cute.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
He was ready.
Nic Stone:
Yeah, he was ready. And we go into the media center, and I just watched this kid blossom. I have pictures from it. He put his jacket on in the pictures, and I just watched him blossom. And that experience in and of itself was memorable because then I had all of his friends, who I don't know necessarily would've considered themselves readers. All of them wanted to talk to me after, and they had all of these questions. And then all of a sudden, you have this one kid's curiosity explode out like confetti and land on everyone else. And it was the most impactful, for me it was the most impactful school visit I've ever done just because of him.
And now he's in college, and he's been very clear with me about the fact that he didn't even think he wanted to go to college. But then last year, he's a freshman now, so 2021, 2022 school year, we stayed in touch and he'll send me stuff. "Can you read this for me? I got to do my college essays and stuff." It's just knowing that a single book can spark a kid to the point where they not only want the author to come visit, but then they take their relationship with that author and hold onto it, and now he wants to be a writer. Come on.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Thanks Nic, for giving us one of the happiest endings of the season and Jabari, we can't wait to read your first book. Now, when you picture our winner for this next one, you'll have to use your imagination to apply some heavy, dark eyeliner put on your Doc Martens, and maybe a bunch of chains or lace, or both. I'm not a hundred percent sure because I never went through a goth phase myself, and neither did Sabaa Tahir here, but boy, did she want to, which is why we're giving her the Most Emo Moment award.
I've read that you or heard, listened to you and say you used to give stories to your friends for their birthdays. So you were always the storyteller, which I think is a great gift, especially now. I hope they saved them.
Sabaa Tahir:
I hope they didn't. They were terrible stories. They were all about death.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
About death? Okay.
Sabaa Tahir:
That was my main character, was always the Grim Reaper. I was super into gothy, Grim Reaper stuff. My mother never let me dress in all black, which is what I wanted to do. I wanted to dress in all black and wear black nail polish and have black eyeliner and be a true goth, but my mother was like, "Absolutely not. You're not wearing all black, and you're certainly not painting your nails black." So I had to make do with writing stories about the Grim Reaper.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
They're like, "Thank you. This will be such a happy birthday for me."
Sabaa Tahir:
Pretty much, yeah.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yes, Sabaa, there's truly no better birthday gift and the sweet reminder that you are another year closer to death. Now, our next winner has had an awe-inspiring career and was a pioneer in bringing more black stories into children's and young adult literature. Prolific is an understatement. Through her writing and actions, she continues to inspire and teach us all how to be more empathetic and open-minded at every turn. Our Most Courageous Classroom Moment award goes to the iconic Jacqueline Woodson.
Jacqueline Woodson:
I remember going to a school and the teacher didn't want me to read from Visiting Day, which is the story of a girl whose father's incarcerated. So of course, I read from it and she said, "We don't have any kids who are dealing with incarceration in this classroom", and it was a big classroom. And so I read it, and then right after I finished, I said, "Well, I really want to read this."
Because it's about family and different ways we have family and people, even if they don't know someone incarcerated, they know what it means to have to leave somebody because there's divorce. There are all these ways in which you have to spend time with. So she got that. I read it, and then afterwards one kid raises his hand, he's like, "My dad's in prison." Another girl raised her hand, she's like, "My brother's in prison", "My cousin's in prison." About six or seven kids knew someone that was incarcerated and the teacher said, "I never knew." And I'm just thinking, "You never gave them the space to have this conversation", and that kind of stuff, just hearing how kids can be so brave when they have the tools with which to come by it, suddenly there's a conversation in the classroom that they can be a part of.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Pro tip to teachers and everyone, always listen to Jacqueline Woodson. Now, not everyone connects with reading as a child, especially when our experiences and worldview aren't reflected in the stories we have access to. But those moments when we find the books that feel like they were made for us can be magical or in Yuyi Morales case, perfectly real. Which is why we're awarding her Most Un-magical Literary Awakening Story. This is about the passage she selected, Gabriel García Márquez, El ahogado más hermoso del mundo.
Yuyi Morales:
I remember reading this and finally something clicking inside of me. Finally, this is a story that I can relate to where we were given as an assignment, was to read the [inaudible 00:19:19] story, which is a really, really strong story, especially for a child. But I was so taken with it, and this is a book of several short stories that after I read the story that I was assigned to school, I just read the whole book, and this is my favorite story. So what Gabriel García Márquez does for me is a connection to some of the things that we were talking about before, which is finally here is someone who's telling stories like the ones that I hear when I was a little child, like the ones that my mother, my family, my grandmother, was living as real life.
I remember coming to the United States and hearing people mention the writing of writers like Gabriel García Márquez as magical realism. And I have never heard that term before. And I remember thinking, I never saw it as magic, I always saw it as realism. For me, the way that he was writing was the real life. That was the way things were happening. So before all the books that I was reading made no sense to me, I had no interest to them. But when I started reading him, then I realized I am a reader. I love books. I really like to read, but I had to find him first.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yuyi, I love that story, and I will never think of the magical realism genre the same way again. And speaking of heartwarming stories that make you want to tear up, our next honor is the, I'm Not Crying, You're Crying Award. I recently saw this author in conversation with Ann Patchett, and when she mentioned that she was tearing up Anne said, "Oh, what's new?" Well, I guess if you know her or her work, you shouldn't be surprised. Isn't this one obvious? There's no better person to give this to than the beloved Kate DiCamillo.
Kate DiCamillo:
I'm gob-stopped by what teachers do. I'm amazed when I get a packet of letters and there are thirty-five kids in a classroom and the cover letter from the teacher. And she'll tell me individual things about this kid, that kid, and I think talk about sacred work. I mean, she is seeing each one of those kids and reading aloud to them, paying attention to what they're getting from it. That's love in action.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
I could not agree more. What were you going to say?
Kate DiCamillo:
Nothing. I'm just crying. It's deeply moving, and it becomes, at the risk of sounding trite or overly poetic, it becomes this circle of, it's a circle of light and love and connection that happens. And sometimes when I talk to a kid one on one, and this happened during the pandemic too, I would Zoom in a classroom and then the kids would get to come up to the camera and ask me their question one on one. And I would say, "Even if we weren't doing this, even if you never talked to me, never met me, it goes back to what I said in the beginning, I'm there with you and we're in it together", and you can feel that it forms a bond. And that, to me, is one of the most powerful things about books, the story is not complete until you're sitting somewhere reading it or hearing it read, then it becomes a story. So I need you as much as you need me. That's what I say to the kids.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Kate, you're just the best. And I have to add a note here from our producer who says she spent most of her time editing your episode, tearing up herself. But hey, let's swap out our sappy tears for some tears of laughter. If you listened to this episode, then you already know what's coming. How could I not? Our final category is Most Hilarious Admission. I had to finish with this one because once you've heard it, well, you won't get over it quickly. This one, of course, goes to Kwame Alexander.
I'm wondering also what your love life was like in middle and high school because, first of all, all your books, there's always a little side or central story that is very important. And I found it very interesting to read Why Fathers Cry at night and then go back and reread. I'd already read... I would oftentimes read a lot of books with Cassius, and to go back and reread, I'm like, "Oh, he was working some stuff out here now that I'm coming back", if I'm psychoanalyzing you. But for real, I did wonder, did you have girlfriends and stuff like that? Because it feels very authentic.
Kwame Alexander:
I had desire, I had longing. I mean, I was a romantic kid, so when I was eight or nine or 10, there was a girl in New York, I took a liking to her. And one day I remember just waking up and just staring at the ceiling at 10 years old and just saying, "I'm in love. I'm in love."
I remember just debating, "How are you going let her know?" And I remember calling my parents or going in my parents' room and saying, "Look, guys, I'm in love and I need to go spend some time with this girl, so can I please go and stay over at her house?" I don't think I said it like that, Jordan, but I do remember that weekend or that night or something, I was at her house and I spent the night, and we were friends, of course. So I slept on the floor next to her bed, and I remember her saying, I don't even know, you might have to bleep this out at some point on the Reading Culture Podcast people, she said, "Can you come and...", I can't even say it. It's so silly.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
What did she say?
Kwame Alexander:
She said, "Kwame...", I think I said, "I like you." And she said, "If you like me, come and suck my toes."
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
What? No.
Kwame Alexander:
You got to bleep that.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
I did not expect you to say that.
Kwame Alexander:
Right, right.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Oh my God.
Kwame Alexander:
But my point was...
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Go on.
Kwame Alexander:
She was a little fast.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah, at nine years old.
Kwame Alexander:
I was like, "I don't know if I can handle this. I may not be ready for love, for real love." But no, I just had these experiences where I just liked people a lot, and when I liked them a lot, it moved me. So I had a lot of interest and a lot of crushes. Not a whole lot of reciprocation, which of course makes you long and desire even more so I listened to a lot of love songs and read a lot of love poems to get... I think to sort of tie me over.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah, you're a poet. You're a poet. I read this out loud last night when I was like... I read this, The Door of No Return, but I was rereading it. I'm like, "You know what? This poem called Amma? If you were a mango, I would peel you, keep you from myself, then reveal you", I'm like, "This is hot stuff." I was reading, I said, "Cassius, when you read this, what were you thinking?" I'm trying to get information from him, but I'm like, "This is the most beautiful thing ever."
Kwame Alexander:
Yeah. Love has always been a thing for me, as you know, reading, Why Father's Cry at Night, trying to figure out, reconcile, understand, do better. So yeah.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah. Let's move a little into your pipeline. I kind of want to know if you sucked her toes? I have to.
Kwame Alexander:
Oh my gosh, you can't ask me that. It's enough for me to say it, now I have to answer it. I can't answer that. Question number two. Let's move on.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Oh my gosh.
Kwame Alexander:
Is this the first time you've had conversation about toes on the Reading Culture?
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Definitely. Definitely. A hundred percent. All this is a first. Okay. And I've never come across it in the interviews I've listened to with you. So there we go, some fresh content.
Kwame Alexander:
You're the only person I've ever told that about. So there you go, you right here.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
There you go, heard it here first. That'll make kids want to read.
Kwame Alexander:
I don't know what that says about your podcast, but there you go.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Well, Kwame, not much can be said after that one. That's a mic drop.
Thank you all for listening and for being a part of the Reading Culture community. It has truly been a wonderful 2023, and we're so grateful that we get to continue bringing you these fascinating, insightful, tear-inducing, hilarious conversations with authors. It is truly a labor of love to package these stories for all of you. We're excited to bring you more in 2024, including episodes with Mark Oshiro, John Schu, and many more beloved authors and illustrators. Oh, and if you're still struggling, trying to think of a gift to get us for the holidays, well, reading and reviewing the show is the best present of all. Thanks everyone. This is The Reading Culture Yearbook, and I'm Jordan Lloyd bookey. Remember to keep reading. No, seriously, let's all make New Year's resolutions to read more and talk more about the books we love with the people we love. I'm reading Rebecca, Not Becky by Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene and Karina Yang Glaser's, final installment of the Vanderbeekers series, The Vanderbeekers Ever After. I'm sending all of my love to you and yours. Happy New Year.
Hey y'all. It's the end of the year and as it happens, it's also a couple of months past this show's first birthday. To celebrate we thought we'd look back at some of the best moments from a year of incredible interviews, and just to make it official, we've decided on some yearbook superlatives to give out to some of our guests. Maybe we'll call them the Readies and make it a tradition in the future. I could see that being a thing. My name is Jordan Lloyd Bookey, and this is the Reading Culture Yearbook.
Just a personal admission before we get to the Red Carpet Awards ceremony, I want to tell you how much joy doing these podcasts brings me, and I hope brings you as well out there listening. We are in an amazing time for children's literature and it makes me so happy to celebrate the creators, to give them time to sit down and to tell us their own stories, to shine light on their experiences and their histories, to appreciate them as people with their own motives and struggles and vulnerabilities and triumphs.
I'm grateful to all of them for their honesty and openness, and I'm grateful that those stories now that they're here on our podcast, won't be lost in the shuffle and bustle of busy lives and a busy landscape. For now though, let's revisit some of our favorite moments over the past year. Drum roll, please. Our first category is Most Likely to Host a Spoken Word Night, which of course goes to Renee Watson. And to be honest, if the whole night was just her, no one would be complaining. You all know this, but every author on the show shares a book or passage that deeply impacted them. Remember Renee's reading of Nikki Giovanni's, Knoxville, Tennessee?
Reneé Watson:
Knoxville, Tennessee. I always like summer best. You can eat fresh corn from daddy's garden and okra and greens and cabbage, and lots of barbecue and buttermilk and homemade ice cream at the church picnic, and listen to gospel music outside at the church homecoming and go to the mountains with your grandmother and go barefooted and be warm all the time, not only when you go to bed and sleep.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Goosebumps every time. Renee, I could listen to you, read forever. Next up, we have the Most Moving Parenting Story. This one was a tough one. So many of our guests are parents and by the sounds of it, pretty great ones, but we couldn't settle on just one honoree, so we've made it a tie. Our first is James Ponti and his heartbreaking but heartwarming story about how his son inspired him to pursue his literary career.
James Ponti:
My oldest son was severely autistic and epileptic, and he needed care around the clock when I was at a point where TV writing meant going back to California, we didn't think it was a good thing for him to change. And so what I ended up doing is, I segued into producing television, and so you can produce cable TV from almost anywhere. So I did a series for the History Channel, a series for Spike TV, and again, I loved it. It was great. I did Golf Channel and NBC Sports, but also I did three years of Roller Derby for Spike TV. I did all kinds of strange things, which all have come in very handy in my now, what I'm doing. I learned about things I never would've learned about, but I missed the writing as I got further away from writing.
And so I worked in television for about 25 years. But in that period, I started dabbing at the edge of books just partly to make extra money to pay for doctors or tuition or whatever, or because I wanted to scratch that writing itch. And I liked that. And then about 10 years ago, my wife and I said, "We really need to take care of Alex. One of us is going to have to quit our day job." And I said, "It'll be better if I quit", she's a school teacher, "Because I can write at home." But I just have to build up this book thing to see if that can be a thing that I can build enough to carry my weight in supporting us and all of that. That's when I started writing Dead City. Actually, I started writing Dead City on the floor of the Children's Hospital next to my son's hospital bed.
It was where we were, and it's just because I had to work and I was watching him, but he's asleep, I had a computer and I just start working. And Alex actually ended up passing away eight years ago, and it was a shock. It was not at all what anything indicated would be happening. But he had lead me to this thing of writing these books. And so I just kept doing it and I feel like he's part of that, and I keep him around by writing the books. That was a longer answer than you were looking for. I apologize.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah, no, I'm processing also, I did know that your son had passed away. I'm very sorry, I didn't realize that that was also... It's very...
James Ponti:
It's central to this.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah. Just knowing that was all the reason for you actually taking that leap.
Again, that was James Ponti sharing an intensely poignant and personal chapter of his life. And James, don't apologize. As hard as it is to hear about another parent's loss, it's also deeply touching to hear how you have kept your son with you through your writing. Thank you, again. Our other awardee for the Most Moving Parenting Story is Ellen Oh. As a co-founder of We Need Diverse Books. Ellen is one of the leaders in ensuring that we have more diversity in children's literature and that it remains widely accessible for all kids. At my live session with Ellen, she shared about how her son has taught and inspired her on that mission.
Ellen Oh:
I wanted to mention When the Moon Was Ours, because my youngest is transgender and he had a very difficult experience. He was hospitalized for a week, he had a lot of bullying issues, it was really hard also with what was happening in the news to let him know that it was going to be all okay because it just didn't feel like it was going to be all okay. And then one day he came to me, he said, "Hey, Mom, you know how you haven't been talking about me publicly?", I'm like, "Yeah", he's like, "You could talk about me now", I was like, "Okay, why? What happened?" He's like, "I want people to know that we deserve our happy ever afters also. That we shouldn't just be some lesson or some tragic story. Tell everybody that we want our books, our stories told."
And I realized at that moment that he had actually fallen in love with Anna-Marie McLemore's book, and it was actually the first time he had seen himself the way he wanted to be seen in the pages of a book. And so when I say, "Books save lives", I really mean it. And I want people to find those books that you think save lives and add them to my list also, because there's so many. And I know that there's going to be a kid somewhere that is going to need that book and it will save their lives.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Ellen, we love your son for his bravery, and I am so grateful for both of you. Our next category is about the inspiration that our guests have taken from other authors. This story was wild to hear for the first time. Talk about a professional storyteller. What a reveal, way to stick the landing, best first author reading goes to Matt De La Peña.
Matt De La Peña:
I remember when I was in college, I had a professor invite me to a bookstore to see an author, and I had never met an author in my life, but I was starting to become a reader. And so I go to this bookstore and I'm going to be honest with you, I thought, "This could be pretty boring, but I have to go because my favorite professor's asking me to go with a couple other students." So I stood in the back so I could escape if I thought it was really boring. And onto this stage walks this woman and she was much older, different race, and she told these incredible stories about her childhood, and she read from one of her books. And I remember being so inspired by her and felt so seen in a way because she grew up in a much poorer environment than I did. And I remember thinking, "God, maybe I could do this." And so that's how I know it's important. And by the way, the author was Maya Angelou, so she was a legend.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Get Out. Maya Angelou is your first author?
Erin Entrada Kelly:
My first author I ever saw.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Maya Angelou, imagine.
All right y'all. This next award goes to our dear friend, Erin Entrada Kelly. Erin was recently diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer, which she has been very open and vulnerable about on her social media. And Erin is in the fight of her life. But if there is one thing we know about her, it is how tenacious she is. Her career was built on her working day in and day out to achieve her dreams, no matter the obstacles. And that's why our title, Most Tenacious, goes to Erin. Here's a clip from her episode that recounts a bit of her story.
Erin Entrada Kelly:
I had a daughter when I was 19, so she's 26 now. So during all this, I've also got a daughter. I had a lot of support, so that's good, like family support. And I was also going to school, so because I got pregnant, I was 18 years old obviously that makes it difficult to go to school full time, so I take one class per semester, so it took me 10 years to get my bachelor's degree.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
The tenacity of that is pretty mind-blowing. And even with that incredible perseverance, that commitment to her big dream, Erin's career began with a bit of a detour.
Erin Entrada Kelly:
My dream was always to write books, but I knew as I got older in high school, I realized, okay, when I was a young kid, I thought, "Oh, I'll just write a bestseller and that'll be it." But then of course you realize as you get older, "Oh, wait, that's not how that works." So I knew I would have to have a job that involved writing, and I knew that I would have to write books on my own time and then try to get them published. So I knew that I couldn't just be a published author so I tried to figure out, "Okay, what can I do that involves words and something that I'm really interested in?" That's how I went into journalism.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
After nearly a decade of dedication to her career, education and her daughter, Erin went on to get her master of fine arts, finally she could devote herself to writing fiction. Erin, I'm honored to have you as a friend, and we are sending you all of our love right now.
NASA might need to head up this next winner if they seriously want to head back to the moon in 2024, Most Likely to Build a Functional Spaceship goes to the one and only world building Wonder, Neal Shusterman.
Neal Shusterman:
Every time I read a book that I loved, I would draw things from it. I was always a stickler for trying to figure out what it would look like realistically. Like with Star Trek, when I was a kid, I would draw the plans of the enterprise, and then they actually came out with actual blueprints. And I was amazed.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
How'd you do?
Neal Shusterman:
I think I did pretty good. I actually found some of the plans that I drew up for spaceships from TV shows when I was a kid, and gosh, I was very meticulous about making sure that everything was right. I think I was more so than the actual set designers, because many times the things that they had in the sets didn't actually make sense. They didn't quite fit in the space that the ship was supposed to take up, and that always infuriated me.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Neal Shusterman, you are truly one-of-a-kind. This whole show is about building a stronger culture of reading in our communities. And this next story reminds us that sometimes an individual that you least expect can wind up being the spark that ignites an entire community of readers. Here's Nic Stone walking away with the Dare You Not to Smile honor.
Nic Stone:
Late 2017, I get a DM from a kid named Jabari. He's like, "Yo, Miss, I'm 14. My name's Jabari. I just started reading your book, it's really good so far." And that was the end of the message. So I write back and I'm like, "Oh, that's really cool. I'm glad that you're liking it. Let me know when you finish and what you thought of the whole thing." A couple of days go by and he writes me again, he says, "I finished it. It was amazing. I've never actually finished a book before. This is officially my favorite book." And I was like, "Well, thank you." And then he says, "Will you come to my school?", so I get with the media specialist and we set up the day that I'm going to come. And I said, though, "Okay, this is the thing though, Jabari, if I come to your school, you have to be the person who interviews me in front of your friends."
And he said, "Bet." These kids with their one-word responses. It killed me. So I show up, he's there. He's got on his Jordans and jeans, he's got a bow-tie, he's so cute.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
He was ready.
Nic Stone:
Yeah, he was ready. And we go into the media center, and I just watched this kid blossom. I have pictures from it. He put his jacket on in the pictures, and I just watched him blossom. And that experience in and of itself was memorable because then I had all of his friends, who I don't know necessarily would've considered themselves readers. All of them wanted to talk to me after, and they had all of these questions. And then all of a sudden, you have this one kid's curiosity explode out like confetti and land on everyone else. And it was the most impactful, for me it was the most impactful school visit I've ever done just because of him.
And now he's in college, and he's been very clear with me about the fact that he didn't even think he wanted to go to college. But then last year, he's a freshman now, so 2021, 2022 school year, we stayed in touch and he'll send me stuff. "Can you read this for me? I got to do my college essays and stuff." It's just knowing that a single book can spark a kid to the point where they not only want the author to come visit, but then they take their relationship with that author and hold onto it, and now he wants to be a writer. Come on.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Thanks Nic, for giving us one of the happiest endings of the season and Jabari, we can't wait to read your first book. Now, when you picture our winner for this next one, you'll have to use your imagination to apply some heavy, dark eyeliner put on your Doc Martens, and maybe a bunch of chains or lace, or both. I'm not a hundred percent sure because I never went through a goth phase myself, and neither did Sabaa Tahir here, but boy, did she want to, which is why we're giving her the Most Emo Moment award.
I've read that you or heard, listened to you and say you used to give stories to your friends for their birthdays. So you were always the storyteller, which I think is a great gift, especially now. I hope they saved them.
Sabaa Tahir:
I hope they didn't. They were terrible stories. They were all about death.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
About death? Okay.
Sabaa Tahir:
That was my main character, was always the Grim Reaper. I was super into gothy, Grim Reaper stuff. My mother never let me dress in all black, which is what I wanted to do. I wanted to dress in all black and wear black nail polish and have black eyeliner and be a true goth, but my mother was like, "Absolutely not. You're not wearing all black, and you're certainly not painting your nails black." So I had to make do with writing stories about the Grim Reaper.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
They're like, "Thank you. This will be such a happy birthday for me."
Sabaa Tahir:
Pretty much, yeah.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yes, Sabaa, there's truly no better birthday gift and the sweet reminder that you are another year closer to death. Now, our next winner has had an awe-inspiring career and was a pioneer in bringing more black stories into children's and young adult literature. Prolific is an understatement. Through her writing and actions, she continues to inspire and teach us all how to be more empathetic and open-minded at every turn. Our Most Courageous Classroom Moment award goes to the iconic Jacqueline Woodson.
Jacqueline Woodson:
I remember going to a school and the teacher didn't want me to read from Visiting Day, which is the story of a girl whose father's incarcerated. So of course, I read from it and she said, "We don't have any kids who are dealing with incarceration in this classroom", and it was a big classroom. And so I read it, and then right after I finished, I said, "Well, I really want to read this."
Because it's about family and different ways we have family and people, even if they don't know someone incarcerated, they know what it means to have to leave somebody because there's divorce. There are all these ways in which you have to spend time with. So she got that. I read it, and then afterwards one kid raises his hand, he's like, "My dad's in prison." Another girl raised her hand, she's like, "My brother's in prison", "My cousin's in prison." About six or seven kids knew someone that was incarcerated and the teacher said, "I never knew." And I'm just thinking, "You never gave them the space to have this conversation", and that kind of stuff, just hearing how kids can be so brave when they have the tools with which to come by it, suddenly there's a conversation in the classroom that they can be a part of.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Pro tip to teachers and everyone, always listen to Jacqueline Woodson. Now, not everyone connects with reading as a child, especially when our experiences and worldview aren't reflected in the stories we have access to. But those moments when we find the books that feel like they were made for us can be magical or in Yuyi Morales case, perfectly real. Which is why we're awarding her Most Un-magical Literary Awakening Story. This is about the passage she selected, Gabriel García Márquez, El ahogado más hermoso del mundo.
Yuyi Morales:
I remember reading this and finally something clicking inside of me. Finally, this is a story that I can relate to where we were given as an assignment, was to read the [inaudible 00:19:19] story, which is a really, really strong story, especially for a child. But I was so taken with it, and this is a book of several short stories that after I read the story that I was assigned to school, I just read the whole book, and this is my favorite story. So what Gabriel García Márquez does for me is a connection to some of the things that we were talking about before, which is finally here is someone who's telling stories like the ones that I hear when I was a little child, like the ones that my mother, my family, my grandmother, was living as real life.
I remember coming to the United States and hearing people mention the writing of writers like Gabriel García Márquez as magical realism. And I have never heard that term before. And I remember thinking, I never saw it as magic, I always saw it as realism. For me, the way that he was writing was the real life. That was the way things were happening. So before all the books that I was reading made no sense to me, I had no interest to them. But when I started reading him, then I realized I am a reader. I love books. I really like to read, but I had to find him first.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yuyi, I love that story, and I will never think of the magical realism genre the same way again. And speaking of heartwarming stories that make you want to tear up, our next honor is the, I'm Not Crying, You're Crying Award. I recently saw this author in conversation with Ann Patchett, and when she mentioned that she was tearing up Anne said, "Oh, what's new?" Well, I guess if you know her or her work, you shouldn't be surprised. Isn't this one obvious? There's no better person to give this to than the beloved Kate DiCamillo.
Kate DiCamillo:
I'm gob-stopped by what teachers do. I'm amazed when I get a packet of letters and there are thirty-five kids in a classroom and the cover letter from the teacher. And she'll tell me individual things about this kid, that kid, and I think talk about sacred work. I mean, she is seeing each one of those kids and reading aloud to them, paying attention to what they're getting from it. That's love in action.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
I could not agree more. What were you going to say?
Kate DiCamillo:
Nothing. I'm just crying. It's deeply moving, and it becomes, at the risk of sounding trite or overly poetic, it becomes this circle of, it's a circle of light and love and connection that happens. And sometimes when I talk to a kid one on one, and this happened during the pandemic too, I would Zoom in a classroom and then the kids would get to come up to the camera and ask me their question one on one. And I would say, "Even if we weren't doing this, even if you never talked to me, never met me, it goes back to what I said in the beginning, I'm there with you and we're in it together", and you can feel that it forms a bond. And that, to me, is one of the most powerful things about books, the story is not complete until you're sitting somewhere reading it or hearing it read, then it becomes a story. So I need you as much as you need me. That's what I say to the kids.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Kate, you're just the best. And I have to add a note here from our producer who says she spent most of her time editing your episode, tearing up herself. But hey, let's swap out our sappy tears for some tears of laughter. If you listened to this episode, then you already know what's coming. How could I not? Our final category is Most Hilarious Admission. I had to finish with this one because once you've heard it, well, you won't get over it quickly. This one, of course, goes to Kwame Alexander.
I'm wondering also what your love life was like in middle and high school because, first of all, all your books, there's always a little side or central story that is very important. And I found it very interesting to read Why Fathers Cry at night and then go back and reread. I'd already read... I would oftentimes read a lot of books with Cassius, and to go back and reread, I'm like, "Oh, he was working some stuff out here now that I'm coming back", if I'm psychoanalyzing you. But for real, I did wonder, did you have girlfriends and stuff like that? Because it feels very authentic.
Kwame Alexander:
I had desire, I had longing. I mean, I was a romantic kid, so when I was eight or nine or 10, there was a girl in New York, I took a liking to her. And one day I remember just waking up and just staring at the ceiling at 10 years old and just saying, "I'm in love. I'm in love."
I remember just debating, "How are you going let her know?" And I remember calling my parents or going in my parents' room and saying, "Look, guys, I'm in love and I need to go spend some time with this girl, so can I please go and stay over at her house?" I don't think I said it like that, Jordan, but I do remember that weekend or that night or something, I was at her house and I spent the night, and we were friends, of course. So I slept on the floor next to her bed, and I remember her saying, I don't even know, you might have to bleep this out at some point on the Reading Culture Podcast people, she said, "Can you come and...", I can't even say it. It's so silly.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
What did she say?
Kwame Alexander:
She said, "Kwame...", I think I said, "I like you." And she said, "If you like me, come and suck my toes."
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
What? No.
Kwame Alexander:
You got to bleep that.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
I did not expect you to say that.
Kwame Alexander:
Right, right.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Oh my God.
Kwame Alexander:
But my point was...
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Go on.
Kwame Alexander:
She was a little fast.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah, at nine years old.
Kwame Alexander:
I was like, "I don't know if I can handle this. I may not be ready for love, for real love." But no, I just had these experiences where I just liked people a lot, and when I liked them a lot, it moved me. So I had a lot of interest and a lot of crushes. Not a whole lot of reciprocation, which of course makes you long and desire even more so I listened to a lot of love songs and read a lot of love poems to get... I think to sort of tie me over.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah, you're a poet. You're a poet. I read this out loud last night when I was like... I read this, The Door of No Return, but I was rereading it. I'm like, "You know what? This poem called Amma? If you were a mango, I would peel you, keep you from myself, then reveal you", I'm like, "This is hot stuff." I was reading, I said, "Cassius, when you read this, what were you thinking?" I'm trying to get information from him, but I'm like, "This is the most beautiful thing ever."
Kwame Alexander:
Yeah. Love has always been a thing for me, as you know, reading, Why Father's Cry at Night, trying to figure out, reconcile, understand, do better. So yeah.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Yeah. Let's move a little into your pipeline. I kind of want to know if you sucked her toes? I have to.
Kwame Alexander:
Oh my gosh, you can't ask me that. It's enough for me to say it, now I have to answer it. I can't answer that. Question number two. Let's move on.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Oh my gosh.
Kwame Alexander:
Is this the first time you've had conversation about toes on the Reading Culture?
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Definitely. Definitely. A hundred percent. All this is a first. Okay. And I've never come across it in the interviews I've listened to with you. So there we go, some fresh content.
Kwame Alexander:
You're the only person I've ever told that about. So there you go, you right here.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
There you go, heard it here first. That'll make kids want to read.
Kwame Alexander:
I don't know what that says about your podcast, but there you go.
Jordan Lloyd Bookey:
Well, Kwame, not much can be said after that one. That's a mic drop.
Thank you all for listening and for being a part of the Reading Culture community. It has truly been a wonderful 2023, and we're so grateful that we get to continue bringing you these fascinating, insightful, tear-inducing, hilarious conversations with authors. It is truly a labor of love to package these stories for all of you. We're excited to bring you more in 2024, including episodes with Mark Oshiro, John Schu, and many more beloved authors and illustrators. Oh, and if you're still struggling, trying to think of a gift to get us for the holidays, well, reading and reviewing the show is the best present of all. Thanks everyone. This is The Reading Culture Yearbook, and I'm Jordan Lloyd bookey. Remember to keep reading. No, seriously, let's all make New Year's resolutions to read more and talk more about the books we love with the people we love. I'm reading Rebecca, Not Becky by Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene and Karina Yang Glaser's, final installment of the Vanderbeekers series, The Vanderbeekers Ever After. I'm sending all of my love to you and yours. Happy New Year.