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🎧 The Reader's Heart Podcast | Guest: Kate Messner

A promotional graphic for 'The Reader’s Heart' podcast, Season 2, Episode 004, featuring guest Allie Millington. The background has a textured design with sunburst-like rays in gray and beige tones. The title 'The Reader’s Heart' is displayed in a whimsical handwritten-style font, with 'with Jennifer Lagarde' written in a delicate cursive font below it. In the lower-left portion, a circular frame contains a photograph of Allie Millington, who is smiling and leaning on a vintage typewriter. She is wearing a cream-colored blouse, and the background is a simple, neutral-colored wall. Below this frame, the cover of her book 'Olivetti' is displayed, featuring an illustration of a vintage typewriter adorned with colorful flowers. To the right of the circular frame, an illustrated child in a yellow sweater and black pants leans against the background, eyes closed and hands in their pockets. At the top, a yellow banner contains the text 'Season 2 | Episode 004 Guest: Allie Millington' in a simple sans-serif font.

Kate Messner has been writing books for kids for over 10 years, but I was late to the party. It wasn't until her 2018 novel, Breakout, came out that I became a fan. As we chatted about in the episode, Breakout was one of the first multi-model novels I ever came across for middle grade readers - blending newspaper clippings, broadcast transcripts and handwritten notes to help young people access a complex story based on true events. The Trouble With Heroes, her latest middle grade novel (and her first in verse!), is equally innovative - using text messages, recipes and journal entries to capture a story about facing grief, the consequences of your actions and the fact that, in the end, all heroes are actually human. Put another way, I'm still a fan! While we recorded this episode before the book was published, I'm so glad that readers are finally meeting Finn and Seymour. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.


ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST

Book cover of Olivetti by Allie Millington. The cover features an illustration of a vintage typewriter with intricate detailing. From the typewriter emerges a lush bouquet of vibrant flowers in shades of yellow, red, and orange, with green foliage, set against a dark black background. The title, Olivetti, is prominently displayed in large white serif font. Above the title, a quote from Tom Hanks reads, 'Millington’s writing does us a great favor.' At the top, 'National Bestseller' is written in orange capital letters. Below the title, the tagline reads, 'A boy, a typewriter, and the stories they hold.' The author's name, Allie Millington, is positioned at the bottom in white capital letters.

New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner is passionately curious and has written over seventy books for kids who wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow , The Next Scientist, and The Scariest Kitten in the World as well as novels for older readers like Breakout and The Trouble with Heroes. Kate also writes the popular History Smashers graphic nonfiction series and the Ranger in Time historical adventures, and she leads the multi-author team behind The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class chapter books. Kate lives on Lake Champlain and is a proud Adirondack 46er.


Kate’s titles are frequently selected for One School, One Book and One School/One Author programs and other community-wide reads. Her books have been New York Times Notable, Junior Library Guild, IndieBound, and Bank Street College of Education Best Books selections. Her novel The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. won the E.B. White Read Aloud Medal, and her science picture books have been finalists for the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences/Subaru SB&F prize for excellence in science writing. In 2020, Kate was honored with New York’s Knickerbocker Award for creating a superior body of work supporting curriculum and educational goals.


Before becoming a full-time writer, Kate was a TV news reporter as well as a National Board Certified educator. She grew up in Medina, NY and graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Kate spent seven years working as a television news producer and reporter in Syracuse, NY and Burlington, VT before going back to school to earn a master’s degree in education for secondary-level English Language Arts. She taught middle school language arts for fifteen years before leaving the classroom to write full time but still spends much of her time in schools, working with kids as a visiting author.


EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Note: episode transcripts are generated by AI and are likely imperfect. Still, I hope you find them useful.


RESOURCES & LINKS 

Please enjoy a special discount of 20% off the titles mentioned in this episode (or others of your choice) by visiting Bookelicious and using the code JENNIFERLAGARDE. Note: I do not make any money from these sales, but I am delighted that you get to save some!


Connect with Kate


MORE ABOUT THE READER’S HEART 

Rooted in the belief that our world needs the magic of children’s literature now more than ever, the Reader’s Heart podcast captures conversations with authors and illustrators about children's literature as a vehicle for empathy and joy in a dark world. I'm so excited about this project and it's my wish that it brings you as much light and hope as it has brought me.


Special thanks to Corinna Luyken for creating the beautiful illustration that will serve as the show's logo. I've always found Corinna's art so moving and she perfectly captured the spirit of what I am trying to do, which is to put warmth and love into the world during a time when so many are working to limit kids' access to the warmth and love inherent in children's literature. (Also, don't forget, you can use the discount above to buy Corinna's books from Bookelicious, too!)


If all goes to plan, episodes will drop on the 1st and the 15th of the month. Once you've had a chance to listen, I hope you will consider leaving The Reader's Heart a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review! Podcast reviews are one of the best ways to support your favorite shows and help others find these conversations.


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