Ann Braden writes books about kids struggling to find their voice amidst the realities of life. Her debut middle grade novel THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS was listed as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2018, received a starred review from School Library Journal, and was described by Newbery award-winner Karen Hesse as “a compassionate look at poverty, hard choices, and defending one’s right to be treated humanely.”Ann founded GunSenseVT, a grassroots group focused on championing the common ground on the issue of guns in Vermont, and she also founded the Local Love Brigade, which now has chapters all over the country sending love postcards to those who are facing hate. Ann is a former middle school teacher, the co-host of the children’s book podcast, “Lifelines: Books that Bridge the Divide,” along with Pakistani American author Saadia Faruqi, and recently one of the co-organizers of #KidsNeedMentors. For more about Ann, go to her website at http://annbradenbooks.com/
In this episode, Bethany chats with debut middle grade author Ann Braden who had quite the journey to get her book published after her editor and everyone in the children’s division was fired from the publishing house! Because of that, Ann had to do almost all of the marketing for the book herself and make use of the power of word-of-mouth to get the books into readers’ hands. But the book has taken off and is earning awards and accolades, and now Ann has two more middle grade novels coming out, both with Nancy Paulsen Books.
The idea for the character of Zoey in THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS came from Ann’s students, 80% of whom qualified for free lunches. Ann realized these kids needed to see themselves in books, and Zoey and her story were born. Ann talks also about the ripple effect with doing good and being courageous and how her own anger has spurred her into action both as a writer and as an activist. Ann and Bethany also discuss courage and how it can be contagious in the best possible ways.
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