The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a book in which generations of readers have journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer's splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster's offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever. For Milo, everything's a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he's got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different.

Rebecca N. Thompson, MD, MSc, is a family medicine and public health physician from Portland, Oregon, who specializes in women's and children's health. Throughout her career, she has sought opportunities to use written and spoken words to help build community and to make complex medical topics more accessible and more engaging for a wide range of audiences. Her critically acclaimed book, Held Together: A Shared Memoir of Motherhood, Medicine, and Imperfect Love (HarperCollins 2025), is the result of her decade-long collaboration with a remarkable group of women to share their most intimate true stories about personal relationships, professional identities, and health and healing across generations. Dr. Thompson trained at Harvard, Stanford, and Oregon Health & Science University and is always learning from her most influential teachers—her patients, colleagues, family, and friends. In her free time, she enjoys wandering through green spaces, reading in cozy nooks, playing unreasonably complicated board games, repurposing found objects, and accompanying her husband and children on all-weather adventures near and far.

Our drink this week is a Capri Sun, always a good time and a great pairing for a classic children’s book.

On Wednesday October 14th I will be MCing the Urban Librarians Unite Gala in Brooklyn NY, if you are in that area and would like to spend the night celebrating an organization that supports libraries, grab a ticket and join us! More info here: https://urbanlibrariansunite.org/romantasy-gala-2026/

What if every relationship you've ever had left behind a version of yourself? In A Life in Men by Gina Frangello, Mary's life is forever shaped by her complicated friendship with Nix, her charismatic, free-spirit best friend, and the rift that ultimately divided them forever. Both intimate and emotionally honest, this book is a powerful novel about love, identity, grief, and the people who change us forever.

As the Founder and CEO of Kathleen Schmidt Public Relations, Kathleen is a well-respected voice in book publishing with in-depth experience in all aspects of the industry, including as a publicist, literary agent, acquisitions editor, and ghostwriter.

Her career encompasses 30 years of creating and directing impactful and strategic global media, marketing, and branding campaigns for politicians, A-List celebrities, athletes, and high-profile personalities.

Her fast-growing Substack newsletter, Publishing Confidential, shares her wealth of inside knowledge that she hopes will help demystify the book industry. She recently announced a book deal, expanding on her knowledge and experience in the publishing industry, it will be coming out in 2027. Married with two children, she resides in New Jersey.

In The Ogress and the Orphans, Kelly Barnhill tells the story of the struggling town of Stone-in-the-Glen, where fear and misinformation lead the townspeople to blame a kindhearted ogress for their misfortunes instead of the corrupt mayor who caused them. When a group of resourceful orphans discovers the truth, they join forces with the ogress to expose deception, restore compassion, and rebuild their fractured community. Blending fantasy with timely themes of kindness, courage, and the power of stories, the novel is a moving celebration of empathy and collective action.

Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Her most recent middle-grade novel and first fantasy, Graciela in the Abyss, was a 2026 ALSC Notable Children’s Book and a CCBC Choices 2026 selection. Illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso, the novel was also awarded the prestigious 2026 Hamilton King Award by the Society of Illustrators. She is also the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist, and is followed by two more acclaimed books about the Suárez family: Merci Suárez Can’t Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, and was published in 2023 as a graphic novel illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books No More Señora Mimí / No más Señora Mimí, Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away / Evelyn del Rey se muda, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, Jumpstart’s 2020 Read for the Record selection; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book; and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award; and biographies for young readers She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor and She Persisted: Pura Belpré, the latter with Marilisa Jiménez García. Meg Medina’s work examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. She brings audiences stories that speak to both what is unique in Latino culture and qualities that are universal. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.

To celebrate Meg’s Cuban roots, our drink pairing for this was a Cuba Libre:

Cuba Libre

Ingredients

• 2 oz white rum
• 4 to 6 oz cola
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
• Ice
• Lime wedge, for garnish

Directions

1. Fill a tall glass with ice.
2. Pour in the rum and fresh lime juice.
3. Top with cola and stir gently.

• 4. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.