Send us a text

We're bringing you a bonus episode of The Curious Cat Bookshop today: the recording of our event from August 2024 interviewing picture book author Anne Broyles about her writing life and how she ended up writing picture books for children after a life of service in the clergy and a career writing a variety of different kinds of work for adults. This audio episode has been edited for length. We also want to note for listeners that Anne had some visual aids in this episode, so if you'd like to see the photos and art she was showing, you can go to the full episode on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/vDsvK14OJ80.

We spoke with Anne about her latest picture book, I'm Gonna Paint! Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People. We discussed artist Ralph Fasanella's history with union organizing and why he chose to paint workers, Anne's journey to publication, advice for new writers, and more.

Buy I'm Gonna Paint! Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People on our website

Buy Eating to Save the Planet on our website

Anne Broyles is a world traveler, vegan cook, hiker, art lover, avid reader, and children’s book author. Her published books for children include Arturo and the Bienvenido Feast, Arturo and the Navidad Birds, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks, and Shy Mama’s Halloween, which have won International Latino Book Awards, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year. Anne is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. She lives in Portland, Oregon in a multi-generational household that also includes three cats and a dog named Clover. Find out more about Anne at https://annebroyles.com/index.html.

Support the show

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

Keep track of our in-store and online events

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

Follow us elsewhere!

• Bluesky
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube (live events stream here)
• Threads

And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

Send us a text

Author Kimm Topping, Ed.M., is an educator, writer, and historian dedicated to preserving LGBTQIA+ history. Their first book, Generation Queer, is a nonfiction YA highlighting the stories of LGBTQIA+ youth activists (and was published and edited by Stacy Whitman, who is also the owner of The Curious Cat Bookshop!).

As founder of Lavender Education, a national program promoting LGBTQIA+ history and youth leadership, Kimm leads impactful workshops, professional development, and historic walking tours.

In this episode of The Curious Cat Bookshop Podcast, Kimm was in conversation with Leah Juliett (they/them), an award-winning writer, speaker, LGBTQ+ advocate, and organizer from Connecticut. Technical note: there are some audio issues in this episode; watching with the captions on is recommended.

Buy Generation Queer from us at https://curiouscatbookshop.com/book/9781643795201.

Kimm lectures at Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializing in gender, sexuality, and equity. Their historic tours of Cambridge and New York City spotlight queer and feminist activism from the 1970s to the 1990s, and their widely recognized publication series, Mapping Feminist Cambridge, is available through the Cambridge Women’s Commission. Their work has been recognized by the 2025 Curve Power List and the 2023 Inaugural In-Service Award from the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.

Leah is a survivor of image-based sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation, and a lived experience expert on technology-facilitated gender-based violence. In 2016, Leah founded and led The March Against Revenge Porn across the Brooklyn Bridge, which garnered global support and moved the needle on cultural conversations around internet abuse.

In 2023, Leah testified before the White House Gender Policy Council on recommendations to support survivors of image-based sexual abuse, which helped lead to the federal funding of a national hotline for victims. In early 2024, Leah spoke at the United States Senate following the landmark Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Big Tech accountability. For Leah's work, they have been named a L'Oreal Paris Woman of Worth, Glamour College Woman of the Year, Advocate Champion of Pride, George H.W. Bush Point of Light, and GLAAD Rising Star. Leah’s writing and work leading social justice movements has been featured globally on CNN, BBC, NBC, TED, Teen Vogue, Bloomberg, MSNBC, and Pink News.

Leah champions LGBTQ-inclusive Internet protections and survivor-centered justice.

Support the show

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

Keep track of our in-store and online events

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

Follow us elsewhere!

• Bluesky
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube (live events stream here)
• Threads

And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

Send us a text

Yamile Saied Méndez is known best for her YA novel, Furia, which was chosen for Reese's Book Club and won a number of awards, including the Pura Belpré Award. Stacy knows her best, though, as the author of the two middle grade novels they worked on together, The Reel Wish and On These Magic Shores. We discuss not only writing for children in this episode--of course--but also talk about all of Yamile's amazing books, from picture books on up through adult romance, and how Yamile figures out which is the best audience for which book idea.

Yamile Saied Méndez is the award-winning author of many books for young readers and adults, including Furia, Where Are You From?, the Horse Country series, and On These Magic Shores, among others. She was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, but has lived most of her life in a lovely valley surrounded by mountains in Utah. She's a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing program, and a founding member of Las Musas, a marketing collective of Latine writers. Connect with her at yamilesmendez.com.

Buy Yamile's books here

About The Reel Wish

After a panic attack prevents Florencia from performing as Clara in The Nutcracker and her best friend takes the lead, a new dance style helps her face her anxiety as well as a troubled friendship.

Ballet is Florencia del Lago's entire world. After years of hard work, she is chosen as Clara in the winter production of The Nutcracker. Not only is she the youngest dancer to receive such an honor but also the first Latina. She's on track to be recruited by the best ballet companies.

Unfortunately, she suffers a panic attack on opening night--on stage, in front of everyone. And then Selena, Florencia's best friend, steps right into the role to replace her. Just like that, Florencia's whole world falls apart--the ballet studio expels her, and her best friend turns on her, tormenting her on social media and in real life.

But even though the one thing she was driven toward has come to an end, therapy and family support help Florencia open up to new experiences. She notices people at school she's never paid attention to before, and she even stumbles upon an Irish dance school and decides to give it a try. Can a new passion for Irish dance help Florencia find the joy of performing on the stage that she lost that fateful winter night?

Support the show

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

Keep track of our in-store and online events

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

Follow us elsewhere!

• Bluesky
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube (live events stream here)
• Threads

And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!