In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with illustrator Z.B. Asterplume to talk about baking joy, courage, and community into Rainbow Cookies, written by Lesléa Newman. When a beloved neighborhood bakery faces backlash over a heart-shaped, rainbow-striped Pride cookie, young Cookie refuses to let that be the end of the story—and what follows is a quiet act of community that reminds readers of every age what love in action looks like.

Z.B. shares how this collaboration came together through an SCBWI connection, why her pen name carries the fingerprints of everyone who has helped her make books, and what it means to illustrate a story that doesn't flinch. She also talks color palettes, digital barrettes, and why the process — not the end game — is the whole point.

Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon).

Highlights:

• Inclusive Is the Word: What Z.B. hopes every child carries with them after the last page
• ZB Asterplume Is Not One Person: The story behind the pen name and why collaboration is baked into every book she makes
• The Villain Gets Very Little Airtime: Why Lesléa's decision to focus on action over intolerance was the choice Z.B. connected with most
• The Line Around the Block: The book's most joyful spread and why every tiny vignette tells its own whole story
• A Book as a Constant: Why Z.B. believes a beloved picture book never changes—and why that permanence is the gift she most wants to give young readers
• Don't Focus on the End Game: Z.B.'s honest advice to picture book creators on staying in the process, even when it takes 20 years

Notable Quote:

"The words in that book don't change. They might change meaning for you as you shift. But the book itself doesn't say, I didn't say that. It's not a moving target like so much of the rest of the world can be." — Z.B. Asterplume

Books Mentioned:

• Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Z.B. Asterplume: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• To Knit a Ghost by Z.B. Asterplume, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• Sometimes a Tiger by Z.B. Asterplume: ⁠Amazon⁠ or ⁠Bookshop.org⁠

About Z.B. Asterplume: Z.B. Asterplume is the author-illustrator of Sometimes a Tiger and the illustrator of Rainbow Cookies. Her forthcoming book To Knit a Ghost arrives July 20, 2026 from Penguin Random House. A longtime SCBWI Rocky Mountain member, she lives in Colorado. https://asterplume.com/

Credits: Host: Bianca Schulze | Guest: Z.B. Asterplume | Producer: Bianca Schulze