You May Contribute A Verse

Lydia Lukidis [https://www.lydialukidis.com/] is here! She is a wealth of knowledge and experience and has brought all her passion for Garfield and Seinfeld to bear in her latest book Garfeld... I mean, Groucho the Grouchy Groundhog [https://bookshop.org/p/books/groucho-the-grouchy-groundhog-volume-1-lydia-lukidis/34835e5c00d11da4]. Enjoy Lydia's verse!    --------   This episode’s book reviews:  JIM! Six True Stories About One Great Artist: James Marshall [https://bookshop.org/p/books/jim-six-true-stories-about-one-great-artist-james-marshall-jerrold-connors/4f1605f0eca26b34] by Jerrold Connors [https://jerroldconnors.com/] LITTLE BOO [https://bookshop.org/p/books/little-boo-maddie-frost/792eb5d487c1a24d] by Maddie Frost [https://www.maddie-frost.com/]     The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost  [https://www.instagram.com/hellomaddiefrost/]or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  [https://www.maddie-frost.com/]   Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com [https://scottholmesmusic.com/]     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here [https://linktr.ee/VerseShow]!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords [https://twitter.com/JoshMonkwords], @brennajeanneret [https://twitter.com/BrennaJeanneret], and @jonseym0ur [https://twitter.com/JSeym0ur] and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Danielle Sharkan [https://www.instagram.com/danielle_sharkan/?hl=en] is our guest this week! On her writing journey, debuting with some heavy topics, eggplants (or aubergines?), and more!  Danielle debuted last year with SHARING SHALOM [https://bookshop.org/p/books/sharing-shalom-danielle-sharkan/eb6784c802b406c5], following up this year with ELLIE THE EGGSPERT [https://bookshop.org/p/books/ellie-the-eggspert-danielle-sharkan/74be6288154f21c7].  Enjoy!   --------   This episode’s book reviews:  BORED PANDA [https://bookshop.org/p/books/bored-panda-mike-bender/0d4749a629db44e4] by Mike Bender [https://www.instagram.com/iammikebender/?hl=en], illustrated by Chuck Dillon [https://www.chuckdillon.net/] BEST BUDS [https://bookshop.org/p/books/best-buds-becky-scharnhorst/7a334e69e15b8ed0] by Becky Scharnhorst [https://beckyscharnhorst.com/], illustrated by Jiarui Jiang [https://www.instagram.com/jiaruii_jiang/]   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost  [https://www.instagram.com/hellomaddiefrost/]or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  [https://www.maddie-frost.com/]   Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com [https://scottholmesmusic.com/]     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here [https://linktr.ee/VerseShow]!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords [https://twitter.com/JoshMonkwords], @brennajeanneret [https://twitter.com/BrennaJeanneret], and @jonseym0ur [https://twitter.com/JSeym0ur] and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Darrin MacLeod (of Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod [https://www.mrsandmrmacleod.com/]!) is here. We explore their collaboration, how The Grunions [https://www.mrsandmrmacleod.com/how-to-eat-a-book] came to be, and Darrin's history as a traveling, writing vagabond who used to run a surf school.   Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod wrote HOW TO EAT A BOOK and THE DOOR THAT HAD NEVER BEEN OPENED BEFORE (whew, long title) and the forthcoming BIRTHDAY BEAR.    --------   This episode’s book reviews:   I COME FROM ANOTHER GALAXY [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217111960-i-come-from-another-galaxy] by James Kwan [https://www.james-kwan.com/] TEENY TINY TOADY [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25986310-teeny-tiny-toady] by Jill Esbaum [https://www.jillesbaum.com/], illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi [https://www.keikashouse.com/]  UP UP EVER UP [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199531846-up-up-ever-up-junko-tabei] by Anita Yasuda [https://www.anitayasuda.com/], illustrated by Yuko Shimizu [https://yukoart.com/] The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost  [https://www.instagram.com/hellomaddiefrost/]or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  [https://www.maddie-frost.com/]   Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com [https://scottholmesmusic.com/]     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here [https://linktr.ee/VerseShow]!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords [https://twitter.com/JoshMonkwords], @brennajeanneret [https://twitter.com/BrennaJeanneret], and @jonseym0ur [https://twitter.com/JSeym0ur] and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

It's Steena Hernandez [https://www.steenahernandez.com/] day! Show up and do the thing, claim your agency, and bring your A-game. Steena's debut book Lupita's Brown Ballet Slippers [https://bookshop.org/p/books/lupita-s-brown-ballet-slippers-steena-hernandez/cd69d44a48435404] is available today! What's pancaking? How do you plan a school visit? What's Josh's favorite shape? All these answers and more await you.   --------   This episode’s book reviews:   I HATE EVERYTHING [https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-hate-everything-sophy-henn/d861de02b54cd861] by Sophy Henn [https://www.instagram.com/sophyhenn/?hl=en] VALLEY: THE WIGGLE-BUTT PUP [https://bookshop.org/p/books/valley-the-wiggle-butt-pup-jae-lynn/b5971788854f7fdb] by Jae Lynn [https://www.instagram.com/jae_stories/], illustrated by Juliette Miron [https://www.instagram.com/artofhafi/?hl=en] CHURRO STAND [https://bookshop.org/p/books/churro-stand-karina-n-gonzalez/20357808] by Karina N. Gonzalez [https://wordsbykarina.com/], illustrated by Krystal Quiles [https://www.krystalquiles.com/]   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost  [https://www.instagram.com/hellomaddiefrost/]or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  [https://www.maddie-frost.com/]   Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com [https://scottholmesmusic.com/]     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here [https://linktr.ee/VerseShow]!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords [https://twitter.com/JoshMonkwords], @brennajeanneret [https://twitter.com/BrennaJeanneret], and @jonseym0ur [https://twitter.com/JSeym0ur] and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Since we first recorded this episode, our guest Jyoti Rajan Gopal [https://www.jyotirajangopal.com/] has had two books published, and that should tell you a great deal about her hustle and her dedication.  Desert Queen [https://www.jyotirajangopal.com/desert-queen.html] is one we talked about most in this conversation, but 2025 has also seen Love is Here with You: A Lullaby of Blessings [https://www.jyotirajangopal.com/love-is-here-with-you-a-lullaby-of-blessings.html] and The Power of Your Name [https://www.jyotirajangopal.com/the-power-of-your-name.html] as well! Congrats, Jyoti! Jyoti has also started a podcast called In the Picture, which you should check out here [https://thepodcastcollaborative.com/view/podcast_discovery_database/entry/47767/]!   --------   This episode’s book reviews:   INVESTIGATORS [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44280873-investigators] by John Patrick Green [https://www.instagram.com/johngreenart/] FEELING BOO [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/207003746-feeling-boo] by Alex Boniello and April Lavalle [https://pop-culturalist.com/exclusive-interview-alex-boniello-and-april-lavalle-discuss-their-debut-book-a-case-of-the-zaps/], illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller [https://www.oliviachinmueller.com/] KAFKA AND THE DOLL [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54313046-kafka-and-the-doll] by Larissa Theule [https://www.larissatheule.com/], illustrated by Rebecca Green [https://www.myblankpaper.com/]   The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost  [https://www.instagram.com/hellomaddiefrost/]or on her website Maddie-Frost.com  [https://www.maddie-frost.com/]   Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com [https://scottholmesmusic.com/]     Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here [https://linktr.ee/VerseShow]!!    Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords [https://twitter.com/JoshMonkwords], @brennajeanneret [https://twitter.com/BrennaJeanneret], and @jonseym0ur [https://twitter.com/JSeym0ur] and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!