Podcast appearances and mentions of Junius G Groves

Discover the incredible true story of how one of history's most successful potato farmers began life as a slave and worked until he was named the "Potato King of the World"!Junius G. Groves came from humble beginnings in the Bluegrass State. Born in Kentucky into slavery, freedom came when he was still a young man and he intended to make a name for himself. Along with thousands of other African Americans who migrated from the South, Junius walked west and stopped in Kansas. Working for a pittance on a small potato farm was no reason to feel sorry for himself, especially when he's made foreman. But Junius did dream of owning his own farm, so he did the next best thing. He rented the land and worked hard! As he built his empire, he also built a family, and he built them both on tons and tons and tons of potatoes. He never quit working hard, even as the naysayers doubted him, and soon he was declared Potato King of the World and had five hundred acres and a castle to call his own.From award winning author Tonya Bolden and talented illustrator Don Tate comes a tale of perseverance that reminds us no matter where you begin, as long as you work hard, your creation can never be called small potatoes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/support

Explore the diverse and vivid landscape of children's literature with author/illustrators whose captivating works nurture a lifelong love of reading. Panelists:Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children. He is also one of the founding hosts of the blog The Brown Bookshelf - a blog designed to push awareness of the myriad of African American voices writing for young readers, with book reviews, author and illustrator interviews -- and a one-time member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children's literature. Don's books include Carter Reads The Newspaper (Peachtree Publishing, 2019), No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and his Kingdom in Kansas (Knopf, 2018), Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions (Charlesbridge, 2016), The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (Eerdmans, 2015) and many others. He is also the author of Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton (Peachtree,2015); It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started To Draw (Lee & Low Books, 2102), both books are Ezra Jack Keats award winners, and recently, Strong As Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became The Strongest Man on Earth (Charlesbridge, 2017), Par-Tay! Dance of the Veggies (and their friends), written by Eloise Greenfield (Alazar, 2018), and Stalebread Charlie and the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band, written by Michael Mahin (Clarion, 2018). Don's latest titles include William Still and his Freedom Stories: Father of the Underground Railroad (Peachtree Publishing Company, Nov. 2020), and Swish! The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters, written by Suzanne Slade (Little Brown, Nov. 2020). He lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.Gilbert Ford holds a BFA in Illustration from Pratt Institute and an MFA in Writing For Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is the author and illustrator of picture books Flying Lessons, The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring, and How the Cookie Crumbled. The Mysterious Messenger marks his middle grade novel debut that he has authored and illustrated.Melissa Iwai is a children's book author and illustrator who incorporates both traditional and digital media into her art. When she's not working, Melissa cooks and develops her own recipes. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.Moderator:Ellen Hunter Ruffin, associate professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, has been curator of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection since 2006. She has served on the Newbery Medal Committee, the Children's Literature Legacy Award, and the Schneider Family Book Award. She also serves as an administrator of the Ezra Jack Keats Award. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A true story about how Junius G. Became potato king of the world.

Authors Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Grace Lin answer the question Did you ever forget what to write? and a kid reviews No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas by Tonya Bolden and illustrated by Don Tate.

On this episode, the inimitable Dan Coleman — LPL Librarian, Papier-mâché wizard, and #weneeddiversebooks advocate — talks to Polli and Kate about places where children's literature is sorely lacking. They also discuss alarm clocks and bird things. Listen up! Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/047-crow-funerals-papier-mache-and-unsung-kansas-heroes Two Book Minimum: The Language of Crows by Michael Westerfield (out of print but available via ILL) More crow goodness: Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, and famous crows of Seattle) The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez Special Episode: Kansas Needs Diverse Books! Joining us is Dan Coleman, Collection Development Librarian and selector of children’s items.* Did you know that the U.S. turned down the chance to send the first astronaut of color to space? And that this astronaut -- Ed Dwight -- is from Kansas? Read Dan's blog post that inspired this episode for more information on overlooked Kansas figures whose stories need to be told, including Oscar Micheaux (featured here), Billy Mills, Lucile Bluford, KU grad and editor/publisher for The Call, and more.  Check out a few of these awesome bibliographies with your kids (or for yourself!) -- Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game by John Coy No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas by Tanya Bolden Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford (*btw youguyz, there are 65 THOUSAND items in the children’s section at LPL.)  Upcoming at LPL: A GIANT ALARM CLOCK TO SMASH! AND MORE! Join us at Keep Retirement Weird on Sunday, Sept. 15th to see Dan's other handiwork, an enormous Papier-mâché alarm clock that current and upcoming retirees can smash to bits!  ------------------------ 2019 Book Squad Goals Reading Challenge can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/LPLBSG2019 Twice(-ish) a month, the librarians are in, with their favorite recommendations in Two Book Minimum, a toe-to-toe discussion on a book or topic, as well as news from the book world, updates from Lawrence Public Library, and beyond. This episode was produced by Jim Barnes in the Sound & Vision studio. Our theme song is by Heidi Lynne Gluck. You can find the Book Squad Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or SoundCloud. Please subscribe and leave us comments – we’d love to know what you think, and your comments make it easier for other people to find our podcast. Happy reading and listening! xo, Polli & Kate