Podcasts about main topic interview

Welcome to Episode 92 Main Topic Interview with Ed Skoudis!  Who is Ed? What is holiday hack (for those that are new to this) How many participants did you get last year? What sort of new theme can we expect this year? You guys developed an entire web game engine for this.. How'd that go? What kind of infrastructure do you have the event running on this year? Want to be a Kringleconcierge?  Contact: info@counterhack.com  Register for KringleCon: https://holidayhackchallenge.com  Announcements Patreon Update, 20 patrons for $87/month  rootisgod Bruce Robert Matt David S0l3mn Erwin Trooper_Ish LinuXsys666 gimpyb Ryan Mark DeMentor PowerShellOnLinux Jon Marc Julius Andi J Charles 22532 Get your Iron Sysadmin Merch at Teespring! https://teespring.com/stores/ironsysadmin    Reviews Nothing New Chat [nate] https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/introducing-using-openshift-serverless-event-driven-applications Serverless without the lock-in! https://jon.sprig.gs/blog/post/1980  [unclemarc] Cool list of ASCII terminal games: https://ligurio.github.io/awesome-ttygames/ Watched “Bushwick” on Netflix last night. Kinda like “Red Dawn” but different. Stars Drax from the Avengers AppleTrek: http://www.virtualapple.org/appletrekdisk.html “News” (not really) Parler…   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parler Was originally intended to be pronounced as “Parlay”.   It feels sort of like “old” twitter. Or even ‘old’ facebook No filtering, little moderation Timeline is chronological instead of curated Simple UI, not cluttered with ads No fact checking Pros Doesn’t appear to use a tracking cookie (though i could be wrong) Cons Well… It’s a bit of an echo chamber at the moment Critical Mass We get a little passionate... Watch us live on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month! Subscribe and hit the bell! https://www.youtube.com/IronSysadminPodcast  OR https://twitch.tv/IronSysadminPodcast   Matrix Community: https://matrix.to/#/+ironsysadmin:trixie.undrground.org  Find us on Twitter, and Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/ironsysadmin https://www.twitter.com/ironsysadmin Subscribe wherever you find podcasts! And don't forget about our patreon! https://patreon.com/ironsysadmin   Intro and Outro music credit: Tri Tachyon, Digital MK 2http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/ 

Welcome to Episode 84 YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/gbyZ-zT2XgU  Main Topic Interview with Chris Wright!  Who is Chris?  Red Hat CTO How did Chris become Red Hat’s CTO? What Open Source projects has Chris contributed to? What does Chris use as his daily battlestation? What does Chris do for fun that has nothing to do with computers? Or at least Red Hat computers Star Trek or Star Wars? (Battlestar Galactica?) ST:TOS ST:TNG ST:DS9 ST:V ST:E ST:D … Which Star Wars episodes?  1-2?  4-6?  7-9?  Rogue One? Open discussion What has been your Favorite Part of being the CTO of Red Hat? & What is a home project you are working on? Announcements Patreon Update: $72/month S0l3mn Erwin Trooper_Ish LinuXsys666 gimpyb Ryan Mark  DeMentor PowerShellOnLinux.com Jon Marc Julius Andi J Charles 22532 Reviews Nothing new Chat [unclemarc] The miraculous resurrection of my lab’s performance New cgroups blog in marketing and legal review...cpusets in cgroup v2 yo! Back in Everquest because I’m a crazy person Progress Quest - http://progressquest.com/   [nate] The jeep is fixed! Finally! Finally moving to Centos 8 on DO, and toying with nextcloud Switched to podman https://www.undrground.org/2020/07/01/moving-from-docker-compose-to-podman-pods/     [friz] Octoprint! News https://www.cbronline.com/news/aws-user-data https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/07/07/googles-internet-balloons-use-ai-to-deliver-web-voice-video-from-12-miles-high/#39172b781a2a https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/tech/whatsapp-facebook-hong-kong/index.html  https://blocksandfiles.com/2020/07/07/amazon-adds-on-premises-rds-database-support-to-aws-outposts/  https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/09/docker-partners-with-aws-to-improve-container-workflows/    Watch us live on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month! Subscribe and hit the bell! https://www.youtube.com/IronSysadminPodcast  Slack workspace https://www.ironsysadmin.com/slack Find us on Twitter, and Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/ironsysadmin https://www.twitter.com/ironsysadmin Subscribe wherever you find podcasts! And don't forget about our patreon! https://patreon.com/ironsysadmin   Intro and Outro music credit: Tri Tachyon, Digital MK 2http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/       

Welcome to Episode 83 Main Topic Interview with Chuck Gehman @charlesgehman He’s got this book https://www.manning.com/books/aws-cloudformation-in-action Let’s talk about the contents of the book It’s not done, let’s talk about MEAP AManning Early Adopter Program Scheduled for completion “early 2021” We’ve got a discount code! Podironsys20 We also have Preview codes, good for 2 months of access Perforce - version control http://www.perforce.com  Infrastructure as Code Let’s talk about what that is exactly What sort of tools are usually leveraged here And what about Cloud Formation?  Automation Pipeline. Announcements Patreon Update S0l3mn Erwin Trooper_Ish  LinuXsys666 gimpyb  Ryan tuxpreacher Mark DeMentor at PowerShellOnLinux.com  Jon Marc Julius  Andi J  Charles 22532 Reviews   Chat [unclemarc] It’s the Steam Summer Sale, so I’ll probably buy some more games I won’t play. I did buy a HOTAS, which makes Elite Dangerous much more fun...and playing in VR is sick! Also, Deep Rock Galactic gets 5 out of 5 drunken violent dwarves in space. It’s a must buy if you like coop shooters. Or drunken space dwarves.  Charles fell off his bike…  Nate’s jeep is still broken.  News https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/24/former-intel-engineer-says-skylake-problems-were-turning-point-for-apples-arm-mac-transition/  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_transition_to_Intel_processors https://www.wcjb.com/2020/06/23/google-introduces-fact-checking-to-image-search/  https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/06/23/microsoft-continues-to-extend-security-for-all-with-mobile-protection-for-android/ https://analyticsindiamag.com/what-is-aws-snowcone/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/arm-and-linux-take-supercomputer-top500-crown/  https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/23/tech/ios-14-features-apple-android/index.html  i should have dropped this from the news.    Watch us live on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month! Subscribe and hit the bell! https://www.youtube.com/IronSysadminPodcast  Slack workspace https://www.ironsysadmin.com/slack Find us on Twitter, and Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/ironsysadmin https://www.twitter.com/ironsysadmin Subscribe wherever you find podcasts! And don't forget about our patreon! https://patreon.com/ironsysadmin   Intro and Outro music credit: Tri Tachyon, Digital MK 2http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/   

Newly discovered Reefs, Abex updates, and our Interview with the Coral Restoration Foundation. Jeremy has a plumbed monster tank, running water and all! Peter is making steady progress on his system. All this and more on Episode 73 of the Reef News Network! RNN Listener Coupon Codes: Marine Depot 10% off your order REEFNEWS Reef Kinetics - $50 off ReefBot RKLOVESRNN Upcoming Events: Reef-A-Palooza California - 8/17 & 8/18/19 Reef-A-Palooza Chicago - 10/19 & 10/20/19 Aquarium Care Center Bash - 8/24/19 Philly Splash - 9/14/19 CTARS Fragtoberfest - 10/26/19 Sponsors: Fritz Aquatics: www.FritzAquatics.com Reef Breeders: www.ReefBreeders.com Reef Kinetics: www.ReefKinetics.com News: Jeremy: Scientists have just discovered five new coral reefs that form a vast, 310-mile corridor in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists from the University of Veracruz and Mexico's National Institute of Technology released their findings about the reefs Corazones, Pantepec South, Piedras Altas, Los Gallos, and Camaronera earlier this month. http://bit.ly/RNNnewsJeremy73 Peter: Bringing us some up to date info and highlights on the Abex from his conversation with CoralVue. Main Topic: Interview with Andrew from Coral Restoration Foundation. Outro: Please like our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as subscribe to the Podcast Reef News Network: www.reefnewsnetwork.com Reef News Road Trip: https://bit.ly/2LZfoKd Listener Calls: Go to: www.reefnewsnetwork.com click the tab on the right side of the page to leave us a voicemail. Reviews/Ratings: Reviews and Ratings help us reach new heights and continue to produce quality content, let us know how we are doing.

More plastic bags more problems, FFM photo recap and Under the Influence: A Chat with MetroKat. This week Peter shares some of the plans for the Road to Rap and Jeremy is working more deals. All this and more on Episode 54 of the Reef News Network! RNN Listener Coupon Codes: Marine Depot 10% off your order REEFNEWS Upcoming Events: AquaShella Dallas 3/30 - 3/31/19 Reef-A-Palooza Orlando - 4/6 - 4/7/19 Keep On Reefing Expo - 5/4/19 Mentions: OSA Aquatics - https://osacorals.com/ ReefWeeds - https://reefweeds.com CT Frag Farmers Market - http://bit.ly/2019FFM / Keep On Reefing Expo - http://bit.ly/OSAKOR Marine Depot - https://www.marinedepot.com/ E.O. Smith Coral Project - http://www.eosmithcoralproject.org/ Waterbox Aquariums - https://www.waterboxaquariums.com/ News: Peter- Dead Whale with 88lbs of plastic in stomach. https://cnn.it/2UJVfMh Jeremy- FFM recap on Reefs.com. http://bit.ly/2CmqndB Tip of the Week Don't get a 35ft RV...... The real tip is: Grab a handheld TDS meter for easy and reliable results with the ability to double check any inline testers. Main Topic: Interview on Influence with MetroKat Outro: Please like our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as subscribe to the Podcast and YouTube Channel Visit our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2JsnEnE Reef News Road Trip: https://bit.ly/2LZfoKd

Main Topic: Interview with long time record store employee and enthusiast, Brett. Brett discusses his musical influences, life as a merch boy, and his long standing relationship with Zia Records. Instagram: justkeepspinningpodcast Email: justkeepspinningpodcast@gmail.com Review and subscribe!

    Main Topic: “Interview with Bro Wallace, Expository Preaching, Anxiety” [Author: Tim Lucas] In this episode… We had the privilege to interview former North American Missionary, and now Global Missionary Kevin Wallace.  He told us how he felt the call to missions, some of his strategies for outreach, and keys to longevity and success … Continue reading "“Interview with Bro Wallace, Expository Preaching, Anxiety” – BTPP030"

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to help connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I am Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two, and spending some rainy summer days with my gals playing Blokus and Canasta and Mario Kart and dreaming of the beach…. This is Episode #30 and today I am sharing with you a conversation with Jillian Heise about Classroom Book A Day. We chat about all the wonderful things that can happen when you read one picture book a day to your class. And yes - even upper elementary AND middle school kids!  I had considered holding on to this episode a little longer, but realized that lots of you start school in August and would want to start planning things. If you’re like me, you need some time to mull things over and see how everything’s going to fit together. So before we get started, I want to let you know a couple things up front. First, at the end of the conversation we mention some resources where you can find out lots more information about #ClassroomBookADay - especially Jillian’s main post about it from her website where she so generously shares her slideshows. And the #ClassroomBookADay Facebook Group. I joined that last month and the community there has been extraordinarily helpful. So - if you are interested, I’ll see you there. And I’ll post links to those right in our show notes and on the All the Wonders site.   Second - Jillian talks about A LOT of incredible books today and I know that, like me, you’re going to get excited about them and want to jot down all the titles! But - I’ve got your back. Every single title mentioned is posted and linked right in the show notes. Okay - let’s dive in!   Main Topic - Interview with Jillian Heise   Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got inspired to start the #ClassroomBookaDay. #ClassroomBookaDay is about making time each day in your classroom to read a picture book. What do you see as the benefit of focusing more on picture books? I’ve seen these incredible displays of teachers’ #ClassroomBookaDay reading where they post a cover of each book on grid on a bulletin board. How do you display the #ClassroomBookADay in your school?   How do you see the display of the books as an important of aspect of #ClassroomBookADay?   How do you make time to read one picture book every day?   What is your routine like for reading the books with your students?   What about folks who don’t have their own classroom - librarians, literacy coaches, administrators?   180+ days is a lot to fill!  How do you choose titles?   What are some of your favorite books for the first week or so of school? Where can people go to get more information?   Aside from picture books, what have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? Closing   Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.     And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, please leave a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher.   Thanks again and see you soon!  Bye!   Episode Links:   Heise Reads & Recommends: www.heisereads.com BALB Literacy Consulting: www.balblit.com   Facebook #classroombookaday group: www.facebook.com/groups/classroombookaday   Slideshare with Previous Presentations: www.slideshare.net/mrsheise   Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/heisereads   #classroombookaday Origin Story & Updates: http://heisewrites.blogspot.com/2014/09/180-bookaday-read-alouds.html   Nerdy Book Club Post - https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2017/07/03/classroombookaday-the-power-of-shared-picture-book-stories-by-jillian-heise/ PIcture Books Discussed on the Show:   To the Sea (Cale Atkinson) I Want My Hat Back (Jon Klassen) Mr Tiger Goes Wild (Peter Brown) Explorers of the Wild (Cale Atkinson) Pardon Me (Daniel Miyares) That Neighbor Kid  (Daniel Miyares) Float (Daniel Miyares) That Is My Dream (Daniel Miyares) Barnacle is Bored (Jonathan Fenske) Poor Little Guy (Elanna Allen) A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals (Lucy Ruth Cummins) Sam and Dave Dig A Hole (Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen) Creepy Carrots (Aaron Reynolds & Peter Brown) The Monster’s Monster (Patrick McDonnell) Blizzard (John Rocco) Each Kindness (Jacqueline Woodson & E.B. Lewis) The Invisible Boy (Trudy Ludwig & Patrice Barton) 14 Cows for America (Carmen Agra Deedy: Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah & Thomas Gonzaalez) Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey (Maira Kalman) The Little Chapel That Stood (A.B. Curtiss & Mirto Golino) My Teacher is a Monster (No, I am Not.) (Peter Brown) Wild About Us (Karen Beaumont & Janet Stevens) My Friend Maggie (Hannah E. Harrison) Happy Dreamer (Peter H. Reynolds) A Tiger Tail (Mike Boldt) Strictly No Elephants (Lisa Mantchev & Taeeun Yoo) Be a Friend (Salina Yoon) Let Me Finish (Minh Lè) School’s First Day of School (Adam Rex & Christian Robinson) How To Read a Story (Kate Messner) Dear Dragon: A Pen Pal Tale (Josh Funk & Rodolfo Montalvo) Beautiful (Stacy McAnulty & Joanne Lew-Vriethoff) Where Oliver Fits (Cale Atkinson) Blue Sky, White Stars (Kadir Nelson & Sarvinder Naberhaus)   They All Saw a Cat (Brendan Wenzel) The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors (Drew Daywalt & Adam Rex) Penguin Problems (Jory John & Lane Smith) Not Quite Narwhal (Jessie Sima) Jabari Jumps (Gaia Cornwall) Dad and the Dinosaur  (Gennifer Choldenko & Dan Santat) I Like, I Don’t Like (Ale Ale & Anne Baccelliere)   MIddle Grade Books Discussed: Patina (Jason Reynolds) Miles Morales: Spider Man (Jason Reynolds) Wishtree (Katherine Applegate) The Gauntlet (Karuna Riazi) Fergus & Zeke (Kate Messner & Heather Ross) Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker (Shelley Johannes) The Bad Guys (Aaron Blabey)   YA Books Discussed: War Cross (Marie Lu) Legend (Marie Lu) In a Perfect World - Trish Doller The Names They Gave Us (Emery Lord) Long Way Down (Jason Reynolds) All American Boys (Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely) The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas) Dear Martin (Nic Stone)

Intro Hello everyone and welcome to the Books Between podcast! If you love to read, if you are a fan of middle grade, if you want to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love, then you have found the podcast for you! I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of an 8 and 10 year old, a 5th grade teacher, and lately - spending a lot of time on the sidelines of lacrosse fields and tennis courts. But - that gives me more time to read! This is Episode #29 and today I am welcoming author Corey Ann Haydu to the show to chat about her recent middle grade novel, The Someday Suitcase, and then in the book talk segment, I’ll be chatting about two fantastic new books about friendship. Main Topic - Interview with Corey Ann Haydu This week I am excited to welcome to the show Corey Ann Haydu. She is both a Young Adult AND Middle Grade author.  Her most recent YA novel The Careful Undressing of Love was released just this past January. And you might know her from her debut middle grade book Rules for Stealing Stars.  On today’s show, we chat about snow globes, guilt reading, cheese and - of course! - her latest middle grade novel The Someday Suitcase. The Someday Suitcase Tell us about The Someday Suitcase - what is this book about? One of the aspects of this book that I loved was how it shows that a true, deep best friend can bring a little magic into your life.    Did you have a best friend growing up? Clover is a very science-minded person. Do you have a science background? There is often this mix and a bit of tension between magic & science in the book.   Do you see science and magic as compatible? I loved all the metaphors in this book - like the snow globe! At one point Clover’s teacher says, “Sometimes you have to turn something over and upside down to really see it.”   How did you pick the snow globe to be a central part of the story? This is a book about so many things! Friendship, and science, and codependency, and snow, and but maybe ultimately about realizing that a loss can also help reveal a different part of yourself that has been dormant.  I don’t want to reveal too much of what form that loss takes for Clover and Danny, but… Can you talk a bit about how you decided on the ending?   Writing Life You recently moved… I can imagine that a move might be fairly disruptive to writer. What were the top three things you had to have in place so that you felt like you had a writing space again? I saw somewhere (maybe Instagram) that you had posted this really inspiring quote from the book BONE by Yrsa Daley-Ward and it says, “If you’re afraid to write it, that’s a good sign. I suppose you know you’re writing the truth when you’re terrified.” Did any part of writing The Someday Suitcase scare you? When we first started talking a few months ago, you mentioned how your first school visits were a combination of exhausting and exhilarating. When you are visiting schools, how do you keep that balance between bringing your full passionate self and also maintaining your energy level?   Your Reading Life What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? How do you decide what to read next?   Book Talk - Two Fantastic Books about Friendship In this part of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. (Yes - I love the number three! But also - I just need limits!) This week I can’t wait to share with you two books that have been on my mind lately. Both feature girls just venturing into middle school. Both are about what happens when friendships collide over crushes. And both are ultimately about reclaiming a part of yourself that was lost. So, they are - 14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop and Bubbles by Abby Cooper. 14 Hollow Road First up this week is 14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop. You might know her from her previous middle grade book, The Distance to Home. This novel is about Maddie. And the night of the sixth-grade dance, a tornado hits parts of her town and destroys her home. And the home of her neighbor and crush, Avery. So - it turns out that a kind couple in the area with rooms to spare lets both families stay in their home for the summer. So - Maddie has to live with her crush. And somehow convince him to like her back instead of that other girl he asked to slow dance with.  Here are three things to love about 14 Hollow Road: The parts about Hank, her sweet dog who goes missing the night of the tornado. And I won’t reveal what happens there but even though things can’t get resolved exactly happily, how that situation plays out with the collar and with Avery was touching. When Maddie gets her period! Oh. My. Gosh. And - oh the aftermath when she wants to go swimming but thinks people will see the pad but she’s not ready for a tampon and then wonders if people will know why she’s not swimming. And then she doesn’t even want to go to the pool party at all! The gals reading will either really laugh in recognition or get a sample of what’s to come. And - I just want to say one thing. Please don’t discourage boys from reading this book just because it of the period thing. Guys need to know what’s up - and really, what better way than a light moment in a story to start to figure things out? Let’s please work to end that stigma. Throughout this book there are these small tender moments. I don’t want to say too much but, there’s a scene where one character is feeling devastated and vulnerable and the other character in that situation just holds their hand. And it was a small moment, but exceptionally sweet. 14 Hollow Road is a fabulous realistic fiction novel about friendship and change and resiliency. And - I wish I could remember who it was to give them credit - but I heard another author say that the last page of 14 Hollow Road is perfection. And, oh -  were they right! Bubbles Our second book this week is Bubbles by Abby Cooper! (You might remember her debut novel Sticks & Stones from last year.) This book makes me appreciate the term “speculative fiction” because the premise of this is - what if you could see people’s thoughts above their heads? What insights could you gain? What obligations would that put you under? How accurate is it? And...do you even want to know? Even before reading this book, I was firmly in the camp of “I don’t want to know what people are thinking!”  I’ve read those Sookie Stackhouse books - I know the bad is going to outweigh the benefit of knowing people’s thoughts. (By the way - Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series - not middle grade! Do NOT get those for your 8-12 year old. But you, adult listener - they’re fun. Especially #4 when the witches erase Eric’s memory and he doesn’t realize he’s the bad guy/vampire! Ahhh…. Okay - I digress!) Anyway - on to Bubbles!  This book is about 12 year-old Sophie Mulvaney whose life is in turmoil when her mom loses both her job and her boyfriend within a very short period of time. And then Sophie get assigned a school project to do something that pushes herself to take a risk at a time when she’s not feeling very adventurous. And then - she starts seeing thought bubbles above people’s heads - and everything takes off from there! So, here are three things to love about Abby Cooper’s Bubbles. The little nuggets of history and trivia! It’s a small thing, but makes this book clever and unique. And when Sophie starts to feel a little stressed, remembering and connecting her life to historical facts is a way she copes. For example, at one point she says, “I was crankier than Napoleon must have been after the battle of Waterloo, which he lost really bad.” And then, actually earlier - at the beginning of Chapter 7, Sophie is considering whether or not to go see a therapist about her bubble issue. The natural portrayal of characters working on their mental health. Sophie’s mother is dealing with some depression after leaving her job as a TV reporter and a tough breakup with a guy who still lives nearby. And that manifests itself in ways that will be familiar to some kids - tiredness and withdrawal from the things she used to love. Sophie and her mom were the Adventurous Girls and now, she would rather stay home. And the solutions to those struggles are not presented as quick or easy, but doable with help. I really think this is a type of book that could help lessen the stigma of mental health issues and a book kids can relate to either because they see themselves or they might recognize things their friends or family are going through. How this book helps you realize that even if you could read people’s thoughts, you still don’t know the backstory behind those thoughts. And what’s really motivated people. This book really gives readers a lot to think about in that way. It would be a great book club read. Bubbles and 14 Hollow Road both brought me back to those middle school days when your relationship with your friends is everything. And how threatening and scary and socially isolated you can feel when a friend seems to be slipping away from you. In Bubbles, Sophie’s friend Kaya seems to be taken over by another girl, Viv. And in 14 Hollow Road  Maddie’s feel left out when her best friend Kiersten is spending more time with Gabriella. And then throw an in-common crush into that mix and ugh! It’s awkward and confusing and just one of those rocky experiences you have to figure out. Also - both of these books get that shaving your legs dynamic absolutely right! At least - it resonated with me. When suddenly your friends start shaving and you feel a hairy troll and how it’s just hard to talk to your mom about. I think I snuck my mom’s razor and shaved my legs like a year before she technically allowed me to. (My mom listens to the podcast, so… sorry mom!) These two books would be great options for a mother-daughter book club. My friend, Julie, did that with Abby Cooper’s first book Sticks & Stones and oh I just love that idea!     Closing Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. There’s always lots of great conversations happening there so, please jump in! Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.  And, while you are there, please take a listen to Matthew Winner’s latest episode of the All the Wonders podcast (#372) where he chats with Hena Khan - the author of Amina’s Voice.   And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, I would really appreciate a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you soon!  Bye!   Episode Links: Corey Ann Haydu's website Other middle grade books we chatted about: The Girls from Ames: A story of women and a forty-year friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow Braced by Alyson Gerber My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari A young adult book we chatted about: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour   Author Leanne Shapton's website

Intro   Hi everyone - welcome to Books Between - a podcast focused solely on middle grade readers and to help teachers, parents, and librarians connect them to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two, a 5th grade teacher and still basking in the glow of getting to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson LIVE when he came to Syracuse! He talked about science in the movies and was utterly hilarious. If you ever have a chance to go see him, please do it!   This is Episode #23 and Today I am welcoming author Victoria Coe to the show and then chatting about two excellent new May releases that you won’t want to miss, and then answering a question about middle grade classics in the classroom.   Main Topic - Interview with Victoria Coe   Today I am honored to welcome Victoria Coe. She is the author of the amazing and fun Fenway & Hattie series which was just picked as one of the 2017 Global Read Aloud choices.  We chat about pets, Beverly Cleary’s Ribsy, what makes an author visit go smoothly, and lots of other things! Take a listen.   Global Read Aloud We’ve been working on having you come on to the show for a few months now but I am actually glad that the timing worked out for now so that I could talk to you about the Global Read Aloud! I admit, I actually screeched when I saw the announcement that Fenway & Hattie was selected for 2017!   How did you find out that Fenway & Hattie was picked? From the very first pages, I knew the Fenway & Hattie was a book that begged to be read out loud! Even when I was reading it by myself alone, I found myself mouthing the words and already figuring out where I would pause to let my students figure out what’s happening.   Could you tell us what the book is about for those listening who haven’t read it yet?   It wasn’t until I finished reading the book that I noticed the “1” written on the spine, so I was really excited to know that it will be a series and we’ll get to spend more time in Fenway’s world! I know the second one has come out already - Evil Bunny Gang.   Did I see that Book 3 was announced recently?   In Fenway & Hattie, one of the funny aspects of the story is the names that Fenway gives to the family. So, the dad is “Fetch Man” and the mom is “Food Lady”.   So - in your home, what would your pets call you? There is just something about dog books that have the potential to connect so deeply with an audience. In fact, you wrote a post on the Nerdy Book Club site called “How Ribsy Changed My Life”.   What was it about that dog and that book that fascinated you?   I follow you on Instagram and Twitter and I have to say that I love and appreciate that you and so many authors share aspects of their life - your writing process, your inspiration, your frustrations sometimes!  Recently I’ve seen a lot of pics of school visits.   What is a Victoria Coe school visit like?   So we have a lot of teachers and librarians listening who plan author visits.   What are some things that you appreciate and like as a visiting author? One thing that I am always trying to encourage in my students is developing a rich reading life.   How do you make time for reading in your life and what have you read lately that you’ve really liked? Book Talk - Two Excellent New Novels   In this section of the show, I share with you a couple books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I want to share with you two fantastic novels just released last week. Both are books about the seismic changes that can happen when someone new comes into your life.  They are Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder and Posted by John David Anderson. Three Pennies   I will start with Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder. This novel is about an eleven year old girl named Marin who was abandoned many years ago by her mother and has been bounced around the foster system in San Francisco since she was four. And she’s come up with these rules for survival which essentially boil down to this; BE INVISIBLE. Don’t bother the adults, don’t fight with other kids, but that makes for an incredibly lonely existence and a situation where a kid can all too easily get swept aside and forgotten. And at age 11, there’s little chance she’s going to get adopted. All Marin has from her mother are three things: fading memories, a ceramic piggy bank with one coin rattling inside, and a copy of the I Ching. Marin is constantly casting her three pennies and using the book to try to find her way back to her mother. But, the I Ching is also called The Book of Changes and Marin’s eleventh year is full of unexpected turns. Here are three things to love about Three Pennies:   Dr. Lucy Chang! She is Marin’s latest foster parent - a kind but clinal woman. And single. The reason why she’s single comes out in a dinner conversation where Marin tries to be rude to Lucy (because she fears being adopted and losing hope of that reunion with her mother.) Lucy is a science-minded surgeon and precise, but I love how she uses that in the service of being kind toward Marin.  For example, she shares these great analogies of the human body. Let me read you a couple. The owl in the story. Every few chapters we get a brief scene from the point of view of a young rehabilitated owl living among the tall buildings in San Francisco and observing what happens below. It’s a quieter and softer part of the book but I love how those chapters weave through the main parts of the story and especially how the owl connects and comes together with the other characters at the end.   And I can’t talk about that owl without mentioning the stunning cover art by artist Victo Ngai. It is vibrant with the golds and warm browns of this owl with piercing teal eyes. It’s a stunner of a cover and the artist has done work for The New Yorker and The New York Times - and her work is amazing. I’ll post a link to her site in the show notes so you can check it out.   Three Pennies is a beautifully written and gentle book about finding family. If you have kids who might love One For the Murphys or Counting by 7s, but you want something a little shorter and maybe easier to read on that same theme, this book is a great option.   Posted   Next up this week is a book I have been waiting to get my hands on - Posted by John David Anderson, who you might know from his most recent middle grade novel - Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. This story is about a tight-knit group of four middle school boys. Their nicknames are Frost, Bench, DeeDee, and Wolf. The story is told from Frost’s point of view. He earned his nickname (from Robert Frost) because he won a poetry contest in 5th grade. His parents are recently divorced. His close friend is Bench and he got his nickname because he’s always warming the bench for every team he’s on. He’s big and kind of their protector. No one messes with them when Bench is around. Then there is DeeDee who’s small, kinda geeky, dramatic and the Dungeon Master when they play D&D. Hence his nickname, DeeDee. And finally, Wolf. He is a lanky, quieter kid who’s a piano prodigy and got his name from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each of them are kind of outcasts and outsiders in their own way.  But - they have found each other - their tribe as Frost calls it - and support each other. Until a new girl, Rose, shows up and things get thrown into turmoil in unexpected ways. Interconnecting with that dynamic is the fact that all cellphones have been recently banned at Branton Middle School and post-its have become the new contraband form of communication. And what starts off as DeeDee posting fun sticky notes on his friend’s lockers snowballs into this mess of a situation where their friendship is really tested. This is one of those books that the more you read, the more you want to slow down and savor the story, the language - and just spend time with these characters. Well - some of them.  There are so so many things I want to say to rave about this book! I have to limit myself to three - but honestly I could list at least 30. So, just as a small sample, here are three amazing things about John David Anderson’s Posted:   How much Anderson GETS middle school and the inner life of middle school kids. Before coming to teach 5th grade in an elementary school, I was a 6th grade teacher in a middle school for 8 years. And I used to joke that middle school is the Social Serengeti. There are predators and prey and you better do whatever you can to get cover within a group. And Posted absolutely captures this. Frost calls it the Middle School Minefield. And, oh the antics these four boys get involved in! From making homemade dynamite in their driveway to accidentally microwaving a can of Spaghettio’s and almost burning down the house. These are the stories every kid can relate to - and I’m sure they have some similar ones of their own. How well Anderson builds suspense by withholding information and slowly revealing it in pieces later on.  For examples, there are these various messages written on post-its throughout the story, phrases thrown at one of the characters, and an awful text that gets a girl suspended (which is the catalyst of the cell phone ban).  Anderson doesn’t reveal what those messages are at first, but describes everyone’s reactions to it.  Or he tells the consequences of a conversation, but the details come out more slowly - I LOVED it!Just like he did with Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, Anderson is masterful at sliding the pieces of the puzzle into your view until you start to see the picture yourself. How this book reminded me of the Netflix series Stranger Things. I know that sounds odd because they’re two completely different genres! But - both are about four close friends used to their own routines when a vulnerable yet powerful girl is suddenly in their midst. And how they handle that disruption and the decisions they make about who to protect could either fracture their friendship or bring them closer together. And - there’s lots of Dungeons & Dragons references! When you get a new book by an author whose previous work blew you away, you’re almost expecting to be let down. Posted was everything I was hoping for, and I think this one might actually be even more of a winner with kids because the conflicts are centered so clearly on their lives. Ya gotta get this one!   Q & A Our final segment this week is Question & Answer time.   Question: This question comes from Annamaria on Twitter “Hi, @Books_Between  I'm looking for "classics" to fill a bookcase in my classroom. Have Dahl, L I-Wilder, CS Lewis, few others. Rec's? Thx!”   Answer: Alright - yes! Here are a few titles and authors you might want to add. The Indian in the Cupboard (and the sequels) Harriet the Spy All the Beverly Cleary books! (Ramona books, Ribsy books, Mouse & the Motorcycle) The Wizard of Oz series Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry The Wind in the Willows Where the Red Fern Grows A Wrinkle in Time - that one is also a series E. B. White (Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little) The Hobbit The Hundred Dresses Louisa May Alcott (Little Women and Little Men) The Boxcar Children Series Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 and Bud, not Buddy) Black Beauty Lots of the E.L. Konigsburg (books like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) Frances Burnett’s The Secret Garden and A Little Princess Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series Some really like the Betsy-Tacy series - I haven’t read them but would feel remiss if I did not mention them Mary Poppins Series Anne of Green Gables books Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass All the Judy Blume books! (well, wait - careful, she does have some adult books out, but definitely Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber)     You know, in looking at this list, there are so many that I grew up loving but I recognize that in many “classics” lists, the titles and authors do lack diversity and also, where you do find some diverse characters, they’re often not portrayed that well. So in considering including classics in your library, that is an aspect to think about.   So, listeners - I know I have forgotten some. What other “classics” would you add to this list and especially, what are some more multicultural “classics” that should be included?  We will absolutely revisit this again with some updates.   Closing   Alright - that’s it for our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they will love or an idea about a guest we should have or a topic we should cover, please let me know. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Also, we have just launched a newsletter. So if you are interesting in more middle grade goodness, I’ll post a link to sign up for that in the shownotes.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of the show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.   And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you in two weeks!  Bye!   Links: https://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-Mice-Kristin-Kladstrup/dp/0763685194   https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/how-ribsy-changed-my-life-or-it-all-depends-on-your-point-of-view-by-victoria-j-coe/   FENWAY AND HATTIE resource padlet: https://padlet.com/victoriajcoe/mr9wmo96cm65   https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2017/04/07/and-the-winners-are-global-read-aloud-choices-2017-gra17/   Info about my author visits: http://www.victoriajcoe.com/school-visits   author page at PenguinRandomHouse.com where you can click on all three books for a description and order/preorder links: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2109553/victoria-j-coe   http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780380709557   http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481492065

Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Become a patreon doner! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show... Segment 1: In the Realm- We spend a few minutes talking about what's going on in our lives. Goblin Stone: Banquet of the Damned adventure give away. Segment 2: Let's talk about blank: We answer a question from redditor, facebook or twitter. We discuss the familiars flyby skill and its interaction with the help mechanic. Main Topic: Interview with Rontric of Game Masters Stash - Your daily source of content! Loresmyth: Claws of Madness Winner Unearthed Tips and Tricks: Character Concept: For Honor! Monster Variant: Dragoon Encounter: An Idol Threat Magic Item: Boots of the Brash Dungeon Master Tip: Incidental References Player Tip: Don't Be a Dick! Crit Academy is a weekly Dungeons and Dragons podcast that is released every Wednesday. Our show was created to provide guidance to our heroes as well as provide new and reusable material for both players and DMs. We hope to inspire you with creative content that you can bring with you on your next adventure. While our content is focused on D&D5e many of our ideas and concepts and ideas can be applied to all forms of roleplay and rpg systems. Please subscribe, like and share so we can help other heroes on their next adventure! Keep your blades sharp and spells prepared heroes!  

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to the Books Between podcast! If you are a middle grade teacher, a librarian, a parent of a child between 8 and 12 - or anyone who just loves to chat about kids’ books - then you are in the right spot!  Our focus is generally middle grade books but occasionally we veer into picture books or YA.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two, a 5th grade teacher and enjoying our Spring Break! It’s been low key but relaxing. This is Episode #22 and Today I am welcoming author Adrienne Kress to the show and then chatting about three fantastic books featuring famous people or people who should be famous. Main Topic - Interview with Adrienne Kress Today I am honored to welcome Adrienne Kress. She is the author of the newly released action-adventure mystery called The Explorers: The Door in the Alley. And in our conversation we chat about traveling, the difference between writing Young Adult vs. Middle Grade, and high tea. Take a listen. A few weeks ago as I was preparing to read The Explorers and I knew we would be chatting, I hopped on your website and whoa! You are a woman of many talents - not only an author but an actor, a playwright, producer/director… How do those roles all work together? What is your day like? I was reading your bio section in the back of the book and you mention that both of your parents are English teachers and yet I read an article where you described yourself as a reluctant reader as a child. What was that like for you? Let’s talk about The Explorers ! Your middle grade book is coming out Tuesday, April 25th. Tell us what it’s about! I am excited to get the final version and see the artwork - not only how the artist envisioned the characters and setting, but I was really intrigued by the placement on the pages… Can you tell a bit about that process? One of the things that fascinated me about The Explorers Society with the huge multi-floor library built around this giant tree and rooms dedicated to the interests of the explorers. One person explores deserts and one focuses on leaves and another one is interested in sewers. If you were to join the Explorers Society, what would you dedicate your life to exploring? You ended this novel with one heck of a cliffhanger!!! When is Book 2 coming out? Do you know yet? Not only do you write middle grade books, but you also have YA books out as well. When you set out to write a book, do you already know ahead of time whether it will be Young Adult or Middle Grade? What is that process like for you? Coffee or Tea? What is your reading life like now?  What have you read lately that you’ve really liked? If people wanted to follow you and find out more about your work , where should they go?   Book Talk - Three Books Featuring Famous People or People Who Should Be Famous In this section of the show, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week we are focusing on stories about amazing people - both historical and modern. They are Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Who Wins? 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to Head, and Spy on History: Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls This week I’ll start with Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls. I’m almost embarrassed to admit where I saw this book first. Umm… it was a Facebook ad. I guess that tells you two things - 1) I spend too much time on Facebook and 2) Facebook knows me disturbingly well!  And - and I guess I’ll add a third - sometimes Facebook ads really do work. I saw Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls scroll across my feed and thought - “Yes! I want that book for my daughters. But - I also want it for me.”  So, let me tell you about it. It is 100 tales of extraordinary women illustrated by 60 female artists from all around the world. It’s written by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo - both women entrepreneurs whose idea for this book stemmed from the fact they wished they had grown up with more female role models. The book became the most funded book in crowdfunding history. Here are three things to love about Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: How each one-page biography is written like a mini fairy tale. It’s such a different take on a biography compilation. Let me give you a few examples: “Once there was a little girl who didn’t speak for five years. She thought her words could hurt people and promised herself to never make a peep again. Her name was Maya.” That’s Maya Angelou.  Here’s another one. “Once there was a girl who wanted to drive a car. She lived in Saudi Arabia, a country where religious rules forbid women from driving. One day she decided to break the rules.” - That’s Manal Al-Sharif, the women’s rights activist. I just love them - and there’s something about telling these women’s stories like this that elevates them to a heroic level and makes you feel like you can slay your own dragons. The variety of stories and the women you get to learn about. For instance, the book includes artists like Frida Kahlo and Coco Chanel but also tattoo artist Maud Stevens Wagner. There are well-known political figures like Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Evita Peron but we also get know about Somali politician Fadumo Dayib and Indian Queen and Warrior Lakshmi Bai. There are mathematicians, and surgeons, and drummers, and spies, and chefs, and mountaineers, and one elementary school student - Coy Mathis, born in 2007. And I’ll leave her story for you to discover. And finally - at the very end there is a place to write your own story and draw your own portrait. How powerful is that?   Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls would be a great gift - especially for girls, but could absolutely be enlightening for boys as well. As I was reading some to my daughters, I had my teacher hat partially on and was thinking that this would be great for Women’s History Month next year. We could read one brief story every day and expand our knowledge of some women who should be known and celebrated for their accomplishments. Who Wins? 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to Head Next up this week is 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to Head created by Clay Swartz and illustrated by Tom Booth. This is an awesomely fun mix-and-match flip book set up as a game where we imagine important historical figures competing in a variety of interesting scenarios. It’s a really sturdy spiral bound book made up of three panels. On the left and on the right are the people. The bottom half features a drawing of that person facing inward toward their opponent and some quick descriptors. For example, we have Harry Houdini (Mr. Magic: Entertainer, Illusionist, Adrenaline Junkie) facing off with Cleopatra (Queen of the Nile: Pharaoh, Feminist, Diva). And  - the bottom lists how each person rates across 7 categories: Wealth, Fitness, Wisdom, Bravery, Artistry, Leadership, and Intelligence. For example, Houdini rates as a 7 for wealth and Cleopatra is a 9. Houdini is a 10 for fitness while Cleopatra is only a 6. So you have some basis for debate. Then the top of each side includes a short biography of each person and a couple “Little Known Facts”.  Then - the middle describes the battle scenario. There are things like: Summiting Everest, Slam Dunk Contest, Rap Battle, Brain Surgery, Wrestlemania, Selling the Most Girl Scout Cookies. On this page, Houdini and Cleopatra are going head to head about who could Sneak Into Area 51! Hmmmm….  I don’t know. Houdini’s really good at escaping from places, and didn’t Cleopatra sneak into see someone rolled up in a rug? Or am I just thinking of the Elizabeth Taylor movie and that is actually a myth.  That’s a tough one. But that’s what’s fun about this book!  If you’re not already sold, here are three more awesome reasons to love 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to Head: You - and your kids - are never going to get bored with this book! There are 100,000 possible combinations, and I can attest that with my own kids, the conversation starts with the match-up and then spirals into discussing other situations. And did I mention? It’s full color!! It’s gorgeous and really designed well. The three panels are not just basic rectangles - they are done in a zig-zag pattern that somehow keeps the pages from sliding over each other too much. They nestle together. The potential to springboard some cool projects and discussions off this book! Again, I’ve always got my teacher hat on and I kept thinking that it would be really cool to act some of these out. Thomas Edison vs. Mother Teresa in a Hot Dog Eating Contest! Or… if your school is like mine, we often have a biography unit. Perhaps your students could take their biography subject and give them a rating in a few categories and have them face off in different situations. And it doesn’t have to be a lengthy thing, maybe just a quick find a partner and “Okay, Who would do better living on a desert island? You’ve got two minutes to chat and back up your ideas.”  Or - for your own children, this would be the perfect book to stash in your car. Spy on History: Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring Our last book this week is Spy on History: Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring by Enigma Alberti with illustrations by Tony Cliff.  This is an interactive historical narrative about an African American spy, Mary Bowser, who infiltrated the Confederate administration. She posed as an illiterate slave in Jefferson Davis’ White House during the Civil War and sent information to Union Generals. Truly an unsung hero of American history. This is based on true events and the history is accurate, but it is dramatized into a suspenseful story.  Here are three things to love about Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring: The interactive part. Readers actually get to solve a mystery in this book! It comes with spycraft materials like a cipher wheel, red acetate paper, and a white vellum sheet that when you line it up correctly can be used to help crack the code on certain pages.  It is SO cool! And comes with a sealed answer key if you get stuck. How this book angles history from the perspective of a black enslaved woman. History is told by those in power and for far too long, we have been denied the point of view of most women and most people of color, and I am so glad children get a chance to meet and know Mary Bowser. And finally, what I liked most about this book was that I couldn’t read it. Now, what I mean by that is that I attempted to read it, but it very quickly got snatched out of my hands. I started reading on the couch and as soon as the words, “OOOoooo...there’s codes in this…” came out of my mouth, my daughters were huddled behind me reading over both my shoulders. Then… they climbed over the back of the couch and into my lap to “help” me flip through the pages. And then they saw the grid of letters and snatched it away to go solve it without me! Argh! Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring is a little bit like a combination of a Mail order Mystery and Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. If you know a kid who loves a mystery, who loves cracking a code, who loves a suspenseful story - then this one is a winner. A couple quick announcements before we close today. I’ve skipped the Question & Answer segment the last couple of weeks mainly because I didn’t want to have the episodes run too long. I know several of you have sent questions. Thank you! And I’ll be back on track answering those next time. Also - I discovered new website for you to check out! It’s teacherswhoread.blogspot.com It just launched a few weeks ago and it’s a great site if you’re looking for more middle book recommendations or engaging literacy ideas to try out in your school. Closing Alright - that’s it for our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they will love or an idea about a guest we should have or a topic we should cover, I really love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of the show along all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you in two weeks!  Bye! http://teacherswhoread.blogspot.com http://www.adriennekress.com

Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Support become a patron at www.patreon.com/critacademy On today's show... Segment 1: In the Realm- We spend a few minutes talking about what's going on in our lives. Goblin Stone: Banquet of the Damned adventure give away. Segment 2: Let's talk about blank: We answer a question from redditor, facebook or twitter. We answer a question about giving feats based on character level instead of class level. Main Topic: Interview with Ross McConnell of 2minutetabletop.com Loresmyth: Claws of Madness Winner Unearthed Tips and Tricks: We give you reusable content for your next adventure! Character Concept: Giant Dwarf Monster Variant: Conan the Sunderer Encounter: Euphoic Gas! Magic Item: Dancing Violin compliments of facebook group Game Masters Stash Dungeon Master Tip: Festivals! Player Tip: Don't Be a Dick! Crit Academy is a weekly Dungeons and Dragons podcast that is released every Wednesday. Our show was created to provide guidance to our heroes as well as provide new and reusable material for both players and DMs. We hope to inspire you with creative content that you can bring with you on your next adventure. While our content is focused on D&D5e many of our ideas and concepts and ideas can be applied to all forms of roleplay and rpg systems. Please subscribe, like and share so we can help other heroes on their next adventure! Keep your blades sharp and spells prepared heroes!

Intro   Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect middle grade readers between 8-12 to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two girls, and enjoying a gloriously (and weirdly) warm Winter Break. It hit 70 degrees today. In Syracuse. In February. Hey - I’ll take it! This is Episode #18 and today we have a interview with genre fiction book critic Paul Goat Allen, I’ll discuss three novels featuring spunky female leads, and then I’ll answer a question about the books featured on our last episode on March Book Madness. Main Topic - Interview with Paul Goat Allen Today on the show I am welcoming book critic extraordinaire, genre fiction writing professor, writer, and my husband - Paul Goat Allen!   Here are some of the books we talking about in the interview segment of today’s episode: Fenway & Hattie by Victoria Coe Wings of Fire Series by Tui Sutherland Harry Potter Series by JK Rowlings Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson Ghost by Jason Reynolds Percy Jackson Series  by Laurel Snyder Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart Lord of the Flies by William Golding A Canticle for Leibowtiz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock The Earthsea Trilogy  by Ursula K. Le Guin The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein The elements on the  “The Genre Fiction Book Reviewer’s Hierarchy of Needs” Readability (narrative clarity, fluidity,a coherent storyline, brisk pacing)   Immersion (focus on world building, overall description) Characters Depth ( three dimensional , interesting, and emotionally connective characters) Plot Intricacy (Impressively constructed storyline replete with plot twists) Originality & Innovation (innovative narrative element - unconventional protagonist, new twist on an old mythos, etc.)   The Message (profound, spiritual, existential enlightenment) Book Talk - Three Novels Featuring Spunky Girls In this part of the show, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I’ll be talking about three fantastic contemporary debut middle grade novels featuring female protagonists who are full of spirit and determination. Even if, for a couple of them, it takes some time to embrace and harness that inner courage. The books this week are Gertie’s Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom by Booki Vivat, and A Rambler Steals Home by Carter Higgins. Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom This week, I’ll be going in order of release date so I’ll start with the September 2016 debut Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom by Booki Vivat. Doesn’t that subtitle perfectly capture that middle school feeling where everything seems awful but the adults in your life just blow it off as no big deal?  That is precisely the problem the main character, Abbie Wu, faces as she grapples with starting middle school. To Abbie, middle school is just another awful “middle” thing - like the middle seat in the car, the Middle Ages, and… being the middle child. She is stuck between her soccer star perfect older brother and her cute can’t do anything wrong younger sister. I knew this book was a winner when my daughter started reading it over my shoulder. Here are three things to love about Frazzled:   How perfectly this book captures the frustrations of that first middle school year. Like the awful lunches, that awkward feeling of not knowing the kids in your class, and not knowing which electives to pick. Abbie’s two best friends are Logan, genius gamer kid who joins the Coding Club. And Maxine, confident Teen Vogue reader who, of course, chooses drama as her elective. But Abbie doesn’t have a clear “thing” that’s she good at like her friends and so she gets stuck in the doldrums of Study Hall where eventually she becomes the center of a Lunch Revolution.    Frazzled is fun to read! Now, I love a heavy, deep books, but with the world as complicated as it is right now, it is a joy to jump into such a book that makes me laugh out loud. There are playful and clever illustrations on every page, and I love Booki Vivat’s hand lettered style to the drawings with different textures and patterns to the words. And the self-deprecating honesty of Abbie’s character and how she describes the personalities of her family and teachers is just perfect. This is the type of humor that adults and teachers will like, too. Well - at least I did, anyway! I guess I can’t speak for anyone else! For example, here’s Abbie describing her new Vice-Principal:  “A woman in a frumpy suit walked up to the podium and introduced herself. Mrs. Kline looked nice, but she also looked really tired, kind of like the “before” version of ladies on those makeover shows or like one those grown-ups who always complains about needing coffee.”    How Frazzled handles anxiety with a light touch. I read a statistic recently that anxiety is the number one mental health issue facing kids today. From what I observe in my own classroom - it is A BIG problem. And I appreciate that a kids’ book tackles it from a place of humor. For example, the giant “Welcome Packet” that arrives from Poindexter Middle School that has Abbie’s mom excited about school shopping has Abbie in near panic mode from information overload. Abbie has nightmares before school starts and attempts to stay home from school. Her Aunt tries to get her to meditate.  At one point, Abbie says, “Like whenever we talk about school, Mom always tells me the same things over and over again - “It’ll be great!”, “Nothing to worry about!”, “Just be yourself!” - as if saying it will somehow make it more true.”   For a worrier like Abbie, when you are surrounded by ever cheerful people telling you that “Everything will work out for the best!” it can feel like you are not even being heard.   Frazzled is a fantastic book for kids dealing with everyday middle school frustrations and anxieties. AND - I hear there is a second book coming out September 26th, 2017 so keep that on your radar!   Gertie’s Leap to Greatness Our next debut middle grade book featuring a determined female protagonist was released in October of 2016 - Gertie’s Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley. This book, and this girl, just worked their way into my heart last fall.  Gertie is one of those kids that you just want to yank from the pages and take home with you. She lives in an Alabama town with her father and her Great Aunt Rae. Her mother, basically abandoned her when she was a baby, but she still lives in the same town. However, Gertie is rocked to find out that her mother is getting married and moving away. So - she has this mission to become the greatest 5th grader ever. To show up at her mother’s door and just say, “Ha! I don’t need you anyway!” Well, obviously, things don’t go as planned. Especially when an overachieving new girl shows up - literally in Gertie’s seat - to thwart her plans. Here are three reasons why I adored Gertie’s Leap to Greatness:   Her Great Aunt Rae. This lady is gold. She is Gertie’s main caretaker since her dad is on an oil rig for weeks at a time. She lets her have Twinkies for breakfast and every day as Gertie leaves for school, she calls out “Give ‘em hell, baby!” And there’s a moment toward the end when she has Gertie’s back in such a fierce way. Every kid should have Aunt Rae! How well this book understands how kids can turn on each other - or as Gertie says, they’re “fickle”! I teach 5th grade and can attest - those social dynamics can be complicated. One day things are good and then the social landscape shifts and you are on the outs with your former friends. Even Gertie has this moment when she says an unforgivably awful thing to Audrey - the 5 year old her Aunt Rae baby-sits. And she has to come to terms with that. The Swiss Chocolate Meltdown. Oh. My. God!!  I know it was wrong, but I just wanted to cheer! I don’t want to say too much but it reminded me of the chocolate cake scene in Matilda. Oh, it’s good! Read the book just for that scene!   Kate Beasley’s Gertie’s Leap to Greatness is a fun and touching story that’s like a beautiful blend of Ramona and Raymie Nightingale.  These three girls would absolutely be friends - or drive each other crazy. Either way, there would be an adventure. I don’t think this one is scheduled to have a sequel, but I for one would love to jump back into Gertie’s world again.   A Rambler Steals Home The final book this week is A Rambler Steals Home - Carter Higgins’ middle grade debut. Even though I read it during one of the worst snowstorms we’ve had up here in New York, it immediately swept me away to hot Virginia summers filled with baseball and frog-catching.  The story centers around the traveling Clark family - the dad, Garland, the young brother named Triple, and our main character - 11 year old Derby. Their family drives around in a Rambler car, selling Christmas trees in the winter and selling hot chocolate and gingersnaps and apple cider and cinnamon sugar donuts out of an old concession stand trailer. But - in the summers, they make their home in Ridge Creek, Virginia where they set up a concession stand in the parking lot of a minor league baseball team. But this summer, Derby is confronted with some difficult changes and some secrets to uncover. Here are three things to love about A Rambler Steals Home: The sweet, homey pace of the story. Now - don’t get me wrong - I do not mean that the storytelling is slow but rather we savor the details of eating an oatmeal cookie on a front porch. We linger over sweet potato fries and a swipe of Christmas Nutmeg lipstick. This is the perfect book to read stretched out in a backyard hammock. The names are awesome! Carter Higgins has that same magical knack for naming characters as Kate DiCamillo. So, I already mentioned Garland, Triple, and Derby. Derby’s middle name, by the way, is Christmas. But we also have Goose and Scooter and Ferdie and the Skipper and Betsy and Lollie. And of course, a banjo named Twang. How perfect is that?  And not only do these characters have fabulous names, but you enjoy spending time with them. They are the kind of people you just want to surround yourself with in your own life. The gorgeous, poetic, twangy flavor of the language. Like this line describing the baseball team: “The Rockskippers scattered the field in their blue-and-whites while they stretched and spat and scratched.” This book is heart-warming and charming and one you and your kids won’t want to miss. It is due to be released Tuesday, February 28th - the day after this episode is out so tomorrow - head over to your favorite bookstore and grab yourself a copy. So if your middle grade girls - and guys! - are looking for a novel with a spunky female lead, they will really like Gertie’s Leap to Greatness , Frazzled, and A Rambler Steals Home. Q & A Our last segment of the show is Question & Answer time.   Question: After our last episode about March Book Madness was released, I posted a picture on Twitter featuring last year’s tournament bracket from my class to give an example of what a starting bracket could look like. And one of our followers, Eric Carpenter, replied “hope you talk about why only one of these 16 books in this bracket is by a POC. #OwnVoices “   Answer: So - absolutely.  And just so you all can picture what Eric was referring to, I’ll add a photo of that bracket to the shownotes and the website, but here are the list of the 16 books included on that bracket: The One and Only Ivan, The Honest Truth, I Funny, Big Nate, Hatchet, Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood, Home of the Brave, Auggie & Me, The Crossover, The Hunger Games, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Smile, Flying Solo, El Deafo, Wonder, and Sunny Side Up. So - he’s right. The Crossover is the only book on that list from a person of color. So - why is that? I’ll start by describing how those books were chosen and then analyzing why there might be a lack of diversity, and then discuss some ways to change that.     First - how were the 16 books selected? Those 16 titles were nominated and voted on entirely by my students last year. I give them total control over that process, simply asking them to nominate books they’ve read and liked. Their favorites. I think kids having ownership of that is important. If I picked the books, I don’t think they’d be as excited about participating. However, I think there is a way to honor students’ choices while still including a more diverse range of authors and characters that not only reflects the community but our society. More on that a little bit.   Second - why was there a lack of diversity in those choices? Well, I have a few thoughts on that. One might be that the books my students included may reflect the general lack of diversity among the most “popular” middle grade titles. A second thought is that some of the books, like Hatchet and Wonder and Flying Solo and Home of the Brave may have been nominated because my students read them in class as part of the curriculum and book list that my school follows. And only one of them features a non-white main character (Home of the Brave) but that book, while excellent, is still not written by a person of color. Essentially, those books are not featuring enough diversity and not enough stories told by diverse authors. Another piece to that, and probably the largest one - my students are simply not surrounded with enough diverse books written by Native Americans, written by black authors, written by men and women from ethnic, cultural, and religious minority groups. Among many, many other diverse groups. And within my classroom, that is entirely on me. But taking that responsibility means that I have the power to change it.   Alright - if our students and kids aren’t listing diverse books as their favorites, how can that be changed? A couple very quick ideas knowing that this is just the beginning of a much longer conversation: As you stock your classroom library, as you make purchases for the kids in your life, pick more diverse books written by authors writing from their own experience. Over the last few years, as I have committed to having a vibrant classroom library, my focus needs to shift from just getting any books to being more aware of who is represented in that library. And making better choices. One good place to start is weneeddiversebooks.org and by following the Twitter hashtag #OwnVoices  Scholastic also has a We Need Diverse Books catalog that’s a good resource, too. Don’t just stick those books in your library - read them aloud, book talk them, and build that excitement. If you are excited about a book, the kids will often latch onto it, too. Reexamine those books that are in your curriculum. Like a lot of other districts, my school is thankfully moving away from the one-book-fits-all approach which leaves more space for student choice and for teachers to select more diverse books. Be an advocate for that in your schools. And parents - please speak up, too! Finally - bring this conversation to your students and your children. I plan on sharing Eric’s tweet with my class and asking them to think about it. And in considering March Book Madness, perhaps instead of simply asking students to nominate favorite books, I could have framed the tournament a little differently and asked them to nominate favorite books that represent the diversity of our community and society. So you are still having the books be their choice, but guiding them to be more aware. Also, I read this fabulous blog post last year on Lee & Low Books where a teacher had her students pull every book from her classroom library off the shelves and work in groups to analyze the diversity in the books they had available. It was a powerful exercise - both for that teacher and her students. So I’ll link to that in the show notes so you can check it out yourself.   Now, I acknowledge that we are really just scratching the surface of this topic and we will be chatting a lot more about it on future episodes. And I’d like to get your input and ideas about that. What do you see as the challenges to getting your students to read more diversely? And what concrete things can we do as teachers and librarians and parents to help kids develop deeper connections to more diverse books?   Closing   Okay - that wraps our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they’ll love or an idea about a topic we need to cover, I want to hear from you. Please email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get find a transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, if you are finding some value in them, I’d love it if you left a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you in two weeks!  Bye! Links: http://weneeddiversebooks.org   http://blog.leeandlow.com/2016/07/07/part-1-having-students-analyze-our-classroom-library-to-see-how-diverse-it-is/   http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogs/scholastic-parents-raise-reader/special-edition-weneeddiversebooks-scholastic-reading-club  

Venkatesh is a new contributor to Apache NiFI and during his talk at the Hadoop Summit next week, he takes a light-hearted look at his journey of how to become a contributor to an Apache Project. Venkatesh is one of the Community Choice winners, so congratulation are in order and we are certain you will like this interview! Enjoy, and we looking forward to seeing you at the Hadoop Summit in Dublin next week! 00:00 Recent events Easter Break Big Data Analytics Big Telco workshops/meetings and sessions stuff Domain Knowledge is important 05:40 Main Topic Interview with Venkatesh Sellappa 33:50 Questions from our Listeners: No questions this time but information on our activities during the upcoming Hadoop Summit. 37:18 End Please use the Contact Form on this blog or our twitter feed to send us your questions, or to suggest future episode topics you would like us to cover.

Venkatesh is a new contributor to Apache NiFI and during his talk at the Hadoop Summit next week, he takes a light-hearted look at his journey of how to become a contributor to an Apache Project. Venkatesh is one of the Community Choice winners, so congratulation are in order and we are certain you will like this interview! Enjoy, and we looking forward to seeing you at the Hadoop Summit in Dublin next week! 00:00 Recent events Easter Break Big Data Analytics Big Telco workshops/meetings and sessions stuff Domain Knowledge is important 05:40 Main Topic Interview with Venkatesh Sellappa 33:50 Questions from our Listeners: No questions this time but information on our activities during the upcoming Hadoop Summit. 37:18 End Please use the Contact Form on this blog or our twitter feed to send us your questions, or to suggest future episode topics you would like us to cover.

In this episode we'll cover some an introduction to NiFi complete with an interview with Joe Witt, Senior Director of Engineering at Hortonworks who explains exactly where NiFi came from and how it fits into your Big Data plans. 00:00 Recent events The usual "Start of the Year" meetings and events Using Apache NiFi as a self documenting deployment system We are now available on iTunes 04:50 Main Topic Interview with Joe Witt, one of the creators of Apache NiFi and currently Director of Engineering for HDF at Hortonworks. 22:40 Questions from our Listeners: Is NiFi really as easy to use as it looks? Is NiFi a part of Hadoop now? >How do I get started with NiFi? Is NiFi an ETL tool? 30:45 End Please use the Contact Form on this blog or our twitter feed to send us your questions, or to suggest future episode topics you would like us to cover.

In this episode we'll cover some an introduction to NiFi complete with an interview with Joe Witt, Senior Director of Engineering at Hortonworks who explains exactly where NiFi came from and how it fits into your Big Data plans. 00:00 Recent events The usual "Start of the Year" meetings and events Using Apache NiFi as a self documenting deployment system We are now available on iTunes 04:50 Main Topic Interview with Joe Witt, one of the creators of Apache NiFi and currently Director of Engineering for HDF at Hortonworks. 22:40 Questions from our Listeners: Is NiFi really as easy to use as it looks? Is NiFi a part of Hadoop now? >How do I get started with NiFi? Is NiFi an ETL tool? 30:45 End Please use the Contact Form on this blog or our twitter feed to send us your questions, or to suggest future episode topics you would like us to cover.

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