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🎧 The Reader's Heart Podcast | Guest: Natalie Lloyd

A promotional graphic for 'The Reader’s Heart' podcast, Season 2, Episode 004, featuring guest Allie Millington. The background has a textured design with sunburst-like rays in gray and beige tones. The title 'The Reader’s Heart' is displayed in a whimsical handwritten-style font, with 'with Jennifer Lagarde' written in a delicate cursive font below it. In the lower-left portion, a circular frame contains a photograph of Allie Millington, who is smiling and leaning on a vintage typewriter. She is wearing a cream-colored blouse, and the background is a simple, neutral-colored wall. Below this frame, the cover of her book 'Olivetti' is displayed, featuring an illustration of a vintage typewriter adorned with colorful flowers. To the right of the circular frame, an illustrated child in a yellow sweater and black pants leans against the background, eyes closed and hands in their pockets. At the top, a yellow banner contains the text 'Season 2 | Episode 004 Guest: Allie Millington' in a simple sans-serif font.

Confession Time! I didn't really become aware of Natalie Lloyd until Hummingbird came out in . 2022I know! I know! Natalie had already written a half dozen or so incredible books before sharing Olive's story with the world, but somehow, those books just weren't on my radar. It wasn't until John Schu specifically told me that he thought Hummingbird would be a book of my heart (spoiler: he was right!) that I, officially, hopped on board the Natalie Lloyd train. And, y'all... I've never gotten off! Not only is Natalie now one of my favorite writers for young people, but I'm also lucky enough to call her my friend. As she says during out conversation, "we bonded over Dolly [Parton] and middle grade novels," and, y'all... I can hardly think of stronger material with which to stitch our hearts together.


That said, as I was editing this episode, I found myself getting teary throughout. It's not that our conversation was sad - on the contrary! Natalie's joy is infectious. Her big, billowing heart is both mesmerizing AND a contrast to my own heart which, if I'm being really honest, I've felt shrinking lately. I'm not sure I've ever felt quite so anxious, so disillusioned, so panicked (in my adult life) as I do right now. I feel overwhelmed, overstimulated and, to be blunt, just plain over most people. This episode was just the reminder my heart needed of why books and libraries matter, of why connection and community are the antidote to what I've been feeling and of why I started this podcast to begin with. I'm so grateful for Natalie Lloyd, y'all, and for the 30ish minutes we spent chatting. I hope you love the episode as much as I do.


PS: Last year, Natalie was my guest for the Bookelicious MG Book Club. I wrote about the experience in this post, which contains a bunch of reader forward materials related to The Witching Wind! I hope you find them useful.


ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST

Book cover of Olivetti by Allie Millington. The cover features an illustration of a vintage typewriter with intricate detailing. From the typewriter emerges a lush bouquet of vibrant flowers in shades of yellow, red, and orange, with green foliage, set against a dark black background. The title, Olivetti, is prominently displayed in large white serif font. Above the title, a quote from Tom Hanks reads, 'Millington’s writing does us a great favor.' At the top, 'National Bestseller' is written in orange capital letters. Below the title, the tagline reads, 'A boy, a typewriter, and the stories they hold.' The author's name, Allie Millington, is positioned at the bottom in white capital letters.

Natalie Lloyd is the New York Times Bestselling Author of novels for young readers (and the young at heart). 

Her first novel, A Snicker of Magic (2014), was an ALA Notable Book, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a top 10 Kids Indie Next Pick and an NPR, iBooks and Parents Magazine best book of the year for children. The book has been optioned for television by Sony Tristar. Natalie’s other novels include The Key to Extraordinary (Scholastic 2016), The Problim Children series (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen 2017), and Over the Moon (Scholastic 2019). These novels have won accolades from Entertainment Weekly, Junior Library Guild, SIBA, Amazon and Bank Street College of Education, among others. Silverswift, her first Audible Original, was published in 2020. Hummingbird, her seventh (and most personal) novel for kids, was published in August 2022. In January 2023, it was awarded a Schneider Family Honor Award by the American Library Association. Her next novel, The Witching Wind, will be available in Fall 2024.

Natalie writes in the shadows beside a sunny window in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She loves adventuring with her husband, Justin, and their dogs.


EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Note: episode transcripts are generated by AI and are likely imperfect. Still, I hope you find them useful.


RESOURCES & LINKS 

Please enjoy a special discount of 20% off the titles mentioned in this episode (or others of your choice) by visiting Bookelicious and using the code JENNIFERLAGARDE. Note: I do not make any money from these sales, but I am delighted that you get to save some!



Connect with Natalie


MORE ABOUT THE READER’S HEART 

Rooted in the belief that our world needs the magic of children’s literature now more than ever, the Reader’s Heart podcast captures conversations with authors and illustrators about children's literature as a vehicle for empathy and joy in a dark world. I'm so excited about this project and it's my wish that it brings you as much light and hope as it has brought me.


Special thanks to Corinna Luyken for creating the beautiful illustration that will serve as the show's logo. I've always found Corinna's art so moving and she perfectly captured the spirit of what I am trying to do, which is to put warmth and love into the world during a time when so many are working to limit kids' access to the warmth and love inherent in children's literature. (Also, don't forget, you can use the discount above to buy Corinna's books from Bookelicious, too!)


If all goes to plan, episodes will drop on the 1st and the 15th of the month. Once you've had a chance to listen, I hope you will consider leaving The Reader's Heart a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review! Podcast reviews are one of the best ways to support your favorite shows and help others find these conversations.


WHERE TO LISTEN:

 
 
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