Celebrating Literacy, Representation, and Wildlife

Jed Doherty welcomes listeners to two conversations about books and literacy. First, Mia Wenjen celebrates the third annual Newton Children’s Book Festival, taking place November 15 at the American Legion Nonantum Post 440. Its accessible venue will welcome 100 authors and illustrators, with young adult books included for the first time. After growing from 1,000 attendees in its first year, the festival offers more room, parking, and food options. Wenjen describes her goal of bringing children face-to-face with authors and showcasing creators from diverse backgrounds and genres. She also discusses her picture book Barbed Wire Between Us, a story connecting Japanese American incarceration during World War II with the experiences of immigrants. Wenjen explains how she shaped it as a reversal poem: the words are repeated in reverse order, while punctuation shifts the meaning. Illustrator Violeta Encarnacion’s sepia and turquoise palettes help distinguish the book’s past and present. In the second conversation, Varsha Bajaj talks about her middle-grade novel Roar. Rohan, a 12-year-old boy from Houston, travels to northern India to visit his grandfather at a tiger sanctuary. The story alternates between Rohan’s perspective and Arya, a tigress protecting her cubs. Bajaj says visiting a sanctuary transformed her understanding of the story and inspired her to give the tiger a voice. The conversation explores identity and belonging, as Rohan feels both an insider and outsider in a country connected to his heritage. Bajaj highlights the book’s conservation themes and how it can spark family discussions about wildlife, friendship, and finding one’s passion.