399: Neurodiversity, Family Dynamics, and Cooking: Adventures in Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction - Interview with Gillian McDunn

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Gillian McDunn</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gillian is the author of the middle-grade novels</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Caterpillar Summer</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">and</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The Queen Bee and Me</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">,</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">These Unlucky Stars</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">published by Bloomsbury Children's Books.</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Caterpillar Summer</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">was selected for the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, and landed on Kirkus Reviews and Parents magazine Best Books of the Year lists. Her favorite thing is spending time with her family. She also loves traveling, board games, and learning about the world we live in.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ll be talking about <em>Honestly Elliott,</em> a middle grade novel about a big-hearted boy trying to find the way to his best self.</span></p> <p> </p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this epis</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">od</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">e Gillian McDunn and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">How she created a dynamic depiction of neurodiversity in a novel for middle grade readers.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">What children can learn from cooking and how it applies to other life skills.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Why middle school is an intense time for learning about adult dynamics.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, her #1 tip for writers.</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more info and show notes: <a href="https://diymf