The Bookish State is a podcast that aims to promote middle grade literature through state awards. Every month there are 3 podcast episodes featuring a book on a state award list.
The first episode of the month is an introduction of the book with educator Melissa Thom and author Grace Lin.
The second episode of the month is Melissa showing how educators can use the book in the classroom.
The third episode of the month is a LIVE 15 minute webinar with the author of the book where teachers and students can attend and submit questions!
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Teacher Librarian Melissa Thom
Melissa Thom, MA, (she/her) is a teacher librarian at Bristow Middle School in West Hartford, CT. She earned her bachelor’s in elementary education from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, a master’s in elementary education from Northern Arizona University and a master’s in educational psychology/gifted and talented education from the University of Connecticut. She spent 12 years teaching grades four to six as a classroom teacher, and in 2015 she earned her library media specialist certification from the ARCLMS program. She is a past president of the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL) and was a 2019 AASL Social Media Superstar Reader Leader finalist. She has been honored by CASL for the Follett Creativity Award in 2018 and the Carlton W.H. Erickson Award in 2020, and the Irene Kwidzinski Service Award in 2024. She was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Professional Award by the University of Connecticut’s NEAG School of Education Alumni Board, and was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2022. Her publications include an article in the School Library Journal about Makerspace and NGSS (Next Generation Science standards), as well as articles in the October 2019 and May 2023 issues of School Library Connection entitled, Create a Culture of Reading and Finding Joy and Making Connections Through Podcasting. Additionally, Melissa has hosted multiple webinars on topics such as Developing Inclusive Collections, Making the Most of Your Digital Collection, and Building a Culture of Reading, as well as moderated author and panel discussions for School Library Journal and, Bloomsburg Publishing, and her Joyful Learning Podcast.
Find Melissa on Instagram and BlueSky @MsThomBookitis and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/melissathomjoyfullearning, or visit her website at http://melissathom.com.
Author/illustrator Grace Lin
Grace Lin (she/her) is an award-winning and NY Times bestselling author/illustrator of picturebooks, early readers and middle grade novels. As a child, she was the only Asian girl (except for her sisters) going to her elementary school in Upstate NY. That experience, good and bad, has influenced her books—including her Newbery Honor WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, her Geisel Honor LING & TING, her National Book Finalist WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER and her Caldecott Honor A BIG MOONCAKE FOR LITTLE STAR.
But, it also causes Grace to persevere for diversity as an occasional New England Public Radio commentator and when she gave her TEDx talk “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as her PBSNewHour video essay “What to do when you realize classic books from your childhood are racist?.”
In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House and Grace, herself, was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. In 2022, Grace was awarded the Children’s Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association. In 2025, Grace received an honorary doctorate degree from her alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design and exhibited a career retrospective of her work “The Art of Grace Lin: Meeting a Friend in an Unexpected Place” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picturebook Art. Grace is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with her husband, daughter and a fluctuating amount of chickens.
Find out more at www.gracelin.com
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