Kevin Carroll, author of A Kids Book About Belonging and Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, discusses role models, writing books, and pink elephant chocolates with Ana of AMC Princess Ana.
Kevin Carroll, author of A Kids Book About Belonging and Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, discusses role models, writing books, and pink elephant chocolates with Ana of AMC Princess Ana.
View interview on YouTube (view video)
*Want to be on a future episode of A Kids Book About: The Podcast? Or… I wonder if any of you would be interested in interviewing one of our authors? Write to us or record a message and email us at listen@akidsco.com.
A Kids Book About: The Podcast
S2 EP07, Ana Asks About Belonging
[INTRODUCTION]
Matthew: Welcome to A Kids Book About: The Podcast! I’m Matthew. I’m a teacher, a librarian, and I’m your host.
It is such a pleasure to drop in on the conversations big and small you’re having about your world. I love hearing you display your knowledge and also your curiosity.
So today I’m bringing you a conversation between a kid, a really awesome kid, and an author, one of my favorite authors. Ana, aka AMC Princess Ana, asks about belonging with A Kids Book About Belonging author Kevin Carroll.
Ana asks about Black history and writing books, but mostly this conversation is just a terrific example of what it looks and sounds like to belong in the same space as one another. Lots of giggles. Lots of inquisitive questions. It’s clear Ana and Kevin really enjoyed one another’s company.
This conversation originally happened over Instagram, so they ask one another about objects appear behind one another, but Ana and Kevin each do a really great job describing what they hold up to share. I’ll link to the original video in the show notes if you’d like to check it out later.
Let’s get into it! Here’s Kevin, who starts off by asking about Ana’s voiceover lessons.
[A KID ASKS ABOUT]
Kevin: You're learning voiceover stuff.
Ana: Yeah!
Kevin: That's very cool.
Ana: So, uh, I'm working with, I'm working with a coach called Michael Ornstein and that's who I'm doing my voice lessons.
Kevin: That's awesome. You got good eyebrows there. I see that eyebrow work you doing there. We have
Ana: Somebody made a GIF of me and like I kept doing the eyebrow wiggle. And then on the bottom of the screen, it said AMC Princess Ana.
Kevin: I love that. That's good. Well, it's lovely to meet you, Ana. It's great to meet you.
Ana: Good to meet you too. I have a few questions for you.
Kevin: Okay. I'm ready.
Ana: It's Black history month. What does that mean to you?
Kevin: Black history month means celebrations to me.
It's an amazing opportunity to celebrate all the amazing accomplishments, um, that black people have done over all the generations, but even more. So what. It's a chance for people to be educated about all the accomplishments and all the amazing gifts and talents that are in that community. So I'm, I'm always excited about Black history month.
Even more so to get an opportunity to talk about it. So, yeah, so it's, it's about celebration for me, Black history month.
Ana: When you were my age, did you have any role models?
Kevin: So you're what five, I think. Right? So I, when I was five, I think my role model had been my great grandmother, Nana Carol. That's what we called her.
She taught me lots of lessons and she wasn't. I thought sometimes those lessons were really hard. They weren't fun to learn cause she made me sit still before I could go out and play.
So I didn't always like that. But what I discovered later is she was teaching me. Um, mindfulness and I didn't know she was teaching me that when I was your age, but it's now something that I actively practice. So I really appreciate that about her. So she was one of my role models. My Nana Carol.
Ana: How old were you when you wrote your first book?
Kevin: How old was I? When I wrote my first book, I was, oh man, let me see. That's 2005. I was 47. Hi, I did the math. I figured it out because my first book was published in 2004, 2005. So that made me around 47 years old. That's when I did my first book and I've done four total now, but I did my first book when I was 47.
So there's always time. You don't have to do it when you're really young. And I had a lot to say, but I did it. I wasn't ready to share it yet. So I think I had to wait a little bit to, uh, decide to write that book. But my best friend's mom actually was the one who, who perked me to write the book. She kept saying, “You need to write a book. You need to write a book.”
And I said, “Who would read my book?” And she said, “There's another you out there that needs to know it's possible.” So I wrote the book for someone else. I didn't write it for me
Ana: Because you wrote it! You know what the words are!
Kevin: I know! I know, right? I know that's so true.
Ana: What book was it?
Kevin: Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. Here,I'll show you. So this is my first book.
Ana: Hm.
Kevin: Yeah. And so it's got even a ball texture on it, on the cover. That's actual kickball material there. And that book has been in print for 15 years now.
Ana: What was there any like colors, like color in the pictures?
Kevin: Oh yeah, there is. Look, wait! There's pages that actually pull out and look at this.
Ana: Oh, wow.
Kevin: So I actually, so it's got all these fun, little surprises inside it, different textured paper. So you get to discover lots of things. When I, when I, um, did this book, that was partly what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a little book that made you linger and you had to turn every page really slowly to discover something.
Ana: Hmm. Cool. Why did you decide to start writing books?
Kevin: So I've always loved books. And let me see, do I, I'm going to show you my faith, you know, Where The Wild Things Are? Have you seen that book yet?
Ana: I have it.
Kevin: You have it? That was my first. That was my favorite book. When I was a kid. You have that book. That was my favorite book.
So that's what inspired me to write books because I've always loved books. Since I read that book when I was young,
Ana: Is that big red ball right there, that has the question mark and the exclamation point, not some kind of place.
Kevin: Yes it is. It's like, it's a kickball that one over there. And then do you see the big book behind me there?
The belonging book? Yeah, that's a giant one, right? So it's a big, giant version of my book.
Ana: Book of all the words of tells.
Kevin: Exactly.
Ana: What else do you enjoy doing besides writing books?
Kevin: What else do I enjoy doing? Besides writing books?
Matthew: We’ll be back with Ana and Kevin and learn all about the things they like to do and what connections they make in sharing what things they like to do! All of that is coming up right after this quick break.
[BREAK]
Matthew: Welcome back to A Kids Book About: The Podcast. On today’s episode, Ana of AMC Princess Ana is interviewing Kevin, author of A Kids Book About Belonging.
Here’s Kevin.
Kevin: What else do I enjoy doing besides writing books?
I actually enjoy meeting people. I get to do lots of speaking events and so I get to meet lots of different people. And so I enjoy doing that. I like to work out. I like to do that. I also like to eat chocolate.
Ana: I love chocolate. I've ate so much chocolate of all the different candies I even got… my Nan got me some chocolate for my stocking too. So it could go in there.
Kevin: Do you have a favorite chocolate that you like? Which one?
Ana: The one of them have like pink elephants on that, uh, box. And then when you pull the chocolate out and has this like wonderful, amazing colors of sprinkles and frosting that are attached to it. And it's really good.
Kevin: Good. What's the name of that chocolate?
Ana: Pink elephant!
Kevin: Oh, it's called pink elephant. Really?
Yeah, that's awesome. I liked that. Yeah. So we're both chocolate fans. I like that. See, we've got a lot of things that we enjoy together. You and I.
Ana: I also want my kitchen.
Kevin: Oh, wow. I heard about you in that kitchen. I heard.
Ana: Guess what? I would like to show you something from my kitchen that's really cool.
Kevin: Okay. What is that?
What is that?
Ana: Listen, this is not real, but it looks real, doesn't it?
Kevin: Yes.
Ana: This is a piece of play organic kale.
Kevin: Is it really?
Ana: Yeah.
Kevin: So I shouldn't eat that then if you offer that to me.
Ana: No.
Kevin: Okay. Have you eaten kale?
Ana: Yeah.
Kevin: And, uh, you like it? I like kale, also.
Ana: I like to see your question mark exclamation mark ball.
Kevin: Oh, you want to see it?
And I have it on my hat to hang out. Yeah, it's my symbol. It's called an interrobang. It's an actual grammatical symbol. It's a punctuation mark, but it means the question mark is curiosity. And the exclamation mark is the bang energy. So that's what I try to be curious and energy.
Ana: Look at that huge ball behind you!
Kevin: I know! That's a painting.
A friend of mine did that painting. Do you see the big book behind me? Yeah. So that's my belonging book. So look how you can tell how big it is because you see me standing next to it now. And this is the actual size of the real book, right? So you can tell the difference.
Ana: Is there any words in that other one?
Kevin: No, it's just a mock up. I actually had the whole book printed and I gave it to a couple of friends kids as a gift. So that one's just the cover.
Ana: What's your favorite color?
Kevin: My favorite color. Sometimes it's red, sometimes it's blue, but most times. I like, I don't know, like white, which is really not like a typical color, but red and blue and white, but not necessarily red, white and blue.
Yes. But I'll, I'll always wear or have something around me that is red because red is the energy color. What's your favorite color?
Ana: Pink, blue, and purple.
Kevin: Oh, why?
Ana: Because those are comforting and familiar, like Google says.
Kevin: Google says…
Ana: Yeah, we have Google. So whenever you say, Hey, you have to say Google after that.
Kevin: Hey, Google. Right? And then that's so pink. What were the colors again? Pink.
Ana: Purple.
Kevin: I found a list on the website, new dia.com.
That's so good.
Ana: I guess she heard you!
Kevin: She must've heard me. That's my energy. Huh? I set her off of that's funny. Well, it was wonderful to talk to you.
Ana: Google is so weird! Hey Google has to stop interrupting you.
Kevin: I know. Right? Well, thank you so much for the conversation. I really appreciate it.
Ana: You're welcome.
Kevin: It was wonderful to meet. I won't eat your kale even though it's organic. Take good care.
Ana: Take good care.
Kevin: Bye. Be well.
[CLOSING]
Matthew: Thank you to Ana and Kevin for this conversation about belonging, Black history, and making connections.
Ana has a nonprofit called Helping AMC Families. AMC stands for Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. Learn more by visiting amcprincessana.com.
Kevin Carroll is the author of A Kids Book About Belonging, which you can find at akidsco.com.
Want to be on a future episode of A Kids Book About: The Podcast? Or… I wonder if any of you would be interested in interviewing one of our authors? Write to us or record a message and email us at listen@akidsco.com.
A Kids Book About: the Podcast is written, edited, and produced by me, Matthew Winner, with help from Chad Michael Snavely and the team at Sound On Studios. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show was brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever podcasts are found and check out other podcasts made for kids just like you by visiting akidsco.com.
Join us next week for a conversation about emotions, with Cyla and A Kids Book About Emotions author Nakita Simpson.