Three years strong, y’all! We’re back with our favorite tradition: The Reading Culture Yearbook.

As we close out 2025, we’ve gathered superlatives and stories that celebrate some of the memorable authors who joined us on the show this year.

This year’s edition features awards such as “Most Revolutionary,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Scariest Story,” and, of course, “Best Reading Advice.”

I’m also saying a brief farewell as we go on hiatus for the winter. But don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2026 with exciting things on the horizon!

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Connect with Jordan and The Reading Culture @thereadingculturepod and subscribe to our newsletter at thereadingculturepod.com/newsletter.

Show Chapters
Chapter 1: Most Revolutionary

Chapter 2: Most Gracious

Chapter 3: Best Fan-Girl-Turned-Author

Chapter 4: Best Reminder of History Repeated

Chapter 5: Most Likely to Pay Homage

Chapter 6: Grandma’s Hands

Chapter 7: Best Reading Advice for Kids

Chapter 8: Scariest Story Award

Chapters 9 & 10: Best Advice for Dealing with Loss

Chapter 11: Most Uplifting

Chapter 12: Most Defiant

Chapter 13: Meet Your (S)Heroes Award

Chapter 14: “Poet and You Didn’t Know It” Award

Chapter 15: Best Friend Advice

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Home. It’s something we spend our whole lives building and rebuilding. Sometimes it’s made of walls and windows. Others, it’s made of words.

Sophie Blackall builds hers through imagination and community. The two-time Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator, known for works such as Hello Lighthouse, If You Come to Earth, and Finding Winnie, has spent her life transforming that search into stories.

In this episode, No Wasted Sunshine: Sophie Blackall on the Meaning of Home, Sophie shares her nomadic childhood, her fixation on the idea of home, and why she never feels settled. She also discusses the books she reaches for to feel safe. We also talk about Milkwood—the magical farm retreat she created for the children’s book community to cook, commune, and collaborate.

Settle in for a wide-ranging conversation that explores the meaning we construct within and around our lives.

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For her reading challenge, Home, Sophie has curated a collection of books that explore how we build and replace the places that hold us.

Peruse selected titles and Sophie’s complete reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/sophie-blackall

This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Kimberly Thompson, the library media specialist at East Side Middle School in Bullock County, Kentucky. She tells us all about the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards and how they’re getting everyone in her school reading, including the adults!

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Where Is Home?

Chapter 2: Wasted Sunshine

Chapter 3: A Perfect Picture Book

Chapter 4: Not Just a Farmhouse

Chapter 5: Under Milk Wood

Chapter 6: Paper Houses

Chapter 7: So Now What?

Chapter 8: Reading Challenge

Chapter 9: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Sophie Blackall
• Sophie Blackall website
• Milkwood Farm
• How to Not Waste Your Live (The Marginalian)
• Roxaboxen
• Under Milk Wood
• A creative retreat for the children’s book community
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Mychal Threets grew up among the stacks and, from a young age, experienced the magic and shelter of the library. Today, he is a librarian, a social media sensation, a mental health advocate, and the new host of the beloved show Reading Rainbow.

In this episode, we take a trip to St. Louis, where my conversation with Mychal was recorded live on stage at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Conference. You’ll hear all about how Mychal is stepping into his own rainbow-colored shoes while honoring LeVar Burton’s legacy, how he turned pain into purpose, and the power of “library joy.” And wow, the joy among the librarians in that convention hall, including two standing ovations for Mychal, was palpable.

This week, in place of a featured librarian, we hear a round of Q&A with Mychal and some of those librarians in the audience.

Settle in for a conversation full of Mychal’s signature warmth, heart, and honesty.

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Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Mychal Threets Lays Out His Life in Books
• Mychal Threets Instagram
• Mychal Threets TikTok
• Reading Rainbow on YouTube
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey
  
  

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey