Update - Winner Announced! Head Back to School with Lois Brandt!

9/4: Congrats to Angel Gantnier on winning Lois Brandt's giveaway! We'll be in touch soon with more details.

A special thanks to everyone who joined us for our Back-to-School event!

---

Hello, parents, librarians, book fanatics, writers, and readers of all sorts! We're wrapping up our Back-to-School event with an inspiring book about a very important topic: food security. Around the world, millions of children go hungry each year - some of them are living next door to us, in our communities, without us even being aware. We're happy to have Lois Brandt on the blog with us today sharing her book, Maddi's Fridge, which touches on this very topic. Maddi's Fridge follows Sofia and Maddi who are best friends and always keep secrets, until Sofia finds out Maddi's fridge at home is empty - a secret Maddi asks her not to share. Sofia must break Maddi's secret of being hungry and get her some help but worries about breaking her friend's promise. Will Maddi understand when her secret is revealed? Want to know more about Lois and her book, PLUS want a chance to win your own copy? Read on...

Q: Hi, Lois! Thanks so much for joining us at #SeasonsOfKidLit for our Back-to-School event. We’re so excited to have you and hear more about you and your book, Maddi’s Fridge! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

A: If you had told me as a kid that I’d grow up and write a book, I would have said “baloney!” (That was my favorite word.) 

At the beginning of the third grade I could not even read a paragraph. It was towards the end of third grade that I began to read a little bit (thank you Mrs. Anderson!). Once I got comfortable reading, I began falling into books and have all sorts of adventures. 

I’m a children’s writer because the stories I read when I was young (after I started reading) are still my favorite stories.

And… if you are a kid and your parent or guardian is reading this to you – HANG IN THERE! Learning to read is easy for some people but pretty tough for kids like you and me. Keep on trying. If I could learn to read, you can too!

Q: Maddi’s Fridge is such a sweet and heartwarming story! It follows school friends, Maddi and Sofia, who play together and share secrets together. When Sofia visits Maddi’s house, she finds Maddi’s fridge is practically empty. Maddi makes Sofia promise not to tell anyone, so Sofia comes up with clever ways to bring Maddi food to school.

What an important topic for kids!  Can you share more about the story and the inspiration behind Maddi’s Fridge? 

A: Maddi’s Fridge is based on something that happened between me and my best friend,

Liz, when we were about 10 years old. I went to play at Liz’s house one day after school and, just like Sofia, I ran into Liz’s kitchen and swung open her refrigerator door. Liz, just like Maddi, asked me not to tell anyone that her family was out of food.

I often talk to young writers about the stories that stick in our heads. The image of Liz’s empty refrigerator is still in my head as I type these words. Stories that stick in our heads need to be written. 

One day I sat down and wrote the story of Liz’s refrigerator. That story eventually became Maddi’s Fridge. 

Readers, Maddi's Fridge now has a Spanish Edition, too!

Q: What makes Maddi’s Fridge an important read for any home or school library, especially as kids all over are headed back to school? 

A: I think that every book is an important read : ) No matter what the topic, no matter how silly or serious, books open up worlds to young (and not-so-young) readers! 

What has made Maddi’s Fridge stand out is that Maddi’s Fridge is first and foremost a story about friendship. Maddi’s Fridge lets kids with empty refrigerators know that they are not alone and that their friends will love them no matter what. Maddi’s Fridge is also a great way for kids to understand that some of their friends may have empty refrigerators, and that any kid can help fight childhood hunger.  

Q: What can children, parents, and schools do to help those fighting hunger? 

A: Two things. 

1) Support your local foodbank. Ask them what they need and hold a food drive.

2) Share our stories. What was shocking to me when I first started going to schools and service organizations was the huge number of adults who would come up to me and whisper their secret. They would tell me about a time when either as a child they didn’t have enough food or as an adult couldn’t feed their children. Many of these adults had never shared their stories. They felt alone, isolated. 

They are not alone. Up to 20% of children are raised in families struggling to put food on the table. The more we talk about childhood hunger, the more we share our stories, the better equipped we are to come up with solutions. 

Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Lois!

Q: How long did it take you to find a publisher for Maddi’s Fridge? 

A: Maddi’s Fridge had over 40 rejections over several years. One agent told me that there were no hungry kids in the United States and could I set my story in Africa (I had worked in Africa for a while). Big publishers told me that it was a niche story and small publishers told me Maddi’s Fridge was too risky. I did have some editors go to bat for Maddi’s Fridge, but could not get their publisher to agree. No one had written a picture book about childhood hunger before.

That’s where my extreme gratitude towards Flashlight Press comes in. They wrote to me that they “couldn’t stop talking about Maddi’s Fridge” and took a chance on publication. Working with Flashlight Press was a joy and Maddi’s Fridge, in addition to winning numerous awards and honors, is now a mainstay in most libraries and classrooms. 

We're so glad you found Flashlight Press as a home for this book - we absolutely love it!

Q. Bonus question: What happened to your friend Liz?

Just like Sofia, I told my mom about Liz’s empty refrigerator. We helped and the community helped Liz and her family get back on their feet. And Liz helped me in so many ways. One way is that she taught me how to catch grasshoppers : ) Another big thing I learned from Liz was that friends help each other.

Thanks again for joining us, Lois! We enjoyed getting to know you more and hearing all about your book!

Readers, want to know what we thought of Michelle's book? You can find our reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Q: Would you like to leave a treat for our readers?

Yes! Flashlight Press is giving away a copy of my book, Maddi's Fridge, to one lucky reader.

What a sweet treat! Thanks Flashlight Press, and thanks again for joining us, Jason!

Giveaway Instructions: Readers, to enter this giveaway please 1) like and share/RT this post on social media and 2) thank Lois and Flashlight Press for stopping by and for their sweet treat! You'll get an extra entry for each place this is shared so let us know where it was shared, too. Back-to-School are appreciated and welcomed.

Giveaway winners will be drawn and announced on or about 8/30!

Note: Books will be shipped in the US only. Winners must have a US address.

About Lois Brandt:

Years ago, Lois Brandt peeked into her best friend’s refrigerator and found empty shelves and one small carton of milk; the family didn’t have enough money to buy food. Maddi’s Fridge, Lois’s first picture book, is the result of that moment. When she is not working on her own projects, Lois teaches writers of all ages to tell the stories that are close to their hearts. Lois lives near Seattle, Washington, with her husband, assorted kids, two dogs, and a fluffy cat who thinks he's a dog. You can visit Lois at LoisBrandt.com.

To purchase Lois's books on Amazon or to leave a review for them, click here.

---