Front Porch Book Club Podcast
Grab your book and iced tea and join the Front Porch Book Club, your no-commitment, casual, and eclectic podcast about books. We examine the relationship between characters, the worlds they live in, and what that means to us.
Latest Episode
137: M.W. and the Monarch
Usually, we feature our children’s book in December, but this year we thought we’d do it in November to give friends of children ample time to buy the book for the holiday. This year's book is M.W. AND THE MONARCH written and illustrated by Lauren Scheib and...
137: M.W. and the Monarch
Usually, we feature our children’s book in December, but this year we thought we’d do it in November to give friends of children ample time to buy the book for the holiday. This year's book is M.W. AND THE MONARCH written and illustrated by Lauren Scheib and Christina Lambert Clarke.
Linda met Lauren as a fellow volunteer and neighbor for the American Red Cross. Linny was excited to hear that Lauren wrote a children’s book and also a play. When Lauren shared a copy of M.W. AND THE MONARCH with Linny, we knew we had to feature it as our children’s book.
In this book, we meet M.W. who is being grown from a seed in a greenhouse along with a lot of other seeds. As they are watered and cared for, the seeds grow into beautiful colorful plants, except M.W. And those beautiful plants are a little mean to M.W. Soon, all the plants are being purchased and taken to new homes, except M.W. Finally, a little girl and her father buy M.W. and the little girl claims M.W. will be the most important plant in their garden. M.W. is planted and then a curious visitor arrives.
Linny notes there are a lot of different themes in the book. That is really great, especially since children love reading books over and over. She liked that the adults nurtured the seeds and plants. Linny says there are a lot of themes to chat with a child about.
Nancy points out that the last page of the book has a list of questions to talk with co-readers about. Linny suggests adults could talk with children about growth and diversity, too. Also, what you might say to a bully who is calling you names. Nancy suggests the book is ripe for talking about how everyone has their own set of attributes: not better, not worse, just different.
Linny shares her recent red-carpet event in Washington, D.C. for her latest movie premiere for the movie WHEN FATAL ATTRACTION HITS HOME. Nancy talks about her experience co-chairing the Humanities Nebraska Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities.
WHEN FATAL ATTRACTION HITS HOME: Linny’s recent movie
Nebraska Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities
About Front Porch Book Club
I honestly was blown away by the deep dive Nancy and Linny did into SPARKS LIKE STARS and really appreciated the personal perspectives they brought.
Nadia Hashimi, Author
Every month the Front Porch Book Club features two episodes on our selected book. In the first episode Linda and Nancy introduce the book and discuss their thoughts. In the second episode, Linda and Nancy are joined by the author or an expert to delve deeper into the book. Our book selections are eclectic: fiction, autobiography, history, memoir, investigative journalism, and classics. They are books that give us insights into how we may be more intentional, creative, and loving.
Recent Episodes
137: M.W. and the Monarch
Usually, we feature our children’s book in December, but this year we thought we’d do it in November to give friends of children ample time to buy the book for the holiday. This year's book is M.W. AND THE MONARCH written and illustrated by Lauren Scheib and...
136: Tiger’s Mouth
This episode we are talking about the novel, TIGER’S MOUTH written by Lucy Tan. This book is coming out on November 17, 2026, so this is an early preview. TIGER'S MOUTH is set in contemporary New York City. We meet three young adults, each with their own ambitions...
135: Buckeye
Grab your iced tea and settle in on the front porch with us as we delve into BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan, a tale that intertwines the lives of characters in a small Ohio town against the backdrop of post-World War II America. At its core, BUCKEYE explores the consequences...
134: Kayla Rae Whitaker
Today we interview Kayla Rae Whitaker about her new novel, RETURNS AND EXCHANGES. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a family business, this book is for you! We learn about Kayla’s inspiration to write RETURNS AND EXCHANGES and get her perspective on the...
Meet The Hosts
Growing up, Nancy always had her nose in a book. She never remembers not loving to read books. Linda, on the other hand, hated libraries and spent her childhood trying to lure Nancy away from books into some other activity that she thought would be way more fun. That’s right – we’re sisters. Nancy was more of an introvert and Linda was more of an extrovert. But, somewhere along the way, Linda started loving books and Nancy started loving talking about books. Nancy is a recovering academic in Nebraska who writes and Linda is a licensed counselor in Pennsylvania.