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Josh Funk writes silly stories such as the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series (including the five sequels: The Case of the Stinky Stench, Mission Defrostable, Short & Sweet, The Great Caper Caper, Attack of the Scones, and Whodonut? A Holiday Mystery), the How to Code with Pearl and Pascal series (including How to Code a Sandcastle and How to Code a Rollercoaster), Dear Unicorn, Dear Dragon, My Pet Feet, the It's Not a Fairy Tale series (including It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk, It's Not Hansel and Gretel, It's Not Little Red Riding Hood, and It's Not the Three Little Pigs), the A Story of Patience & Fortitude series in conjunction with the New York Public Library (including Lost in the Library and Where Is Our Library?), Albie Newton, Pirasaurs!, A Night at the Bookstore: A Barnsie & Noble Adventure, and more coming soon!
Josh grew up in New England and studied Computer Science in school. Today, he still lives in New England and when not writing Java code or Python scripts, he drinks Java coffee and writes manuscripts.
Since the fall of 2015, Josh has presented (or virtually presented) at over 800 schools, classrooms, and libraries and over 300 bookshops, book festivals, and conferences.
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Hayley Rocco is an award-winning author of several books, including How to Send a Hug, her first collaboration with her husband, Caldecott Honoree John Rocco. Before dedicating herself to writing for children full-time, Hayley worked as a publicist at several major publishers. An ambassador for Wild Tomorrow, a nonprofit focused on conservation and re-wilding South Africa, Hayley travels the world armed with a pen, a journal, and her camera, discovering stories of wild things and wild places.
Hayley Rocco, along with her husband, John Rocco, co-founded Children's Book Creators for Conservation (CBCC)—a collective group of children's book authors and illustrators who support conservation efforts with the mission to partner with organizations like Wild Tomorrow to amplify the important work in saving wildlife and wild places through the books they create.
Recently, Hayley and John were made official ambassadors for Wild Tomorrow. To learn more about their passion for animal photography, you can follow their journey on Instagram @photoanimalism.
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Orlando Mendiola is a Mexican-American author from San Antonio, Texas. He is a graduate of the New School and the proud owner of three Chihuahuas: Rusty, Ranger, and the famous Pearl.
He spent his childhood making tamales with his grandma and family every Christmas. He hopes to inherit his family’s secret tamale recipe one day.
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Orlando Mendiola es un autor mexicano-estadounidense de San Antonio, Texas. Se graduó de la New School y es el orgulloso dueño de tres chihuahuas: Rusty, Ranger y la famosa Pearl.
Pasó su infancia haciendo tamales con su abuela y su familia cada Navidad. Espera heredar algún día la receta secreta de tamales de su familia.
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Jule Wellerdiek is a freelance author and illustrator. She spends most of her time making up stories and turning them into pictures - preferably with lots of odd characters and detail.
As a kid, she aspired to be like her idol, Pippi Longstocking. Later on, she wanted to be like Astrid Lindgren, who had made up all the great role models of my childhood. So she started writing books and drawing pictures – long before she even knew this could be a profession.
In 2021, Jule graduated from Münster School of Design. Her final project, a picture book titled „Holgers Haus" ("Holger's House"), was published by Knesebeck Verlag. It is the first of several books she has written and illustrated.
"Holgers Haus" explores the concept of home. For Jule, home is a place where she can peacefully draw and work on her stories. This could technically be anywhere in the world; currently, it's in her small studio in Bochum, Germany, where she resides.
In October 2024, Jule's 'Worm's Lost & Found' made its English market debut, published by NorthSouth Books, marking her first English-language publication—an exciting milestone for her!
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Melissa Cristina Márquez is a marine science education expert based in Australia. Originally from Puerto Rico and raised in Mexico, she’s dedicated over a decade to advancing marine science education and communication.
Recognized as one of Sachamama’s “Los 100 Latinos Más Comprometidos con la Acción Climática” in 2021, a finalist for Forbes 30 Under 30: Science in 2020, and listed among InStyle’s 2021 “50 Badass Women,” she is known as "the most enthusiastic shark scientist" people ever meet. Her work has been featured in Science, NPR, Vogue, Allure, InStyle, GQ, Seeker, Popular Science, and showcased on Disney+, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Acciona, and Good Morning America. Each opportunity to share her story and insights is a chance to inspire others to pursue their passions, regardless of the barriers they may face. Representation isn't just about visibility—it's about empowerment and creating a more inclusive world for all.
Growing up, she never saw any women shark scientists, and often questioned if her dream job was even attainable. It's a belief she holds close to her heart: representation matters. That's why her first TEDx talk, "Sharks and Female Scientists: More Alike Than You Think," was so important to her. In it, she shed light on the reality of being a shark scientist and called out the media for failing to showcase diverse perspectives in the field. The response was overwhelming. Thousands of views flooded in within the first weeks alone. It was a humbling experience that reinforced the importance of speaking up and advocating for greater diversity and inclusion in science. Since then, she has had the privilege of engaging at global forums like the United Nations, National Academy of Science, Oxford, University of Western Australia Global Leader Experience, and the National Science Policy Symposium.
Currently, when not filming for TV shows at sea, she leads diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in marine science, challenging norms through her publications and advisory roles with Women in Ocean Science, Beneath The Waves, Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), and PangeaSeed.
Holding a Master of Science in Marine Biology from Victoria University of Wellington, she is also an author of children's books including the Wild Survival series (Scholastic) and Mother of Sharks (Madre de los Tiburones), with her latest, Sea of Constellations (Océano de constelaciones), released in May 2024 by Penguin Random House.
Meet your guest
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Priscilla Delgado Hermiller is a librarian and former educator with over 15 years of experience. She is a digital content librarian with OverDrive, a digital library platform that provides ebooks, audiobooks and other digital resources to schools, universities, and public libraries worldwide.
She holds a bachelor's degree in Bilingual Education from Texas State University, a Master's in Information Studies from The University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD in Literacy from St. John's University.
A native of San Marcos, Texas, she has served on reading list and book award committees at local, state, and national levels. Priscilla also attended the Texas Library Association's prestigious TALL Texans leadership program.
Priscilla enjoys all kinds of literature, with biographies and historical fiction as her favorite genres. Priscilla is a huge Elvis fan and is the host of the Spotlight on Elvis segment on The Mop Tops and the King, an independent, hour-long radio show heard across the world.
When she's not working or reading, Priscilla enjoys spending time with her family, journaling, collecting stickers for her Happy Planner, and watching Friends reruns.
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Jennifer Kerr is a Literacy Leader for the Northside Independent School District and a certified Reading Specialist (K-12). She has been in education for 19 years and has taught in a variety of title and non-title schools.
Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership
at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
As a reading specialist, she supports students with dyslexia and at-risk students who struggle with reading and writing. She has designed and delivered ongoing professional development sessions on literacy at the campus and district levels in addition to presenting for the Education Service Center, Region 20.
She recently entered the world of being a dance mom with her daughters. Costumes, makeup, and glitter—oh my! She also coaches the Sapphires dance team at her campus. In her spare time, she has become a party planner, creating magical spaces filled with fun and enchantment for her
family and loved ones. It brings her so much joy to see others excited and happy on their special day.
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Linda Denness-Arvizu is a Reading Specialist in Northside Independent School District at Glenoaks Elementary in San Antonio, Texas. In her thirty-six years as an educator, as a general education and special education teacher, she has seen the importance literacy plays in the lives of children.
Helping children gain literacy skills to become adults who apply their literacy skills in daily life has been the focus of her career. Linda believes becoming literate is the right of every child.
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Irma Sanchez is a Bilingual Interventionist and Dyslexia Instruction Provider in the Pflugerville Independent School District. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Our Lady of the Lake University and her Master’s in Literacy from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
With 26 years of experience in education, Irma has worked as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and dyslexia interventionist.
She’s trained in several evidence-based programs, including Esperanza, Reading by Design, REWARDS, Boost and Blitz, Reading Readiness, IMSE Orton-Gillingham Comprehensive, and RAVE-O.
She’s currently working toward becoming a Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist through a program accredited by the International Dyslexia Association.
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Irma is a proud wife and mom of two daughters. When she’s not teaching or studying, you can find her trying out new recipes in the kitchen or relaxing with a good book in her favorite reading nook.