In today’s episode, former elementary school teacher and current Editorial Director of Scholastic’s Acorn early readers and Branches early chapter books lines, Katie Carella, is back in the studio with guest-host Billy DiMichele to talk about this magical moment in a child’s literacy journey. And joining the podcast for the first time is Bernard Mensah, author of beloved Branches series Kwame’s Magic Quest.

Over the years, Branches has helped grow so many readers through highly illustrated, early chapter books that kids devour. Currently with 58 million books in print and 34 published series, the line has experienced a “meteoric” rise since we last spoke about this important line in 2019 when it had about 17 million books and about 25 series in print.

Listen on to find out what’s behind this meteoric rise, to get a glimpse of Kwame’s magical world, and to learn about Bernard’s passion for writing for the Branches age group and representing Ghanaian culture in children’s books. And stay to the end for a read aloud sneak peek!

→Resources
About Branches: https://www.scholastic.com/site/branches.html
About Kwame’s Magic Quest: https://www.scholastic.com/site/branches/kwame-s-magic-quest.html
Fuse #8 Blog Review from Betsy Bird: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/02/04/the-fast-paced-page-turning-adventure-series-thats-a-celebration-of-african-cultures-bernard-mensah-discusses-kwames-magic-quest/
More listening: Scholastic Reads! EVA-DORABLE: Rebecca Elliott Talks a Decade of the Owl Diaries, Eva the Owlet, and more!
More listening: Scholastic Reads! Growing Readers with Branches and Acorn from 2019!

→Highlights
_Katie Carella: Editorial Director, Acorn & Branches, Scholastic _

“Having been a 1st-3rd grade teachers myself, I’m always excited to talk about that very exciting point in a child’s reading journey where they begin to read books independently. You get to see that light go off and it’s just the best feeling ever.”

“All of the Branches books have a second grade reading level. But the books all feature really rich, layered plots so they do appeal to children across many grade levels. From Kindergarten, I’d say up through fourth and even fifth grade, especially now with reading levels behind where they should be. So it’s more important than ever to have these “high-low” books. These books are high-interest, layered plots and yet written at a lower reading level.”

“If a child chooses a book that’s too easy for them the child can speed through it and they gain fluency and stamina. If they choose a book that’s slightly too hard for them, the child might struggle, but if they want to read they will do the work. And they’ll learn decoding skills along the way. So both experiences ultimately grow a child’s vocabulary and their reading skill set.”

“The accolades [for Kwame’s Magic Quest] keep coming in…it was highlighted on Betsy Bird’s Fuse #8 blog…I just wanted to say a quote she had in her blog, ‘it’s amazing how much story Mensah and Nayo [the illustrator] are able to pack into this thing.’ You are getting this really rich and magical world that Bernard has created but in this really digestible format.”

_Bernard Mensah, Author, Kwame’s Magic Quest _

“[Kwame’s Magic Quest] has got that mix of authenticity, friendship, lots and lots of magic, some peril and danger, there’s evil magicians and spells. I think it brings together a lot of things that you would typically find exciting if you wanted to read a book about magic or an epic adventure.”

“[on working with the illustrator Natasha Nayo] Having an illustrator who came from the same background who understands the cultural context of some of things that I was trying to put across, I could rely on the art to do some of the talking for me. She brought her own unique flare.”

“My son, when he was about five years old, I remember looking at his bookshelf and thinking to myself, well, I’ve managed to find stories for him or write something that speaks to his culture at every age. Where is the book that speaks to him from five to eight years old? And I couldn’t find it so foolishly I thought to myself, well, I’ll write it. And that’s where the idea for Kwame’s Magic Quest came from.”

On what the characters would do over summer break, “By the end of the summer they would probably save the world again because that’s what they do in every book. They come close to not doing it but they find a way to rally together and make magic safe again for everybody.”

→Special Thanks
Producers: Anne Sparkman, Allyson Barkan, and Maxine Osa
Sound engineer: S. Shin
Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→Coming Soon
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards 2025

Later in the episode, Shane Garver, associate vice president of rural education at Save the Children, explains why now—especially now—is the perfect time for kids to grab a book and get lost in a reading adventure. Shane also discusses Save the Children’s pivotal role in getting books into the hands of children in rural America through its partnership with Scholastic. Participants in the Scholastic Summer Reading program can be a part of that mission, helping to unlock a donation of 100,000 books with their reading minutes.

The Summer Reading program will be available through August 19. Students can sign up for stories, games, author events, and other free resources on Home Base.

The Scholastic Summer Reading program was designed to help meet this need. The free, annual initiative keeps kids motivated to read all summer long, while expanding access to books. The program hosts virtual author events, provides e-books, and empowers kids to unlock a donation of 100,000 print books from Scholastic that are distributed in rural communities by Save the Children.

In this episode, host Suzanne McCabe talks with Lizette Serrano and Dr. Sayantani DasGupta about the Scholastic Summer Reading program and how kids can enjoy all of the free resources on Scholastic Home Base. Lizette is the vice president of educational marketing and event planning at Scholastic. She has a wealth of experience motivating kids to read for pleasure—not just in the summer months, but all year long.

Sayantani, who is a pediatrician by training, is the New York Times-bestselling author of Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond, a wildly-popular middle-grade fantasy series. Her latest book, a stand-alone novel from The Kingdom Beyond, is called Force of Fire. She teaches at Columbia University in the Graduate Program in Narrative Medicine, the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race.

“If there’s ever been a time that all of us—young readers, teenage readers, adult readers—need the healing power of story, it’s this summer,” Sayantani says. “There is so much loss and confusion and anguish that we’ve all been through.”

Resources:
Scholastic Summer Reading: Gain access to a fun, free, and safe program for kids.

Check out Home Base, a free 3D interactive world that celebrates favorite stories through book-based games, live author events, and a community of readers.

Learn more about New York Times-bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta.

**Special Thanks:

• **Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl
• Producer: Bridget Benjamin
• Associate Producer: Connie Gibbs
• Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan