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About Mel Rosenberg

Mel Rosenberg originally wanted to become a children's book author and jazz musician, but ended up becoming a scientist (professor of microbiology at Tel Aviv University) and inventor (of oral hygiene products and diagnostic tools). In his forties, he picked up music again and began writing for children. Many of his children's stories are available for free on Ourboox.com, a website and platform for authors which he co-founded in 2013. Currently, Mel teaches introductory courses in picture book writing and pursues his ambitions as a picture book writer. His first traditionally-published children's book will be published by Tal-May in Hebrew in 2023. He also teaches two academic courses on popular music at Tel Aviv University. He is married with two children and two grandchildren and lives near Tel Aviv.

Mel Rosenberg is a professor emeritus of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is co-founder of Ourboox, a web platform with some 240,000 ebooks that allows anyone to create and share flipbooks comprising text, pictures and videos.

Mel's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Mel:

Children's Literature September 27, 2023

Song After Song

The Musical Life of Julie Andrews

Julie Hedlund

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Julie Hedlund is back as our guest on New Books Network to talk about her brand new picture book, Song After Song: The Musical Life of Julie Andrews published on …
Children's Literature September 23, 2023

How to Speak in Spanglish

Mónica Mancillas

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Mónica Mancillas authors books for children of all ages, as well as adult fiction. In our lively interview, Mónica discusses two of her picture books that launched during the summer …
Children's Literature September 20, 2023

A Discussion with Jannie Ho, Illustrator and Author

Jannie Ho

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Philadelphia, Jannie Ho is the illustrator of the early reader graphic novel Fry Guys (Andrews McMeel Publishing, launching September 26, 2023) written by Eric …
Children's Literature September 18, 2023

The Chocolate King

Michael Leventhal

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
Michael Leventhal is the publisher of Green Bean Books, which focuses on Jewish children’s books. He is author of The Chocolate King and co-author of Jews in Britain, After twenty …
Children's Literature August 29, 2023

A Chat with a Literary Agent

Savannah Brooks

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Savannah Brooks started her agenting career as an intern with the Jennifer De Chiara team in 2017, moving to associate agent in 2018. In 2022, she joined the KT Literary …
Children's Literature August 26, 2023

Rivka's Presents

Laurie Wallmark

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes mostly picture book biographies of women in STEM. Her titles include Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars …
Children's Literature August 17, 2023

The Vanished Northwest Passage Arctic Expedition

Lisa M. Bolt Simons

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
Lisa M. Bolt Simons has published over 60 children's nonfiction books, with many more in preparation. In our conversation we talk about two of her recent "Curious About" books, but …
Children's Literature August 13, 2023

Ready, Set, Run!

The Amazing New York City Marathon

Leslie Kimmelman

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Today I speak to the wonderful Leslie Kimmelman, as we celebrate her brand new picture book, Ready, Set, Run!: The Amazing New York City Marathon, published by Random House Studio …
Children's Literature July 22, 2023

Greenhorn

Anna Olswanger

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Anna Olswanger is an award-winning children's author and highly regarded literary agent, with clients include the New York Times best-selling author Michael Hall and the Newbery Honor Book winner Vince …
Children's Literature July 16, 2023

The Children's Books Business

A Discussion with Editor and Publisher Elizabeth Law

Elizabeth Law

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Elizabeth Law has worked in the publishing field her whole life, first as an Editor at Viking Children’s Books and Puffin Books, as Associate Publisher at Simon and Schuster Books …
Children's Literature July 9, 2023

Shoham's Bangle

Sarah Sassoon

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
In our interview, Sarah Sassoon celebrates the success of her award-winning children's book, Shoham's Bangle, published by Kar-Ben (2022), and discusses her life journey and career from Australia to South Africa …
Children's Literature June 28, 2023

She Persisted: Florence Nightingale

Shelli R. Johannes and Chelsea Clinton

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
This is my second interview with the wonderful Shelli R. Johannes, who is the author of 18 books with more due out in 2024. She is the co-author (with Kimberly …
Children's Literature June 25, 2023

You Go First

Ariel Bernstein

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
Today I get to interview one of my favorite children's book authors, Ariel Bernstein, and celebrate her new book, You Go First, which was published only two weeks ago by …
Children's Literature June 17, 2023

Jewish Children's Books

A Chat with Lili Rosenstreich of Kalaniot

Lili Rosenstreich

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
In this funny, engaging and candid interview Lili Rosenstreich talks about her career leading up to her current role as founder, publisher, and creative director at Kalaniot Books, an up-and-coming …
Children's Literature June 11, 2023

Illustrating Children's Books

A Discussion with Holly Hatam

Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
Holly Hatam is illustrator of several dozen children's books, published by Random House, Harper Collins and others. She is also author-illustrator of Unicorns are Real and several other board books …
Children's Literature June 9, 2023

When a Friend Needs a Friend

Anne Roos Kleiss

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
In our wonderful conversation, Anne Roos Kleiss, a Dutch author-illustrator based in Rotterdam, and I talk about her new book, When a Friend Needs a Friend (which just launched in …
Children's Literature June 5, 2023

Dark Cloud

Anna Lazowski

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
This is my second interview with the wonderful children's author Anna Lazowski, this time celebrating the launch of her new picture book Dark Cloud, published last month by Kids Can …
Children's Literature May 31, 2023

The Miracle Seed

Martin Lemelman

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Listen:
In our animated discussion, Martin Lemelman and I discuss his latest graphic novel, The Miracle Seed (Eerdmans Young Readers, 2023), which was published only two months ago. It is the …
Children's Literature May 30, 2023

Dream Big, Laugh Often

And More Great Advice from the Bible

Hanoch Piven and Shira Hecht-Koller

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Hanoch Piven is an Israeli collage artist whose colorful and witty portraits have appeared over the last 30 years on both sides of the Atlantic: in most major American magazines …
Children's Literature May 27, 2023

A History of Toilet Paper (and Other Potty Tools)

Sophia Gholz

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Since Sophia Gholz’s highly successful debut book, The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng, appeared four years ago, she has published with several exceptional picture …
Children's Literature May 21, 2023

Won Ton and Chopstick

A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku

Lee Wardlaw

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
In this interview we celebrate Lee Wardlaw's writing career, over thirty books ranging from board books to YA, with over a million copies sold! We focus on two of her …
Children's Literature May 19, 2023

Footprints Across the Planet

Jennifer Swanson

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
In our conversation, award-winning author Jennifer Swanson’s talks about her love for communicating science through award-winning children's books (almost fifty, and counting!). We celebrate her most recent book, Footprints Across …
Children's Literature May 13, 2023

How the Sea Came to Be

(and All the Creatures in It)

Jennifer Berne

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
In this wonderful interview with Jennifer Berne we celebrate the launch of her epic picture book How the Sea Came to Be: (And All the Creatures In It), published by …
Children's Literature May 6, 2023

Woven of the World

Katey Howes

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Katey Howes is a highly successful, multiple-award winning picture book author, doing things her way. She writes books in meticulous rhyme. She writes stories with clear messages. In our illuminating …