On episode 38 of the My American Meltingpot podcast, I am excited to have award-winning author, Erin Entrada Kelly join me to talk about her brand new book, We Dream of Space, her impressive career writing middle grade novels, and why she's so committed to including (truly) diverse characters in all of her work. Since Erin is also a Filipina-American, and it’s the middle of May, we also take time to chat about being Asian American in the age of Covid-19, and how celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month can help combat some of the discrimination we're seeing against this community.  Erin Entrada Kelly is a New York Times bestseller whose book, Hello, Universe won the Newbery Medal in 2018. Her 2017 fantasy novel, Lalani of the Distant Sea received six starred reviews and was named one of the best books of the year by the New York Public Library, The Horn Book, Booklist, BookPage, and others. Erin is the author of six books in total, all of which are Junior Library Guild Selections. Her latest book, We Dream of Space, is her first work of historical fiction. It’s set in January 1986, in the weeks leading to the Challenger disaster. We Dream of Space Giveaway! If you’d like to win a free copy of Erin Entrada Kelly's newest book, We Dream of Space, simply follow My American Meltingpot on Instagram and leave a comment on our post for this episode with the hashtag #WeDreamofSpace. Everyone who follows MyAmericanMeltingpot and leaves a message with the #WeDreamofSpace hashtag by Monday May 25 2020, 8pmEST, will be entered to win. The winner will be announced on Instagram on Tuesday and the book will be sent directly from the publisher. Note: Only people living in the United States are eligible to enter because of limitation on shipping due to #TheRona.   For complete show notes, please visit, My American Meltingpot.com.