Description

This week, we're talking with Sayantani DasGupta, the author of the forthcoming middle grade fantasy novel The Serpent's Secret, in which sixth grader Kiranmala discovers she's a princess...and an interdemensional demon slayer! Sayantani talks with her 13-year-old daughter, Sunaya, who is a Scholastic News Kids Press Corps reporter, and tells us about her childhood ask a daughter of immigrants, as well as her love of storytelling, folktales, science, and Madeleine L'Engle. 

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Additional Resources:

• Learn more about The Serpent's Secret
  
• Learn more about Sayantani DasGupta
• Get more information about the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps

Guest:

• Sayantani DasGupta grew up hearing stories about brave princesses, bloodthirsty rakkhosh and flying pakkhiraj horses. She is a pediatrician by training, but now teaches at Columbia University. When she's not writing or reading, Sayantani spends time watching cooking shows with her trilingual children and protecting her black Labrador Retriever Khushi from the many things that scare him, including plastic bags. She is a team member of We Need Diverse Books, and can be found online at www.sayantanidasgupta.com and on Twitter at @sayantani16

Special thanks:

• Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
• Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
• Produced by Emily Morrow