In this heartfelt episode of Reading in the Middle, Annisha Jeffries welcomes author Winsome Bingham to talk about her upcoming picture book, On Fridays, illustrated by Jason Griffin and published by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House.
On Fridays follows Jamar, a young boy who spends Fridays with his mother at the residential building where she works. What begins as a weekly routine becomes something much deeper: a story about elders, community, caregiving, grief, memory, and learning how to keep loving someone after they are gone.
Annisha and Winsome talk about the powerful line at the center of the book: “We amongst family. Treat them as such.” They discuss Jamar’s relationships with Miss Neely, Mr. Dillon, and Mr. Riff; the importance of honoring elders as whole people; and how Miss Neely’s garden becomes a place of memory and healing.
This conversation also explores how children understand grief, why picture books can help families talk about loss, and what it means to give people their flowers while they are still here.
Winsome also shares more about this exciting season in her career, including recent and upcoming books such as Soul Food Sunday, The Walk, The Table, Life Is Beautiful, Missing Momma, Fish Fry Friday, the Fort Goode books, Together, and Auntie’s Dance.
Annisha and Winsome discuss:
On Fridays is a tender story about Jamar, a young boy who accompanies his mother to the residential building where she works. Each Friday, he spends time with the elders there, including Miss Neely, Mr. Dillon, and Mr. Riff.
Through gardening, music, conversation, and care, Jamar begins to understand that community can become family. When Miss Neely dies unexpectedly, Jamar has to make sense of loss in his own way. With time, love, and the garden Miss Neely cherished, he learns that remembering can also be an act of care.
On Fridays is written by Winsome Bingham and illustrated by Jason Griffin.
Winsome Bingham is the author of Soul Food Sunday, The Walk, The Table, Life Is Beautiful, Missing Momma, Fish Fry Friday, and the Fort Goode books. Her work often centers family, food, Black joy, grief, memory, community, and the people who help children understand who they are and where they belong.
Learn more about Winsome at BinghamWrites.com.
Follow her on Instagram at @ArmyVetFive.
00:00 — Welcome to Reading in the Middle
02:00 — Introducing Winsome Bingham and On Fridays
05:00 — Winsome’s current season of books
09:00 — Where On Fridays began
14:00 — Jamar, his mother, and the lesson of care
19:00 — Miss Neely, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Riff, and honoring elders
25:00 — The garden, the flower, and remembering
31:00 — Writing grief honestly for children
37:00 — Jason Griffin’s illustrations and working together again
41:00 — Winsome’s recent and upcoming books
46:00 — Librarian connections and using On Fridays with young readers
49:00 — Lightning round and closing thoughts