In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze welcomes aboard retired Navy Captain, aviation lawyer, and author Mark C. Fava to talk about Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape, the first book in his Shipshape Shipmates series. Inspired by the best leaders Mark served with and by his own Navy father, Andy the Admiral takes young readers onto a bustling aircraft carrier where kindness, good manners, honesty, and teamwork keep everything shipshape. Mark shares how three decades in uniform, a career built on words, and a lifetime of fatherhood came together in a picture book full of heart, humor, and hidden surprises. Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon). Highlights: It's All in the Inflection: Why "shipmate" can be a scolding or a compliment, and how "Well done, shipmates" became the heart of the bookA Floating City of 5,000: The doctors, dentists, cooks, mechanics, and pilots who keep an aircraft carrier runningFinally Getting Sea Time: How a two-week carrier cruise, after 30 years in land-based P-3 aircraft, shaped the bookEvery Word Matters: What a career in law taught Mark about wordsmithing, and why he writes with outlines, lists, and yellow highlightersWhy the Navy Teaches Friendship: Everyone has a job and everyone depends on each other, at sea and at home"Son, Make Me Proud": The father who pinned on Mark's Navy bars, handed down his sword, and told him to take care of his sailorsYou Don't Have to Be Perfect: Mark's advice for kids who dream of joining the Navy, from building paper rockets to not giving up on hard subjectsPerseverance, Passion, and Persistence: The publishing lessons Mark learned the hard way, including why he waited to launch after the holidaysEaster Eggs Ahead: Captain the Black Cat, Skipper the Sea Dog, and sneak peeks at Patrick the Pilot and Riley the Rescue Swimmer Notable Quotes: "Everybody has a job and everybody is looking to the other person to complete their job." —Mark C. Fava "Do the best you can, but you don't have to be perfect." —Mark C. Fava "I hope they remember that there is a reward for being kind to each other." —Mark C. Fava Books Mentioned: Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape by Mark C. Fava, illustrated by Agus Prajogo and Yohanes Bastia: Amazon or Bookshop.org Lessons from the Admiral: Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders by Mark C. Fava: Amazon or Bookshop.orgComing soon: Patrick the Pilot and Riley the Rescue Swimmer About Mark C. Fava: Mark C. Fava is a career aviation lawyer and retired U.S. Navy Captain who served 30 years, six on active duty and 24 in the reserves, commanding three units, including a P-3 squadron. As a naval flight officer, he flew missions tracking Soviet submarines in the P-3 Orion. He is a vice president at the world's largest aerospace company and the author of Lessons from the Admiral: Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders. Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape is his first picture book and the launch of the Shipshape Shipmates series. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and three daughters. Visit: https://theshipshapeshipmates.com/Author website: https://markcfava.com Credits: Host: Bianca Schulze Guest: Mark C. Fava Editor: Kelly Rink Producer: Bianca Schulze