Nancy Hudgins joins us to talk about I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip, John Donavan's groundbreaking 1969 novel about a romance between two thirteen-year-old boys. Nancy is the author of Books Good Enough for You, a children's biography of legendary children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom, who edited I'll Get There. Mentioned on this episode: Nancy's childhood favorites: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (an Ursula Nordstrom book) The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink The House of ...

Writer Alex Poppe joins us to talk about Deenie, Judy Blume’s 1973 novel about a girl, pigeonholed as the pretty one in her family, whose life is thrown off track when she’s diagnosed with scoliosis. Alex is the author most recently of the memoir Breakfast Wine. Other books by Judy Blume: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great Forever Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing Then Again, Maybe I Won’t It’s Not the End of the ...

We had completely forgotten about Eleanor Estes's The Moffats until a friend suggested that we reread it. Published in 1941, it's the first in a series about four children growing up in small-town Connecticut in the 1910s. Mentioned on this episode: Other books in the series: The Middle Moffat (1942), a Newbery Honor Book Rufus M. (1943), a Newbery Honor Book The Moffat Museum (1983) Other books by Estes: The Hundred Dresses (1944), a Newbery Honor Book Ginger Pye (1951), winner ...

For the first episode of our fourth (!) season, we reread E.L. Konigsburg's Newbery Medal winner From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which was published in 1967. This book, one of our all-time favorites, has one of the best plot premises of all time: a suburban brother and sister run away from home and camp out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Mentioned on this episode: Other books by Konigsburg: Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth A ...

For this episode, we reread Madeleine L’Engle’s 1968 novel The Young Unicorns, the third book in the Austin family series. We discussed 1960s New York, racial representation, family musical evenings, and how absolutely bonkers this book is. Mentioned on this episode: Other books by L’Engle: A Wrinkle in Time (1962) Meet the Austins (1960) The Moon by Night (1963) A Ring of Endless Light (1980) Troubling a Star (1994) A Severed Wasp (1983) New York Times review of The Young Unicorns by Ma...

On this episode, Deborah introduces Mary Grace to A Bear Called Paddington, the first book in the beloved series about a bear from Peru who ends up living with a London family. We discuss Paddington’s timeless appeal to children, his status as a British icon, and how the book can be read as a refugee’s story. Mentioned on this episode: Paddington, the 2014 movie (trailer here) “Paddington Bear, Refugee,” by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, June 28, 2017 Olga da Polga series by Michael Bond Monsi...

We celebrated our 50th episode by talking about our favorite picture books and discussing our favorite memories from the two and a half years we've been doing the podcast. Mentioned on this episode: Deborah's favorites: Curious George Takes a Job by H.A. Rey The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry Mary Grace's favorites: Mike Mulligan and his Steam S...

Writer and scholar Jean Freedman joins us to talk about Noel Streatfeild’s 1944 book Theater Shoes (originally published in the UK as Curtain Up), the story of three children who attend a theatrical school. We discuss London during World War II and welcome the (offstage) reappearance of the three sisters in Streatfeild’s beloved Ballet Shoes (1936). Mentioned on this episode: Other books by Jean Freedman: Whistling in the Dark: Memory and Culture in Wartime London and Peggy Seeger: A Life of ...

For this episode, we reread E.B. White’s 1952 classic Charlotte’s Web. Also by White: Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, The Elements of Style, Is Sex Necessary?, Essays of E.B. White, Letters of E.B. White, "Death of a Pig" Blog post on Henry Fussy New Yorker article on Garth Williams The Story of Charlotte’s Web, Michael Sims Eudora Welty’s New York Times review Recommended: Anne of Green Gables, Caddie Woodlawn (Mary Grace); Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, Mist...

For our third annual Encyclopedia Brown episode, we matched wits with each other and with Encyclopedia in trying to crack the cases in Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues, which was published in 1966. We included the relevant clues in our discussion, so you can solve along with us. We discussed the origins of Bugs Meany's hat and solved the mystery of what state Idaville is in. Also, Mary Grace mispronounced "divining rod" about 15 times. Mentioned on this episode: Other Encyclopedia Bro...