Book Club for Kids – Details, episodes & analysis

What do you do when your long-time school mascot is offensive to others? That's the topic in Mascot by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell. Students from Eliot-Hine Middle School discuss the novel and interview the writer. California State Los Angeles theater professor Carolyn Dunn is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Favorite Books from Eliot-Hine:

Stunt Boy - Jason Reynolds

The Falling Sword - Ben Kane

The Firekeeper's Daughter - Angeline Boulley

Keeper of the Lost Cities - Shannon Messenger

Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

Charles Waters' Favorite Books:

Ordinary People - Judith Guest

Raymond Carver short stories

Bronx Masquerade - Nikki Grimes

Under the Mesquite - Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Carolyn Dunn's Favorite Books:

Love Medicine - Louise Erdich

The Master Butchers Singing Club  - Louise Erdich

Lilith's Brood - Octavia E. Butler

Angela Dominguez writes and illustrates the Stella Diaz series. She talks to us about her writing path from drawing to writing.

More author interviews at our website.

We talk to writer Yona Zeldis McDonough about ballet and how to write a good rejection letter. Kitty Felde is host.

This week, we travel back to occupied France during World War II for a tale of bravery and bread. Students from Jefferson Middle School Academy in Washington, D.C. discuss Yona Zeldis McDonough’s novel The Bicycle Spy. Our celebrity reader Gwen Deglise Moore has been knighted by the French government for her work in cinema. Kitty Felde is host.

Favorite Books from Jefferson Academy

What if you want to be on the Book Club for Kids podcast and you don't live in a city near DC or LA? No problem. You can just call us and tell us about your favorite book, just like these kids from around the country. Information about where to call and what to say at the end of the episode. Kitty Felde is host.

Favorite Books:

Sarafina and the Black Cloak - Robert Beatty

The Cat I Never Named - Amra Sabic-el-Rayess & Laura L. Sullivan

Diary of Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules - Jeff Kinney

One Piece - Sho Hinata

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967 - Lauren Tarshis

Hilo - Judd Winick

The Bad Guys - Aaron Blabey 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling

Writer Beth Lincoln talks about how her debut novel The Swifts came to life and the difference between audiences for middle grade novels in the U.S. compared to Great Britain. Kitty Felde is host.

Do our names define us?

We celebrate our 150th episode with readers at the Artesia branch of the LA County Public Library discuss Beth Lincoln's tale of a family whose names come from the dictionary. Our celebrity reader is LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn. Kitty Felde is host.

Favorite Books from the Artesia branch of the LA County Library:

The Lemonade War - Jacqueline Davies

Restart - Gordon Korman

Spy x Family - Tatsuya Endo

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

Counting by 7's- Holly Goldberg Sloan

Beth Lincoln's Favorite Book:

The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin

This episode was supported in part by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan.

Favorite Books from the City of Stem LA Maker Faire 2024:

Wings of Fire: Winter Turning - Tui T. Sutherland

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle

Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Laura Numeroff

The Bad Guys - Aaron Blabey

Lunch Lady and the Schoolwide Shuffle - Jarrett J. Krosoczka

We have HUNDREDS of book suggestions from young readers at the website. Kitty Felde is host.

We continue our series of episodes featuring books that have been banned or challenged around the country. This time, it’s the Newbery Award-winning graphic novel NEW KID by Jerry Craft.

Books in Katy, Texas were pulled from library shelves in 2021 after a parent petition complained that it contained harmful content about critical race theory. CRT examines how racism has shaped laws and public policy in America. Writer Jerry Craft says he’d never heard the term before and had to google it. An African American parent in another part of the country objected to Craft’s use of the word “oreo” – a derogatory term used to describe a person as black on the outside, but white on the inside. She said she didn’t want her child to be exposed to the term.

The challenge in Katy, Texas was dismissed and the book was returned to library shelves.

What do you think? Listen to our Book Club for Kids podcast discussion of Jerry Craft's New Kid.

How do you work with your mother on a book? How do you work on 15 books with your mother? We talk to the mother/daughter team behind Dork Diaries, Rachel Renée and Nikki Russell. Kitty Felde is host.