Episode 156 - 101 Reasons Why I Lost My Homework Again The Snotty Snail
Release Date: 01/29/2025
LA Maker Faire 2025
Book Club for Kids
We brought our giant microphone to the 2025 City of Stem/LA Maker Faire in Los Angeles on Saturday, asking kids our favorite question: what's your favorite book? Here are just some of the titles: The Maze Runner series - James Dashner Twins - Rain Telgemeier My Weird School - Ellray Jakes - Sally Warner Magic Treehouse - Dog Man - Dav Pilkey The Canyon's Edge - Dusti Bowling The Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Fazbear Fights - Scott Cawthon
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Banned Books Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Book Club for Kids
We continue our series highlighting episodes that feature books that have been banned or challenged. This week, it’s Walter Dean Myers’ tale of a kid on trial for murder “Monster.” In 2021, parents in Signal Mountain Middle/High School in Tennessee complained about mature language and sexual content in some 7th grade reading club selections. In response, a teacher told parents she was removing “Monster” from the reading list. Myers reacted to the book ban by saying,”I think that most often the people wanting to censor books are well-meaning and concerned about...
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A Conversation with Malia Maunakea
Book Club for Kids
Last week, we took a trip to Hawaii to discuss “Lei and the Fire Goddess.” This week, we talk to author Malia Maunakea about using Google maps as a writer, the difference between writing fiction and non-fiction, ADHD, even tax write-offs! Kitty Felde is host.
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Episode 157 - Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea
Book Club for Kids
This week, we talk about myths – whether it’s on Capitol Hill or Hawaii. Our book is “Lei and the Fire Goddess” by . Our readers are members of the Page Turners Book Club at in Washington, DC. Our celebrity reader is playwright . Kitty Felde is host. The kids mention I mention a book with the DC myth about the Demon Cat of Capitol Hill: Favorite Books from the Page Turners Book Club at East City Bookshop: Hooky - Miriam Bonastre Tur Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Mac B. Kid Spy - Matt Barnett A Thousand Ships - Natalie Haynes Who Was... Sisters - Raina Telgemeier...
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Favorite Books from Older Readers at the Culver City Book Fest
Book Club for Kids
This week we talk to some older readers at the Culver City book Festival about their favorite books. Once again, fantasy seems to be the fan favorite. Give a listen. Favorite Books from Older Readers at the Culver City Book Fest Once and Future - Cory McCarthy & A. R. Capetta Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Big Nate - Lincoln Peirce Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
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A Conversation with Writer Jewell Parker Rhodes
Book Club for Kids
Jewell Parker Rhodes, winner of the American Book Award, talks about the difficulty of writing "Ghost Boys" and about her own reading journey with host Kitty Felde.
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Banned Books Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Book Club for Kids
. We continue our look at books that have been challenged or banned. This week, it’s Jewell Parker Rhodes’ tale of a young black boy shot by a white police officer “Ghost Boys.” The book was over a complaint that the book was “propaganda” against the police. removed the book from curriculum after a parent complained about political views in the book. Give a listen to our discussion of “Ghost Boys.”
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Culver City Book Festival Favorites
Book Club for Kids
Last Saturday was the culver city book festival and book club for kids was there, gathering great suggestions for your next favorite read. We’ve got a different take on Shakespeare, a it of underwear humor, and a debate about which does a better job of telling the story; the book or the movie. Favorite Books from the Culver City Book Festival: The Apothacary - Sarah Penner These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey The Wild Robot - Peter Brown Dog Man - Dav Pilkey Angels and Demons - Dan Brown If you're a teacher or librarian in LA County and you'd...
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Episode 61 - Loving vs Virginia
Book Club for Kids
For Valentines Day, we have a special love story – part fiction, part fact, based on a landmark US Supreme Court case. It’s called "Loving Vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case" by Patricia Hruby Powell. It’s the story of an interracial couple who only wanted to marry the person they loved. Our celebrity reader, actress Crystal West. Readers from Virginia discuss the book and the legal case that took place in their own state. Kitty Felde is host.
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Whats Your Favorite Book?
Book Club for Kids
We polled readers at the City of Stem/LA Maker Faire about their favorite books. (By the way, Book Club for Kids will be taping more book suggestion interviews at this year's event on Saturday, April 12th at Exposition Park in Los Angeles.) Kitty Felde is host. FAVORITE BOOKS FROM THE CITY OF STEM/LA MAKER FAIRE: Orphan, Monster, Spy - Matt Killeen Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Heidi Heckelbeck and the Never-Ending Day - Wanda Coven Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling The Fourth Closet - Christopher Hastings, Scott Cawthon, Kira Breed-Wrisley Felix...
info_outlineThis week, it’s a graphic novel with evil twins, lost homework, and a giant snail. Oh, and a talking frog. The book is "101 Reasons Why I Lost My Homework Again: The Snotty Snail" by Ofir Lobel. Our readers are from Valley Beth Shalom Day School in Encino, California. Sportswriter Keith Thursby is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.
Favorite Books from Valley Beth Shalom Day School:
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Harry Potter - JK Rowling
Dragon Masters - Tracey West
A Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson
Ofir Lobel's Favorite Book
Little Nicolas -Rene Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempe
Keith Thursby's Favorite Book:
The Jim Murray Reader - Jim Murray & Vin Scully
We’ll have a list of everybody’s favorite books at our website, www.bookclubforkids.org.
And if you have a favorite book, you can be on the BookClub for Kids podcast, too. Just have your parent, teacher, or librarian send us an email at kitty@bookclubforkids.org and we’ll send you all the information.
We have a free newsletter for teachers, parents, and librarians, full of free tips about how to turn kids into lifelong readers. You can sign up at our website: www.bookclubforkids.org.
This episode is made possible by a grant from the LA County Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan. I’m KF, thanks for listening.
And by the way, the makers of Book Club for Kids have created a very different podcast, a mystery about the 10-year-old daughter of a congressman who solves mysteries on Capitol Hill…and teaches civics along the way. It’s called The Fina Mendoza Mysteries and it’s available now for free wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you like the series, check out the books the podcast is based on. Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza and State of the Union are available in both English and Spanish and book 3 Snake in the Grass – about how the bitter partisanship on Capitol Hill has led someone to put snakes in the gym bags and trash cans of members of Congress – comes out April 1, 2025. Get it here.