Book Club for Kids

Did you ever wish that you had a pet elephant? Well, Jordan was lucky enough to find one. That unusual relationship is at the heart of our book Jordan and Marshmallow by Alina Chau. Readers from Atwater Elementary School in Los Angeles discuss disabilities, sports, and Indonesia with host Kitty Felde. Our celebrity reader is NPR’s host of “All Things Considered” Ailsa Chang. Favorite Books from Atwater Elementary School: One Piece - Eiichiro Oda The Wild Robot - Peter Brown Dogman - Dav Pilkey Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey The Funjungle Series - Stuart Gibbs Trickster: Native American Tales - Matt Dembicki Dirty Rotten Bugs: Arthropods Unite to Tell Their Side of the Story - Jujutsu Kaizen - Gege Akutami Amulet - Kazu Kibuishi Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan   Alina Chau's Favorite Book: Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne Ailsa Chang's Favorite Book: When Love is More than Words - Jocelyn Chung

We continue our series of episodes highlighting banned books. This week, it’s Elizabeth Acevedo’s novel The Poet X. The novel in verse was challenged in 2020 by parents in North Carolina who argued that the book was unconstitutionally hostile to religion. The challenge was turned down by the courts. It was again challenged in 2023 in Wisconsin because of objections about frank language about  sex.  In both cases, the books were part of the high school’s curriculum. The book is all about poetry and body image and standing up for yourself. It’s the National Book Award winning novel The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Readers from Charles Hart Middle School in Washington, DC discuss the novel with host Kitty Felde. Our celebrity reader is actress Monica Vigil from our other podcast THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES.

Are you that aunt or uncle – the one who only gives books for birthdays and holidays? I hope so. But if it’s been a few years since you’ve picked up a middle grade novel, we have help from some experts – kids who visited us at the City of Stem LA Maker Faire to tell us about their favorite books. Start making your list and checking it twice… Favorite Books for Black Friday Shopping: Eragon - Christopher Paolini The Good Egg - Jory John and Pete Oswald The Land of Stories - Chris Colfer Amulet - Kazu Kibuishi Hop on Pop - Dr. Seuss The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett The Babysitter's Club - Ann M. Martin Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery This episode is made possible by a grant from the LA Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan. 

How did Oprah inspire a writing career? Listen to this conversation with Nikki Shannon Smith, author of Stranded.