Episodes - Book Club for Kids

Did you know the people behind the Book Club for Kids podcast produce another podcast: The Fina Mendoza Mysteries. The series is based on the book series by Kitty Felde, about the 10-year-old daughter of a congressman who solves mysteries in the U.S. Capitol...and introduces civics along the way. Book One in the series Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza is being released in English and Spanish (Bi...

Writer Tricia Springstubb tells Book Club for Kids host Kitty Felde about finding the perfect "voice" for a protagonist.

Do you know a busy body? Somebody who's a bit too nosy for their own good? Meet Cody and the Mysteries of the Universe by Tricia Springstubb . Students from Randall Highlands Elementary School in Washington, DC discuss the book and hear a reading from the book by actress Peggy Miley . Kitty Felde is host. There is free curriculum for this episode.

The writer of The City of Ember shares the writing advice she gave her students...and how she ignored some of it to finish her latest work. Kitty Felde is host.

Would you like to live your entire life underground? What happens if the lights go out and never come on again? Students from Overland Elementary School for Advanced Studies in Los Angeles discuss Jeanne DuPrau ’s post-apocalyptic novel City of Ember with host Kitty Felde. They have a few questions for the author. Actress Melanie MacQueen (Robotech, Lady Luck) is celebrity reader.  FAVORITE BOOKS...

It’s that time of year when all you can think about is “how long until summer vacation?” So how do you keep kids engaged? Find a book they love. How? We hear from a group of 4th graders in Los Angeles who have a few suggestions. Some are Book Club for Kids podcast episodes. Just click on the links: Dog Man - Dav Pilkey The Bad Guys - Aaron Blabey Harry Potter series - J.K Rowling The Miraculous Jo...

The Force is with us on Book Club as we tackle a tale of middle grade angst and paper cuts. Who can rescue these hapless heroes? How about a Yoda fingerpuppet who seems to have all the right answers. Our readers from Washington, DC beg writer Tom Angleberger to write more books in the series. Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz is celebrity reader.  Kitty Felde is host. NOTE: Kitty Felde's novel Welcome to Wa...

We asked kids around the country to answer the hardest question in the world: what's your favorite book? And why? Here's just some of the suggestions we got from YOU: Wish - Barbara O'Connor Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper A Stroke of Magic: The Dinosaur Woman - Brunella Costagliola   The Cat I Never Named -  Amra Sabic-El-Rayess and Laura L. Sullivan Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan And if you have a...

Book Club for Kids isn't the only podcast about great books for kids. Give a listen to Matthew Winner's Children's Book Podcast.

After months of rain, Southern California FINALLY had a weekend of sunshine. So we all paid a visit to the LA Maker Faire and City of Stem festival near downtown Los Angeles. We asked kids to tell us all about their favorite books. Some of these might become YOUR favorite book, too! The Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss The Couch Potato - Jory John Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney The Berenstain Bears...

How does a cover end up on a book? Writer Lisa Fipps is the author of Starfish, a middle grade novel in verse with a gorgeous, memorable cover. Lisa takes us behind the scenes of her experience with working with an editor and a cover designer. Lisa also talks about how her training as a journalist helped her write books for kids. Also, come join Book Club for Kids at the Los Angeles Maker Faire on...

How do you handle a bully? What do you do when someone body shames you? Our heroine turns to poetry in this week’s book Starfish by Lisa Fipps. Readers from Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Washington, DC offer their own insights on why people pick on each other and ask writer Lisa Fipps what she does to tackle writers block. Our celebrity reader is NPR favorite, comedienne Ophira Eisenberg...

You never know who will show up at a Maker Faire. This week, host Kitty Felde asks kids from Hawaii about their favorite books.

Looking for your next great read? These kids at the Orange County  Maker Faire have another shelf of suggestions! PS: it IS a Maker Faire, so host Kitty Felde talks to one young train enthusiast about his special invention. Book list at the Books We Love page of our website www.bookclubforkids.org.

Marie Arnold writes middle grade and YA fiction, as well as adult romances. She talks about juggling genres and her secret weapon Hold On Nancy with host Kitty Felde.

Moving is difficult, especially when you don't speak the language, you're being haunted by a witch, and your best friend is a rat. That's the starting point for Marie Arnold 's middle grade novel The Year I Flew Away. Students from Jefferson Academy in Washington, D.C. discuss rodents and video games. Actor Barry Cutler is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Before she wrote children's books, Lisa Graff worked as a nanny. What lessons from that experience did she bring to her work on the page? Lisa talks to host Kitty Felde.

Arthur Slade writes slightly dark middle grade and YA fiction. How dark? We ask him.

A pair of twins from rural Canada take Hollywood by storm. But there's a darker side to their life in silent movies. Readers from Gilbert Paterson Middle School in Lethbridge, Ontario discuss Arthur Slade 's novel Flickers. Our celebrity reader is actor, comedian, and game show host Gavin Crawford . Kitty Felde is host. Spoiler alert: this episode includes plot details.

Writer Laurie Halse Anderson talks about writing that first draft, where she finds inspiration, and track and field with host Kitty Felde.

What role did African-Americans play in the Revolutionary War? Chains - the first in a trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson - takes us to Manhattan in the 1770's. A trio of readers from Maryland discuss the book. Actress S.W. James is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Looking for ideas of how to spend that holiday gift card? Readers from Taylor Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia have lots of suggestions for favorite books! Bomb - Steve Sheinkin Olympians Ares - George O'Connor Finding Junie Kim - Ellen Oh Big Nate- Lincoln Peirce The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler  Ms. Rapscott's Girls - Elise Primavera The Baby-Sitters' Club - Anne M. Martin Where...

Do you see colors when you do math problems? The heroine of A MANGO SHAPED SPACE. Kids from the Mother/Daughter Book Club at One More Page bookstore in Virginia discuss the book. Writer Wendy Mass says the idea literally jumped out at her from the shelf.

Writer Stuart Gibbs didn't start out as a writer of middle grade novels. He also didn't expect to be interrupted in his interview by a member of the wildlife community in the middle of Washington, DC. He talks to host Kitty Felde.

Is there really a secret school in Washington, DC to train kids to become spies? We ask the experts in this episode: kids from Key Elementary in our nation's capital, writer Stuart Gibbs , and the man whose job description includes overseeing the activities and budget of the CIA, Congressman Eric Swalwell . Our celebrity reader is jounalist Claudia Peschuitta . Kitty Felde is host.