The Kidlit Chronicles

Erika Lewis is a prolific author of fantasy books and graphic novels. The Kelcie Murphy series is her first venture into middle grade fantasy, and it's all about Celtic mythology! In this episode, we talk with Erika about the first book in the Kelcie Murphy series: The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. We ask her about her unconventional entrance into the publishing world, her passion for Celt...

We're back with the third installment of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan -- ominously titled, The Icebound Land. The series follows Will, apprentice to the ranger Halt, who works with a cast of characters to battle evil forces in the country of Araluen and beyond. In the third book, we follow Will and Evanlyn, aka Araluen’s Princess Cassandra, as they try to escape their Sk...

"That's the real question: do they fight while wearing a dress, though?" Michelle Lam is the author and illustrator of Meesh the Bad Demon , her debut graphic novel. Michelle wears many hats; she has worked as a story artist in the animation industry, a YouTuber, a comic artist on Instagram, and is now a graphic novel author! In this episode, we talk with Michelle about her new novel...

Special guest Andy Hicks stops by to dish some hot takes about the third installment of the Percy Jackson  series. In The Titan’s Curse , Percy and his friends journey across the country to rescue the goddess Artemis, battle monsters along the way, and struggle against a prophecy of doom that could mean the end of the world as they know it. We discuss Artemis' band of Hunters and the gender bi...

The crew is diving into the cringiest, angstiest, messiest parts of teenage life in this episode of the pod, which covers the LGBTQ coming-of-age novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. We also have a special guest from our own teenage years joining us -- our friend since middle school, Betty! We dig deep into the book's themes of love, vulnerability, complicated family dynamics, and toxic masculinity (our...

We recently closed out our second full year of the podcast, and we wanted to celebrate! Join us for this special anniversary episode, where we reminisce about the books of yesteryear, guess our best and worst-rated selections, and share a glimpse of our podcast plans for the coming months. Also included in the episode is a special throwback version of our usual book trivia, as well as some reflect...

We're going on an adventure! Join Chelsey, Hannah, and a special guest on an unexpected journey across Middle Earth to slay the dragon Smaug. We talk comfy vibes, dwarf fan-fiction, and positive masculinity. We also talk about some of the darker implications of this jaunty tale; fat-phobia and fantasy racism being the main culprits. Grab your tea and seed cakes, and get cozy cause this is a long o...

Buckle up for a classic cross-country adventure tale in this sequel to the Ruins of Gorlan. We return to the lives of Will, Horace, Halt, and Gilan, as well as meet some new (and mysterious) characters as they all try to avert a surprise attack from Morgarath. Topics at hand include comical sexism, Halt's love of violence, queer-coded villains, and our reactions to a shocking ending. Listen now to...

Listener, beware. You're in for a scare...  We're celebrating spooky season with an episode about Coraline by Neil Gaiman! We talk about the book AND the movie, and compare and contrast the two.  We talk about the different things that scare adults and children, mother-daughter relationships, the inherent horror of fairytales, and digress into talking about Criminal Minds and the satanic...

Our special guest Andy Hicks returns as we dive back into the Percy Jackson series. Join us as we discuss the merits of overthrowing Western civilization, argue about whether Circe is a man-hater or a radical feminist, and reveal our own fatal flaws.  Who knew these books were so political? A warning: the ancient Greeks were NSFW, so we followed in their footsteps. Listen at your own peril! M...

Get ready to pick your ̶H̶o̶g̶w̶a̶r̶t̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶u̶s̶e̶  apprenticeship! We dive into Hannah's all-time favorite kids' book series, Ranger's Apprentice, which features a young orphan named Will who trains to become an elite spy for his kingdom -- and saves the day along the way. Tune in to hear us talk about the importance of loving the career you're good at (which might not be the one you've al...

India Swift is the author and illustrator and Michael Doig is the colorist of The Girl and the Glim , India's debut graphic novel! The pair has existed online for quite some time as animators and artists, and have worked on TV shows like Amphibia and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as animated music videos like Starlight Brigade (TWRP) and Magnum Bullets (Nightrunner). In this ep...

After months and months of anticipation, we finally finish the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Tune in to see which of our predictions for the ending came true and to hear a new quiz show segment of our podcast! Plus convos about magical inequity, kinky dragons, and who the REAL villain is (hint: it's the establishment). Music credit: " Elevator Music " by Lesfm via Pixabay " piano loop...

We're joined again by middle grade author Stephanie Cooke to talk about her favorite childhood book: The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. In this spicy episode: Is it ok to include sexism, classism, and racism in fantasy books as worldbuilding, rather than theme or subject? What's the difference between critiquing organized religion versus spirituality itself? This is a deep one, folks. Not for...

Stephanie Cooke is the co-author of Oh My Gods! , a middle grade graphic novel series. Oh My Gods! was her debut novel, but she has been writing, particularly for graphic novels, for quite some time now.  In this episode of The Kidlit Chronicles, we sit down (virtually) with Stephanie and discuss the Oh My Gods! book series, with special emphasis on the first book. We talk about the trend of...

This episode, we revisit the most iconic manic pixie dream girl of our childhood with a special guest, Amber Yun! Who is Stargirl? What makes someone a an outcast or a nonconformist? Why does Stargirl even like Leo? Could Stargirl be Jesus??? Music credit: "Secret Garden" by Eugenio Mininni via Mixkit

In our third installment reviewing the fantasy series, we talk about Christopher Paolini's writing of women characters, investigate twists upon twists, dig into many, many characters' sexual awakenings (NSFW), and give our predictions for the final book.  Music credit:  "Easy Times" by Ahjay Stelino via Mixkit

We explore a picturesque wintry landscape, discuss the ethics of romance between a girl and a boy-turned-150-year-old-bear, and argue pointlessly over a miniscule plot point for far too long.  Music credit: " hmm.wav " by Xythe via Freesound.org

A little more than a year after our very first episode, we reflect on our favorite episodes, look at some surprising past ratings, and hold an awards ceremony for our beloved books.  Audio Credit: VS_Short Whoosh 4.mp3 by Vilkas_Sound via Freesound.org Long TV Bleep.m4a by ChunaawChika09 via Freesound.org

Eragon goes off to train with the elves (and gets Yassified, according to Nikki), Roran gets the main character treatment, and Nasuada becomes a girlboss. Join us as we dive deep into the second book of Christopher Paolini's famed fantasy series.  Music credit: "Medieval" guitar loop by User391915396

We celebrate the spooky season with classic children's horror, featuring special guest Seth Appleton. Join us as we talk about twist endings, mortality, middle-class suburban hell, and what exactly the shadow realm is. 

This episode: Chelsey's favorite childhood book series! Get ready for dragons, elves, bloody battles, and evil kings galore as we begin to explore the fantasy world created by Christopher Paolini.  Music credit: "Medieval" guitar loop by User391915396

Special guest alert! Elli Clippard joins us to discuss the joy of tropes, author William Goldman's fake life, why we hate the sequel, and more in this episode about the book that inspired the iconic 1987 movie.  Background music credit:  "Orchestral Adventure Theme" by Theo Teravainen via Freesound "jazz_music_loop.mp3" by anechoix via Freesound

Ho, listeners! On this episode, we explore a sci-fi classic about a group of genius children who try to save the world from aliens. Tune in to hear our thoughts on the book versus movie, whether or not Ender is a good person, and how much the author's beliefs should impact how we read stories.  Background music credit: "Slow Trail" by Ahjay Stelino via Mixkit

Endings are always bittersweet. Cloudpelt, Shadowsong, and Bearclaw talk about fascism, cat on cat violence, and why Firestar STILL can't get over Spottedleaf in this episode on the last book of the original Warriors Series.  Music credits:  "Epical Drums 01" by Grigoriy Nuzhny via Mixkit "A Love Theme" by Eugenio Mininni via Mixkit