What Are the Kids Reading These Days?

Tim & Taylor return after a long hiatus to discuss the the bestselling young adult fantasy novel Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Tune in to hear them talk about their thoughts on the book, whether they think kids and teens would enjoy it, ideas for how the novel could be used in the classroom, recommendations for further reading, and much more! SPOILER WARNING! This episode is most enjoyable if you've either already read the book or simply want to hear some takes on it before recommending it to your students or children.

Tim & Taylor return with special guest Bennie, who is also the cause of their recent hiatus. But finally, they have returned to discuss the middle grade graphic novel (?) Smile by Raina Telgemeier and reminisce on braces, middle school friends, and growing up. Bennie also contributes with the occasional whimper or grunt. 

Tim & Taylor are joined by special guest Mary, aka Tim's mom, to discuss Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the beloved (and sometimes banned) coming-of-age middle grade novel by Judy Blume. With the movie coming out on April 28, it made sense to dive into this book. Tune into hear Tim, Taylor, and Mary's thoughts on the book, whether kids today would enjoy it, how it might be used in a classroom, and recommendations for further reading! Enjoy!SPOILER WARNING: This podcast is best enjoyed if you've already read the novel or if you are not planning on reading the novel or watching the movie and simply want to hear someone's opinions on it before recommending it to someone else. 

Tim & Taylor discuss their reactions to Amari & The Night Brothers, a best-selling and award-winning middle grade fantasy adventure novel. Tune in to hear them talk about their thoughts on the book, whether they think kids would enjoy it, ideas for how the novel could be used in the classroom, recommendations for further reading, and much more! SPOILER WARNING! This episode is most enjoyable if you've either already read the book or simply want to hear some expert takes on it before recommending it to your students or children.

Tim & Taylor discuss the first five pages of Warcross, Marie Lu's bestselling teen sci-fi novel. Find the book on your local library app (Hoopla, Libby, Overdrive, etc.)! You can sample it without renting it yet, read the first five pages, and come back here to listen!

Tim & Taylor discuss Soman Chainani's collection of modernized and retold fairy tales. They share their personal reactions to the book as well as their professional opinions  on whether or not kids would like it, their ideas for using it in an English Language Arts classroom, and their recommendations for further reading. WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS! 

Tim & Taylor discuss The Cousins by Karen M. McManus, a young adult mystery/thriller about a trio of cousins who spend a summer at their estranged grandmother's resort trying to find answers to some old family secrets. Tune in to hear Tim & Taylor's thoughts on the book, what young adults might like or dislike about it, ideas for how it might be used in the classroom, and recommendations for further reading!

Tim and Taylor get into the Halloween spirit with a discussion about young adult and middle grade horror/mystery. Tune in to hear them discuss the following series: The Box Car ChildrenScary Stories to Tell in the DarkCity of GhostsGoosebumpsThe Chilling Adventures of ChristinaFive Nights at Freddy's.

Tim & Taylor discuss Alan Gratz's bestselling middle grade novel Ground Zero. Tune in to hear them discuss whether or not children would enjoy it, the pros and cons of a child reading it, possible ideas for use in the classroom, and recommend further reading as well! Skip to 23:10 if you've read the book already and don't need to hear our summary of the novel. 

Tim and Taylor discuss Root Magic, a middle grade historical fiction/fantasy/horror novel by Eden Royce. Listen in to hear their thoughts on the book, what they think kids would like about it, how teachers might want to use it in the classroom, plus recommendations for further reading!

English teachers really love talking about a novel's themes. But is that always a good thing? Should we just chill on the analysis sometimes? In this episode, Taylor and Tim discuss the pros and cons of focusing on larger themes of a text in an ELA classroom. Does it help kids get more out of reading? Or is it just a buzzkill? 

Tim and Taylor discuss Gordon Korman's 97th (!) book, Unplugged, a middle-grade novel about a spoiled rich kid sent against his will to a tech-free summer camp in the middle of rural Arkansas. What did we think? Would kids like it? What would ELA teachers want to focus on if using it in the classroom? Listen to the episode to find out our answers to those questions. WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

When we adults think about recommending a book to a kid, we tend to think of the books that we liked as kids. But do they hold up? Would kids like them? Would these books be good to use in an ELA classroom? Or are we just biased to our childhood favorites? Would kids be better off reading something more modern? In this episode, Tim and Taylor each bring up three books that they enjoyed as kids and attempt to answer all those questions. WARNING: We reveal minor spoilers for the books we bring up in this episode. 

For the podcast's inaugural episode, Tim and Taylor discuss Rick Riordan's latest middle grade sci-fi/fantasy adventure novel Daughter of the Deep. WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS!