Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Weeks

Host Tayla talks with storyteller and Reading Across Rhode Island honorary co-chair Len Cabral about this year's RARI pick, There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraquib. They also discuss Len's life and work, and the North Providence Summer Basketball League. In the Last Chapter they discuss: What's a genre of book outside of your regular picks that you wish you read more of? Overdueing It is a project funded by theRhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and is produced by library staff around the Ocean State. We are proud to be a resident partner of the Rhode Island Center for the Book. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own and do not represent those of the Overdueing It podcast, its sponsor organizations, or any participants' place of employment. The content of Overdueing It episodes are the property of the individual creators, with permission for Overdueing It to share the content on their podcast feed in perpetuity. Any of the content from the Overdueing It podcast can not be reproduced without express written permission. Our logo was designed by Sarah Bouvier and our theme music is by Neura-Flow. Books There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraquib Medgar and Myrlie by Joy-Ann Reid Browse books by Nikki Giovanni James by Percival Everett The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson Youth Group by Jordan Morris and Bowen McCurdy Wicked by Gregory Maguire How the Rabbit Lost His Tail by Len Cabral and Kate DeCarvalho Anansi's Narrow Waist by Len Cabral and David Diaz Jump Up and Say! A Collection of Black Storytelling edited by Linda Goss and Clay Goss Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson The First Tycoon by T. J. Stiles Media A Complete Unknown (2024) Wicked (2024) The Six Triple Eight (2024) Hidden Figures (2016) Meet Me at the Court Other Len Cabral Storyteller Rhode Island Center for the Book Providence Inner City Arts

Host Tayla talks with storyteller and Reading Across Rhode Island honorary co-chair Len Cabral about this year's RARI pick, There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraquib. They also discuss Len's life and work, and the North Providence Summer Basketball League. In the Last Chapter they discuss: What's a genre of book outside of your regular picks that you wish you read more of? Overdueing It is a project funded by theRhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and is produced by library staff around the Ocean State. We are proud to be a resident partner of the Rhode Island Center for the Book. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own and do not represent those of the Overdueing It podcast, its sponsor organizations, or any participants' place of employment. The content of Overdueing It episodes are the property of the individual creators, with permission for Overdueing It to share the content on their podcast feed in perpetuity. Any of the content from the Overdueing It podcast can not be reproduced without express written permission. Our logo was designed by Sarah Bouvier and our theme music is by Neura-Flow. Books There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraquib Medgar and Myrlie by Joy-Ann Reid Browse books by Nikki Giovanni James by Percival Everett The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson Youth Group by Jordan Morris and Bowen McCurdy Wicked by Gregory Maguire How the Rabbit Lost His Tail by Len Cabral and Kate DeCarvalho Anansi's Narrow Waist by Len Cabral and David Diaz Jump Up and Say! A Collection of Black Storytelling edited by Linda Goss and Clay Goss Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson The First Tycoon by T. J. Stiles Media A Complete Unknown (2024) Wicked (2024) The Six Triple Eight (2024) Hidden Figures (2016) Meet Me at the Court Other Len Cabral Storyteller Rhode Island Center for the Book Providence Inner City Arts

Send us a textEmail marketing has the power to elevate your traffic to new heights. Mike sits down with Hope Bellair, Punchmark's Digital Marketing Manager, and Sarah Weeks, Art Director at Punchmark, to discuss best practices and strategy for your next Email Marketing campaign. Where is the sweet spot for sending "too many" and "radio silence"? What should you market about during the down months? Which email platform is most effective?Learn more about Punchmark's Email Marketing Campaign here: https://www.punchmark.com/email-marketing Send feedback or learn more about the podcast: punchmark.com/loupe Learn about Punchmark's website platform: punchmark.com Inquire about sponsoring In the Loupe and showcase your business on our next episode: podcast@punchmark.com

Happy National Library Week! Learn more here: https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek Read alikes: Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King The List by Patricia Forde Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks

Diane and Sean discuss a direct-to-video Winnie the Pooh adventure. Episode music is, "Adventure is a Wonderful Thing", music and lyrics by Michael Abbot and Sarah Weeks, performed by Andre Stojka, from the OST.-  Our theme song is by Brushy One String-  Artwork by Marlaine LePage-  Why Do We Own This DVD?  Merch available at Teepublic-  Follow the show on social media:-  IG: @whydoweownthisdvd- Tumblr: WhyDoWeOwnThisDVD-  Follow Sean's Plants on IG: @lookitmahplantsSupport the show

Mk Smith Despres talks about all the different kinds of walks they take from the everything-is-the-worst walk, to the there's-a-problem-in-the text walk, to the walking-with-the-kids walk.But most of all, this episode focuses on the importance of relationships–relationships with our editors, our students, and our writing process. You can preorder Mk Smith Despres' debut picture book from  Imaginary Bookshop or The Eric Carle Museum.To prep for our next episode with Gita Varadarajan, be sure to read her new picture book My Bindi and reread the fabulous novel she co-authored with Sarah Weeks, Save Me a Seat..Support the show

Mk Smith Despres talks about all the different kinds of walks they take from the everything-is-the-worst walk, to the there's-a-problem-in-the text walk, to the walking-with-the-kids walk.But most of all, this episode focuses on the importance of relationships–relationships with our editors, our students, and our writing process. You can preorder Mk Smith Despres' debut picture book from  Imaginary Bookshop or The Eric Carle Museum.To prep for our next episode with Gita Varadarajan, be sure to read her new picture book My Bindi and reread the fabulous novel she co-authored with Sarah Weeks, Save Me a Seat..Support the show

Sarah Weeks is the Director of Business & Career Services at Gordon Cooper Technology Center. There, she helps every individual no matter their background or their different abilities find success in life. Come listen to how learning styles are changing and how everyone should be adaptable to the transforming world of careers and business. Gordon Cooper Technology Center: https://www.gctech.edu/ (405) 273-7493 Sarah's office: 405-273-7493 ext. 2213

Show Notes We are Traci and Ellie, two bookish friends who talk in any spare minute that we have.  This week we are going back to  school!  To shop the books listed in this episode, visit our shop at bookshop.org.   Literally Reading: Birds of California by Katie Cotugno (Traci) The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Ellie) Open the Book:  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank  The Hiding Place Corrie Ten Boom  Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson  Our Town by Thorton Wilder  The Crucible by Arthur Miller   Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck  The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne  The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Lord of the Flies by William Golding  The Giver by Lois Lowry The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgereald  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens David Copperfield  by Charles Dickens Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Les Miserables by Victor Hugo The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas  The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan  Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan El Deafo by Cece Bell  Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Gita Varadarajan joins Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to talk about the ways in which diverse texts allow students to develop empathy for others, explore challenging topics, find joy and deepen their comprehension skills. Gita brings years of classroom experience to spark conversation and scaffold opportunities that guide students toward a variety of texts to create a balanced diet of rich literature. As illustrated in the PEBC Teaching Framework, providing students with life worthy materials that mirror the real world, time to read and explore, and lively discourse create classroom communities that support agency, equity and understanding. In addition, Gita shares her journey as an author, educator, and newcomer to the United States. Gita Varadarajan was born and raised in India. She is the co-author of the award-winning Save Me a Seat with Sarah Weeks and the newly released My Bindi (illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan). She has worked with children all over the world and currently teaches 4th grade at Riverside Elementary School in Princeton, New Jersey. As a children's author, Gita strives to incorporate her understanding of power and privilege along with the importance of hope and joy as her characters navigate the world of school and home. She hopes her stories provide new perspectives for her readers, opportunities to connect with diverse literature, and to create a place for laughter and joy. Learn more about Gita by visiting her website or following her on twitter at @gitavarad1. The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Sarah Weeks: Aurora und die Sache mit dem Glück | gelesen von Julia Nachtmann | 1 mp3-CD, 3 Std. 38 Min. | 14,95 Euro (UVP) | ab 10 Jahren | Hörcompany

Hey Everyone!

We are Traci and Ellie, two bookish friends who talk in any spare minute that we have.  This week we are discussing Middle Grade vs. Young Adult!  To shop the books listed in this episode, visit our shop at bookshop.org.   Literally Reading: The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes (Ellie) The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling (Traci) Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan (Ellie) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Traci) Crack the Book Open:  On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (Ellie) The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Traci)  Hope and Other Punch Lines by Julie Buxbaum (Ellie) Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (Traci) To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (Ellie) The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke (Traci) To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer (Ellie) Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith (Traci)

Sarah Weeks: Aurora und die Sache mit dem Glück | gelesen von Julia Nachtmann | 1 mp3-CD, 3 Std. 38 Min. | 14,95 Euro (UVP) | ab 10 Jahren | Hörcompany

Today I will read Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash By: Sarah Weeks. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/story83/support

Today I read Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash by Sarah Weeks. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/story83/support

Everyday Rockstar (0:00:00) Lisa and Richie talk with this week's Everyday Rockstar. You can nominate yourself or someone you know by emailing thelisashow@byu.edu.   Writing a Children's Book (0:04:55) What was a book you read as a kid that you will never forget? For one wacky reason or another, we all have books that made a sizeable impact on us as kids. But what exactly goes in to writing a children's book, and what do authors take into consideration before writing one? Joining us today is the renowned Sarah Weeks, a bestselling children's author widely known for her book “So B. It.” She's here with us to discuss what goes in to her process for writing a story for children.   Helping Your Kids Get into Service (0:22:00) Getting your kids to pull weeds at Grandma's can feel like pulling teeth. Whether you have a moody teenager or a distracted toddler, children aren't always thrilled about serving others. How can you help them not only serve more often, but do it with a smile on their face? Here to help answer that question is Gina James, mother, educator, and my little sister.   Taming Toy Clutter (0:36:32) Toys—they're everywhere. Spilling out of boxes and bins, strewn over couches and chairs, and layered so thickly on the ground you can't see the floor. And, worst of all, Lego bricks hiding in the carpet waiting to inflict pain on unsuspecting feet. If you're feeling like toys have taken over your home, worry no more! Here to discuss with us how to reclaim our homes from toy takeover is home and sustainability writer, Laura Fenton!   Techniques for Being Assertive (1:12:08) Do you ever leave a discussion or argument feeling totally defeated, only to come up with the perfect rebuttal the next morning in the shower or on your drive to work? I don't know of a soul who hasn't experienced this. The reality is, being persuasive or assertive can be difficult, and even requires practice. Well here with us today to share techniques on being more persuasive and assertive is family lawyer and author of the new book “The Conflict Resolution Grail,” Meysa Maleki.   STEM Fiction Celebrating Girls (1:27:32) One aspect of girls' education that we need to do a better job focusing on is STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics. How do we get them involved and how do we encourage them to pursue those fields? Well today, we are speaking with Valerie Tripp, the author of National Geographic's new STEM-based series to talk about how we can empower girls through literature.

Today, we’re going to be looking at Save me a Seat by Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks! Though it’s been a while since I’ve read this book, I still wanted to give my opinion on the novel! So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks episode of Readability! Keep reading folks! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/readability-for-kids/support

Mac And Cheese is written by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Jane Manning and published by Harper Collins e-books in 2010. It is a short story about friendship and compromising between two cats, Mac and Cheese.This story features rhyming words with a brief lesson and suggested activities for follow-up applications. Afterwards, listeners could also discuss the action words (VERBS) featured in the story (i.e. pouncing, bouncing, skipping, etc.).

You wanna get nuts in 2020? Then come on, let's get nuts with a very special episode of Smearframes! Discussing the many, many high and low points of the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher Batman films is such a gargantuan task that Ryan and Caitlin are bringing in their very first guest, Sarah! The three of them all have different connections to this series, but they are able to find some common ground in the out-of-time architecture of Gotham City, the villainous delights of Catwoman and the Penguin, Jim Carrey's somewhat horrifying rubber face and their love of quoting Uma Thurman in lettuce eyebrows. 

The babes discuss Pie by Sarah Weeks in this episode. In this book, the Pie Queen of Ipswitch dies and leaves her famous pie crust recipe to her cat, Lardo. Tell us how to properly pronounce pecan and find out which one of us doesn’t like pie as we delve into this sweet story.  Tipsiness […]

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom, and spending a lovely weekend with my family inside away from the bitter cold playing epic games of Sorry and watching all the Star Wars movies. Again. This is Episode #41 and today I’m sharing with you some fabulous 2018 titles to look forward to this year and an awesome interview with EngiNerds author Jarrett Lerner! Book Talk - Most Anticipated Middle Grade Books of 2018 Typically in this segment, I share with you a few books centered around a theme. And during the last few episodes I was all about looking back at some of the best middle grade fiction and graphic novels of 2017. (If you missed those, go check out episodes #39 and #40.) But this week I want to talk about some of the most anticipated books of the upcoming year.  Some are long-awaited sequels or new installments in well-loved series. Some are new ventures for favorite authors. And some are by debut authors. So, buckle up and and get ready to add to your wish list. And just a reminder - before you scramble for a pen and paper. You can find every book mentioned here AND a picture of the available covers AND a link to pre-order them right through the Books Between Podcast link at AlltheWonders.com.  I’ve got your back, I know you’re busy, so it’s all right there for you.  And I’ve come to really love pre-ordering - it helps out favorite authors and it’s like a little gift to your future self. Two quick things to mention before I start. One - this is just a sampling of all the incredible books coming out this year. I’ll add some links to some great resources in the shownotes where you can find more complete listings of titles to browse through and discover some gems: http://www.readbrightly.com/middle-grade-books-2018/ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/98185.Middle_Grade_Novels_of_2018 https://mgbookvillage.org/2018releasedates/ https://electriceighteens.com/ And second - publication dates do change, so while I’ve mentioned the book release month - things sometimes change. All right - let’s get to it! Coming in January… Let’s start with the some sequels because there are some AWESOME sequels coming our way to give us something to look forward to during this dreary month…. Linda William’s Jackson’s follow-up to Midnight Without a Moon - A Sky Full of Stars is out this January as Rose struggles with the way to face the rising racial tensions in her community. Ooooo - and the new Fenway & Hattie is out this January!!!  I just can’t get enough of that little dog!  This third one is called Up to New Tricks so definitely snag that one for your Fenway fans - and for you, too! And Gordon Korman’s Supergifted is also set for a January release - this is the sequel to Ungifted - a great book about a boy named Donovan who is mistakenly transfering into a gifted program and has to figure out how to pass as brilliant.  This follow up is about his new friend, Noah. We are also getting another Terrible Two book in January - Terrible Two Go Wild! And a new Spy on History book - Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army! Ah!  And we a get a new HiLo book this January! It’s called Waking the Monsters! (As my husband said - yeah, that sounds like what I do every weekday.) Our 8 year old is SUPER psyched about this new book! - so keep ‘em coming Judd Winick! Okay - and it’s not really a sequel BUT - there is just released a GRAPHIC NOVEL version of the first The Wings of Fire book - ahhhh!!!  It’s illustrated by Mike Holmes and my students are going to FREAK when I tell them  tomorrow. Some other January releases that are looking fabulous are…. Betty Before X  - an historical fiction novel set in the 40s about 11-year-old Betty Shabazz - future civil rights leader.  This one is written by her daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson Winterhouse by debut author Ben Guterson - this is an urban fantasy mystery set in a magical hotel containing a huge library with secrets to discover. We are also getting the first middle grade book by picture book author Angela Dominguez called Stella Diaz Has Something to Say! Another novel that looks REALLY interesting is called TBH, This is SO Awkward by Lisa Greenwald and it’s told entirely in texts.  So I definitely need to check that one out. And my friend Emily Montjoy has been raving about Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard so I’m looking forward to my turn with that one. Also - Leslie Connor, the author of the critically-acclaimed All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, has a new novel out in January called The Truth as Told By Mason Butte - so definitely check that one out. Natalie Lloyd also has a new novel coming out this January! So if you liked A Snicker of Magic or The Key to Extraordinary, look for The Problim Children - which is described as a mix between Lemony Snicket and the Addams Family... Annnd - the new Elly Swartz novel - Smart Cookie!!  I had a chance to read an ARC of this one with my daughters and oh I can’t wait for it to be out in the world! On to February … One that I’ve had a chance to read ahead of time is Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy and Ali Fadhil.  I’ll talk more about this book later when I have time to really go into depth, but for now I’ll just say - preorder it. A great historical fiction about an Iraqi boy during the first Gulf War. Then we have The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta - a fantasy about a New Jersey girl discovering that she may, in fact, be an Indian princess. The 11:11 Wish by Kim Tomsic looks really fun. It’s about a dorky math nerd who vows to reinvent herself at her new school. And when she makes a wish as the clock strikes 11:11, she gets granted a magical object that might help her. Shannon Hitchcock, author of Ruby Lee & Me has a new novel coming out in February - this one is call One True Way. Another one to look out for in February is Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters. With all the buzz about Wrinkle in Time with the new movie coming out, this book looks really great. Aaand - we get a new John David Anderson novel in February!! This one (Granted) is so different from Ms. Bixby or Posted, but I just loved it! It’s a fantasy novel about a fierce fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets who runs into some trouble as she attempts to grant her first wish. In March, there are so books I am really looking forward to! My principal won’t mind if a take a month-long reading sabbatical, right? Like Vanessa is the debut novel by author Tami Charles - it’s set in 1983 and is about a young girl inspired by seeing Vanessa Williams get crowned Miss America and is encouraged by her teacher to enter a beauty pageant. Lauren Magaziner has a new book out in March called Wizardmatch that looks like a fun fantasy. And The Science of Breakable Things by debut author Tae Keller looks really good - a book about a scientifically minded girl competing in an egg-drop contest AND using those skills to try to help her mom deal with her struggles. In March we also get Colby Sharp’s Creativity Project! An “awesometastic” collection of short stories developed from the author’s prompts to each other. It is a fantastic read and such a clever idea!  Definitely one that teachers will want on hand to spark your writers’ imaginations. The Train of Lost Things  by Ammi Joan-Paquette is another favorite of my #BookVoyage friend Emily Montjoy - who has amazing taste by the way. (Definitely go follow her on Twitter @mrsmontjoyreads ! ) So I’m looking forward to a chance to read this one as well. Oh! And the next Dan Gemeinhart novel comes out in March!! It is called Good Dog and I can’t read the synopsis to you or I’ll start crying but it sounds simply wonderful. Of course it is - it’s Dan Gemeinhart! March lets us reconnect with some favorite characters with a great bunch of sequels coming out. We get a new Emily Windsnap book, Emily Windsnap and the Falls of Forgotten Island. And a new Star Scouts graphic novel - League of Lasers   The third Narwhal and Jelly book (Peanut Butter and Jelly) come out.   The 78-Story Treehouse as well as a new Dory Fantasmagory book called Head in the Clouds along with a new Stick Dog Stick Dog Crashes a Party.   We also get Elana Arnold’s follow up to A Boy Called Bat - Bat and the Waiting Game   And - probably the book that I have been waiting and waiting for. DYING to read with my daughters - is The Wild Robot Escapes - the sequel to Peter Brown’s incredible The Wild Robot!  So - mark your calendars for March 13th, pre-order this one, AND - if you haven’t yet read the first one…. well, what’s the matter with you? Get on that! In April we have lots to look forward to including sequels, like: The next Moon Base Alpha book called Waste of Space, Janet Tashjian’s My Life As a YouTuber , and Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl will be out. And Adrienne’s Kress’ second Explorers book - The Reckless Rescue!   And the third book in Jason Reynold’s incredible Track series will be out! It’s called Sunny and follows “the chillest dude on the Defenders team”, but one with a troubled life at home that hides behind that sunny smile. And, the debut by Laurie Morrison and Cordelia Jenson, called Every Shiny Thing looks really really good…. I’m also looking forward to the new Jewell Parker Rhodes novel called Ghost Boys. It’s about a young boy who is killed by the police when they mistake his toy gun for the real thing. And as a ghost, he witnesses how that event unfolds in his neighborhood and meets other ghosts like Emmett Till. Oh that gives me chills just thinking about it! And - we get a new Kwame Alexander novel this year!  It is called Rebound - the much-awaiting prequel to his Newbery-winning The Crossover. This one about Josh and Jordan’s father, Chuck Bell. On to the awesome May releases to watch for: Terri Libenson’s new graphic novel - Positively Izzy looks great- it’s the companion to Invisible Emmie. And the The Cobalt Prince, the second 5 Worlds graphic novel will be out. Another May release that I am so so excited about is Most Valuable Players - the next Phil Bildner Rip & Red book. There are three books coming in May that have been getting a lot buzz lately - one is called Bob - written by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. I can’t wait to see the awesomeness THAT collaboration brings! The second one is Aisha Saeed’s middle-grade debut, Amal Unbound, which is about a Pakistani girl forced into working as an indentured servant to pay off her family’s debts. Friends who have read this one are saying it is  incredible. And then I keep hearing about Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Let me just read you a bit from the description and tell me this doesn’t sound AMAZING! Okay, “Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1-She lives in a motel, not a big house. Number 2- Her parents hide immigrants. Number 3-She wants to be a writer.” In June we have some really cool books coming our way: Kate Messner’s new novel Breakout - based on some details from the real-life (and close to home for me) breakout of two prisoners in New York and how the community reacts to that situation. I can’t WAIT for this one!!   Also - Kate Beasley (of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness) and Dan Santat (of a million books you love, most recently the picture book After the Fall) are teaming up for a book called Lions & Liars - about a boy named Frederick who is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. That one looks phenomenal!   And Laura Shovan’s new book Takedown is coming this June!  Can’t wait to read this novel about a girl who wants to join the wrestling team. I keep hearing people raving about it on Twitter. And Barbara Dee has a new novel coming out in June called Everything I Know About You.   We also get to read Wendy McLeod MacKnight’s new middle grade novel The Frame-up! I had a chance to read this one this past fall and it is phenomenal. It’s about a young artist who goes to live with his father for the summer and attends an art-camp at the museum where his father is the director. And he soon discovers that the paintings are alive! Truly - after reading this book, I’ll never look at another painting the same way again.  It’s so so good!   And thankfully I have July and August off from school, so I can catch up AND snag some summer release books such as…. Cindy Baldwin’s debut  - Where the Watermelons Grow And my daughter will be thrilled to know there will be a new Dog Man this summer called Lord of the Fleas!   Oh! And Denis Markell, author of Click Here to Start has a new novel coming this summer called The Game Masters of Garden Place. Also this summer is a cool book called Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya. Let me read you a blurb: “Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target.” And the rest of the description is so good - definitely check this one out. This August we also get a new Jess Keating book! This one is called Cute as an Axolotl: Discovering the World's Most Adorable Animals So after August, specific publication dates get a little harder to come by. BUT - a few things have popped up. Like.. A new Last Kids on Earth book called The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond   The new Nameless City graphic novel called The Divided Earth   The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden!! A new Beatrice Zinker book! And I can’t wait for Jarrett Krosoczka's graphic novel memoir coming out called Hey, Kiddo.   Also - I saw, I think... a Sarah Weeks has a sequel to So B. It coming out called Soof? That is definitely on my radar!   And the big news in my class this week - the 8th Amulet book!!!!!! Woohoo!!!  Oh my gosh - my students cheered when I told them that Kazu Kibuishi announced this on Twitter last week!  It is called Supernova and has a beautiful cover so go check that out and make all your middle grade readers happy by pre-ordering it now. So so much to look forward to this year! And of course - I’ll keep you posted about all the amazing books headed our way so we can stay up to date. And definitely make sure you check out the show notes and check out those links so you can dive deeper and discover awesome new books that you are looking forward to reading this year. Main Topic - A Conversation with Jarrett Lerner This week I am so excited to welcome to the show Jarrett Lerner - author of the fantastic middle grade novel EngiNerds. We chat about his plans for the sequel, the power of the perfect metaphor, and Project Runway! Take a listen….. Interview Outline: Enginerds Enginerds has been getting all kinds of love lately - congratulations!! I saw Colby Sharp used Enginerds as his example in his 5 ways to support authors you love video. For those who aren’t (yet!) familiar with Enginerds, can you tell what this story is about? What was your thought process like when deciding what your robots would look like and act like? Enginerds is in a long and glorious line of children’s books and movies and TV shows featuring robots. What are some of your favorites? We are getting a book two, right?! Other Middle Grade Projects So I saw on Twitter last month that you have teamed up with Analiese Avery (@_AJAvery) to launch @MG_BookBot. How did that get started and what are your plans?   And I am so excited about your new middle grade focused website -  MG Book Village!  Aside from the twitter hashtags, what are you hoping to include on the site? Tell me about your KidLit Mentorship Project…. Project Runway Your Writing Life What is your writing process like? What are you working on now? Your Reading Life One of the things I talk about a lot with other educators is the power of that one person to really influence a child’s reading life - either in a really positive way or sometimes in a negative way. Was there someone in your life who impacted you as a reader? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? Thank You!   Links: Jarrett’s Website - https://jarrettlerner.com Jarrett on Twitter and Instagram Books & Authors We Chatted About: Jasmine Toguchi Series Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus The First Rule of Punk Kurt Vonnegut Baby-Sitters Club Sweet Valley High Judy Blume Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker Clementine Ramona Jerry Spinelli The Game Masters of Garden Place Oddity Other Topics We Chatted About: MG Book Village Website #MGBookathon Electric 18 Debut Group Project Runway The Kentaro Dead Cat Scene Tim Gunn’s Golden Rules Melissa Roske’s Interview with Jarrett Lerner Closing Alright, that’s it for today! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better - tell a friend about us! Thanks and see you soon!  Bye!

Intro   Hello and welcome to Books Between - a podcast all about celebrating children’s literature! If you are a teacher, parent, or librarian who wants to help connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love - then you are in the right spot!  I am your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mum of an 8 and 10 year old, and baking brownies and bundt cakes and obviously binge-watching a little bit too much of the Great British Baking Show lately. And I will apologise to my British listeners for this atrocious accent. On the other hand, I do rather blame your show for my potentially not fitting into any of my school clothes since I have been craving nothing but carbs… So, if you hear me slip into a weird Britishesque accent today - I’m sorry. Too much Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry in my head!   This is Episode #31 and Today is all about exceptional anthologies and collections that your middle grade readers are going to love.   Main Topic - Exceptional Anthologies and Short Story Collections Today we are talking all about anthologies and short story collections. First off, we’ll begin with definitions. I used to think those were interchangeable terms but I have come to realize they are not. Then, I’ll share with you some fabulous titles you might want to check out, including some really, really exceptional new releases. Then we’ll chat about some reasons why you should consider including more anthologies and short story collections in your school or classroom library. Definitions   According to my favorite dictionary (Merriam-Webster - mainly because they have a hilarious Twitter account!) an anthology is “a collection of selected literary pieces or passages or works of art or music” and then it goes on to say “a published collection of writings (such as poems or short stories) by different authors”   And that’s the key - anthologies include stories by different authors! The Guys Read Series is a good example of this.   On the other hand, a collection is a book of selected writings (maybe poems, maybe short stories, maybe essays…) all by the same author. Cynthia Rylant’s Every Living Thing is an example you might know.   But….I will say, I see those terms used as synonyms A LOT.   Fantastic Anthologies and Collections To Add to Your Library   And now - a selection - a sampling - a smorgasbord of anthologies and collections to add to your library or introduce to your children. And before we begin, I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who offered ideas for this list when I put out a call on Twitter and Facebook for suggestions. In particular, you will not be surprised to know that Donalyn Miller was on it with a fabulous list of suggestions.   Let’s start with some classics and older releases.   Best Shorts: Favorite Short Stories to Share This anthology was but together by Avi and includes stories by Natalie Babbitt, Rafe Martin, Lloyd Alexander, and lots more.  And it includes a great mix of time travel, and animal stories, and legends and a touch of the supernatural. In particular, “The Woman in White” by Patricia McKissack is one to check out.   Every Living Thing by Cynthia Rylant This is a collection of 12 stories - each one about how people’s lives are changed by an animal. This is a classic collection - and if you have kids who are animal lovers, this is definitely one they might enjoy.   Gary Soto has a number of incredible collections - Baseball in April and Local News are among the ones that would be good for middle grade readers.   My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen Up until last year, Hatchet was on our 5th grade required reading list and for those kids that really connected with that book, this collection was a great next book for them. Each story centers around Paulsen’s relationship with a special dog in his life. So this are also great examples of smaller memoirs.   Another great dog anthology is Because of Shoe edited by Ann M. Martin who also contributes a piece. This one features nine fictional stories that appeal to a variety of age ranges.   The People Could Fly  by Virginia Hamilton Oh how I loved this book when it first came out! This is a collection of 24 retellings of black American folk tales - everything from animal stories to supernatural tales to stories of enslaved men and women seeking freedom.   In a similar vein, Patricia McKissack has two collections worth checking out -  Dark Thirty and it’s companion, which she wrote later, Porch Lies. Dark Thirty includes ten horror-themed stories with a Southern Historical flavor. And Porch Lies still has that eerie quality but also more humor.  If you have a child that likes the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Series, these would be a couple books to put in their hands next.   Then there is Red Ridin’ in the Hood by Patricia Santos Marcantonio. This one was strongly recommend by Matthew Winner and with one quick glance at the description online, I can see why. This is a collection of eleven classic fairy tales retold with a twist of Latino culture. Let me read you the description of the title story: "Red Ridin' in the Hood," moves the setting to the barrio, where Red decides to brave dangerous Forest Street in order to reach her abuelita and encounters the menacing wolf in a thumping Chevy lowrider.” I have GOT to get my hands on that!   If your students or children are into graphic novels, there are several really great collections.   The Comic Squad Series have been favorites with my 5th graders. Right now there are three of them - Recess, Lunch, and Detention which just came out last month so I need to pick that one up before heading back to school.   Also - definitely check out Fairy Tale Comics! This is a very cool collection with some awesomely weird stories in it. If your kids like that one, there is also Fable Comics and Nursery Rhyme Comics.   So - if your students and children are like mine, they LOVE the Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi. And I recently discovered - again thanks to Matthew Winner - that he has edited a series of graphic novel anthologies called the Explorer Series. (Why have I not heard of these before? They look incredible!) Each of the three books has a different theme. So the first is “Mystery Boxes”, the second is “Lost Islands” and the third one is “Hidden Doors”. The list of comic contributors is outstanding -  like Raina Telgemeier, Faith Erin Hicks, Dave Roman, Jen Wang…. I gotta go get these! Been There, Done That - is a really special anthology which has fictional stories by award-winning and best-selling authors and also includes the real-life story that inspired those narratives.  I LOVE how this could show kids how you can mine your own life for stories. This is one of those books that I’m like - how did this get by me? This is GREAT!   The Guys Read Series - This group of seven anthologies is edited by Jon Scieszka and each one has a different theme like Terrifying Tales, The Sports Pages, Other Worlds, Funny Business, and the most recent one Heroes & Villains. And, despite their name, they include stories by both men and women. For example, Dan Gutman, Kelly Barnhill, Matt de la Peña, Neal Shusterman, Shannon Hale, and so so many more!   And now onto some really fabulous new collections and anthologies that your kids are going to love.   The Time We Ran Away  - This anthology is put out by Scholastic and I think is offered as the free book for Book Club orders over $50 this September.  It includes eleven short stories by best-selling authors like Angela Cervantes, Sarah Weeks, and Dan Gemeinhart.  I can’t seem to find it anywhere else (yet) so I think you’re going to have to get this one through Scholastic for now. https://clubs.scholastic.com/the-time-we-ran-away-10-book-pack/9781338253467-rco-us.html   Flying Lessons   This anthology edited by Ellen Oh includes new stories by Kwame Alexander, Kelly Baptist, Tim Tingle, Grace Lin among so many others. It was released last January.  And I got it the day it came out and had wonderful intentions of reading it right away. And then - how can you say no to a line of kids reading over your shoulder and wanting to borrow it? So - all I can say is that what I read was good and it was passed from kid to kid to kid until school let out. Clearly - it’s a winner.   Another new anthology that I LOVED this summer was Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew As Kids . Well - that pretty much says it all! This book is edited by Elissa Brent Weissman and I especially loved the images of the author’s hand written stories and diary entries and sketches from when they were young. And also hearing about the inspiration of a new typewriter or a teacher’s supportive comment on a report card or the chance to enter a writing contest. It’s fascinating to see the beginnings of these 25 writers’ journeys.     If you have students who like something a little dark, a little twisted - then Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods by Hal Johnson is one they are going to love being scared by. This collection is “20 Chilling Tales from the Wilderness”  told from the perspective of a cryptozoologist - a person who studies legendary beasts like Big Foot or the chupacabras. One reviewer called these “faux-lore” which is perfect.  My ten-year old and I really love listening to the podcast Lore together and I think this will really be up her alley. It comes out August 22nd so be on the lookout for that next week.   And finally - Funny Girl - edited by Betsy Bird. In fact, in our very next episode, I have the great pleasure of sharing with you a conversation with Betsy Bird about this book and LOTS of other things.  We talk a fair amount about it  in our interview so I think I’ll just say here that you should definitely go get it. It is truly laugh out loud funny. And oh do we need some humor in our lives. So definitely get this one and I’m...I’m hoping for a Volume 2! 7 Reasons Why You Should Include More Anthologies and Collections   I am going to say up front that I don’t have a ton of these in my classroom. But - I loved them as a child and I’ve noticed lately that my own daughters have been picking more and more of them up. I thought - I need to really expand that part of our library. So here are 7 reasons why you might want to consider including more anthologies and collections.   Anthologies are gateways to discovering other amazing authors. So a child might pick up Guys Read: Funny Business and be drawn to the Jeff Kinney story,  “Unaccompanied Minors” but then get introduced to the amazing Christopher Paul Curtis or David Lubar and suddenly discover their new favorite author. On the other hand, a collection of writing pieces all by one author is great when you want to go more in depth and dig into everything they have to offer. Often authors who are known for, say, novels or a certain genre - will play around in short pieces and try something new. Like poetry or a personal essay. I feel like a collection gives you a good sense of who an author is and more of a window into their life. Anyone who loves Gary Paulsen should read My Life in Dog Years. Anthologies and collections can help kids gain some reading traction if their stamina hasn’t been so great. They can get that satisfaction of finishing a story or an essay in a short amount of time and start to build up to longer texts. Especially at the beginning of the year or after a break, starting with something shorter can be a great idea. When I’ve had reading lulls in my ownlife, short stories can really kick-start me again. They are great for trying out new genres and new formats without the investment in a longer novel. My youngest daughter wouldn’t necessarily pick up a biography but she LOVED Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls. And although most of my students really love graphic novels, I’ve had more than few turn up their noses at that format. So I’ve handed them books like Comic Squad or Fairy Tale Comics and ask them to just try one story. Anthologies and collections introduce a greater variety of stories and perspectives into your life. On the last episode when I was chatting with Jillian Heise about #ClassroomBookADay, I was thinking about how reading a picture book each day can bring more so much more diversity into a classroom. And collections can do the same thing. In fact I was talking with my husband about this last night and he said it perfectly, “Would you rather get a box of all the same chocolates or would you rather get sampler with a dozen different flavors?” Yeah - I’m going for the flavors! And I might leave the cashew cluster for someone else, but that’s okay. Coming at this from a teacher’s point of view, reading the short stories and essays found in anthologies and collections are wonderful to offer as models for students’ own writing. With my 5th graders, we use the TCWRP Units of Study and our first writing unit is Narratives. And of course, I want to give them lots of examples and mentor texts. So I’ll take the first couple of weeks to read to them lots and lots of short narratives to really imprint in their mind what a good narrative sounds like and feels like. What the pacing and plotting is like in all kinds of narratives - from funny to serious. And finally - anthologies and collections are perfect for when you don’t want to jump into a long book yet or you only have little snippets of time to read.  I think they are great for traveling. If you’re on the bus or a plane, you can finish a full a story and don’t have to worry about rereading to pick back up the threads of a plot. In a classroom, if students are in book clubs and a couple members of the group have fallen behind in their reading and need to catch up, you don’t want the other students to start a new novel. So offering them a book like Flying Solo or Funny Girl is a great option. Closing   Okay - that wraps up our show this week. We have some great interviews and book talks coming up. Next week is the amazing Betsy Bird. And after that you can look forward to a conversations with Celia Perez about The First Rule of Punk and Danielle Davis - author of Zinnia and the Bees. I’ll also be chatting about Jason Reynold’s Patina and some really great new graphic novels. So be on the lookout for those.   And, if you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.     And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, please leave a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher.   Thanks again and see you soon!  Bye!

Intro Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect middle grade kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom of two daughters, and totally into binge-watching the Netflix series The Crown. I’ve seen them all twice now. This is Episode #13 and today we are all about celebrating some of the best middle grade books published in 2016. Main Topic - The Top 20 Middle Grade Books of 2016 2016 has been a phenomenal year. For middle grade books. (Not so much for anything else, really!)  And for me, 2016 has been a standout year not only for the amount of books I’ve read, but for the quality of those books.  I’ve already exceeded my sixty book goal and I’m up to 75 at the time of this recording but not only that, I don’t think I’ve rated a book less than three stars all year. Maybe I’m doing a better job of picking things I’d like, but I just think there’s been some exceptional books published this year. So - just to give you some context of where this top 20 list comes from, here’s a bit of information. In the past year, I’ve read 60 middle grade books as of 12/19. Of those 60 - 31 were published in 2016 - so just about half of what I’ve read was new.  I will say that this year was light for me with nonfiction. I gotta work on that next year. So this list is all fiction and unlike other “Best of” lists out there, I did not separate out novels in verse or graphic novels. Everything’s all together. Alright here we go - these are my Top 20 middle grade novels of 2016. #20 - Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eager I’m not typically a huge fan of the magical realism genre but this novel took me on such a sweet journey last spring. I loved the sparse dangerous beauty of the New Mexico desert and the poignant story of Carol and her family caring for the grandfather who’s losing himself in dementia. This was a debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what else this author has in store! #19 - Rookie of the Year by Phil Bildner This novel is the second in the Rip & Red series - the first was A Whole New Ballgame. If you are into the Kidlit community, if you consider yourself a member of the Nerdy Book Club, then you are going to love this book because the teacher, Mr. Acevedo- he’s one of us. If he existed, we’d be following him on Instagram and bumping into him on #TitleTalk chat the last Sunday of the month on Twitter. This book is fun, warm and diverse without being about diversity. It’s simply great, and I can’t wait for book #3. #18 - Sticks & Stones by Abby Cooper Such a memorable book with a main character that you just want to wrap up in your arms and hug. Elyse suffers from a rare disorder where the words others use to describe her are imprinted on her skin - including her own thoughts about herself. This is a book about friendship, and courage, and learning to be kind to yourself. #17 - Like Magic by Elaine Vickers This is one of several fantastic books that came out this year that featured friendship trios, but these three girls took awhile to come together. Jade, Grace, and Malia each end up at the same library, at different times, and find something they need in this mysterious secret treasure box that the librarian has tucked away in the Lost & Found drawer. I think what I loved so much about this book was how it spoke to the power of libraries and librarians to bring people together. And how libraries can be sanctuaries for children and a place to find yourself. #16 - Eleven and Holding by Mary Penney First - this book made me laugh. The main character, Macy, is a riot. It was heartfelt but not saccharine and it had lots of mysteries to solve. And is it weird to say that I had a mini crush on Switch - the skateboarding bad boy? Yeah, that’s probably weird. Let me rephrase that. My 12 year-old self would totally have fallen for that kid. #15 - Wish by Barbara O’Connor 12 year-old Charlie is sent to go live with her aunt and uncle in what she considers a “hillbilly” town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And she’s unruly and angry and yet…. The folks around her show such patience while she tries to sort everything out. It’s lovely and I liked that more rural setting. There’s also a dog that, actually - now that I think about it, follows a similar journey to our main character. #14 - The Tapper Twins Run for President by Geoff Rodkey The third novel in this series is all about the hilarity that ensues when Claudia and Reese Tapper both run for class president. It’s funny and oddly truthful about politics and running for office. Plus - I loved the twist ending. #13 - Children of Exile by Margaret Peterson Haddix This first novel in a new series had me on the edge of my seat for days. Cliffhanger after cliffhanger that build to this jaw-dropping moment that had me furiously calling and texting my friends who had already read it. So - go read it so you can tell me what you think! #12 - Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier Unlike Smile and Sisters and Drama, Ghosts is not based on Raina’s real-life but instead features a young girl named Catrina and her little sister, Maya who is living with Cystic Fibrosis. It touches on some hard-hitting themes (childhood illness and death) but somehow stays light at the same time. Again I was reminded of how much I love Telgemeier’s style - those crisp lines, curves, and great color palette. Already this book has disappeared from my classroom so I guess I’ll buying another one! #11 - Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan Featuring alternating narratives from Joe and Ravi, this book really gets what it’s like to flounder in school and to be the target of a mean kid.  I love that it takes place over one week, I love the humor, and I love the recipes in the back. This is a great choice for kid’s book clubs - it’s not too, too long and there’s a lot to discuss. #10 - Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo I got this novel last April when Kate DiCamillo came to Syracuse as part of a “lecture” series where, of course, she did NOT lecture. Instead, she focused on the kids in the audience. And not only answered the children’s questions in a way that made them feel heard and understood and but deftly framed those questions so that that both kids and adults left inspired and knowing a lot more about her and her writing process. At this event, she talked about how her family moving without her father coming along was inspiration for this story about a girl whose dad has left town with a dental hygienist. And Raymie is trying to figure out a way to get him to come back. As part of her grand plan, she ends up taking baton twirling lessons with these other two girls who each bring their own joys and pains to the story. It is wonderful and quirky in that beautiful diCamillo way. #9 - The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan This is a book that I recommend over and and over again - for so many reasons.  I love the poems, I love the storyline about kids coming together to try to save their school from being ripped down, I love how the different narrative pieces all fit together, I love how you see the characters grow and change through their poetry. It’s so, so good! #8 - Finding Perfect by Elly Schwartz Another incredible novel by a debut author. And a book that so many middle grade readers will be able to relate to - whether that’s navigating friendship with two very different people, eating take out for days when your family is overworked and too busy, or living with anxiety or OCD like the main character does. #7 - Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin Every once in awhile you read a book where the characters are so vivid and so real that months after you’re done reading the novel, you wonder about them. Will and Naheed and Aimee and Sergio would be in their twenties now. With all that’s going on in the world, I wonder what they would be thinking at this new turning point in our country’s history. #6 - The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner There’s so so much to love about this book and later on in the podcast I’m going to go into more detail about. But - I have to share with you the best summary of this book from the Author’s Note in the back. She calls it a “ magical-ice-fishing-Irish-dancing-heroin novel for kids.” Yes, it is! And it is glorious! #5 - When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin This is a book that you finish and you set down and immediately want to go read everything else that author has ever written. I’ll share more in the book talk segment later on in the podcast. #4 - The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz Three unlikely saints, an awful character who turns out to be good, a good character who turns out to be bad, disgustingly delicious French cheese, and…. a farting dragon. Now - don’t you want to know how all those connect? From what I hear, the audio of this novel is incredible - and you get to hear “The Song of Hildebrand” and other new music by medieval scholar and musician Benjamin Bagby. BUT - then you’d miss out on the dozens of medieval style illuminations by Hatem Aly in the paper copy. I think you just have to do both to get the full experience. #3 - Booked by Kwame Alexander Yes, this story is about 12-year-old Nick and his first real love, and his relationship with his parents, and soccer, and middle school bullies. BUT. It’s also about a bold librarian who slowly kindles in Nick a passion for books - often without Nick even quite realizing it.   #2 - Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson Oh how I loved this book. How I wished it wouldn’t end. This novel is another 2016 release featuring a trio of friends. Topher, Brand, and Steve band together to bring the last day celebration their teacher, Ms. Bixby missed when she had to leave school early.  Along the way they battle bakery owners, a creepy guy who tries to steal their money, and sometimes….each other. For me, the mark of an exceptional book, is one that can make me sob and laugh out loud and this book had me doing both. And, my #1 middle grade book of 2016 is: #1 - The Wild Robot by Peter Brown This is the first middle grade novel by picture book author and illustrator Peter Brown - and boy did he hit it out of the park! I have so much I want to say, but I’m going to hold off a little bit and save it for our book talk segment. So - those are my top 20 middle grade reads of 2016!  Now, I can already sense the emails coming my way saying, “Corrina - seriously - a best of 2016 list and you didn’t mention Wolf Hollow or Counting Thyme or The Rat Prince?”  And you know what? You’re probably right. Had I had a chance to read all those, they likely would have made this list. In fact, I’m halfway through Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon and oh - if the ending holds out - a powerhouse of a book. I want to read everything Kelly Barnhill has ever written,will ever write, including her grocery lists.  I know I missed some awesome ones. So a quick shoutout to some 2016 releases that are on my To Be Read list:   Top Want to Read Books from 2016   Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd The Rat Prince by Bridget Hodder Maxi’s Secret by Lynn Plourde Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban Gertie's Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley The Best Man by Richard Peck Swing Sideways by Nanci Turner Steveson Ghost by Jason Reynold   Annnd…. Likely lots more that I am missing! So - I want to hear from YOU - what were your favorite 2016 reads and which ones should be bumped up on my to be read list? You can pop me an email at booksbetween@gmail.com or connect on Twitter with the handle @Books_Between.   Book Talk - Three Amazing Books from 2016 In this part of the show, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week is all about the cream of the crop of 2016. Many of the titles in my Top 20 list, I’ve already featured on the podcast in previous episodes, and some I’ve talked about more than once. But there are a few of my favorites from 2016 that either didn’t fit into a theme I was focusing on for that show or they were very recent reads. The three of my top 2016 picks that I want to talk about with you are  The Seventh Wish, When the Sea Turned to Silver, and my #1 pick of the year - The Wild Robot.   The Seventh Wish First up is Kate Messner’s The Seventh Wish.  I read this book over the summer but it feels right to be talking about it in the winter. The book starts with this gorgeous image of ice flowers blooming on a frozen lake and takes place over one winter in the life of Charlie Brennan. And it’s a difficult winter for her. Her bright athletic older sister, Abby, develops a heroin addiction at college, her mother has a challenging new job, and suddenly everyone else’s problems have pushed her concerns way over to the side. And one day - while out ice fishing with her neighbors - she catches a fish that grants wishes. And Charlie has to figure out just how far that magic will go.  So here are three things I loved about Kate Messner’s The Seventh Wish:   The “I’m thinking of a word” game - So, Charlie and her family play this game where one person will announce “I’m thinking of a word.” and the rest of the family tries to guess what that word is. And whoever comes closest is the winner. And it sounds simple - and it is - but the true brilliance of this game comes in trying to justifying why “flashlight” is closer to “sunflower” than “rebellious” is!  It’s a lot of laughs, it gets you thinking and is now one of our favorite games to play in the car. The Irish Dancing - A major part of Charlie’s life is competing in Irish Dance competitions called feiseanna (“feesh-ee-AH-nuh) - the singular of that is feis (“fesh”). This is a completely foreign world to me, but suddenly I’m into hard shoes vs. soft shoes, the hornpipe and treble jig, strange uses for glue, and the ranking systems in competition. I love books where you can immerse yourself in something new. The Familiar Wintery Feel - So while all the Irish dancing details were totally new to me, the cold, blustery atmosphere of the setting was not. I live in Central New York - just outside of Syracuse, often touted as the Snow Capital of the United States. We get on average, 128” of snow every year.  Charlie’s family goes snowshoeing and ice fishing, and they wonder if when the sun comes out it will warm up from minus 22 degrees to a balmy zero. I think the setting is Northern New York or maybe Vermont, but it felt like it was written about my home. Charlie bundling up in layers of sweaters, snow pants, her puffy jacket, and two scarves is oh-so-familiar to me.   The Seventh Wish is not only a phenomenal and fun book, but also an important book. I’m not sure how things are in your community, but mine is struggling with a daunting heroin problem. And a book that addresses that in a realistic but hopeful way that is completely perfect for a middle grade reader is a necessity right now. It’s simply a fantastic book.   When the Sea Turned to Silver The second book I want to tell you more about, and one that I just finished a few days ago, is Grace Lin’s When the Sea Turned to Silver.  And I need to admit to you - this is the very first Grace Lin book I have read. And argh - why have I waited so long?! It was beautiful and lightly intricate and inspiring.  And I am sure if you have read the companion novels 2011’s Newbery Honor book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and 2014’s Starry River of the Sky - you will get even more out of it than I did. But don’t feel like you have to read those other two first - I obviously didn’t and still understood and loved this book. This novel is about a young girl’s quest to rescue her grandmother from a cruel and vindictive Emperor, who is keeping the grandmother (and others) captive. The girl’s name is Pinmei and her grandmother is a famous Storyteller so as we are following Pinmei and her friend Yishan on their voyage to get back the grandmother, interspersed throughout that narrative are these traditional folktales.  Here are three things I loved about Grace Lin’s When the Sea Turned to Silver:   The interconnectedness of the stories. It is this slow crescendo of the main narrative and the folktales that come crashing together at the end. And all along the way, you know they are starting to connect to each other and characters and settings from one story are popping up in others - and STILL I was utterly surprised by how everything came together at the end. The focus on Honor.  Sometimes it seems like there’s a shortage of self-sacrificing, honorable people today. (Or maybe our culture doesn’t revere them as much as it should.) But this novel is full of characters like the scarred servant or the King of the Bright City of Moonlight who learn, eventually, to do the right and honorable thing even when it means danger and maybe death for themselves. It’s rereadability (is that a word?) - I don’t know but this was a book that as soon as I turned that last page, I had to go back and reread some of the stories now that I knew more about the characters and how the tales all connected. It reminded me a bit of when I finished the YA novel Challenger Deep - now that I know the secret, I want to go back and catch everything I missed and experience the story again with new eyes.   If you have a child that loves folk tales with lots of adventure and twists along the way, then When the Sea Turned to Silver would be a great recommendation for them.   The Wild Robot And I saved my best, my favorite of 2016 for last. Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot. “Our story begins on the ocean, with wind and rain and thunder and waves.” Oh - that first line gets me. You know how some books just happen to come into your life at the right moment to connect with you? That’s how this book was for me and my daughters. The first I heard of it was on the All the Wonders podcast when Matthew Winner interviewed Peter Brown and there was something so intriguing about the scenario of a robot stranded on a hostile, remote island, becoming a mother, and trying to survive and thrive. I immediately drove over to my bookstore, got a copy, and started reading it out loud with my girls that very night. We finished, a few weeks later, on Mother’s Day - and maybe that’s why the story of Roz sacrificing so much for the island - and the island sacrificing for her - touched us so much on that particular day. It was our first family book cry. We had to get more tissues and my husband rushed into the room wondering why we were all sobbing! It’s an incredible book and difficult to narrow it down to just three things to love, but here are a few things that I thought were exceptional about The Wild Robot. The illustrations - First, there are tons of them - every couple pages in every sort of perspective and shape: tall trees along the sides with a bear dangling over the text, an action scene charging across the bottom, two page spreads of a single crucial moment with just a small paragraph to the side, small inserts of just one animal, or one leaf. Peter Brown’s skill in picture book composition is clear in the layout and balance of the drawings and the words. The robot, Roz, is made of simple shapes and lines that really make it feel like it could take place at any time. And of course, I love his style of splatters and shading. The existential questioning that happens with this book. There’s just something about robot stories that lends itself to deep thinking about ethics and morality, the nature of the soul, and what it means to exist. So, I grew up in a Star Trek household. My mom is a trekkie and once got me a signed picture of my crush, Wil Wheaton, from a convention. I loved Next Generation, and particularly the episodes featuring Data, the android - there’s something about pushing the boundaries of programing that is intriguing. Putting a machine in a challenging, new environment and seeing what happens. At one point in the story, Roz and her adopted gosling son wonder what will happen if they push the button to turn her off.  Will she remember him if she turns back on? Will she be the same? Roz is devoid of emotion and yet she brings out so much tenderness and emotion in the reader. How fun and easy it is to read out loud. The chapters are really short so it’s nice to have those natural stopping points when you might just have a few minutes at home or in school.  And the character’s are vibrant and fun with great personalities to give voices to. I did Roz with the voice of Siri, which was loads of fun to do. I channeled Julia Sweeney for the goose, Loudwing and the fast-talking chipmunk, ChitChat was hilarious. The writing just has this great rhythm and it’s a joy to read out loud.   Absolutely go get The Wild Robot - I promise you won’t regret it.   Closing Okay, that’s our show for the week - and the last one of 2016. Look for our next episode on Monday, January 2nd, where I’ll be discussing the most anticipated middle grade books coming out in 2017 and some fun reading challenge ideas to kick off your new year!   And, If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or an idea about a topic we should cover, I really would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And when you are there, look for the other Best of 2016 lists to get more reading ideas. And, if you are liking the show, I’d love it if you took a second to leave  a rating or review on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks and see you in two weeks!  Bye!

Intro Hi and Welcome to Books Between - a podcast to help teachers, parents, and librarians connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom of two girls, and so excited to announce that this podcast has a new home at AlltheWonders.com - the place for readers to discover fabulous new books and experience those stories in amazing ways. I am beyond thrilled to be part of their team and help inspire more connections to books and authors. And to celebrate that, we have a gorgeous new logo designed by the incredible illustrator and author Brianne Farley. Her new picture book, Secret Tree Fort is a huge favorite in my home.  Also - we are celebrating with a great giveaway which I’ll tell you more about at the end of the podcast, so stay tuned! This is Episode #8 and today we’re talking about keeping track of your reading life, three incredible new school-centered novels, and I’ll answer a question about how to talk with kids about their book when you haven’t read it. Main Topic - Tracking Your Reading Life Lately I have noticed a lot of conversation and push back against the practice of requiring students to keep a daily signed-by-parents reading log to attempt to hold kids accountable for their reading.  As a parent and a teacher, I understand that impulse to encourage our children to read every day and to have something tangible as evidence of that. But I do think there are more authentic ways to help kids track their reading life that are based more on what strong readers actually do in real life.     I think about this conversation today as having two layers. First is tracking your own reading life to get more out of your reading and to be a strong role model for the children in your life. And second, guiding children to keep track of their reading lives.   So with that in mind, today we’ll discuss why you and your students should consider keeping track of your reading, thoughts about what to track, and then finally a few ideas for different digital or analog ways to track your reading life. Why You Should Keep Track of Your Reading Life To begin with, let’s talk about why you should keep track of your reading. I have gone through periods in my life when I am recording all different aspects of my reading, and there have been times when I’m not. But when that’s going well, you feel such a sense of accomplishment. It’s fulfilling to look back and see how many books or pages you’ve read. And that motivates you to keep going. Another thing that naturally comes out of recording your reading is that you start to notice patterns that otherwise you might miss. For me, I noticed that I was reading a lot of fantasy and very little historical fiction. Bringing awareness to those patterns and ruts can lead you to set goals and strive toward them. Another benefit of tracking your reading life is that it helps you remember more details about what you read, especially if you jot down a little bit of information about the setting, characters, or topics in a nonfiction text. Having that information really helps you make better recommendations to children and when they are recording what they read, they can make better recommendations to each other. And that’s really what you want to see - kids connecting kids with books.  And one more long-term benefit of tracking your reading is that after many years, those documents become nostalgic. They are a snapshot in time of who you were at that moment. One of my most treasured items from high school is the “To Be Read” list I started my senior year when I was really inspired by a teacher to push my reading in a different direction. So hang on to them! What to Track Now that I have hopefully persuaded you to track your reading and encourage the children in your life to do the same, let’s talk about what you could track. A good place to start is the basics of what you read: title, author/illustrator, date you started and finished. I also like to include a rating, a note about genre and who recommended it to me. Those are all items that I also ask my students to record as well. Another great thing to record is an ongoing TBR (To Be Read) list of books you want to read so you’re never left with that “I don’t know what to read next!” feeling. Of course, sometimes you can have the opposite problem of having TOO many awesome books to read next.  Also - recording progress toward reading challenges can be fun. I participate in the #SixtyBooks challenge and many of my students are doing the 40 Book Challenge so they keep track for that. Jotting down inspiring quotes or “Wow!” moments from non-fiction as well as your own reflections and connections to books, can be another way to get the most out of your reading life. And encouraging students to do that as well keeps things authentic. Reading habits are another really interesting thing you can record. For example, you could record the number of minutes you read each day, the number of pages, numbers of days in a row that you read at least 20 minutes, or track the genres you’ve read over a certain time frame. Some adults and some children really love to get into the nitty-gritty with keeping track of all kinds of things. During last summer’s library reading program, my older daughter got into setting a timer and inputting all the minutes she read into the computer to watch that number grow. And if something like that inspires a kid to read more, then great. For me, I’m always thinking of the balance between reading time and recording time and putting the emphasis more on the reading. Especially in the classroom where time is so precious. Ways to Track Your Reading Life Finally, let’s chat about some different digital or analog ways to track reading. Let’s start with digital. Some favorite spots for adults and older children are websites like Goodreads or LibraryThing where you can track books read, participate in challenge groups, and connect with other readers. Those sites are nice because they generate great statistics for you about your reading habits. If you are looking for something similar to Goodreads but for younger kids, Biblionasium and Bookopolis are worth checking out. A spreadsheet or word document works, too - and Google Docs are nice if you want to share your lists with someone else. There are also some apps you can use like Book Crawler, Litsy, or BookBuddy or even a basic To-Do app with “reading” as one of the items you track. I notice too that more and more people use Instagram and Snapchat as a spot to post the books they’ve read. All of those can be really engaging ways for you and your kids to connect with others about their reading.   On the other hand, you could go with a pen and paper analog method. During the first week of school, my students and I set up our reading journals with sections to record the books we’ve read, our TBR lists, and our new colorful circle genre tracker. If you are interested in taking a peek at that, I’ll post a picture in the shownotes and a link to where you can download the student version. The kind of notebook you use is really all about your preference. My students use spiral notebooks but composition notebooks are good, too. For me, I am very attached to my black Leuchtturm 1917 dotted hardcover notebook which I use as my bullet journal. So, if you’re not familiar with bullet journaling, it’s essentially a combination of planner, to-do list, and habit tracker. I use my bullet journal to keep track of everything including my reading life. I’ll post a few pictures on the website if you’re interesting in seeing how that looks. However, I’m really interested in seeing and sharing your ideas. What benefits do you see for tracking your reading life and what methods do you prefer? If you have a second, email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or tag me in a photo on Twitter or Instagram to share how you keep track of your reading life. Book Talk - Three Incredible New School-Centered Novels   In this segment, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I’ll be talking about  three fabulous school-centered novels that I have not stopped talking about this summer: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Save Me a Seat, and Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary The first book I want to share with you and that I hope you share with your children, is The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan. This is a novel in verse, but it’s not like most other poetry narratives. The premise here is that the 18 children of Ms. Hill’s fifth grade write poems about their year to put in a time capsule to commemorate the closing of their elementary school. So the story is told one poem a day from the point of view of each of the students as some deal with personal struggles and some take on the task of saving their school. So here are three things to love about Laura Shovan’s The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary: There are tiny square sketches of each student to accompany their poems. And it’s a small thing, literally, but that touch really helped me imprint each different voice with the image of that character. It made it easier to recognize the narrative threads that pop up in later poems. How the author presents the problem of the school being torn down with nuance. It’s not that the Board of Ed is evil and selling out to some faceless corporation. And not all the students agree that it’s a bad idea. And yet, this novel truly recognizes how deeply meaningful a building can be. My middle school was torn down about ten years ago and even though my middle school years were rough, I felt so sad to see that building ripped down. It was beautiful with hardwood floors and a cool spiral staircase in the back. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually stole a brick from the construction site when they were tearing it down. Putting on my teacher hat now - the poetry resources in the back of this book are phenomenal. I got ridiculously excited when I saw them. You get great descriptions of every type of poem used in the novel, topic suggestions for kids, and it tells you the page number where you can find the examples of that kind of poem in the book. Also - it has 15 poetry writing prompts that I’m really excited about sharing with my students this year. This is a book that teachers are going to want within reach when planning to teach some poetry - either within a full poetry unit or throughout the year for some fun writing exercises. It takes so much skill to tell a cohesive story from multiple points of view and so much skill to convey a narrative through poetry that this novel amazed me. Kids who really like that growing field of novels in verse are going eat up this book. And if you know a kid who likes to write, this book would be the perfect one to put in their hands to inspire some creativity. Save Me a Seat Another new and wonderful school - centered novel released recently is Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan. This is another multiple point of view book, alternating between the perspectives of two 5th grade boys -  Joe and Ravi. Joe is tall, a little awkward, and is working through a learning disability. Because of that, he’s a target for the popular, thieving school bully, Dillon Samreen. At least, he is until Ravi arrives. Ravi is small, self-confident (at first), and as a recent immigrant from India, he is a bit socially awkward. I read Save Me a Seat as our bedtime read aloud at home with my daughters over the summer. My nine-year-old loved it so much that she swiped it from my nightstand and snuck it into her bedroom with a flashlight to finish reading it on her own. Here are three reasons why we all loved this book: The authors recognize the importance of pronouncing names correctly.  My youngest daughter, Helena, and I both have names that are often mispronounced and I deeply appreciate people who try to get it right. My former principal called me “Core-IN-uh” for the entire time I knew her. And she was wonderful and fiercely protective of her staff but I was so intimidated by her as a young new teacher that I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her that she was saying it wrong. So, I think a lot of kids can relate to Ravi’s frustration when everyone calls him RAH-vee instead of Ra-VEE. Story structured around the lunch menu for the days of the week. The novel only takes place during the first week of school but so much happens that I had to go back and double check. At first I thought, “Oh, that’s a cute device” that the first part is Monday: Chicken Fingers, Tuesday: Hamburgers, but when I got to Wednesday:Chili, I started to realize how the lunch food each day ends up playing a much bigger part than I first thought. At the back of this book, there are also two recipes that also play a part in the story: Apple Crisp and an Indian cookie named Naan Khatai (NON-cuh-tie). In this book, there is that rare and perfect balance of tension and humor. Often, the reader knows the trouble that’s coming because Joe is well aware of Dillon Samreen’s bullying and thievery.  But Ravi doesn’t know all that. And Ravi reasonably thinks that Dillon might be a good friend and ally - he’s also from an Indian family and Dillon has been smiling and winking at him. Dillon is a great villain and you just want to keep reading to see if he gets what’s coming to him.   Save Me a Seat is a fantastic book for kids who enjoy humor mixed in with a really inspiring story. And - you can try out some recipes when you’re done reading, too.   Ms. Bixby’s Last Day Our final school-centered book this week is John David Anderson’s novel Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. This book is amazing and there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by since I read it that I haven’t thought about it.  It’s about three 6th grade boys (Topher, Brand, and Steve) who find out that their teacher, Ms. Bixby, has cancer and her last day at school will be next Friday. The whole class plans a going away party for her but she unexpectedly ends up in the hospital earlier than she thought. And so, these three boys decide to bring their amazing “last day” celebration to her. I’ve read a lot of great books this summer, but this one was different. I found myself slowing down as the pages dwindled because I didn’t want to let those characters go. I just wanted to spend a little more time with them.  There are so many fabulous things to say about this book that it’s hard to narrow it down to just three, but - here we go: How much the storyline is a Quest - Topher, Brand, and Steve are three intrepid heroes braving dangerous territory (skipping school and taking a the bus downtown alone) to collect their sacred objects to make their farewell to Ms. Bixby as perfect as possible. Throughout their journey they have side excursions into dusty old book shops, a bakery, and even a run-in at a liquor store. It’s a small thing, but if you have the hardcover and peek under the dust jacket, you will see a little hidden message from the boys. I think it is so fitting because at the end of the story as you learn more and more about the boys’ relationships with Ms. Bixby through their flashbacks, it’s revealed that Topher, Brand, and Steven each have a small but powerful moment with her that they have kept secret. Topher’s breakdown of the six kinds of teachers you get like the worksheet loving Zombies, the jittery fast-talking caffeine-addicts, the strict Dungeon-Masters, or the Spielbergs who just show movies all the time. But - Ms. Bixby is what he calls a Good One. And he names a few cool things about her like her pink hair and her python. But I think this paragraph gets at the heart of it. Let me read you a bit from page 30. “There were other things, too, little things. Like how she always chose The Hobbit as the class read-aloud and had different voices for every character. How she could be strict when she needed to be and sweet when she wanted to be and kind of a smart aleck all the times in between.  But mostly there was the way she listened to you, giving you her full attention. All the other teachers, they’d keep looking around the room when you talked, but Ms. Bixby fixed you with her eyes and waited for you to finish no matter how long it took you to figure out what you wanted to say.” This is a book that will live in your heart and your students’ hearts for a long, long time. As a side-note - I SO want a taste of that white-chocolate raspberry supreme cheesecake!   You and your students are going to love Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. And at the end of the show today, I’ll tell you how you can get a chance to win a class set of this book. Q & A Our last segment this week is Question & Answer time. Question: Last week at my school we had Parent Information Night and one of the questions asked of my teammate was, “How can I talk to my child about their reading, if I haven’t read the book?” Answer: We chatted about it for a little bit that night, but I didn’t get across what I wanted to, and I have been stewing about it for the last few weeks. So, if I had a do-over, here is what I would say: First, it’s fantastic that you’re making time to connect with your child about their reading. Simply expressing interest and enthusiasm about their book is more important than any particular question you could ask. Sometimes a simple comment like, “That book looks interesting - what’s it about?” opens up the conversation in a more natural way than if you try to read off a set of predetermined questions that never changes. Or, if you want to ask more targeted questions, instead of “Please describe three traits of the main character.” you could say “Tell me more about Ramona. What kind of person is she?” I think that’s especially important at home when you want to keep reading time enjoyable and not a chore that they start to dread. Closing Okay - that wraps our Q&A section this week so on to the details about the giveaway! To help us celebrate our relaunch of the Books Between podcast at All the Wonders, Walden Pond Press has so kindly offered a set of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. The contest runs from October 10th - October 24th, 2016 and the winner will receive one class set (30 hardcover copies) of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson. You can enter by heading to the post for this episode at AlltheWonders.com and entering the giveaway at the bottom of our page there. Good luck and I just know you and your class will LOVE this story. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they’ll love or thoughts about any of the topics we’ve discussed today, please email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show with links to every book and resource I talked about today by going to BooksBetween.com/8 which will take you to our new home at All the Wonders. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks and see you in a couple weeks!  Bye!

Morgan abandons Barry. Leia’s vocabulary explodes…along with her temper. The mystery of children’s YouTube. Puppies vs. children. Is there such a thing as vacation with a kid? And is there really even such a thing as a YA novel? Links: Hurricane Hermine peters out An example of a YouTube video with 29 million views that Leia likes Scrubs on what it's like to have a baby Slice Literary Conference Panel: The Sex Talk Barry's quote on Twitter The Millions : There Is No Such Thing as the Young Adult Novel - The Millions Review Guidelines | VOYA Real Time With Bill Maher: I Don’t Know It For a Fact..I Just Know It’s True - September,1st - YouTube Barry is Reading: Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks & Gita Varadarajan | Amazon | BN.com | iBooks | Indiebound Morgan Recommends: Tumbling by Caela Carter | Amazon | BN.com | iBooks | Indiebound Rate us on iTunes

A special presentation of New School Faculty brought to you by The New School Writing Program in conjunction with drDOCTOR, a reading series and podcast based in Brooklyn. Alumni Luke Wiget and Sam Farahmand held a three-day marathon reading with students and faculty. This episode brings you David Lehman, Sara Lippmann, Lori Lynn Turner, Gregory Collins, Dale Peck, Sarah Weeks, and Hettie Jones reading from their own work and speaking to The New School and NYC writing experience and life. You can find drDOCTOR on iTunes at drDOCTOR, online at drdoctordrdoctor.com, and on Twitter @drDOCTORdrDR.

It's Friday! And Kyle & Jackie O have one MASSIVE guest to kick start your weekend! In this podcast you will find: - Oscar winner Jared Leto dropped by to chat to Kyle & Jackie O - A relative of Malaysian Flight MH370, Sarah Weeks, spoke to us - We played 'Who Do You Believe' - a computer mouse, or a mouse? - Melissa Doyle was in live to discuss her new book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you get when you put together a dog who’s trained to attack and a really fat hamster? Our latest podcast! Don’t worry — no animals were harmed in the making of our podcast; it just so happens that our book picks both feature some crazy critters! Also tune in for mumbling, jazz hands,...