Rereading Our Childhood

We had completely forgotten about Eleanor Estes's The Moffats until a friend suggested that we reread it. Published in 1941, it's the first in a series about four children growing up in small-town Connecticut in the 1910s. Mentioned on this episode:Other books in the series:The Middle Moffat (1942), a Newbery Honor BookRufus M. (1943), a Newbery Honor BookThe Moffat Museum (1983) Other books by Estes:The Hundred Dresses (1944), a Newbery Honor BookGinger Pye (1951), winner of the 1952 Newbery MedalPinky Pye (1958)Also mentioned:Many Moons (1943) by James Thurber, with illustrations by Louis Slobodkin"Eleanor Estes: Chronicler of the Family Story," by Claudia Mills, on the UConn Archives and Special Collections Blog. "Celebrating Children's Books Week--and a pioneering children's librarian," on Mary Grace's blog, My Life 100 Years AgoRecommended by Deborah: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright; Beverly Cleary's booksRecommended by Mary Grace: The All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney TaylorOther episodes:Rereading The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'EngleRereading Ramona the Pest by Beverly ClearyRereading Stuart Little by E.B. WhiteRereading Charlotte's Web by E.B. WhiteYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

For the first episode of our fourth (!) season, we reread E.L. Konigsburg's Newbery Medal winner From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which was published in 1967. This book, one of our all-time favorites, has one of the best plot premises of all time: a suburban brother and sister run away from home and camp out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.Mentioned on this episode:Other books by Konigsburg:Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, ElizabethA Proud Taste for Scarlet and MiniverAbout the B'nai BagelsAlso mentioned:Ban this Book by Alan Gratz1965 New York Times article about the Metropolitan Museum's purchase for $225 of a statue that may be a Leonardo da Vinci1996 New York Times article about a cupid statue at the French cultural center in New York that may be by MichaelangeloPost on the Metropolitan Museum website about celebrating the 50th anniversary of From the Mixed-Up Files2017 Smithsonian magazine article in which Johnny Doran reminisces about playing Jamie in a film version of From the Mixed-Up FilesRecommended by Mary Grace: Freaky Friday by Mary RodgersOther Rereading Our Childhood episodes mentioned:Rereading Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. KonigsburgRereading Freaky Friday by Mary RodgersRereading Harriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

For this episode, we reread Madeleine L’Engle’s 1968 novel The Young Unicorns, the third book in the Austin family series. We discussed 1960s New York, racial representation, family musical evenings, and how absolutely bonkers this book is.Mentioned on this episode:Other books by L’Engle:A Wrinkle in Time (1962)Meet the Austins (1960)The Moon by Night (1963)A Ring of Endless Light (1980)Troubling a Star (1994)A Severed Wasp (1983)New York Times review of The Young Unicorns by Maia WojciechowkaBlog posts on The Young Unicorns on Pickle Me This (this is the one where the writer thinks L’Engle wrote Dave as a Black character) and Lady FancifullArticle on The Young Unicorns by Mari Ness on Reactor2004 New Yorker article about Madeleine L’EngleNew York Times article on race in the Wuthering Heights movie (gift link)Other episodes:Rereading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’EngleYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, Deborah introduces Mary Grace to A Bear Called Paddington, the first book in the beloved series about a bear from Peru who ends up living with a London family. We discuss Paddington’s timeless appeal to children, his status as a British icon, and how the book can be read as a refugee’s story.Mentioned on this episode:Paddington, the 2014 movie (trailer here)“Paddington Bear, Refugee,” by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, June 28, 2017Olga da Polga series by Michael BondMonsieur Pamplemousse series by Michael Bond“Ma’amalade Sandwich, Your Majesty?” (video of Queen Elizabeth with Paddington on the British royal family’s website)Article about the Paddington movie in the New York Times, January 9, 2015Recommended for Paddington fans:Mary Grace: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. MilneDeborah: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, Stuart Little by A.A. MilneOther episodes mentioned:Rereading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid LindgrenRereading Mary Poppins by P.L. TraversRereading Stuart Little by E.B. WhiteYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com, Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago, and Jean at jeanfreedman.com.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

We celebrated our 50th episode by talking about our favorite picture books and discussing our favorite memories from the two and a half years we've been doing the podcast. Mentioned on this episode:Deborah's favorites: Curious George Takes a Job by H.A. ReyThe House on East 88th Street by Bernard WaberLittle Bear by Else Holmelund MinarikBread and Jam for Frances by Russell HobanWhat Do People Do All Day? by Richard ScarryMary Grace's favorites:Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee BurtonThe Little Engine that Could by Watty PiperMadeline by Ludwig BemelmansHarold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack KeatsAlso mentioned:Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats The U.S. Postal Service's The Snowy Day stampsThe Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein New York Times articles about The Giving Tree (here and here)Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak Danny Dunn: Into the Volcano (forthcoming) Other episodes mentioned: Rereading Stuart Little by E.B. WhiteRereading Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint by Jay Williams and Raymond AbrashkinRereading Little Town on the Prairie, with Judith KalbYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Writer and scholar Jean Freedman joins us to talk about Noel Streatfeild’s 1944 book Theater Shoes (originally published in the UK as Curtain Up), the story of three children who attend a theatrical school. We discuss London during World War II and welcome the (offstage) reappearance of the three sisters in Streatfeild’s beloved Ballet Shoes (1936).Mentioned on this episode:Other books by Jean Freedman: Whistling in the Dark: Memory and Culture in Wartime London and Peggy Seeger: A Life of Music, Love, and PoliticsBooks by Noel Streatfeild: Circus Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Skating ShoesA website on Streatfeild that includes a detailed discussion on Theater Shoes/Curtain UpRecommended by Jean: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett; Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, and Dress Rehearsal by Monica Stirling; fairy tales by Oscar WildeRecommended by Deborah: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright; Half Magic by Edward EagerRecommended by Mary Grace: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisOther episode: Rereading Ballet Shoes by Noel StreatfeildYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com, Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago, and Jean at jeanfreedman.com.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

For this episode, we reread E.B. White’s 1952 classic Charlotte’s Web. Also by White: Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, The Elements of Style, Is Sex Necessary?, Essays of E.B. White, Letters of E.B. White, "Death of a Pig"Blog post on Henry FussyNew Yorker article on Garth WilliamsThe Story of Charlotte’s Web, Michael SimsEudora Welty’s New York Times reviewRecommended: Anne of Green Gables, Caddie Woodlawn (Mary Grace); Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, Misty of Chincoteague, The Cricket in Times Square (Deborah)Adaptations: 1973 movie, 2006 movie, 2025 miniseriesYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

For our third annual Encyclopedia Brown episode, we matched wits with each other and with Encyclopedia in trying to crack the cases in Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues, which was published in 1966. We included the relevant clues in our discussion, so you can solve along with us. We discussed the origins of Bugs Meany's hat and solved the mystery of what state Idaville is in. Also, Mary Grace mispronounced "divining rod" about 15 times. Mentioned on this episode:Other Encyclopedia Brown books:Encyclopedia Brown, Boy DetectiveEncyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret PitchOther Rereading Our Childhood episodes:Rereading Johnny Tremain by Esther ForbesRereading Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith RobertsonAlso mentioned:Goodreads review of Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues by Chance HansenReddit thread on what state Encyclopedia lives in"Donald Sobol and the Case of the Elusive Mystery Writer," interview with Donald Sobol by Elizabeth Weinstein, Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Fall 2011Clip from a 2024 episode of Futurama featuring Wikipedia BrownYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s at My Life 100 Years Ago. This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

For this episode, we reread Louise Fitzhugh's 1965 novel The Long Secret, the sequel to Harriet the Spy. We discussed the mystery of who is leaving notes for residents of Water Mill and Fitzhugh's fascinating but tragic life.Mentioned on this episode:Other books by Fitzhugh: Suzuki Bean by Sandra Scoppettone, illustrated by Fitzhugh (1961)Harriet the Spy (1964)Nobody's Family is Going to Change (1974)Sport (1980)Also mentioned:Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy, by Leslie BrodyDeborah's interview with Leslie BrodyThe Tap Dance Kid, the musical based on Nobody's Family is Going to Change (highlights here)Gloria Vanderbilt's New York Times review of Harriet the SpyGoodreads reviews of The Long SecretRecommended by Deborah: Freaky Friday and A Billion for Boris by Mary Rodgers; Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy BlumeRecommended by Mary Grace: Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager, The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars, All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney TaylorPrevious episode:Rereading Harriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago. This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, syndicated columnist Jamie Stiehm joins us to reread Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women, which was published in two parts in 1868 and 1869.Mentioned on this episode:Other books by Alcott: Little Men (1871), Eight Cousins (1874), Rose in Bloom (1876), Jo’s Boys (1886)Also mentioned:Peyton Thomas’s tweet saying Alcott was transPeyton Thomas’s New York Times guest column saying that Alcott was transPeyton Thomas’s podcast Jo’s Boys (on Apple and Spotify)Film adaptations: Little Women (1933), with Katharine Hepburn (trailer here); Little Women (1949), with June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor (trailer here); Little Women (1994), with Wynona Ryder (trailer here); Little Women (2019), directed by Greta Gerwig (trailer here)Recommended for fans of Little Women:Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Jamie); My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, Men in Trouble by Sarah Payne Stuart, and Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (Mary Grace); Little House on the Prairie (Deborah)Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why it Still Matters, by Anne Boyd Rioux (2018)March by Geraldine Brooks (2006)You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago. You can find Jamie at jamiestiehm.com.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we reread Edward Eager’s 1957 book Magic by the Lake, the sequel to Half Magic, which we discussed during our first season. Mentioned on this episode:The Time Garden and Seven-Day Magic by Edward EagerEager’s New York Times obituaryBy Pike and Dyke by G.A. HentyDeborah’s novels George Washington and the Magic Hat, John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead, and Thomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic HatThe books of E. Nesbit Songs: “Paddling Madeleine Home,” “Do Do Do What You Done Done Done Before,” “Yes! We Have No Bananas,” “Goodbye, John”Recommended: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (Deborah); The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright and The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh (Mary Grace)Other episodes: Rereading Half Magic, Rereading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, Rereading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, Rereading The Saturdays by Elizabeth EnrightYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we reread Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers's beloved 1934 classic. We discuss the difference between the book and the movie version of the magical nanny, changes in the book to remove racist portrayals, and Travers's strange and interesting life. Mentioned on the episode:Other books in the series:Mary Poppins Comes Back (1935)Mary Poppins Opens the Door (1943)Mary Poppins in the Park (1952)Also mentioned: Kathryn Hughes' 2005 Guardian review of Mary Poppins She Wrote: A Biography of P.L. Travers.A Goodreads review of Mary Poppins by Julie G that discusses racism in Mary Poppins. A post on Mary Poppins on the website "American Indians in Children's Literature" Travers's 1996 New York Times obituary (gift link)The trailer for Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Alli Hoff Kosik's childhood rereading podcast, SSR, which recently signed off after seven years.Recommended for fans of Mary Poppins: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Pippi Longstocking (Deborah), The Edward Eager magic books, Ballet Shoes, and Harriet the Spy (Mary Grace) Other episodes mentioned:Rereading Ballet Shoes by Noel StreatfeildRereading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank BaumYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we discuss All-of-a-Kind Family, Sydney Taylor's 1951 classic about five sisters growing up on New York's Lower East Side. Over the course of a year, the girls experience joys (like celebrating Jewish holidays and the Fourth of July) and sorrows (like getting scarlet fever and, even worse, losing a library book), and spend a lot of time thinking about how to spend their allowance (one penny). Mentioned on this episode: Other books in the series:More All-of-a-Kind FamilyAll-of-a-Kind Family UptownAll-of-a-Kind Family DowntownElla of All-of-a-Kind FamilyAlso mentioned: Peter and Polly in Winter by Rose Lucia (1914), Sarah's lost library book. From Sarah to Sydney by June Cummins, a biography of Sydney Taylor)Jennifer Weiner's New York Times review of From Sarah to SydneyOne of a Kind: The Life of Sydney Taylor, a children's picture book biography by by Richard Michelson (read Deborah's interview with Michelson here)Recommended for fans of All-of-a-Kind Family:Deborah: Little Women by Louisa May AlcottMary Grace: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright, Meet Me in St. Louis by Sally Benson, Seven-Day Magic by Edward EagerOther Rereading Our Childhood episodes mentioned:Rereading The Saturdays by Elizabeth EnrightRereading Little Town on the Prairie, with Judith KalbRereading Half Magic by Edward EagerYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we discuss The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, the first installment in the Nancy Drew series, with writer Sara Fitzgerald.Mentioned on this episode:Other Nancy Drew books:The Secret of Red Gate FarmThe Hidden StaircaseOther Stratemeyer Syndicate series:The Bobbsey TwinsThe Hardy BoysThe Rover BoysAlso mentioned:The Silenced Muse by Sara FitzgeraldSeventeenth Summer by Maureen DalyTeen romances by Betty CavannaThe CW Nancy Drew series (trailer here)The Little House series by Laura Ingalls WilderA Goodreads review by a reader named MichelleAda Twist, Scientist, Rosie Revere, Engineer, and Sofia Valdez, Future Prez, by Andrea BeatyRecommendations: Sara: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Cherry Ames, Camp Nurse by Helen WellsDeborah: Harriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughMary Grace: The Long Secret by Louise FitzhughYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com, Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago, and Sara at sarafitzgerald.com.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we discuss Esther Forbes's Newbery Medal-winning 1943 novel Johnny Tremain, the story of an apprentice silversmith in Boston who gets caught up in the events leading up to the American Revolution. Mentioned on this episode:Other books by Esther Forbes:Paul Revere and the World He Lived In (1942), winner of the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for History.The General's Lady (1938)Miss Marvel (1935)Also mentioned:The 1957 Disney movie adaptation of Johnny Tremain (trailer here)Gadsby's Tavern, in Alexandria, Virginia, which was built in 1770 and is now a museum and restaurant. Mary Grace went there with her sixth grade class. The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward, illustrator of Johnny Tremain, which won the Caldecott Medal in 1953. The American Antiquarian Society, of which Esther Forbes was the first woman memberRedcoat in Boston by Ann FinlaysonRecommended for fans of Johnny Tremain:Mary Grace: Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution by Gretchen Wolfe. (Deborah did an author interview on this book on her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.) Mary Grace mentions that there are several picture books about Revolutionary War-era African American scientist Benjamin Banneker. These include Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney.Deborah: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958) Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes mentioned:Rereading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson BurnettRereading The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George SpeareYou can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we reread Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved 1911 classic The Secret Garden, about Mary, a neglected girl who discovers a garden on her uncle's Yorkshire estate that has been locked up for ten years. We discuss the magic of secret places and Hodgson's surprising ties to the United States, including periods living in a Tennessee log cabin and in Washington, D.C.Mentioned on this episode:Other books by Burnett:A Little Princess(originally published as Sara Crewe) (1905)Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)Through One Administration(1881), an adult novel about politics and society in Washington, D.C.Also mentioned:The serialization of The Secret Garden in American Magazine beginning in November 1910The 2020 film adaptation, with Colin Firth as Mary's uncle (trailer here)The 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation, also featuring Colin Firth, this time as grown-up Colin (trailer here)The 1949 film adaptation, starring Margaret O'Brien (trailer here)Deborah's recommendations for fans of The Secret Garden: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë; Rebeccaby Daphne du Maurier; The Secret Garden retellings on Goodreads, including The Painted Gardenby Noel Streatfeild Mary Grace's recommendations for fans of The Secret Garden: Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. (There is a brief review of the book on the 1919 book list on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.)You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

We were delighted to welcome our first guest, Judith Kalb, to talk about Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Town on the Prairie (1941), the seventh book in the beloved Little House series. Judy is, in addition to being Deborah's sister, a literature scholar and a lifelong Laura Ingalls Wilder fan.Mentioned on this episode: Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography, by Laura Ingalls WilderThe Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web by E.B. WhiteThe Beautiful Snow: The Ingalls Family, the Railroads, and the Hard Winter of 1880-81 by Cindy WilsonPrairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline FraserConfessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison ArngrimA post on Little Town on the Prairie on the website American Indians in Children's Literature.Recommended for Little House fans:Judy: The rest of the series, especially These Happy Golden YearsMary Grace: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Two are Better Than One and Louly by Carol Ryrie BrinkDeborah: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.  This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

For our last episode of 2024, we talked about our favorite children's books of 60 years ago, which we defined as 1964-1966---a great era for children's books. Here are our favorites, but it's more fun if you listen to the episode first. We disqualified books that we've done episodes on. Mary Grace's top five:5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.4. The Strange Light by James Reeves3. Ismo by John Verney2. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander1. The Long Secret by Louise FitzhughDeborah's top five:5. The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill. 4. Apples Every Day by Grace Richardson3. The Noonday Friends by Mary Stolz2. Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban1. The Long Secret by Louise FitzhughHonorable Mentions:Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan CooperNightbirds on Nantucket by Joan AikenThe Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'EngleHenry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith RobertsonChitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang by Ian FlemingYou can find Deborah at her author website and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we read Susan Cooper's 1973 novel The Dark is Rising, which was a Newbery Honor Book. It's the story of Will, a British boy who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he's the last of the Old Ones, destined to fight against the forces of the Dark. It takes place over the period from the winter solstice to the 12th day of Christmas, so it's a great December read. (If the whole "British boy/eleventh birthday" thing sounds familiar, Cooper is considered by many to have influenced J.K. Rowling.) Mentioned on this episode: Other books in the The Dark is Rising series:Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)Greenwitch (1974)The Grey King (1975)Silver on the Tree (1977)Also by Susan Cooper:Dawn of Fear (1970)Recommended for fans of The Dark is Rising: The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, and Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (Deborah); The Once and Future King by T.H. White and the Callendar family series, including Friday's Tunnel and February's Road, by John Verney. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we reread Betsy Byars' The Summer of the Swans, which won the 1971 Newbery Medal. It's an evocative story of a 14-year-old girl who's preoccupied with her big feet and her puce sneakers until the disappearance of her younger brother, who has an intellectual disability, forces her to look beyond her own adolescent thoughts. Mentioned on the podcast:The 1970 Kirkus Review review of the book 1971 Newbery Honor Book Enchantress from the Starsby Sylvia Louise EngdahlAnother 1970 book about an adolescent girl's search for identity that, in Mary Grace's opinion, should have won the Newbery: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret?. Two post-Sumer of the Swans movies whose titles make startling appearances in the book: Bull Durham and Thelma and Louise. Byar's 1980 National Book Award winner The Night SwimmersByars' 2020 New York Times obituaryChildren's Books and Their Creators by Anita SilveyThe 1974 afterschool special, which has appearances by two kids from The Brady Bunch but little else to recommend it. Recommended for fans of The Summer of the Swans: The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (Mary Grace), M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton and Flight of the Doves by Walter Macken (Deborah). The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On the second annual Encyclopedia Brown episode, Mary Grace and Deborah match wits with America’s most brilliant boy detective, and with each other, in solving the cases in the series’ second installment, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch.Mentioned on the podcast:Goodreads reviews of Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret PitchOther Rereading Our Childhood episodes:Rereading Encyclopedia Brown, Boy DetectiveYou can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, we reread Elizabeth Enright's 1941 novel The Saturdays, about four children who pool their allowances and set out on solo adventures in New York.Mentioned on the episode: Other books in the Melendy family series: The Four-Story Mistake (1942)Then There Were Five (1944)Spiderweb for Two (1951)Also by Elizabeth Enright:Thimble Summer (1938)Gone-Away Lake (1957)Return to Gone-Away (1961)Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes:Rereading Harriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughRereading Stuart Little by E.B. WhiteRereading Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith RobertsonRereading Ballet Shoes by Noel StreatfeildAlso mentioned:Claude Debussy's "Golliwog's Cakewalk" (in the discussion about problematic aspects of the book) Under Two Flags by Ouida (1867)Mary Grace's blog post on children's books from 1919, in which she talks about an illustrated edition of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates with illustrations by Elizabeth Enright's mother, Maginel Wright Enright. Recommended for fans of The Saturdays: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild and Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (Mary Grace); All-of-a-Kind Family and its sequels by Sidney Taylor (Deborah). You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Elizabeth George Speare’s 1958 Newbery Medal winner The Witch of Blackbird Pond, about a girl, Kit, who’s struggling to fit in in a Puritan community in colonial Connecticut.Mentioned in this episode:The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s 1953 play about the Salem witch trials.Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.Kit’s childhood reading includes The Pilgrim’s Progress and The Tempest.The Bronze Bow, Speare’s 1962 Newbery winner about a Jewish boy living at the time of Christ.Calico Captive, Speare’s 1957 first novel about a girl who was captured by Native Americans in 1794.The Sign of the Beaver, Speare’s 1983 Newbery Honor book about a boy struggling to live on his own in eighteenth-century Maine.Calico Bush, Rachel Lyman Field’s 1931 novel about a French girl who works as an indentured servant in colonial Maine.Speare’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award citation.Commentary on thestorygraph.comGoodreads reviewsAlso recommended: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (Deborah), Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken (Mary Grace).Other episodes:Rereading Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan AikenRereading Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie BrinkYou can find Deborah’s author interviews at Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s at My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, Deborah (a cat person) rereads, and Mary Grace (not a cat person) reads, The Hotel Cat (1969), a late entry in Esther Averill’s long Cat Club series.Other books in the Cat Club series:The Cat Club (1944)Jenny Goes to Sea (1957)The Fire Cat (1960)Other podcast episodes:Rereading Harriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughRereading Ramona the Pest by Beverly ClearyRereading Freaky Friday by Mary RodgersRereading Stuart Little by E.B. WhiteAlso mentioned:The Flophouse podcast, Episode #302 – CatsLost Ladies of Lit podcast, transcript of Episode 64, Much Better than CATS — Esther Averill’s Jenny and the Cat ClubCelebrating Children’s Book Week–and a Pioneering Librarian, on Mary Grace’s blog, My Life 100 Years AgoDear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, edited by Leonard MarcusThe Cricket in Times Square by George SeldenRecommended for fans of The Hotel Cat: Stuart Little by E.B. White and Eloise by Kay Thompson (Mary Grace), other books in the Cat Club series (Deborah)You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah read Virginia Hamilton's 1974 novel M.C. Higgins the Great, about a teenaged boy in Appalachia whose life is turned upside down when two strangers come to town. Hamilton won the Newbery Medal for the book; she was the first African American to win the award. Mentioned on the episode: Also by Virginia Hamilton: Zeely (1967) The House of Dies Drear (1968) The Planet of Junior Brown (1971) Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes: Rereading Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg Rereading The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder Rereading The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Also mentioned: Children's Books and their Creators, edited by Anita Silvey Goodreads reviews of M.C. Higgins the Great Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt Recommended for fans of M.C. Higgins, the Great: other books by Virginia Hamilton (Deborah), Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera and Bill Cleary (Mary Grace) You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago. This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting. Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, Deborah rereads, and Mary Grace reads, a book that needs no introduction: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz. They discuss weird sequels, the history of sunglasses, the monoculture, and, of course, the movie. Mentioned on the episode:Also by L. Frank Baum: The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)Father Goose, His Book (1899)Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes:Rereading Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken Rereading Half Magic by Edward Eager Also mentioned:The Wizard of Oz, the movie. You can see the original trailer, which is fascinating (though blurry), with lots of talk about the book, here. The Wiz, the adaptation starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. You can see the trailer here.Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire.Recommended for fans of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Mary Grace: Half Magic and other books by Edward EagerDeborah: other books in the Oz series, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah commemorate the 100th anniversary of Joan Aiken’s birth by reading Black Hearts in Battersea, the second in her Wolves Chronicles series, featuring resourceful orphans and sinister plots in an alt-history version of nineteenth-century London.Mentioned on the episode:Other books by Aiken:The Wolves of Willoughby ChaseNightbirds on NantucketJane FairfaxAlso mentioned:The Shortest History of England by James HawesPost on the blog A Son of the Rock questioning King James's Scottish accent“What’s Your 1918 Girl Job? A Quiz,” Mary Grace’s blog post My Life 100 Years Ago that mentions Jane Fairfax. (Jane Fairfax also comes up on another post, “Jane Austen’s Life 100 Years Ago.”)“Writing Without Limits: Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Series,” Albion Magazine Online (discusses Aiken taking time to settle on a main character)The best and worst of April 1918: Magazines, stories, faint praise, and neologisms (Mary Grace’s blog post that mentions Conrad Aiken)A well-known letter from T.S. Eliot to Conrad Aiken is quoted here.The Practical Magic of Joan Aiken, the Greatest Children’s Writer You’ve Likely Never Read (The New Yorker)Blog on Aiken by her daughter Lizza AikenBlog post by Lizza Aiken about illustrator Pat MarriotSuggested reading for fans of Black Hearts in Battersea: Other books in the series (Deborah), The Book of Three and its sequels (Mary Grace) You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace discuss Beverly Cleary's 1968 classic Ramona the Pest. This was the first book starring Ramona, who appeared in Cleary's earlier books as Beezus's annoying little sister before going on to become Cleary's most beloved character. Mentioned in this episode:Other books by Beverly Cleary:Ellen Tebbits (1951)Henry Huggins (1950)Henry and Beezus (1952)Mitch and Amy (1967)Dear Mr. Henshaw (1983, winner of the 1984 Newbery Medal)Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes:Rereading "B" is for BetsyRereading A Wrinkle in TimeRereading Are You There God? It's Me, MargaretRereading Pippi LongstockingRereading Anne of Green GablesAdaptations of the Ramona books:Ramona and Beezus, 2010 movieRamona, 1988-89 Canadian TV seriesAlso mentioned:Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton (1939)"Stereotypes in Beverly Cleary's HENRY HUGGINS" on the blog American Indians in Children's Literature, February 24, 2023Beverly Cleary's New York Times obituary, March 27, 2021Madeleine L'Engle's Austin Family seriesDeborah Kalb's The President and Me seriesRecommended for Ramona fans: Anne of Green Gables (Mary Grace), The Mouse and the Motorcycle and other books by Cleary (Deborah)You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Ellen Raskin’s 1971 mystery romp, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel), about a woman’s decades-long search for her husband, whom she married as a child. (It’s a long story.) The book is full of word games, puzzles, and creative illustrations by Raskin, who was also a graphic artist.Other books by Ellen Raskin:Nothing Ever Happens on My Block (1967). This picture book, a childhood favorite of Mary Grace’s, was the first book Raskin wrote after illustrating many children’s books written by others.Figgs and Phantoms (1974), a 1975 Newbery Honor Book.The Westing Game (1978), winner of the 1979 Newbery Medal.Also mentioned:Raskin’s obituary in the New York Times (August 10, 1984).A 2023 article in Allure about whether eating chocolate is bad for your skin.The 2012 School Library Journal poll about the best children’s novels of all time, with The Westing Game at #9.The Goodreads reviews of The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) (highlight: Jeremy’s.)Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes mentioned on this episode:Rereading February’s Road by John VerneyRereading Harriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughRereading Freaky Friday by Mary RodgersRereading Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite HenryRereading A Wrinkle in TIme by Madeleine L’EngleRereading Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald SobolYou can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

 Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry's classic 1947 novel about Misty and her mother Phantom, wild ponies from the island of Assateague, and Paul and Maureen, a brother and sister from the neighboring island of Chincoteague who long to own them. Other books by Henry:Stormy, Misty’s Foal (1963)Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1945), a Newbery Honor BookKing of the Wind (1948), winner of the 1949 Newbery MedalSea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague (1949)Misty’s Twilight (1992)Also mentioned on the podcast:The life of Thomas Downing, the proprietor of the famous 19th-century New York restaurant Downing’s Oyster House, is discussed in “Going Deep into Oyster Country,” New York Times, December 3, 2021. Downing, who was African American, grew up in the Chincoteague community.Recommended for fans of Misty of Chincoteague:Mary Grace: Homecoming (1981) and Dicey’s Song (1982) by Cynthia Voight. Deborah: Stormy, Misty’s Foal (1963) and Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague (1949) by Marguerite Henry (1963).An obituary of Maureen Beebe, the real-life model for Maureen in the story, appeared in delmarvanow.com in May 2019.You can learn more about the real-life Misty in “The True Story of Misty of Chincoteague, the Pony Who Stared Down a Devastating Nor’Easter,” Smithsonian Magazine, October 16, 2018. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss The Book of Three (1964) by Lloyd Alexander. Other books in the series:The Black Cauldron (1965)The Castle of Llyr (1966)Taran Wanderer (1967)The High King (1968)Other books by Alexander:Time Cat (1963), discussed by Deborah on a blog postAnd Let the Credit Go (1955)Janine is French (1960)The Wizard in the Tree (1974)Park Avenue Vet (1960)Fifty Years in the Doghouse (1964)The King's Fountain (1971)Also mentioned:A 2012 School Library Journal pollSam, Banks, and Moonshine by Evaline NessTrailer of the Disney movie The Black Cauldron2010 Slate article on the movie The Black CauldronAlso recommended:Deborah: A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom TollboothMary Grace: The Owl Service, The Dark is Rising seriesThe English Bookshop, a wonderful bookstore in Uppsala, Sweden. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace discuss Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery's beloved 1908 tale of a strong-willed and imaginative orphan.Other books in the series:Anne of AvonleaAnne of the IslandAnne of Windy PoplarsAnne's House of DreamsAnne of InglesideThe Blythes are Quoted  (short stories)Also mentioned:Some books and poems that Anne reads:"Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight" by Rose Hartwick Thorpe"The Lady of Shallot" by Alfred, Lord TennysonBen Hur by Lew Wallace"Marmion" by Sir Walter ScottThe Word Cloud Classics edition of Anne of Green Gables that Mary Grace read in 2018You can see the illustrations by William and Mary Claus in this copy. "Suicide Secret of Anne of Green Gables Author," The Guardian, September 23, 2008Trailer for Netflix series Anne With an ELittle Women by Louisa May AlcottRecommended  for fans of Anne of Green Gables: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (Mary Grace), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin, Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (Deborah)"Bosom Friends: Lesbian Desire in L. M. Montgomery’s Anne Books," Laura Robinson, Canadian Literature, Spring 2004"A Visual History of Romantic Friendship," The MarginalianThis episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting. Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace introduces Deborah to John Verney’s 1961 novel February’s Road. Other books by Verney:Friday’s Tunnel (1959)Ismo (1964)Seven Sunflower Seeds (1968)Samson’s Hoard (1973)Going to the Wars (1955)A Dinner of Herbs (1966)Also mentioned:The Arm of the Starfish (1965) by Madeleine L’Engle,Verney’s illustrations.A post on the blog Clothes in Books.The illustrations of Edward Ardizzone.An obituary of Verney in The Independent.A post on the Farnham Trust’s website about Verney. Jojo Moyes on Verney in a Daily Mail interview.Margaret Drabble’s The Millstone (1965).Edits to the American editions of the Harry Potter books.Deborah recommends the Madeleine L’Engle. She and Mary Grace discussed L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time on a previous episode. Mary Grace recommends Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Climate.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace reread Stuart Little, E.B. White's 1945 classic about the adventures of a New York boy who looks exactly like a mouse. They discuss their early memories of reading  Stuart Little (or, in Mary Grace's case, having her mom read it to her), Garth Williams' wonderful illustrations, and pioneering children's librarian Annie Carroll Moore's vehement opposition to the book. Mentioned on this episode:Charlotte's Web by E.B. WhiteThe Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. WhiteThe Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. WhiteEssays of E.B. WhiteLetters of E.B. White"Death of a Pig," essay by E.B. White, The Atlantic (paywall). (Mary Grace recalled erroneously that this essay was about the birth of a big.) "Celebrating Children's Book Week--and a pioneering librarian," Mary Grace's post on her blog, mylife100yearsago.com, about Annie Carroll MooreThe Rabbits' Wedding, the children's book by Stuart Little editor Garth Williams that was banned from Alabama libraries because a black and a white rabbit get married"The Lion and the Mouse: The Battle that Shaped Children's Literature" by Jill Lapore, The New Yorker, July 14, 2008Stuart Little, 1999 movie (trailer)The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah discuss The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster's 1961 classic about Milo, a boy who's bored with life until a mysterious tollbooth takes him and his electric car to The Lands Beyond, where he meets the warring kings of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis and many other memorable characters. Jules Feiffer's numerous illustrations are as important a part of the story as the text.This is the last episode of our first season. We'll be back in May. Mentioned on this episode:The Dot and the Line (1963), written and illustrated by Norton JusterThe Odious Ogre (2010) by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules FeifferHarold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett JohnsonThe New York Times Book Review podcast's 2020 interview with Jules Feiffer, where he talks about his friendship and collaboration with JusterJuster's 2021 New York Times obituaryA 2015 Smithsonian Magazine  profile on Juster where he discusses his synesthesiaRecommended for fans of The Phantom Tollbooth:Half Magic by Edward Eager The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the other Oz booksAlice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder's 1967 Newbery Honor Book about a group of children who create an elaborate game based on ancient Egypt.  Mentioned on this episode:The Egypt Game: A Second Look, The Horn BookThe Kirkus Review review of The Egypt GameA 2011 post on the website Banned Reads Project featuring three teenagers' perspectives on The Egypt GameThe ACLU’s list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000The Waste Land by T.S. EliotThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. EliotOther books by Zilpha Keatley Snyder:The Gypsy Game, the 1997 sequel to The Egypt GameThe Headless Cupid (1971), a Newbery Honor BookThe Witches of Worm (1972), a Newbery Honor BookThe Changeling (1970)Eyes in the Fishbowl (1968)Black and Blue Magic (1966)Season of Ponies (1964)Recommended for fans of The Egypt Game:Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, by E.L. Konigsberg (1967 Newbery Honor Book)From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (1967 Newbery Medal winner)Magic or Not? by Edward EagerThe Well-Wishers by Edward EagerThis episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

On this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace discuss Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint, published in 1956. In the first book of the popular series, Danny discovers a secret rocket project and, oops, accidentally launches the rocket into space.Discussed in this episode:A 2023 New Yorker article about Danny DunnOther books in the series:Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine Danny Dunn and the Fossil CaveAs Deborah mentions, Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint was illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, who wrote and illustrated the Caldecott Award-winning picture book The Snowy Day.For fans of Danny Dunn, Mary Grace recommends the Henry Reed series. We discussed Henry Reed, Inc., the first book in the series, on our third episode. Deborah recommends the Encyclopedia Brown books. The first book in the series, Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, was discussed on our eighth episode. The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah ring in 2024 with a special episode where they count down their five favorite books from 50 years ago, defined as published between 1972 and 1974. They (mostly) didn't reread these books for the episode, so their choices are based on their childhood memories.As Mary Grace mentions, the format was inspired by the Book Riot podcast, which has done a number of similar countdowns, including a fun episode on the top bookish phenomena of the past 25 years. Here are Deborah's and Mary Grace's favorites--but we suggest that you listen to the episode before looking at the list! Deborah's Favorites5. Nobody's Family is Going to Change by Louise Fitzhugh4. A Billion for Boris by Mary Rodgers3. Victoria by Barbara Brooks Wallace2. The Genie of Sutton Place by George Selden1. A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. KonigsburgMary Grace's Favorites5. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle4. Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack! by M.E. Kerr3. Glory in the Flower by Norma Johnston2. A Billion for Boris by Mary Rodgers1. The Dark is Rising  by Susan CooperYou can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren's 1945 classic (published in English in 1950) about an anarchic Swedish girl. They discuss their love for the book as children, their mixed feelings on rereading it, and Pippi as a feminist icon. Mary Grace, who spent a month in Sweden earlier this year, talks about Lindgren's legendary status in Sweden, where she's literally on the money. Discussed on this episode:The BBC News survey on the 100 greatest children's books of all time, with Pippi Longstocking at #3 Pippi in the South Seas by Astrid LindgrenThe Brothers Lionheart by Astrid LindgrenThe Children of Noisy Village by Astrid LindgrenBeverly Cleary's Ramona booksJoan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles seriesAnne of Green Gables by L.M. MontgomeryThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarsenThe virtual tour of Astrid Lindgren's apartment on astridlindgren.com Mary Grace couldn't find the interview with Lindgren's daughter Karin, who one night when she was ill with pneumonia asked her mother to tell her a story about Pippi Longstocking, but Karin discussed it in this 2016 Guardian article. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Edward Eager's Half Magic, the first of Eager's seven books of magical adventures. Four bored siblings living in a Midwestern city in the 1920s find a magic amulet...except it only grants half of what you wish for. We talk about what has and hasn't held up in the six decades since Half Magic was published, about Eager's life, and about the real (and extremely inappropriate) silent movie they go to.Mentioned on this episode:Barbara, the inappropriate movie, reviewed in Motion Picture World . (The critic didn't like it any more than the children did.) Edward Eager's biggest hit song, "Good-bye, John."Deborah's magical time travel books:George Washington and the Magic Hat John Adams and the Magic BobbleheadThomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic HatYou can find Debby's author interviews on her blog Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb and Mary Grace's adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was produced by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting. Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace read Carol Ryrie Brink's 1935 Newbery Medal winner Caddie Woodlawn, which is based on Brink's grandmother's childhood adventures on the Wisconsin frontier. Mentioned on this episode:Caddie Woodlawn's Family by Carol Ryrie Brink (previously titled Magical Melons) (1939)Two Are Better Than One by Carol Ryrie Brink (1968)Louly by Carol Ryrie Brink (1974)Mary Grace mentioned what she thought were two different blog posts on a website about portrayals of American Indians in children's books. Actually, it was just one post: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2007/03/reflections-on-caddie-woodlawn-teaching.html.The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (1999) The Little House books by Laura Ingalls WilderYou can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah reread one of their childhood favorites, Mary Rodgers' 1972 mother-daughter body-switching story Freaky Friday. They also discuss Rodger's posthumous 2022 memoir Shy, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Mentioned on this episode:The intro to the PBS show Mystery!, with animation based on illustrations by Edward Gorey.A Billion for Boris, the sequel to Freaky Friday, which Mary Grace and Deborah both enjoyed as children. Summer Switch by Mary Rodgers, in which Ape Face and his dad switch bodies, with less-than-hilarious results. Freaky Monday, a supposedly co-authored by actually more like licensed 2009 addition to the franchise. The 1976 movie starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster. The 2003 movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Vice Versa, F. Anstey's 1882 novel about a British man who switches bodies with his son. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace celebrate Halloween by reading two books about witches, Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett, published in 1953, and The Little Leftover Witch by Florence Laughlin, published in 1960. Both books are about lonely little witches who find homes with non-magical families. Other witch-related books mentioned on the episode:The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958)The Active Enzyme Lemon-Freshened, Junior High School Witch by E. W. Hildick (1973)The Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank BaumThe Harry Potter books by J.K. RowlingJennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg, which was featured on our second episode.The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah reread Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 classic A Wrinkle in TIme, about...well, it's hard to describe what it's about. A troubled girl. A missing father. A genius brother. Three mysterious women. Interplanetary adventure. An evil, throbbing brain. None of this does justice to a book that two science fiction-hating girls ended up loving, and that their grown-up selves had a wonderful time returning to. Discussed on this episode:Listening for Madeleine, Leonard Marcus's book of interviews with people in L'Engle's life. Cynthia Zarin's controversial 2004 New Yorker profile of L'Engle.The ALA website listing the 100 most challenged books of the 1990s, with A Wrinkle in Time at #23. The recent PEN America report on book banning in the United States. A 2001 New York Times interview with L'Engle.The trailer to the 2018 movie version of A Wrinkle in Time.The Paris Review blog post where Mary Grace read that Madeleine L'Engle rewrote her novel A House Like a Lotus to give it a new protagonist. The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace read John D. Fitzgerald’s 1967* novel The Great Brain, the first book in the series featuring John, the narrator, and his older brother Tom, the eponymous Great Brain, who wreaks havoc on their late 19th-century Utah town with his devious moneymaking ventures. Mentioned on this episode:The Amazon review that gives parents a heads-up about disturbing content in the book. Mary Grace recommends the Encyclopedia Brown books, featured on a previous episode, for fans of The Great Brain. She also recommends Two Are Better than One and Louly, by Carol Ryrie Brink, which are set in a small Idaho town in the early 20th century. Deborah recommends the Henry Reed series, also featured on a previous episode.A June 2023 article by New York Times opinion writer Carlos Lozada, who was born in Peru, about his love for The Great Brain, which he read after his family moved to the United States. Lozada jumps into the article’s comments section to share more Great Brain love with readers.The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.*Mary Grace says incorrectly that it was published in 1969.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah reread Alan Garner’s Carnegie Medal-winning 1967 novel The Owl Service, which tells the story of three teenagers, Alison, Gwyn, and Roger, who find themselves reliving a Welsh legend of love and betrayal that plays out over every generation. Discussed on this episode: A 2021 Guardian profile of Garner. Mary Grace recommends Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain series and Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series for fans of The Owl Service.The real-life dinner plates that inspired the book, at the Bodleian Libraries‘ Facebook page.You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, which was published in 1963, is the first of Donald J. Sobol’s 29-book series featuring Encyclopedia, the boy detective who always gets his man (or boy, or girl). The solution to each crime is revealed at the end of the book. In this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace match wits with Encyclopedia, and with each other, in identifying the culprits.Discussed on this episode:The full Encyclopedia Brown series on Goodreads.Two-Minute Mysteries, a collection of Sobol’s syndicated columns for adultsSobol’s New York Times obituary, published on July 16, 2012Mary Grace recommends the Danny Dunn books for fans of Encyclopedia Brown. (Clarifications: Danny Dunn does not, in fact, go to the moon, as Mary Grace thought he might have, but he does go to outer space in Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint. Also, the scientist in the book is not his uncle but his mother’s employer, Professor Bullfinch.(Deborah recommends the Henry Reed books for Encyclopedia fans. We discussed Henry Reed, Inc. on the third episode of Rereading Our Childhood.The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Mary Grace and Deborah celebrate the beginning of a new school year by rereading "B" is for Betsy,, Carolyn Haywood's 1939 novel about a little girl navigating the complicated world of first grade. It was the first in a long series of books about Betsy and her friends.Mentioned on this episode:  The twelve books in the Betsy series,  on Goodreads Haywood's Eddie series, on GoodreadsHaywood's Penny series, on Goodreads Mary Grace's blog page where she discusses Dorothy Canfield Fisher's Understood Betsy (it's #7 on the list)Haywood's New York TImes obituary from January 12, 1990, whicherroneously says that "B" is for Betsy was Haywood's first book The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about Haywood's relationship with artist Violet Oakley and the group of women artists in Philadelphia who were known as the Red Rose GirlsThe Free Library of Philadelphia blog post "Carolyn Haywood: All Sugar, No Spice" The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about an unpublished novel about a boy whose father is in jail for selling heroin that was found in Haywood's papers is here. Deborah and Mary Grace recommend Beverly Cleary's Ramona books for fans of "B" is for Betsy.Rereading Your Childhood is is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.#children's books Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Deborah and Mary Grace discuss Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild's classic 1936 story of a trio of adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, who attend a school for professional children in the performing arts in London. Ballet Shoes is the first in what became a series of "Shoes" books about children working in the theater, the circus, etc. Mentioned on this episode: Plays that the girls perform in:The Blue Bird, by Maurice Maeterlinck (a large chunk of which, weirdly, appears in the text of Ballet Shoes)A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William ShakespeareOther Noel Streatfeild books:Circus Shoes (1938). As Deborah mentions, several of Streatfeild's books were retitled to capitalize on the popularity of Ballet Shoes. This book was originally titled The Circus is Coming. Skating Shoes (1951). This is the American title; it was published in the UK as White Boots. The Whicharts (1931). Streatfeild's first novel, which is for adults, also features three adopted sisters. (According to an episode on Ballet Shoes on the wonderful Backlisted podcast, the books have identical openings.) Recommended by Mary Grace for fans of Ballet Shoes: We Danced in Bloomsbury Square by Jean Estoril (out of print, available from used booksellers). Recommended by Deborah for fans of Ballet Shoes: other books in the Shoes series. Shoes books available in the United States include Theater Shoes and Dancing Shoes.The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com     

Oops! Mary Grace made a mockery of the show title by picking a book that it turns out she probably didn't read as a child. What she (and Deborah) actually did read was The RIVER at Green Knowe. Nevertheless, they had a great time discussing The Children of Green Knowe, the first book in the series, which is about a boy named Tolly who goes to live with his great-grandmother in a mansion haunted by seventeenth-century children. Mentioned on this episode:The Amazon review that Mary Grace mentions where the reviewer complains about the book being edited to remove references to a servant's child being born out of wedlock. Other books about meeting up with children from the past:Seven-Day Magic by Edward EagerGeorge Washington and the Magic Hat by Deborah Kalb (yes, that Deborah Kalb)John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead by Deborah KalbThomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic Hat by Deborah KalbThe podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.#children's booksPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com