PODCAST · arts
The Kidlit Chronicles
by Chelsey Zhu, Nikki Horton, and Hannah Middleton
Kids' books aren't just for kids. Three twenty-somethings, a.k.a. glorified children, revisit childhood classics steeped in nostalgia and jump into the kids' books of today.
Episodes
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Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts | Interview with Erika Lewis!
Erika Lewis is a prolific author of fantasy books and graphic novels. The Kelcie Murphy series is her first venture into middle grade fantasy, and it's all about Celtic mythology! In this episode, we talk with Erika about the first book in the Kelcie Murphy series: The Academy for the Unbreakable...
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Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land
We're back with the third installment of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan -- ominously titled, The Icebound Land. The series follows Will, apprentice to the ranger Halt, who works with a cast of characters to battle evil forces in the country of Araluen and beyond. In the third…
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Meesh the Bad Demon | Interview with Michelle Lam! (mewTripled)
"That's the real question: do they fight while wearing a dress, though?" Michelle Lam is the author and illustrator of Meesh the Bad Demon, her debut graphic novel. Michelle wears many hats; she has worked as a story artist in the animation industry, a YouTuber, a comic artist on Instagram, and…
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse
Special guest Andy Hicks stops by to dish some hot takes about the third installment of the Percy Jackson series. In The Titan’s Curse, Percy and his friends journey across the country to rescue the goddess Artemis, battle monsters along the way, and struggle against a prophecy of doom that could...
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The crew is diving into the cringiest, angstiest, messiest parts of teenage life in this episode of the pod, which covers the LGBTQ coming-of-age novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. We also have a special guest from our own teenage years joining us -- our friend since middle school, Betty! We dig deep...
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Kidlit Chronicles 2022 Wrapped
We recently closed out our second full year of the podcast, and we wanted to celebrate! Join us for this special anniversary episode, where we reminisce about the books of yesteryear, guess our best and worst-rated selections, and share a glimpse of our podcast plans for the coming months. Also...
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The Hobbit
We're going on an adventure! Join Chelsey, Hannah, and a special guest on an unexpected journey across Middle Earth to slay the dragon Smaug. We talk comfy vibes, dwarf fan-fiction, and positive masculinity. We also talk about some of the darker implications of this jaunty tale; fat-phobia and...
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Ranger's Apprentice: The Burning Bridge
Buckle up for a classic cross-country adventure tale in this sequel to the Ruins of Gorlan. We return to the lives of Will, Horace, Halt, and Gilan, as well as meet some new (and mysterious) characters as they all try to avert a surprise attack from Morgarath. Topics at hand include comical…
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Coraline
Listener, beware. You're in for a scare... We're celebrating spooky season with an episode about Coraline by Neil Gaiman! We talk about the book AND the movie, and compare and contrast the two. We talk about the different things that scare adults and children, mother-daughter relationships, the...
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters
Our special guest Andy Hicks returns as we dive back into the Percy Jackson series. Join us as we discuss the merits of overthrowing Western civilization, argue about whether Circe is a man-hater or a radical feminist, and reveal our own fatal flaws. Who knew these books were so political? A...
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Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan
Get ready to pick your ̶H̶o̶g̶w̶a̶r̶t̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶u̶s̶e̶ apprenticeship! We dive into Hannah's all-time favorite kids' book series, Ranger's Apprentice, which features a young orphan named Will who trains to become an elite spy for his kingdom -- and saves the day along the way. Tune in to hear us…
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The Girl and the Glim | Interview with India Swift and Michael Doig!
India Swift is the author and illustrator and Michael Doig is the colorist of The Girl and the Glim, India's debut graphic novel! The pair has existed online for quite some time as animators and artists, and have worked on TV shows like Amphibia and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as…
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The Inheritance Cycle: Inheritance
After months and months of anticipation, we finally finish the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Tune in to see which of our predictions for the ending came true and to hear a new quiz show segment of our podcast! Plus convos about magical inequity, kinky dragons, and who the REAL villain...
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The Golden Compass (ft. Stephanie Cooke)
We're joined again by middle grade author Stephanie Cooke to talk about her favorite childhood book: The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. In this spicy episode: Is it ok to include sexism, classism, and racism in fantasy books as worldbuilding, rather than theme or subject? What's the…
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Oh My Gods! | Interview with Author Stephanie Cooke!
Stephanie Cooke is the co-author of Oh My Gods!, a middle grade graphic novel series. Oh My Gods! was her debut novel, but she has been writing, particularly for graphic novels, for quite some time now. In this episode of The Kidlit Chronicles, we sit down (virtually) with Stephanie and discuss…
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Stargirl + Love, Stargirl
This episode, we revisit the most iconic manic pixie dream girl of our childhood with a special guest, Amber Yun! Who is Stargirl? What makes someone a an outcast or a nonconformist? Why does Stargirl even like Leo? Could Stargirl be Jesus??? Music credit: "Secret Garden" by Eugenio Mininni via...
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The Inheritance Cycle: Brisingr
In our third installment reviewing the fantasy series, we talk about Christopher Paolini's writing of women characters, investigate twists upon twists, dig into many, many characters' sexual awakenings (NSFW), and give our predictions for the final book. Music credit: "Easy Times" by Ahjay…
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East
We explore a picturesque wintry landscape, discuss the ethics of romance between a girl and a boy-turned-150-year-old-bear, and argue pointlessly over a miniscule plot point for far too long. Music credit: "hmm.wav" by Xythe via Freesound.org
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Anniversary Special
A little more than a year after our very first episode, we reflect on our favorite episodes, look at some surprising past ratings, and hold an awards ceremony for our beloved books. Audio Credit: VS_Short Whoosh 4.mp3 by Vilkas_Sound via Freesound.org Long TV Bleep.m4a by ChunaawChika09 via...
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The Inheritance Cycle: Eldest
Eragon goes off to train with the elves (and gets Yassified, according to Nikki), Roran gets the main character treatment, and Nasuada becomes a girlboss. Join us as we dive deep into the second book of Christopher Paolini's famed fantasy series. Music credit: "Medieval" guitar loop by User391915396
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Goosebumps: Say Cheese and Die, My Best Friend Is Invisible, and The Ghost Next Door
We celebrate the spooky season with classic children's horror, featuring special guest Seth Appleton. Join us as we talk about twist endings, mortality, middle-class suburban hell, and what exactly the shadow realm is.
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The Inheritance Cycle: Eragon
This episode: Chelsey's favorite childhood book series! Get ready for dragons, elves, bloody battles, and evil kings galore as we begin to explore the fantasy world created by Christopher Paolini. Music credit: "Medieval" guitar loop by User391915396
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The Princess Bride
Special guest alert! Elli Clippard joins us to discuss the joy of tropes, author William Goldman's fake life, why we hate the sequel, and more in this episode about the book that inspired the iconic 1987 movie. Background music credit: "Orchestral Adventure Theme" by Theo Teravainen via Freesound...
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Ender's Game
Ho, listeners! On this episode, we explore a sci-fi classic about a group of genius children who try to save the world from aliens. Tune in to hear our thoughts on the book versus movie, whether or not Ender is a good person, and how much the author's beliefs should impact how we read stories....
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Warriors Part 4: The Darkest Hour
Endings are always bittersweet. Cloudpelt, Shadowsong, and Bearclaw talk about fascism, cat on cat violence, and why Firestar STILL can't get over Spottedleaf in this episode on the last book of the original Warriors Series. Music credits: "Epical Drums 01" by Grigoriy Nuzhny via Mixkit "A Love...
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Warriors Part 3: Rising Storm, A Dangerous Path
We wrote our own fanfiction for this episode. It's a must listen. Music credits: "Epical Drums 01" by Grigoriy Nuzhny via Mixkit "Beautiful Dream" by Diego Nava via Mixkit https://freesound.org/people/ERH/sounds/131903/ https://freesound.org/people/Bruno_ph/sounds/109409/...
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Warriors Part 2: Fire and Ice, Forest of Secrets
Cloudpelt, Nightpelt, and newly-named Bearclaw mark the halfway point of the Warrior Cats series. There's love, death, betrayal, and above all...loyalty to the Clan.
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When You Reach Me
Life, death, time travel, and the insurmountable challenge of making friends in middle school. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead has it all. Featuring special guest Mary Fouts!
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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
It turns out that Narnia is like, really religious. Who knew?
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The Phantom Tollbooth
Grab your trustiest watchdog and join us on our journey through Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth. We talk about our favorite puns, which wacky character would best represent us, and whether or not the book has imperialist undertones(!).
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
*DISCLAIMER* This episode on Percy Jackson is not suitable for kids. We dive into the origins of the Greek myths featured in the book, which often have violent and/or sexual themes. There may also be some cursing because Chelsey got carried away. Enter if you dare...
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Warriors: Into the Wild
Hey there, Cloudpelt (aka Chelsey) speaking. Put your paws together for this fun (and furry) episode on the first book of the Warrior Cats series.
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A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Bad Beginning
This is our first podcast episode woohoo! Shoutout to Professor Melissa Jensen for inspiring this project, and Ella Rowen for the theme song music.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Kidlit Chronicles have?
The Kidlit Chronicles currently has 33 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Kidlit Chronicles about?
Kids' books aren't just for kids. Three twenty-somethings, a.k.a. glorified children, revisit childhood classics steeped in nostalgia and jump into the kids' books of today.
How often does The Kidlit Chronicles release new episodes?
The Kidlit Chronicles has 33 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Kidlit Chronicles?
You can listen to The Kidlit Chronicles on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Kidlit Chronicles?
The Kidlit Chronicles is created and hosted by Chelsey Zhu, Nikki Horton, and Hannah Middleton.
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