If you were a time traveler, would you go to the future or the past? That's the question readers from Lafayette Elementary School in Washington, DC ponder as they discuss the Newbery Award-winning "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead. NPR reporter Neda Ulaby is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host. 

Free curriculum for this episode available at the website:

Kazu Kibuishi admits he never thought "Amulet" would be a hit. He talks about writing, travel, research, and screenwriting with host Kitty Felde.

This weekend we?re participating in a special podcast event: Podapalooza, to raise funds for folks hardest hit by Covid-19. 

We here at Book Club create a second podcast ? The Fina Mendoza Mysteries ? and for Podapalooza, we?re sharing episode 1. 

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries is a serialized mystery series for kids and political junkies. Season one tells the tale of the 10 year old daughter of a congressman who solves the mystery of the demon cat of Capitol Hill.

We all know that COVID 19 is hitting the entire world, and unfortunately, some have been harder hit than others. We?re proud to have this opportunity to give back while doing something we love. Podapalooza is a podcast festival for COVID relief, the work of more than a hundred podcasters who have contributed content and resources to the cause. 100% of funds raised go to GiveDirectly, an international aid organization helping families hardest hit by COVID. To learn more and donate, go to Podapalooza.org, or p - l - z - a dot org for short. That?s p - l -z -a dot org.

It's the perfect time to escape on an adventure. Our graphic novel "Amulet" by Kazu Kibuishi tells the tale of a magical amulet that leads a young girl on a quest. Students from Ketcham Elementary School in Washington, D.C. talk about magic in their own lives and have lots of questions for our writer. Actor Denny Colonna is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

www.bookclubforkids.org

It's the perfect time for a book series. We've got several terrific suggestions from kids in Queens, New York.

More great book suggestions and free curriculum at our website bookclubforkids.org.

We're reprising our episodes with free curriculum guides. We're starting with Roald Dahl's first book for children "James and the Giant Peach" because don't we all need to escape our current situation inside a giant summer fruit? Cash Peters is celebrity reader and students from LA's Equitas Academy discuss the book with host Kitty Felde.

Free curriculum guide at bookclubforkids.org.

It's your opportunity to be a podcast star. Listen for details.

Ever wonder what a writer uses for inspiration? Angie Thomas tells us what gets her fingers flying over the keyboard.

www.bookclubforkids.org

Today it?s a book for older kids ? "On the Come UP" by Angie Thomas. Our main character is an aspiring rap star dealing with sudden fame and the reputation of her late father. Our readers are from West Education Campus in Washington, D.C. Actress Tallie Johnson is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host. 

We?ll have a list of everybody?s favorite book at our website, bookclubforkids.org. In fact, we have lots and lots of book suggestions to help you find the perfect ebook or audiobook to download from your public library during this time when schools are closed.

And did you know that if you want to be on the Book Club for Kids, you can do it from your living room? All you need is your smartphone. Record yourself on the voice memo app telling us your first name, city where you live, the name of your favorite book, and why you love it. Then email the file to us at  [email protected]. Or just click the ?put me on the show? button at our website bookclubforkids.org for more information. And teachers, we?re collecting recommendations from students around the world. We?d love to hear from your homebound kids on the show.

It?s an unusual time. A time when most of us are home with our families. A time when we can order up a book free of charge from our local library and have it delivered immediately to our phone, computer or tablet.

But what book?

We have some great suggestions from students at the Laurence School in Los Angeles. And we want to hear your suggestions for great books and book series we can be reading during this time of social distancing. If you have book suggestion, please call us at 323-639-3560. Tell us your first name, the city where you live, the name of your favorite book, and why you love it.

Just a note to teachers, parents and librarians. We have free curriculum guides at the website bookclubforkids.org so you can keep the learning going during this haitus. We also have more than 100 free Book Club for Kids episodes free of charge. You can listen to an episode with your kids, get a digital copy or audio book version of the novel from your public library, read it together, and use the podcast questions for a jumping off place for your own discussion. You could even get a Skype book club session with your child and other kids stuck at home.

We have a free newsletter for teachers, parents, and librarians. Usually, we send out bimonthly free tips about how to turn kids into lifelong readers. But starting this week, we?ll be sending out short newsletters with activities and suggestions of learning opportunities you and your kids can do at home. You can sign up at our website: bookclubforkids.org.

One other way to lighten the mood with your kids: we have a terrific mystery podcast, the Fina Mendoza Mysteries. It?s a free 8-part series about a little girl and a gigantic red dog named Senator Something. Together, they solve the mystery of the Demon Cat of Capitol Hill. As one young listener put it, "It?s not too scary."

Did you ever think you were a little different than everybody else in school? Suppose you found out there?s a reason for that and that reason is that you?re actually a witch. That's the story of "The Okay Witch," by Emma Steinkellner. Students from Virginia Road Elementary School in Los Angeles discuss the graphic novel and interview Emma. Actress Diane Adair is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

www.bookclubforkids.org

Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan co-wrote "Watch Us Rise." They answer the two biggest questions: how do you collaborate with a friend without destroying the friendship? And what's the best snack for writing inspiration? Kitty Felde is host.

Was there ever a time when you had to stand up and speak your mind, no matter the consequences? Is it harder to do that if you're female? Standing up for girls is at the heart of this week?s book "Watch Us Rise" do, letting the world know what it?s like sometimes, being a girl. Our readers from Brookland Middle School in Washington D.C. interview the wrtiers Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan. Our celebrity reader is actress Pinkie Washington. Kitty Felde is host.

Reading tips at our website www.bookclubforkids.org

Tricia Springstubb is the writer of the "Cody and the Mysteries of the Universe" series and other books. She tells Kitty Felde about finding Cody's voice and the difference between writing middle grade novels and picture books.

Writers are often confused when editors talk about ?voice? in children?s literature. The title character in ?Cody and the Mysteries of the Universe? has one of the most unique voices in print. Readers from Randle Highlands Elementary School in Washington, D.C. discuss the book with host Kitty Felde and ask questions of writer Tricia Springstubb. Actress Peggy Miley is celebrity reader.

It's our favorite question: what's your favorite book? We get lots of answers from our readers who called in to us or talked to us at the Los Angeles Public Library's Mini Maker Faire. Kitty Felde is host.

Students from Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Washington, DC talk about "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. The conversation covers everything from death to Nazis to books. Actress Melanie MacQueen (Robotech) is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host. Markus Zusak interview is courtesy of the Australian bookstore Booktopia. 

Spoiler Alert: plot points are discussed in this episode.

Find out how you can be on the show at our website:

www.bookclubforkids.org

We get some terrific book suggestions from kids from around the world - from Scotland to Singapore, England to Ecuador, Mexico to Australia. Readers from the British International School in Houston share their favorites with host Kitty Felde.

Get reading tips or find out how you can be on the show at our website: bookclubforkids.org.

It?s our 100th episode!

To celebrate, we travel up to the Bay Area Book Festival to tape a live show celebrating ?The Storm Runner? by J. C. Cervantes. This fantasy tale with Mayan mythology is a ?Rick Riordan Presents? novel. Public radio journalist Erika Quilar from KQED is celebrity reader. Our readers are 6th graders at Albany Middle School in Northern California and they quiz our author. Kitty Felde is host.

We talked to kids in Maryland, Illinois, and California and asked them to tell us their favorite books. Here's their picks for 2020.

We asked you to pick your favorite Book Club for Kids episode. Thank you for voting! And the winner of the 2019 Fan Favorite Episode is "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Our celebrity reader is actress Mimi Kennedy of "Mom" and kids at the East Rancho Dominguez branch of the LA County Library discuss the novel. Lynda Mullaly Hunt tells host Kitty Felde what it was like to be the kid who never read.

In honor of the holidays, we bring you this special bonus episode of the Book Club for Kids. It comes from our friends in London at the UK?s children?s radio station, Fun Kids. Every other week, they produce a show called the Fun Kids Book Club podcast.

Their show is a bit different from Book Club for Kids ? not only do they talk faster and have wonderful British accents, the show is presented by their host Bex and features authors from the UK who chat about how they wrote their book and answer quiz questions about what kind of potato chips they like best.

This episode contains some of the best bits from 2019. And features a lot of books I?ll bet you never even heard about! Enjoy!

We?re counting down to our 100th episode and we?re asking YOU what?s your favorite episode? You can email us here.

We asked our producer Ilsa Setziol which episode was HER favorite. She explains why she loves ?A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.?

Williamsburg has changed enormously since Betty Smith published "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" in 1943. But a trio of DC readers tell host Kitty Felde that they find contemporary themes - the chasm between rich and poor, the rise of the #MeToo movement - in the novel. Nancy Smith Pfeiffer, the 95 year old daughter of Betty Smith, tells us about rushing home from school to read the latest pages of the novel, hot off her mother's typewriter. Actress Sonia Manzano (Maria from "Sesame Street") is celebrity reader since the book is her favorite.

Last week, we talked about ?Refugee,? Alan Gratz? tale of kids fleeing violence and political oppression around the world. It?s a tough read. I had to put it down a few times. But how difficult is it to write a book about a tough subject? We asked Alan Gratz.

What would it be like to leave everything you know, everything you own, everyone you love to escape war, persecution, or poverty? In ?Refugee,? Alan Gratz imagines how three young people struggle to survive as they excape to freedom. Students from Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. discuss the book with host Kitty Felde. Actress Amy Solano is celebrity reader.

Thanksgiving is next week and we know a lot of you will be on the road this weekend ? by plane, car, bus, boat, whatever. We wanted to give you something to listen to as you make your way to grandmother?s house or wherever you are headed. So we?ve collected six Book Club for Kids episodes with family themes at their center.

In this extended Book Club for Kids episode, we?ll meet a large family in Utah where one kid describes himself as THE GREAT BRAIN, a classic by John D Fitzgerald. (Celebrity reader: J. Keith van Straaten) 

And since it wouldn?t be Thanksgiving without at least one family battle, we bring you a classic one between a girl and her Chinese great aunt: THE GREAT WALL OF LUCY WU by Wendy Wan-Long Shang. (Celebrity reader: Congresswoman Judy Chu)

Next we meet the southern relatives in Jason Renolds? AS BRAVE AS YOU (celebrity reader: Kim Estes) and then off to Pennsylvania for Jack Gantos? family in DEAD END IN NORVELT (Celebrity reader: Wenzel Jones.) Next, we head out west to New Mexico for a tale about a girl and her grandfather ? Lindsay Eagar?s HOUR OF THE BEES (Celebrity reader New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.) And then head east to Harlem to meet Karina Yan Glaser?s THE VANDERBEEKERS OF 141st STREET (Celebrity reader: Valente Rodriguez).

And then stick around. We?ll have a special treat: a short Thanksgiving scene set in southern California. It?s from our newest podcast: an 8 part dramatic series called THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES podcast. This scene is from next weeek?s episode and if you like it, you can catch up from the beginning by subscribing to The Fina Mendozaa Mysteries.

You?ve got a long roadtrip ahead of you, so sit back, relax, and celebrate with your family and ours here at the Book Club for Kids. Happy Thanksgiving.

Readers from Michigan recommend their favorite books...and many of them are Book Club for Kids episodes. Kitty Felde is host.

Sophie's quest to find her mother takes her from London to Paris - mostly rooftop to rooftop. Katherine Rundell's novel "Rooftoppers" is our book this episode. Students from the British International School of Washington discuss the book with host Kitty Felde. Director and audio book actress Stevie Zimmerman is celebrity reader. Katherine Rundell talks about writing for the stage vs. writing books for kids.

Ever wonder what kids in other countries are reading? This week, we take you to Dublin, Ireland which hosted WORLDCON, the World Science Fiction Convention. While the adults were attending panels, the kids were creating fabulous costumes for the masquerade parade...and taking the time to tell host Kitty Felde the name of their favorite books. 

We have a special treat this week for Book Club for Kids listeners. It's something completely different. 

Instead of our regular Book Club for Kids episode, we invite you to stay tuned for a special SNEAK PREVIEW of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast. It's the story of the 10-year old daughter of a congessman from California who moves to Washington DC and solves the mystery of the Demon Cat of Capitol Hill.

Episode 1 will be released to the rest of the world on Friday, but we thought our loyal Book Club for Kids subscribers deserved to hear it first. 

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries is an original 8-part dramatic series described as Nancy Drew meets "The West Wing." And to quote one of our youngest actors: it's not too scary. Give a listen. 

Subscribe NOW to The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.

More information at finamendozamysteries.com.

We'll be back again next week with a bonus episode and then we tackle Katherine Rundell's novel "Rooftoppers."

Peter Brown is both a writer and illustrator. We talk to him about how he plots a story and the teacher he hated who set him on his path to becoming a professional artist. Kitty Felde is host.

Do you have a relationship with the robot in your life? You'll fall in love with "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown. 4th graders from Flora Hendley Elementary School in Washington, D.C. discuss artificial intelligence and their own favorite robotic devices. U.S. Congressman Scott Peters from San Diego is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Got a favorite book? These readers at Vroman's Bookstore for LitFest Pasadena have a few suggestions to share with host Kitty Felde.

What do you get when you mix figure skating, martial arts, and Hogwarts? We take the stage live at Vroman?s Bookstore for LitFest Pasadena to discuss Henry Lien?s ?Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword.? Voice actress Veronica Lopez is our celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Writer Varian Johnson of "The Parker Inheritance" shares his secrets about writing a successful mystery with host Kitty Felde.

Do you love a mystery? Do you love playing detective, looking for clues on every page? This week?s novel is about a lot of things ? segregation, bullying, and most of all, a family mystery. 

This week's episode is "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson. Our readers are from Washington DC?s AIM Academy. Actress Sheila Collins is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

We head out to the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles to ask readers at the Studio City branch of the LA Public Library to tell us their favorite books. Kitty Felde is host.

Malu is moving to Chicago and she's not very happy about it. She's also not very happy with the way her mother would like her to be. Two things do make her happy: punk music and creating zines. The book is the 2018 Pura Belpré Award Author Honor winner "

5th graders from Deerwood Elementary School in Eagan, Minnesota share their favorite books with us. Kitty Felde is host.

The worst summer vacation ever? Being stuck in the middle of a New Mexico desert with the crabbiest grandfather on planet earth. But there are also magical bees that promise the end of of a drought. Students from Belvedere Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. Our celebrity reader is New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Kitty Felde is host. This episode is the favorite of summer intern Hannah Matzecki.

Readers from the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Illinois share their favorite books with host Kitty Felde.

What?s it like to be adopted? Does your adopted family?s history become your history or do you feel the need to find your biological story? Our book this week is "The Length of a String" by Elissa Brent Weissman. It?s a Holocaust story about a Jewish family separated by the war. Readers from the Girlfriends Book Club of Baltimore at Hazelwood Elementary Middle School discuss the book and pose lots of questions to our writer. Actor and producer Bari Hochwald is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Writer Margaret Peterson Haddix has published nearly four dozen novel. We talk to her about how she manages to write so many books, the difference between writing fiction and non-fiction, and get a sneak preview of her newest series. Kitty Felde is host.

C?mon. Admit it. Don?t you just wish sometimes that your parents would just disappear? But what happens next? That?s just part of the plot for our book this week ?Double Identity? By Margaret Peterson Haddix. Our readers are from Sousa Middle School in Washington, D.C. Our celebrity reader is actress Molly  Parker, from "Deadwood" and "Lost In Space." Kitty Felde is host. 

Oh, and just a warning: the discussion contains spoiler alerts, so you might want to read the book before you listen to the episode.

Has a book inspired you to take a summer vacation to a particular place? "The Great Brain" series seems to have inspired a lot of readers - including Sharon Madsen's family. Sharon's become the unofficial John D. Fitzgerald historian, archivist, and tour guide, taking fans of "The Great Brain" series around Fitzgerald's hometown of Price Utah. Kitty Felde talks to Sharon Madsen about her family's obsession.

This week, we catch up with readers in Houston, Texas who love "The Great Brain" books by John D. Fitzgerald SO much, they named their book club after it. Not familiar with the book? A lot of the plot involves the oldest brother Tom who always has a new scheme to separate kids from their money. Our celebrity reader is J. Keith van Straaten, host of the game show podcast Go Fact Yourself. Our writer John D. Fitzgerald is no longer with us, but Sharon Madsen, the resident expert on Fitzgerald, says he was a man of many talents. Kitty Felde is host.

Looking for great summer reading ideas? This group from Southern California have lots of suggestions.

Do you ever feel different? Peculiar? Perhaps not as peculiar as the kids in "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." Readers from the DC International School discuss Ransom Riggs' novel and pose questions to the author. NPR Special Correspondent Melissa Block is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

We usually talk to middle school kids on Book Club for Kids. This week, we hear book suggestions from some of our youngest listeners. The episode was recorded at the LA Public Library's Mini Maker Faire at the downtown Central Library. Kitty Felde is host.

"Esperanza Rising" is a riches to rags tale about a wealthy Mexican family who end up as farmworkers in California's Central Valley. Students from Murch Elementary School in Washington, DC compare the book to Frances Hodgson Burnett's "A Little Princess." Actress Christine Avila is celebrity reader. Writer Pam Munoz Ryan talks about her real-life grandmother whose life inspired the book. Kitty Felde is host.